I don't know if any of you have watched the special feature "Visualizing Tron" on the dvd yet, but it shows you a REALLY good look on how they wired their EL tape to the costume, and the bare bones of the costumes.
Also, about the blue tinge to the white EL tape issue...if you watch on the dvd, where they show Sam and Gem behind the scenes, in one shot their EL tape looks like it's a very pale blue. I think it has to so with the lighting.
And I know this is going to sound repetitive and generally stupid to some of you, but can someone give me a step by step process on what to do after you wire the speaker wire to the EL Tape? How do you rewire it back to the inverter? Also, where do you get the sealant tape to close up the cut end of the EL Tape? Or can you just use something basic?
Before I start cutting into my stuff, I really, REALLY want to be self-aware of what I'm doing. Kinda want it pounded into my head. I know it's simply wiring to some of you, but this is my first go at it, and I want to make sure I don't waste money by completely busting my EL Tape -_-.
I'd really appreciate it if someone can put it in simple terms for me...thanks!
As far as sealing and attaching your speaker wire/22g wire to the EL tape, I think its good to use heat shrink wrap designed for it. This link has a website that sells all of this stuff for reasonable prices:
Assembly Tools - Connecting El Wire
The way I connected my sections was to order the EL connectors this website offers. Most inverters have the female side connectors already present. You can order the male connectors and wire them fairly simply. it requires a steady hand, precise soldering skills, and a pair of pliers.
I'll post pics later, but step by step:
1. You order the connectors as a plastic shell with the two metal pins separate. Since they are so cheap, its a good idea to buy extras to practice with. The pins have flaps to hold the wire in, and must be folded down to fit in the plastic shell. And the plastic shell only lets the pins go in 1 way.
2. Get a pair of helping hands grabbers and a soldering iron. Strip the wire down to some very small length of exposed copper: 1/16" is all you need.
3. Put the pins for the shell in the grabbers, and put a SMALL amount of solder in the cup there and solder the wire to it. Emphasis on small: if its too big, you can't adjust the metal flaps.
4. Fold the metal flaps down onto the wire. This take practice and is tricky.
5. If you did it right, the pins should just nicely snap into the connector. If its giving you some trouble, its not too risky to use a small screw driver to push it in. Be careful not to push it too far, or you bend the contacts and ruin the connector and you have to start all over. The pins make a very satisfying "snap" sound when inserted properly.
Once you get this process down, you do this to all your EL wire/tape sections and create a wiring harness that extends from your inverter sets. Its VERY important you maintain your polarity, or something will go boom when you turn it on. I used a red sharpie to double check I kept the two contacts consistent. Once you build it right, you won't have to worry about it when its all ready to hook up: the connectors only let you plug it one way. Another thing: I find that the wires can become delicate in these connectors, at least the way I built it. A drop of hot glue in there to hold that wire tight to the plastic really makes it tough and durable.
Another option: that website sells pre-soldered sections of connector wires. It is a simpler task to solder two wires together: twist them together, put a solder layer over it to strengthen it, then seal with heat shrink. I did it the other way because I wanted to be able to customize how long my cables were.
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