This project will automatically turn on an EL panel with a mercury tilt switch. By extending your arm or raising it slightly, the mercury will complete the circuit, resulting in the EL panel to light up brightly whether solid or blinking. Give this project a try, and you’ll be amazed.
Electroluminescent (EL) Panel Starter Pack – 10cm x 10cm Red, Blue, White and Aqua
We spent a long time find the best panels with the brightest and most even colors – AND would work great with our pocket inverter. They’re in stock and we think you’re going to do some amazing things with them! These are the packs, so it has ALL you need to get started!
Get glowing in seconds with our Electroluminescent (EL) Panel Starter Pack! This pack contains everything you need for your first EL panel project, even the batteries!
So, this is a project that was nearly a month in the making. I set out to make a sound-reactive EL panel but found that driving EL in such a way is actually kind of difficult. If you’ve been following the blog, I’ve been working on this project in one way or another since my transformers article, and it’s actually the reason I wrote that article.
Again, a disclaimer. There are over 8,000 words in this post that document all of my design decisions on this project. It is not a how-to guide, but if you have some background in EE, I hope that you gain something from it.
EL materials (wire, tape, panels) are an odd bunch. No matter where you look, EL panels seem to be always be made very cheaply and with very little documentation. There doesn’t seem to be any “pro” version of the stuff.
So my goal with this project was to try to exert more sophisticated control over EL materials. So far, everyone can seem to make EL blink fairly easily, but if I know my electronics, fancy gadgets don’t have blinking lights, they have pulsing lights that fade in and out gradually. This is usually because blinking a light is much simpler than dimming one.
So I want to make a dimming EL panel driver. And what the hell, let’s make it react to sound too.
Add a little audio-reactivity to your EL projects! Video on YouTube and Vimeo.
EL Wire 6V Sound Activated Pocket Inverter. A small, portable inverter for EL wire with an audio input! This inverter has a little microphone and will light the connected EL according to the surrounding audio volume. Makes for an easy reactive project.
This inverter requires 6V input (it works great with our 4xAA battery holder) and it can drive 2-3 meters (7 to 10 feet) of our high-brightness EL wire OR 1 meter (3 feet) of EL tape OR a 10cmx10cm piece of EL panel continuously for about 21 hours (off of 4xAAs).
There is a switch for selecting steady/sound/off modes – steady is always on. Comes with a single 2.5mm pitch female JST connectors, standard for all the EL wire and tape we carry. Theres also two power wires, youll need to connect these to a 6VDC power source.
You can plug any of our EL wire/tape into this inverter directly. To connect a raw piece EL wire to this, youll want a male connector wire
The EL inverter requires a load to stabilize itself. Do not run the inverter without at least 2 ft of EL wire attached! Otherwise the inverter can spike and damage itself
Like all inverters weve used, the 2000 Hz oscillation is slightly audible. To reduce the squeaking, we suggest opening up the case padding it with thick foam tape/weatherstripping. Squirting some hot glue around the capacitors may also help. We managed to get it silent this way.
Check out our EL TRON bag tutorial for ideas, as well as the EL wire couch video!
Soldering to raw EL wire is a little tricky but luckily we wrote a detailed step-by-step tutorial! The tutorial also covers a lot of information about EL and how it works.
sean-h on Instructables made this impressive Sam Flynn costume from Tron Legacy using all sorts of EL goodies, and documented the build quite nicely.
Electroluminescent (EL) Tape/Strip Starter Packs! – 100cm – White, Green, Blue, Aqua and Red. Get glowing in seconds with our Electroluminescent (EL) Tape Starter Pack! This pack contains everything you need for your first EL tape project, even the batteries.
Add a little audio-reactivity to your EL projects! Video on YouTube and Vimeo.
EL Wire 6V Sound Activated Pocket Inverter. A small, portable inverter for EL wire with an audio input! This inverter has a little microphone and will light the connected EL according to the surrounding audio volume. Makes for an easy reactive project.
