The 1200 sequenced LED party pants: A step by step

[junglesmacks]

Any recent pix???

Ok ok.. I can't deny. I'm going even bigger. Why limit it to just the pants? I decided to take an older Patagonia Capilene 3 thermal top, and sew 4" x 21" strips down each arm, and make 8 banks of 2x5 LEDS to coincide with the 8 channels on the pants. After making those patches all winter, it literally took me only a couple of hours from start to finish to make each one. It just gets easier the more you play with these.


This is a general overview of the strips..


Closeup.. Notice the 8 x 10 banks of LEDs. Remember how I'm using 18v as a source, so I figured that 5 LEDs in series with a 150 ohm resistor would work perfect?


Here's the underside of each strip. Check out the daisy chaining of all the positive leads, with one wire coming off the whole patch.. with a seperate trigger wire for each of the 8 channels on the negative side. This is basically how the pants will be wired too.



Ok.. here is the nitty gritty of the wiring. What I'm doing is using the negative side of each channel as the "trigger" coming off of the circuit board. All positives are getting summed up together. So, as you can see.. the positives are daisy chained from one positive connection to the next, with a 150ohm resistor per 5 LED string. It's important to note that it doesn't matter what side the resistor is on.. just that it's in there somewhere. I like it on the positive side just for the sake of uniformity.


Once you grasp the basics, it really is so easy. LEDs are a diode.. meaning the only let power go one way. Hook the positive up to positive and the negative to negative and voila.. you have light. The only planning is how much your source voltage is, and what kind of resistor you will need if any in order to limit the current going to it. I'm using 150ohm resistors because I have 5 LEDs in a series with 18v source voltage, but if I was say.. just daisy chaining single LEDs together with a 3v source voltage, I wouldn't need a resistor at all. I just want the LED to see 3v no matter what.

Think about what you're doing.. you'll get it. It's simple logic. Not hard.

This would bring the grand total of LEDs for the entire outfit to 1,320.

[junglesmacks]

..and now that I look at it.. hmm.. some single strips down the front and back would be sick.. maybe like 3 per front and back.. 8 single LEDs.. wired up to the 8 channels..



Somebody stop me!



(or don't)

[BBadger]

I really admire your patience in wiring up that thing. The time involved with soldering up that many diodes is what has stopped me from undertaking that kind of project.

[junglesmacks]

I really admire your patience in wiring up that thing. The time involved with soldering up that many diodes is what has stopped me from undertaking that kind of project.

Nah man.. this was my de-stressing and playa dreaming project alllll winter long. I enjoyed it. I would sit and be mellow on a night, pour some vodka and make a patch. You have a year! Go big! What if the makers of La Contessa pussed out?

Do it. Even now, it's so not that bad. Those arm patches took me only a few hours a piece to make. It's really so easy that I can't believe more don't do it.

Get a battery pack here: http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-st ... ers/1.html

Get some hookup wire at Radio Shack.

Get some LEDs in bulk off of Ebay or whatever.

Poke 'em through your clothes.. twist some wires.. solder the connections. Voila! You're hooked up and it's EASY!!! I can't stress it enough.

[lazerfox]

Nah man.. this was my de-stressing and playa dreaming project alllll winter long. I enjoyed it. I would sit and be mellow on a night, pour some vodka and make a patch. You have a year! Go big! What if the makers of La Contessa pussed out?

Do it. Even now, it's so not that bad. Those arm patches took me only a few hours a piece to make. It's really so easy that I can't believe more don't do it.

Get a battery pack here: http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-st ... ers/1.html

Get some hookup wire at Radio Shack.

Get some LEDs in bulk off of Ebay or whatever.

Poke 'em through your clothes.. twist some wires.. solder the connections. Voila! You're hooked up and it's EASY!!! I can't stress it enough.

Do you think it would be a similar process to work with EL-tape vs LEDs/EL wire?

[junglesmacks]

Do you think it would be a similar process to work with EL-tape vs LEDs/EL wire?

You'll have to be a little more specific as to what you mean

EL wire needs a "driver" to make it work, and it has batteries in it. You match the driver type to the length of wire.

LEDs need battery power, so you get a battery pack and wire them up either with the appropriate resistor if you are using more than 3.5v of power, or no resistor if you are using only a couple of AA batteries which will give you 3v. Each AA battery is 1.5v.

FWIW, LF.. I think that instead of trying to learn and wire up all the LEDs that I sent you for this year, you may be better off just getting a string of battery operated ones and making them work. We've got less than 4 weeks left, and this stuff shoulda been planned and done monthssss ago..

Check these out: http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=batter ... m270.l1313

Get creative with your Ebay search terms.. ie.. "blue led battery string" or whatever. Get on it though!!

[waxpraxis]

I was just thinking exactly the same thing. At this point either go with LED strips or el wire. If you know how to solder, el wire is a cinch. Hell, even if you don't know how to solder you can get pre-built lengths from coolneon.com and sew it onto just about anything you want.

