How do I power xmas lights on my bike???

[mamasaid]

I know it can't be that hard, but I'm running into some issues.

(don't say dynamo because I already got one, but I'm having a whole other set of issues with getting that running right...)
The small string ones usually only come with about 10 led lights, not quite long enough for my vision.
Is there a way I can rig the lights right up to a 12V rechargable battery? Splice the wires or something? If so, what is the appropriate battery vs. light voltage relationship? I know nothing about this stuff, wish I'd paid attention in shop class in HS...
Is there some sort of tool that I can actually plug the lights into properly that is attached to a battery???
Help!! Thanks!
maldita
Make a wish on my shooting star bike!!!assuming I can get the lights going...

[Last Real Burner]

They do have battery powered light sets that are made for the floral industry that goes in the Table arrangements at big affairs. They have like about 15 or 20 leds and hook directly to a little battery pack modual (2 D cells I think and they last about 5-6 hours. Since they are for the party industry industry I would imagine them being cheap $1.50 -$3.00. Call a local party florist in your neigborhood or use the internet. B-T-W That was me goofing off in the corner, also not paying attention (prolly with a spidy comic) in shop class..

dutifully,
mr smith

[Last Real Burner]

Oh yeah ~~~Experiment like crazy!~~~~~, go to the electronics store and take your rig with you, that way you can explore different options and get the experince of the experienced tech guy to hook you up, and you usually only have to pay for the parts used in the final version. Plus you get see how their faces light up when you tell them your going to use it at Burningman and watch how they just stumble overthemselves trying to help you (of course this is immediatly followed by the land of 1001 Questions). Their are people on this board who I am sure are more qualified than I to speak on this matter. Keep doing what you're doing, asking questions.

quite possibly,
mr smith

[headquarters]

i'm not sure if it would fit your vision the same way, but ELwire is that strands of colored wire that comes in differant gauges. it takes a lot less power then incandesnt christmas lights. regular christmas lights will chomp through your batteries pretty quick, so you'd need either lots of batteries or a charging system.. thats a whole other topic. if you really wanted to stick with christmas light type. they have LED lights which take a lot less power again then regular christmas lights. we had a large 80lb 12 V deep cell marine battery and 4 strands of christmas lights and we drained it in 6 hours.

i guess then in conclusion my only thought is that regular christmas lights suck power like you won't believe. LED christmas lights or ELWIRE light take much less power.

[madmatt]

EL WIRE EL WIRE EL WIRE!!!

[magnus greel]

You know, I didn't really expect that this would be the first subject/thread I ran across, immediately after joining this board. Attaching xmas lights to a bike. Not a criticism; it's just throwing me off a bit.

I really think you should go with madmatt on this issue. That guy really knows what he's talking about.

I'm already not making sense. Anyway, hello.

[mamasaid]

after looking around, seems like this is exactly the right stuff for what I'm making, and not all that expensive either.

I'd like to hear from some of you that have used it and details. Like, can you cut it yourself, or do you need to order it in exactly the size you want??
For 60 feet, the inverter that goes along with it runs on what kind of battery? it looks like inthe picture, that the inverter has 2 lines that go to something, maybe a 6 or12 volt battery, but the description doesn't say. I feel like I'm just supposed to KNOW these things, but I dont. again, wish I'd paid attention in shop class...

that stuff will be way cooler than xmas lights anyway for the project, so thanks for the tip...watch for the shooting star on the playa at night!
wishes will be blessed!!!!

Love,
Maldita

[headquarters]

you can cut it yourself to differant lengths but you have to solder the ends that you cut. it runs on DC power from standard batteries. if you have a lot of it running you can use this 8AA cap which takes 8AA batteries which mimics 12V power with convienent AA batteries. Were you planing on runing it around the wheels or just around the frame?

here is a thread with info on where to get the stuff.

http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic. ... ht=el+wire

i know you can usually have places do the soldering for you and so all you have to do is just add batteries.

[headquarters]

here i was looking actualy for this link

http://www.hovering.com/coolneon/index.html

good stuff you can have them do everything.

here is another bit that is interesting..

http://www.hovering.com/coolneon/graphi ... _bike1.pdf


it seems however that they are not selling anything until the end of july.. whoops..

[mamasaid]

hey, this is rad, thanks...the idea is getting better and better...
fun...

Maldita

[brillig]

Cool neon makes great el wire devices - if you want your batteries to last - get a flashing driver (it makes a big difference over always on). They use either 9v or 2 or 4 AAs. Lemme also put in my pitch for NiMh batteries - they're rechargeable many more times than NiCad.

Cool Neon sells kits as well as drivers and wire separately. If you want to wire your own, all you need is one of their plug & play connectors to connect to the driver. You can splice different colors in series (or use their connectors) and it doesn't matter which way you connect (it's dc after all). Soldering is a pain, cause the outer wire is two teeny-tiny wires, and you have to scrape off the phosphorous to get to the inner wire, but you'll get the hang of it.

Brillig

[robotland]

If you're new to EL wire, you may want to get a readymade unit just to play with, so that you can observe its flexibility, output and such. (Not that jumping in with both feet isn't good too.) Great stuff. The more you play with it, the more ideas you'll come up with!