This inverter requires 6V input (it works great with our 4xAA battery holder) and it can drive 2-3 meters (7 to 10 feet) of our high-brightness EL wire OR 1 meter (3 feet) of EL tape OR a 10cmx10cm piece of EL panel continuously for about 21 hours (off of 4xAAs).
There is a switch for selecting steady/sound/off modes – steady is always on. Comes with a single 2.5mm pitch female JST connectors, standard for all the EL wire and tape we carry. Theres also two power wires, youll need to connect these to a 6VDC power source.
You can plug any of our EL wire/tape into this inverter directly. To connect a raw piece EL wire to this, youll want a male connector wire
The EL inverter requires a load to stabilize itself. Do not run the inverter without at least 2 ft of EL wire attached! Otherwise the inverter can spike and damage itself
Like all inverters weve used, the 2000 Hz oscillation is slightly audible. To reduce the squeaking, we suggest opening up the case padding it with thick foam tape/weatherstripping. Squirting some hot glue around the capacitors may also help. We managed to get it silent this way.
Soldering to raw EL wire is a little tricky but luckily we wrote a detailed step-by-step tutorial! The tutorial also covers a lot of information about EL and how it works.
NEW PRODUCT – EL Wire 6V Sound Activated Pocket Inverter. A small, portable inverter for EL wire with an audio input! This inverter has a little microphone and will light the connected EL according to the surrounding audio volume. Makes for an easy reactive project.
This inverter requires 6V input (it works great with our 4xAA battery holder) and it can drive 2-3 meters (7 to 10 feet) of our high-brightness EL wire OR 1 meter (3 feet) of EL tape OR a 10cmx10cm piece of EL panel continuously for about 21 hours (off of 4xAA’s).
There is a switch for selecting steady/sound/off modes – steady is ‘always on’. Comes with a single 2.5mm pitch female JST connectors, standard for all the EL wire and tape we carry. There’s also two power wires, you’ll need to connect these to a 6VDC power source.
You can plug any of our EL wire/tape into this inverter directly. To connect a ‘raw’ piece EL wire to this, you’ll want a male connector wire
The EL inverter requires a ‘load’ to stabilize itself. Do not run the inverter without at least 2 ft of EL wire attached! Otherwise the inverter can spike and damage itself
Like all inverters we’ve used, the 2000 Hz oscillation is slightly audible. To reduce the squeaking, we suggest opening up the case padding it with thick foam tape/weatherstripping. Squirting some hot glue around the capacitors may also help. We managed to get it silent this way.
Soldering to raw EL wire is a little tricky but luckily we wrote a detailed step-by-step tutorial! The tutorial also covers a lot of information about EL and how it works.
This weekend, I road-tripped from Sacramento to LA. And like any good maker, I tried to think of a project to work on during the 6+ hour drive…enter the abandoned EL wire. I figured instead of waiting for inspiration to strike, I’d instead geek-ify my purse. By lovingly adapting the TRON bag project by Ladyada & Becky Stern, I created the YATB (Yet Another TRON Bag).
In all honesty, it was the perfect car project. Plus, I fell in love with EL wire. Seriously, this stuff is the best. Super easy to work with and has the power to transform everyday items into geeky goodness, just like YATB.
So are you planning a long car trip and need something to pass the time? I would highly suggest making your own YATB! All you need is some clear thread, a needle, EL wire and some patience as you stitch, and stitch, and stitch, and stitch…
It’s easy to add EL wire to furniture! Welted EL wire is great for applying with a stapler while standard EL wire makes great upholstery piping. Learn both techniques, as well as soldering to make easy-connect sections (if your couch is a sectional). Video on YouTube and Vimeo.
My last project was made a lot easier by some of Adafruits well selected products. The El wire extender and splitter made this a snap. Thanks for help making this possible.
As Advanced Materials Month enters its final week, we’re gathering together some of the coolest projects from the dusty archives of MAKE. Next up, projects using electro-luminescent wire! Above, check out this bicycle with pedal-powered EL wire!
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