[lazerfox]

Do you think it would be a similar process to work with EL-tape vs LEDs/EL wire?

You'll have to be a little more specific as to what you mean

EL wire needs a "driver" to make it work, and it has batteries in it. You match the driver type to the length of wire.

LEDs need battery power, so you get a battery pack and wire them up either with the appropriate resistor if you are using more than 3.5v of power, or no resistor if you are using only a couple of AA batteries which will give you 3v. Each AA battery is 1.5v.

FWIW, LF.. I think that instead of trying to learn and wire up all the LEDs that I sent you for this year, you may be better off just getting a string of battery operated ones and making them work. We've got less than 4 weeks left, and this stuff shoulda been planned and done monthssss ago..

Check these out: http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=batter ... m270.l1313

Get creative with your Ebay search terms.. ie.. "blue led battery string" or whatever. Get on it though!!

You are preaching to the choir about the having this done months ago...but tell that to my bf as he was in charge of this endeavor. I've decided either I give up my desire of having an EL-tape robe or just make it myself.

The LEDs are super easy and are not going to be a problem, my current issue is using EL-Tape.
And will it work like setting up EL-Wire. They are very different in look and I'm not sure if they are in construction. This is what I'm referring to:
1 option)http://electroluminescence-inc.com/ELtape.htm
2 option) http://www.lighttape.com/select_install_light_tape.asp?ContentId=581

[junglesmacks]

This is what I'm referring to:
1 option)http://electroluminescence-inc.com/ELtape.htm
2 option) http://www.lighttape.com/select_install_light_tape.asp?ContentId=581

Yes, that will work the same as EL wire. It get's it's power from a + and - source. Solder the wires, and you're done. You would have to contact the manufacturer to match the correct type of driver to the length of the EL tape that you are using. They should be able to help you with that.

[lazerfox]

Junglesmacks Sweet. That's all the info I needed. Thanks!!

waxpraxis thanks! If I can succesfully assemble this in time I may look at doing something on a smaller scale with that approach

You've both made my day!!!

[waxpraxis]

I can't wait to see what you make! Particularly since it's with el ribbon - that stuff is damn cool (particularly since you can trim the edges, poke holes in it, etc...

[lucky420]

WHAT! "trim edges, poke holes in it" dammint I never read the fine print...oh well there's always next year and other projects

[shroom]

I'd like to see the finished product. (and see this spammer guy deleted)

[junglesmacks]

Popcorn time!

So.. feeling the crunch, it's time to make the final push to get these suckers done.

I decided to use 1/2 closed cell foam from JoAnne's as a backer to each patch. This will cushion the solder joints and give them more strength. That's a whole other learning experience issue! I started having problems with the solder lines cracking and breaking where there was no wire reinforcement. Ugh. I went back on every single patch and relaid a huge bead of solder down everything. Oh, the learning experiences with this project. I'll sum them all up at the very end of this project.

The foam backing rectangles:



As far as the connections go, I got a couple of 9 pin make and female plugs from All Electronics. 9 pins being as that I have 8 channels of - trigger, and one common +. I'm using the negative side of each MOSFET as the trigger, and all patches see the same source of positive power. Since I'll have a top and a bottom, I'm having 2 - 9 pin connectors come off the board so that I can plug in the pants and/or the top separately. I just ordered a black fanny pack to carry the batter packs and board in. Also pictured is my new most FAVORITE tool thanks to waxpraxis's suggestion.. a pair of wire strippers. How I ever lived without all these years, I'll never know. Coolest things evaaar.




So, I sewed on each patch with the foam backing one by one.. and fed the wires to each patch through the foam and through a small hole in the pants. This was not easy.. trying to get the thread line perfect and just right to keep the patches on perfect and tight was no small challenge. Lots of patience required. But.. I got one whole side done minus the ends of the patches! I couldn't wait. Let's wire this sucker up and fire her off! Using nylon wire butt connectors, I ran a wire from each negative side of each patch up to the top, of course making sure to put a piece of tape on each one with a number. I ran one wire from each positive side of each patch to the next.. daisy chaining them all together.

So, without further adieu.. the first test firing of the 1200 LED party pants!! (Just one leg..)




What I love about this board is that it has 16 different built in patterns that you can cycle through by pushing the button. Imagine some of these on the dark playa when it's all complete...

Sorry for the crappy angle.. couldn't find way to hold phone and push button and get it all in the shot..





ALMOST HOME!!!



by the way.. it's lunchtime. Ribs from last weekend's BBQ anyone?



That's another issue altogether. I kinda sorta mastered the art of baby back rib cooking.. to. die. for. Need help?

[waxpraxis]

OMG! Amazing work man, simply amazing! I can't wait to see it out on the playa!

Also pictured is my new most FAVORITE tool thanks to waxpraxis's suggestion.. a pair of wire strippers. How I ever lived without all these years, I'll never know. Coolest things evaaar.

