Glowies, Blinkies, UVies & Other Illuminations

[_tears_]

I find this picture very erotic...

[Mister Jellyfish Mister]

I'm getting ready to fasten the el wire to the dimensional wire frames that were bent into shapes. Since the el wire needs to be visible from both sides of the shapes, I need to run it along the sides. I've tried 4" mini tie straps but they constantly need adjusting and the natural colored ones that may let the light through are seldom UV rated for outdoor use.

Any suggestions on a way to install the el wire that won't damage it in case I need to remove it after The Burn?

[Angel Ben]

I'm getting ready to fasten the el wire to the dimensional wire frames that were bent into shapes. Since the el wire needs to be visible from both sides of the shapes, I need to run it along the sides. I've tried 4" mini tie straps but they constantly need adjusting and the natural colored ones that may let the light through are seldom UV rated for outdoor use.

Any suggestions on a way to install the el wire that won't damage it in case I need to remove it after The Burn?

I'm not sure what the 4" tie straps are that you're talking about, but I usually just use twists of thin wire or translucent white zip ties.

[SHARPER]

Use safety pins and clean plastic straws.
Take the side of the pin with the "head" on it and attach it to your frame using hot glue and reinforced with piano wire (just in case the glue comes unglued).
Place a section of clear plastic straw over the "pin" part and close the safety pin.
Now you can thread your el wire thru the straw.
This works well on a variety of el wire projects.

[TommyTheCat]

my question about EL wire...if i want to wear it some how...would all i need is the wire and a inverter and would it require and soldering? Thanks

Darby

[SHARPER]

the peeps at coolightwest.com have a set of instructions you can print on how to work with el wire. Yes - soldering - el wire to inverter wires and you will need a power source in addition to the inverter (some small inverters are also battery packs - larger projects require lareger batteries) check out some of the web sites. The one I mentioned is burner friendly because they are fellow burners but there are several others that are friendly and helfull as well. One other good one is located in Yorba Linda - www.elwirecheap.com. We had a workshop there a few months back and they were great to us!

[SHARPER]

uh helpfull and a few other typos - its late - forgiveness requested

[robotland]

If you're attaching EL to a nonporous surface, GOOP adhesive (AKA "SHOE GOO") is fantastic stuff- It will peel off cleanly from the wire and from metal or plastic, but try to avoid imbedding the wire in it completely. I have had good success with running the wire around the perimeter of the shape to be illuminated, holding it with clothespins or those nifty little plastic spring clamps that they sell in tubes of ten or twenty, and then adding dabs of GOOP at regular intervals and at all bends and joints. You can glue the battery box on too, but remember to leave access for the battery compartment!
You can also knot it on with fishline.

[Mister Jellyfish Mister]

Thanks, Robotland! Your fishline idea gave me a an out-loud "AH HA!".

[robotland]

Let's hear about your Great Ideas for illumination!

My latest project started with a server found in a dumpster- I pulled about 20 beautiful 8x11" circuit boards out of it, and grouped them into threes with the backsides (flat) out. (I GOOPed them together.) Put a bright light inside the resulting triangular box, and you get a really cool looking lamp with the shadows of the components visible along with a pleasant, otherworldly green glow. A blue neon tube inside works well too, especially if two triangular units are stacked with a spacer in between so you get a peek at the "guts" with the blue glow inside.....

With Thanx and a Hat Tippo to Blinky Mike at Hushville Power And Light- Just made a pair of solar lanterns by cannibalizing two Malibu solars- Take the black tops off, and drill six equidistant holes around the rim. Shoot longshank pop rivets through four of the holes, and adjust the bent-up backside "hooks" so that they all face inward. Dress up the other two holes with spiffy brass eyelets, and thread a length of scrap wire through for hanging. Now fasten a foot or two of 4" dryer vent tubing to the Malibu top by slipping it under the four "rivet hooks". You can leave the bottom open, to project a circle of light onto the ground, or dress it up with a cap; I used a round, white plastic cap that looks like a little UFO, which I found while browsing in the electrical aisle at the hardware store. These lamps look fairly substantial, but accordion down to about 4" thick for packing. TIP: Remove or slip a plastic shim under the batteries to disable the LED during the voyage to BRC- If you have a battery charger, charge 'em up. Otherwise, just set 'em out when you get there.
You can make lots of fun lanterns in no time at all, by putting Malibu tops onto other things- My favorites are plastic pumpkin trick-or-treat heads. Screw the Mailibu top on with two drywall screws, leaving one loose so you can pivot the "lid" open for battery access. Or, cut out the bottom of the pumpkin. This makes it hard to fill them with water or sand for ballast, though. A Malibu on a translucent party ball resembles a full moon! The yellow plastic "flames" from Xmas yard candles look cool with a solar inside as well, and, well, they're FLAMES!

Okay. Your turn.

[unjonharley]

Most be the drinking water in Kalamazoo. What happened to the touch LED lamps. Any progress or do I strike out on my own?

[Das Bus]

Hey Robot! Got any pics?

[robotland]

What happened to the touch LED lamps.

....refresh my memory! Several projects fell out of my head while in the process of moving......

DBus- I'm having problems launching pics thru the workplace firewalls....I might be able to PM some shots of the finished lamps, once I finish and photo them......For how much I love technology, it's AMAZING how stupid I am regarding sending images over the wire......I'll work on it, promise.

[unjonharley]

What happened to the touch LED lamps.

....refresh my memory! Several projects fell out of my head while in the process of moving......

/\

I moved this year too. No art project for this year. Any hoo. Some one mentioned touch lamp. YOu said how about led touch lamps. Skampering off to your LAy-bor-a-tore never to be heard from again. Heh heh heh. So we know you didn't take over the world with your last try. May haps you worked on a new touch lamp?????

