Glowies, Blinkies, UVies & Other Illuminations

[BBadger]

ooh... that stuff looks cool... so expensive though!!!

I guarantee you won't get the lumens off that that you would off the cold cathode though... for that wattage, they are very bright!

Yeah, even at the same light output from the source, those pipes absorb a bit. I haven't been able to find out where to source those light pipes elsewhere either. It makes me wonder what the cost is from the distributor.

[SnowBlind]

ooh... that stuff looks cool... so expensive though!!!

I guarantee you won't get the lumens off that that you would off the cold cathode though... for that wattage, they are very bright!

Yeah, even at the same light output from the source, those pipes absorb a bit. I haven't been able to find out where to source those light pipes elsewhere either. It makes me wonder what the cost is from the distributor.

The principle is cool, and they are probably more robust than elwire. On the other hand, at those prices, they are like 4 - 5 times more expensive than elwire. I wonder if that's worth it.

[capjbadger]

LEDs are good for directional light.
CCFLs are great for area light. I wore a couple 12" red ones on my hat and people were spotting me from 200' away as I zoomed by on a bike in the dark.

Yeah, the inner tube is glass, but the ones you get for computer case mods typically come with an outer hard plastic tube around that to protect it. Yeah, you can break them, but you'd have to give it a pretty good wack to do it.

Here's four 6" ones on the back of my MV:


-Badger

[BBadger]

Man, I found the ULTIMATE source for amazing playa bike illumination!

Beat it shill.

[trilobyte]

And the shill has, in fact, been beaten.

[MyDearFriend]

And the shill has, in fact, been beaten.

Hooray!!! And thank you.

[Bexx]

Big Lots is starting to drag the Halloween stuff out. Including battery operated Strobe lights and LED skeleton string lights - for those that are still looking for cool lights~!

[PurplMyst]

Just got bundles of cool LED options at Marshalls. They had lots of AA powered flower stake lights (for camp or bike) in various colors from $10-$17. I also came across a 6-pack of color-change LED tealites each with one big daisy on top for $7. They've also got some of the solar rechargeable garden stakes in different varieties.

[Mr.Coffee]

Hey guys, I've been racking my brain trying to find blinkies of late (shopping locally, trying to find decent deals at big lots and the like).

Anyway, I finally gave in and started searching ebay and google.
I found a couple of sites that all said they can get stuff here in time for the event (windycitynovelties.com, flashingblinkylights.com).
I just found magnetic blinkies from theglowpro for $0.45 each. couldn't get them on the phone to see if they'd ship in time for the event, but I ordered a bunch anyway.

Not trying to advertise, but if any of you have been pulling your hair out trying to round up the last couple things, I hope this might help you too.

[junglesmacks]

Forget all those other sites.. go to www.extremeglow.com. They have the lowest prices, period. They are actually the ones directly importing most of the stuff you see, and the other sites buy it from them and re-sell. Call and get a 10% discount on your first order, too. Fast shipping. Can't recommend enough.

[Eric]

I just found magnetic blinkies

The magnets will not hold.

I bought epoxy & pin-backs from a bead store and made all my magnetic blinkies into pin blinkies. I rushed & didn't sand the back of them so it's not perfect- definitely sand them with rough paper before gluing a backing on.

[Mr.Coffee]

I just found magnetic blinkies

The magnets will not hold.

I bought epoxy & pin-backs from a bead store and made all my magnetic blinkies into pin blinkies. I rushed & didn't sand the back of them so it's not perfect- definitely sand them with rough paper before gluing a backing on.

hrm, Thanks for that advice! I was wondering why they were so cheap. have you tried hot glue instead of epoxy? I'm a crack shot with a glue gun.

[BBadger]

Staple that shit. Don't puncture it of course, but the staple provides a nice mechanical hold to the surface you're using.

Oh and thanks for that Extreme Glow link Jungle!

[Mr.Coffee]

Staple that shit. Don't puncture it of course, but the staple provides a nice mechanical hold to the surface you're using.

Oh and thanks for that Extreme Glow link Jungle!

Yeah, troubles I would then be stapling to ME. I was planning to just zip-tie them on to my bike, and I'll make up a bunch to pin on to whatever clothes I'm wearing.

[tspinning]

Hello all,

Newb here and just wanted to chime in on my first EL-Wire experience. I wanted to build a cool blink/light system for my bike and decided to go with a variable sequencer and 7-10 strands of EL-Wire. After lots of search and solo deliberation I went for equipment from http://www.coolight.com/. Now I'm in no way affiliated with these guys but I wanted to come here and say how helpful they have been in assisting me with some issues on my first endeavor. First, I received all parts in super quick fashion and set to work soldering, shrinking, and blinking. About 2 weeks after getting all the stuff I was ready (last night, I'm a super slow solderer) to fire up the 10 channel sequencer and test my creation... however I was only using a 9v battery as the stated input voltage for the sequencer was 9v-12v.