If anyone needed a badass pair of wirestrippers for this burn more than I did, it was you! Glad you're loving them as much as I do!

[junglesmacks]

OMG! Amazing work man, simply amazing! I can't wait to see it out on the playa!

Also pictured is my new most FAVORITE tool thanks to waxpraxis's suggestion.. a pair of wire strippers. How I ever lived without all these years, I'll never know. Coolest things evaaar.

If anyone needed a badass pair of wirestrippers for this burn more than I did, it was you! Glad you're loving them as much as I do!

Thanks brutha


omg.. and seriously. ..and I do tons and tons of electronics stuff regularly. Stereo installs on the boat, car, others peoples stuff.. everything.. I've stripped 10,000 wires in my life by hand easily. Every time I use them now I literally thank sweet baby jesus all wrapped up in a manger..

[lazerfox]

Can't wait until I am home and can witness the magic!

work blocks Youtube

[lazerfox]

Those look great!!

Well done JS!

[Igneouss]

Well done!

[illy dilly]

Your pants kick ass!

And also, thank you for all the help with getting my LEDs going!

[junglesmacks]

Here we have it! Not the best or most entertaining video in the world, but finally here is the whole suit for the first initial test. Still need to run final ends of the wires and plugs a little better and make up some kind of case/protection for the IC board, but here you get the general idea of the suit.

LESS THAN A WEEK TO GO!!!

[waxpraxis]

Gotta tell you man - that's seriously bad ass! Amazing work over a very long time. Color me impressed (along with blue and green if I get near you in the suit!)

[BBadger]

Damn! The only thing you need now is some awesome robotic voice and some lasers and shit. Though I'll probably be unidentifiable, at least I'll know who the awesome-suited dude is on the playa; I'll have to shake your hand when we meet.

[headquarters]

I love the big shit eating grin in that video! I can't believe how bright the suit is. IT's pretty much incredible!! Nice work

[EB]

Dude you HAVE to pick a time and place for everybody who's been following this thread to meet so we can CHECK OUT THOSE PANTS! They're AWESOME! Well done!

[junglesmacks]

THANK YOU all for the kind words! Talk about a serious labor of love. We're all guilty of it.. and damn it feels good, doesn't it? It's all such a learning experience and nothing but on to bigger and better each year whether it be for the burn or not. I think my next project will be with some RGB LEDs if I can find them for a decent enough price in bulk. Thankfully these were cheap enough via Asian connections.

I have to give props to Pete, the owner/founder/inventor behind PIC Projects as he was pretty patient with me in the beginning while I cut my teeth on LED theory and use. I'm eyeing some of his other kits for next year for sure. How funky could we get with this one?

Some final thoughts/evaluations for the next project:

My biggest concern and what is going to prove to be the weak spot in this is the weakness of the LED pins and all the flexing that is happening through natural movement. Since I have so many together in serial connections (5 + 150ohm resistor), they all share the same common ground and positive feed as you can see from the soldering pics. If just one of those LEDs pops the pin, the whole mini string goes. In the YouTube, to can see where I've already got one line out up on the top green right side. The other bad spot is where all the grounds are together as that's a pretty stiff rail of solder. The foam blocks should help the flexing, but still.. when they break, that's gonna be where it happens. Also, attaching so many LEDs in series with a fabric base is just asking for it. Too much flex, again. I'm brainstorming now what kind of different base I could use when building the banks of LEDs to stop the flex and how I can solder/attach them better so that the joints are stronger and so much pressure isn't put on those fragile little pins. Mini breadboard? Some type of posterboard backing under the fabric?

As you can see, these suckers are BRIGHT. These are all running at 15mA instead of the 20-25 that were called for. 15mA is plenty for super bright LEDs. I've got some 300 ohm - 1/2 watt resistors here that today along with some extra wire harnesses that I'm going to make a couple of inline packs to snap in for when I want to walk into a party and not be as bright as the Vegas strip.


Now comes the other fun part.. trying to gently transport all of this 2000 miles away through TSA and all..


..and there we have it! See you all in the dust. Love.

[junglesmacks]

I'm going to try and hold it all together until the MnG.. be there!

Dude you HAVE to pick a time and place for everybody who's been following this thread to meet so we can CHECK OUT THOSE PANTS! They're AWESOME! Well done!

[waxpraxis]

Hopefully I'll see you there! I'm trying to make sure my wife (in her butterfly wings) and I (in my disco suit) make it there as well! Cheers!

[shroom]

Awesome!!!!

[BBadger]

THANK YOU all for the kind words! Talk about a serious labor of love. We're all guilty of it.. and damn it feels good, doesn't it? It's all such a learning experience and nothing but on to bigger and better each year whether it be for the burn or not. I think my next project will be with some RGB LEDs if I can find them for a decent enough price in bulk. Thankfully these were cheap enough via Asian connections.

Let me know if you find them much cheaper than $0.15 each for 4-pin common anode/cathode LEDs. I'd like to buy large quantities for a good price too.