[robotland]

I AM making some TORCH lamps....they have plastic flames from Xmas candles on 'em.

[PurplMyst]

Once upon a time I was strolling thru a K-Mart & came across this little white ball that had 3 blue LED lights in it called a "Moon Ball". It looked like a normal white ball, but when you squeezed it, voila! It was re-chargeable & didn't require batteries! How nifty! I impulse bought it for about $10, and have enjoyed it for many years.

So this year I'm thinking how cool it would be to have these around camp, maybe in different colors. I go on the internet & find they are not longer at K-Mart. I can only find them under the name "Mathmos Bubble" for about $70 apiece. If anybody has seen these elsewhere for a reasonable price, please let me know!!

http://www.zippergifts.com/

[robotland]

Yeah, I've learned to Gather Ye Blinkies While Ye May, as the good toys vanish so damn fast....There were decent glow-in-the-dark Bocce balls available for a while, too....

[PurplMyst]

Eureka! After much searching I have come across light up juggling balls!

http://www.higginsbrothers.com/balls.htm

They last longer than the charge up ones, work the same way, and are priced much more reasonably. Hooray!

[robotland]

Good! Now I'll be able to find them when they roll under the couch, which is about every four or five throws......

[theshaman]

is it pronounced "E. L. wire" like the two letters. or....

is it pronounced "El Wire" like El Diablo?

[robotland]

is it pronounced "E. L. wire" like the two letters. or....

is it pronounced "El Wire" like El Diablo?

It's a bastard abbreviation of the word "Electroluminescent". And if you go a-googlin', try EL wire, EL tape, Coolneon, Lightwire and so on, ad infinitum.

[robotland]

...and not to be confused with "E.L. Fudge", the elfin-made cookie treat made in a hollow tree.

[theshaman]

Actually I am trying to settle a bet I have...half of my friends say it is pronunced E L wire (like E L Fudge) and the other half refer to it as El wire like El Fuego

I myself am in the E L Fudge camp and I have a dollar riding on it

[robotland]

It's E.L. Fudge . If I can be considered an expert, then that's my expert opinion. (I proclaimed myself an expert some time ago.)

[dragonfly Jafe]

is it pronounced "E. L. wire" like the two letters. or....

is it pronounced "El Wire" like El Diablo?

Both are used, I mostly call it "L-wire" around people who know, "E-L wire" (or "electroluminescent wire) around people who do not.

[robotland]

is it pronounced "E. L. wire" like the two letters. or....

is it pronounced "El Wire" like El Diablo?

Both are used, I mostly call it "L-wire" around people who know, "E-L wire" (or "electroluminescent wire) around people who do not.

......does calling it "E L Wire" around those who do NOT make a difference to them? "Ohhhh, E L Wire! I understand now!"

That's why I call it Pretty Blinky String. Less confusing.

[dragonfly Jafe]

is it pronounced "E. L. wire" like the two letters. or....

is it pronounced "El Wire" like El Diablo?

Both are used, I mostly call it "L-wire" around people who know, "E-L wire" (or "electroluminescent wire) around people who do not.

......does calling it "E L Wire" around those who do NOT make a difference to them? "Ohhhh, E L Wire! I understand now!"

That's why I call it Pretty Blinky String. Less confusing.

Ahhh! but it can also be on continuously. Pretty Blinky or Always-On String (that can also shimmer real fast so as to almost look like it's on all the time). But that's too long.

When I say "E-L wire" to newbies (or people who get a blank look) I follow it up with "electro-luminescent wire". So if there is only ONE way, I would have to go with "E-L wire". "L-wire" is a verbal abbreviation. Disclaimer: I am not an expert, but I have played one on TV (and at work)

[dragonfly Jafe]

is it pronounced "E. L. wire" like the two letters. or....

is it pronounced "El Wire" like El Diablo?

Both are used, I mostly call it "L-wire" around people who know, "E-L wire" (or "electroluminescent wire) around people who do not.

......does calling it "E L Wire" around those who do NOT make a difference to them? "Ohhhh, E L Wire! I understand now!"

That's why I call it Pretty Blinky String. Less confusing.

Ahhh! but it can also be on continuously. Pretty Blinky or Always-On String (that can also shimmer real fast so as to almost look like it's on all the time). But that's too long.

When I say "E-L wire" to newbies (or people who get a blank look when I say "L-wire") I follow it up with "electro-luminescent wire" and explain in more detail. So if there is only ONE way, I would have to go with "E-L wire". "L-wire" is a verbal abbreviation. Disclaimer: I am not an expert, but I have played one on TV (and at work)

[dragonfly Jafe]

is it pronounced "E. L. wire" like the two letters. or....

is it pronounced "El Wire" like El Diablo?

Both are used, I mostly call it "L-wire" around people who know, "E-L wire" (or "electroluminescent wire) around people who do not.

......does calling it "E L Wire" around those who do NOT make a difference to them? "Ohhhh, E L Wire! I understand now!"

That's why I call it Pretty Blinky String. Less confusing.

Ahhh! but it can also be on continuously. Pretty Blinky or Always-On String (that can also shimmer real fast so as to almost look like it's on all the time). But that's too long.

When I say "E-L wire" to newbies (or people who get a blank look when I say "L-wire") I follow it up with "electro-luminescent wire" and explain in more detail. So if there is only ONE way, I would have to go with "E-L wire". "L-wire" is a verbal abbreviation. Disclaimer: I am not an expert, but I have played one on TV (and at work)

[Simply Joel]

good enough to be posted thrice