Well, the sequencer did a few bursts but only on a quarter of the channels lit up and it didn't seem to be responding to my changes to the inputs as expected (strobe rate, pattern, delay). I called Coolight (after the close of their business day) and left a message asking for some assistance or possibly a replacement as my sequencer didn't seem to work correctly. Unexpectedly, (and awesomely) I got a call back within a couple hours from Joel who was very patient as I explained my idea/design, and what I was experiencing. He figured I might have a bad unit and told me he'd build a fresh one that night and run a full battery of tests with similar wire lengths to what i was using and ship it out the following day. GREAT! Well, Joel went above and beyond and called back again later after he built a new sequencer and did some testing with different voltage inputs, low and behold (I'm pretty new to electronics so I didn't even think about this) a 9v battery generally doesn't output 9v and unless using a wall-wart which delivers the stated output voltage a single 9v wouldn't provide the needed juice to cleanly power the circuitry in this unit. He explained some other battery options (12v seems to be the way to go) and I actually had a 12v cage (made up of 8 - 1.5v AA batteries) but only a few fresh AA's in the house so I swapped that battery pack in and tried another go. This time the sequencer fired off the expected pattern(s) twice before acting a bit odd, but this I now understand is due to having less then fresh (and some fresh) batteries in the cage. Joel went on to explain how he got the unit to work by splitting the inverter off the main battery input to use a separate battery while still using the standard 9v-12v input for the EL-Wire, great thinking! He also noted that a daisy chained (2x 9v) housing would probably work.

Today I'm thinking of what might be more cost effective or allow a rechargeable option and have come across some rechargeable 12v batteries on Amazon (UPG D5779 UB1280-F2 Universal Lead Acid Battery) and am trying to figure out (before purchase) if this might provide the needed power. I could buy a couple of these and a wall charger and (hopefully) power my bike light system for the 5 nights I'll be on playa... what do you think?

I know this is a bit long, but does anyone have any experience with quality (>5 aH) 12V rechargeable batteries? And lastly, thanks again to Joel and the www.coolight.com folks (who it turns out are long time burners) who have provided some guidance and of course the needed equipment to get me this far!

Cheers all- keep spinning!

[DustHand]

tspinning:

I have 2 of the 12 volt PS-1250 batteries found here:

http://www.power-sonic.com/images/powersonic/literature/SLA_Batteries/PS_PSH_and_PSG_Catalog_Web_Ready_July_5_2011.pdf

No affiliation, etc.

Also got a Harbor Freight charger, and I will rotate the 2 batteries each night. I am using them to drive a motorcycle ground effects kit that I will be attaching to my bike.

Should be more than enough juice...

[tspinning]

Thanks for the input DustHand, got a couple of those batteries on order now, so looking forward to this adventure!

[BBadger]

EL-wire inverters use a boosting circuit to produce the 100V or so needed to light up the EL wire. To attain this kind of voltage a decent amount of current is drawn from the battery. I think the main issue you were having with your EL-wire is that the 9V batteries can't source a whole lot of current, or if the can, they can't do it for very long. They're essentially built from 6x LR61 batteries, which are like AAAA batteries. Using 9V batteries for lighting is a really terrible value as far as mAH are concerned; though if you need to buy LR61 batteries, they'd make a good source of those batteries. Using 6x AA batteries is a much better choice, even if bulkier.

A 12V lantern battery will work nicely. They may be heavy, but on a bike it should be good to go. Make sure it's a deep cycle battery though. I'm not sure if they're already supposed to be. You could also get 8x D-cell alkaline batteries. Each D-cell alkaline provides about 12AH of life. I wouldn't bother with rechargeable D-cells unless you're really hell-bent on reusing them; they're pretty expensive.

Make sure you only drain your lead-acid battery to half before recharging. They're not meant to go below that if possible. That means only 4mAH or so per battery. Bring multiple batteries if necessary.

[tspinning]

Thanks BBadger, that is very helpful! I've ordered two PS-1250's and a PS-1270 from Power-Sonic (and a sweet smart charger) so I'm thinking that should be good to go. Hardest part now is tracking the package and hoping it gets here by next Wednesday when I need to ship the bulk of my gear to the left coast as I'm flying to San Diego and driving with friends from there...

[burningflyer]

Not a promotion just a tip

Your local Orchard Supply may have these LED lights in stock.

