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--- tutorials:learn:el-wire:index.html [2010/12/07 04:10]
daigo
+++ tutorials:learn:el-wire:index.html [2016/01/28 18:05] (current)
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-==== Quickstart FAQ!  ====
+===== Introduction =====
+[[http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/ELwire26mmaqua.jpg|{{  http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/ELwire26mmaqua_t.jpg?nolink&500  |}}]]
+EL Wire, also known as Electroluminescent wire, is a stiff wire core coated with phosphor and then covered with a protective PVC sheath. When an AC signal is applied to it, it glows an aqua (blue green) color. Sometimes its covered with a colored plastic shell to make it appear another color. It looks a little like thin neon. Very bendable, it keeps its shape and you can curl it around your finger. Its an easy way to add some glow to a project, not as bright as LEDs but uses a lot less power!
+It's often used for costuming, decoration, accent lighting, safety vests, bicycle/motorcycle/car/boat/home decoration, signs, etc. It's definitely the most popular wearable electronics we've seen since its so easily to use.
+We have two EL project tutorials - the [[http://www.ladyada.net/make/tronbag/|TRON-inspired bag]] and the [[http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2012/03/19/how-to-el-wire-couch-video/|EL wire party couch]]!
+[[http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=50|You can pick up some high-brightness, long-life EL wire and inverters at the Adafruit shop]]
+==== Quickstart FAQ!  ====
 If you aren't going to read the rest of the tutorial, here are the important parts to note:
@@ Line 16: / Line 27: @@
   *The AA inverter works best with fresh batteries, but you can use rechargables - it'll just be dimmer because the input voltage is lower.
   *The capacitance 'load' of the EL is required to stabilize the inverter so **never run the inverter without at least 1 foot of EL attached!**
+**Please note! EL tape, EL wire and EL panel are made with different processes and so the color and brightness will not be consistant between the two: aqua tape, aqua wire and aqua panels will not necessarily match!**
 ==== Soldering to EL wire  ====
 [[http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/elcloseup.jpg|{{  http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/elcloseup_t.jpg?nolink&500x150  |}}]]
@@ Line 33: / Line 47: @@
   *[[http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=50&products_id=318|Wire to solder the EL to]]
   *Heat shrinker, Heat gun, hair dryer, lighter, you can also just use the edge of your soldering iron
-  *Utility knife, hobby knife (x-acto), box-cutter, razor blade, etcStart by cutting the wire to be as long as you want, and add an inch (or if you're starting out, a few inches) for the wire connection. Remember, its very easy to make the wire shorter but hard to make it longer!
+  *Utility knife, hobby knife (x-acto), box-cutter, razor blade, etc
+Start by cutting the wire to be as long as you want, and add an inch (or if you're starting out, a few inches) for the wire connection. Remember, its very easy to make the wire shorter but hard to make it longer!
 [[http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/elcut.jpg|{{  http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/elcut_t.jpg?nolink&500x433  |}}]]
@@ Line 127: / Line 143: @@
 [[http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/middleshrunk.jpg|{{  http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/middleshrunk_t.jpg?nolink&500x385  |}}]]
-Now we can revisit the corona wires, Using the tip of the soldering
+Now we can revisit the corona wires. Using the tip of the soldering iron, heat up the copper tape and melt a little solder on
+[[http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/coppertin.jpg|{{  http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/coppertin_t.jpg?nolink&500x385  |}}]]
+Then solder the other wire to the copper tape
+[[http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/coppersolder.jpg|{{  http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/coppersolder_t.jpg?nolink&500x385  |}}]]
+[[http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/soldered.jpg|{{  http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/soldered_t.jpg?nolink&500x385  |}}]]
+Slide a 1" piece of 1/4" heatshrink from the other end of the EL wire
+[[http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/bigshrink.jpg|{{  http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/bigshrink_t.jpg?nolink&500x385  |}}]]
+Use your heat gun again to shrink the heatshrink over the whole assembly, to protect it.
+[[http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/complete.jpg|{{  http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/complete_t.jpg?nolink&500x385  |}}]]
+That's it! You're now ready to plug the El wire strand into an inverter.
+==== Drivers ====
+To power EL, an AC source is required. It is not possible to light up EL with DC such as batteries or a wall-wart adapter! The output of the inverter must be a sine-wave with no DC component. It is not unusual to have an inverter run from batteries, such as this 'pocket' AA driver. The inverting circuitry is inside the box part to the left.
+[[http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/elinverter2AA.jpg|{{  http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/elinverter2AA_t.jpg?nolink&400x308  |}}]]
+This pocket inverter can drive approximately 1 to 15 feet (0.3-5 meter) of 'classic' EL wire such as LyTec. Since we are using higher-brightness EL wire in the shop, it can only drive half as much, 1 to 7.5 feet (0.3 to 2.5 meter). We found that 2 meters gives a nice bright glow at good voltage and frequency. At 3 meters, its not as bright, it appears about the same as 'classic' EL.
-{{  http://www.ladyada.net/images/el-wire/coppertin_t.jpg?nolink&500x385  |}}
+Each meter of high brightness EL draws about 10-15mA at the high voltage, which means about 1.5 Watt/meter (at 100VAC). 2 AA batteries can provide 9 Watts, so you can drive 1 meter for about 6 hours or 2 meters for 3 hours. This is only approximate, as the voltage changes with the length. The best way to know how long the wire will last is to test it with batteries and time how long it takes to dim!
+All EL drivers run at 'audible' frequencies which means that you can hear a squeaking noise emanating from the driver case. This is totally normal, but a little annoying. You can reduce the squeaking by opening up the driver case and padding it with foam tape. You can also try wrapping it in bubble-wrap or foam sheet to reduce the noise. We've usually found people wearing EL wire at parties where it's quite loud already
 ==== EL wire modeling  ====
@@ Line 205: / Line 248: @@
-If you are using our 'high brightness, long life' stuff, its almost 2 Watts per meter.
+If you are using our 'high brightness, long life' stuff, its about 1.5 Watts per meter.
@@ Line 212: / Line 255: @@
-==== Inverter / Driver  ====
+==== Inverter / Driver (Details) ====

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