$3.49 Light Weight LED Headlamp & Flashlight Combo Pack #0000876060002052
The 3 lumen headlamp comes with a battery and the headband has a clip
The 9 LED 20 lumen flashlight takes 3 AAA batteries (not included)

$7.00 24 LED 3AA Worklight #0000820909518853
Flat enough to fit in your pocket and has a swivel hook and magnet

[BBadger]

Thanks BBadger, that is very helpful! I've ordered two PS-1250's and a PS-1270 from Power-Sonic (and a sweet smart charger) so I'm thinking that should be good to go. Hardest part now is tracking the package and hoping it gets here by next Wednesday when I need to ship the bulk of my gear to the left coast as I'm flying to San Diego and driving with friends from there...

If your shit gets ruined by shipping you can also buy some 6V lantern batteries, and rig them up in series to your bike. They're 6V each, and have 26AH, which should last you quite a long time (and you can drain them completely). They're also pretty cheap, and you can get them at department stores or even suffer the indignity of buying them from Radioshack.

[CaverX]

This is the only other source I have seen for side emitting fiber: http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Sideglow.htm
It is pretty close to the same price as the sparkfun link.
I am casually looking for a better source, but have found no options so far.

ooh... that stuff looks cool... so expensive though!!!

I guarantee you won't get the lumens off that that you would off the cold cathode though... for that wattage, they are very bright!

Yeah, even at the same light output from the source, those pipes absorb a bit. I haven't been able to find out where to source those light pipes elsewhere either. It makes me wonder what the cost is from the distributor.

[junglesmacks]

Whoaaaaa expensive. For half that price you could just go EL wire.

This is the only other source I have seen for side emitting fiber: http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Sideglow.htm
It is pretty close to the same price as the sparkfun link.
I am casually looking for a better source, but have found no options so far.

[DustHand]

For those looking for a quick and easy way to light up a bike (or whatever) these guys sell some easy and cool stuff. I got a lot of positive comments on my bike this year.
http://www.ledunderbody.com/

I got one of these, for only $49. Had to add a 12 volt gel cell, I charged it every other day, and it never got dim.
http://www.ledunderbody.com/Million-Color-LEDGlow-4pc-LED-ATV-Underbody-Neon-Lighting-Kit.aspx

Looks like they sell a lot of other kits with bigger light arrays, etc.

No affiliation, blah blah blah.
Just impressed with the ease of installation (used a bunch of zip ties) and loved the effect. mounted them all facing down, so it gave a very cool "floating on light" effect. Loved it.

[junglesmacks]

For about the same price though you can pick up a 16ft strip that will do all the same things and let you cut it into as many pieces as you want and add extension wires.. IR remote and patterns and everything.

16 ft of lights vs 3 ft of lights for same price. You tell me.

Search for "RGB SMD LED strip" on ebay.

You can cut them every 3 LEDs even with the exposed copper pads and solder jumper wires..

[some seeing eye]

We had a discussion of them over here viewtopic.php?f=278&t=51698&p=749811#p748636 with some pro and con.

Or search for LED Shoelaces on ePlaya, and if you need product information, you can search the shopping webs for them.

[tattoogoddess]

Head up, not sure if your dollar general has them in your area but they have them here- 150 hour ECO LED glow sticks for $2. The ones with the little batteries from LifeGear. They are bright!! They have them on their site for $2.99. They have one with a flashlight,whistle, and the led with 200 hours for $6.99 and the waterproof one for $9.99

I picked one up and am thinking about picking up the last 3 that where there tomm. Pretty good deal!! I got blue/teal. Turned it on in the dark and it actually kinda hurts my eyes.

[ibdave]

Good Bump TG,
right now it the time to start looking at all the great new solar lights- battery lights..
Be on the look out for sales and instead of the after rush for the shitty games, run for the lights at 50-75% off.. Think of that Burner in your xamas list and get them some sweet el wire kits.. you get my drift....

[tattoogoddess]

That is my plan! Stocking up on lights! Have not seen any battery powered ones though I think I need to look to find a pack that I can plug my lights into. Any leads? I just want to do it for my bike.

[Savannah]

Amazon has battery-powered christmas lights. Although I bought mine here (these are a newer model than the ones I have--I think . . . so I'm not sure how hardy they are):
http://www.displaycostume.com/store/20- ... rated.html

When possible, it's nice to have lights in duplicate, because lights have a way of breaking (particularly the small ones). I can get by with one mega-flashlight or lantern per burn, provided I have extra batteries, but it's nice to have two sets of body lights, and two clip lights for the portapotties (or one clip light and one headlamp).

I would wait 'til after Christmas and see if there are specials locally.