GFord
New Member
interested, can u pls tell me price,and also if u sell parts?
my email is fordentertainment@yahoo.com
My Best Regards,
my email is fordentertainment@yahoo.com
My Best Regards,
Tron Legacy Costume
- Thread starter Rook 3
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- tron legacy
tim
Sr Member
Parts suppliers for building your own Tron suit are found throughout the thread. For the electroluminescent tape or panels, I'd start with Large Electroluminescent Panels and Strip Lamps - LED Panels - LUMINOUSFILM.COM --USA. They will provide price quotes via email.
SliderOverride
New Member
hi
i have a question, i have now order some meter of the EL Tape for my costume.
i am not sure, is it possible to cut the EL Tape and reconnect the cutted part via 2 normal wire ?
like this:
So i found also this picture, but i think it will not work:
i need this to make curves with the EL Tape.
A other question is it possible to "bend" the EL Tape ? (also to make a curve)
how you do it?
i have a question, i have now order some meter of the EL Tape for my costume.
i am not sure, is it possible to cut the EL Tape and reconnect the cutted part via 2 normal wire ?
like this:
So i found also this picture, but i think it will not work:
i need this to make curves with the EL Tape.
A other question is it possible to "bend" the EL Tape ? (also to make a curve)
how you do it?
tim
Sr Member
It would be better to use a separate pair of wires for each piece of tape and connect them in parallel.i am not sure, is it possible to cut the EL Tape and reconnect the cutted part via 2 normal wire ?
like this:
Icey
Active Member
Question for the more electrically inclined than I: My Clu costume is currently lit with el wire, which is powered by three inverters/8 AA battery packs. I'm going to swap out the wire for SMD LED strips, so my question is whether or not it's ok to run the LED strips off the inverter as well. The only reason I ask this is that I did the robe version so I have multiple wires/connectors running into it so the splitters I have on the inverters make things very convenient for consolidating everything. If I can just cut my lead wire off my el wire and reattach it to the LED strips it would save me a lot of time, but if it could light me on fire then I have some work to do. Help is appreciated. Thanks.
Icey
Active Member
I kind of figured that would happen, which is why I asked before I did something stupid. 
I was planning on keeping the wiring and just cutting off the el wire connectors and adding 9v adapters so I can hook it directly to the battery pack, but the thing is that I have probably around 10 separate connections and I'd like to keep it running off the three packs. Since there's no armor or anything to hide wires under on the front, I'm fairly limited in that regard.
I was planning on keeping the wiring and just cutting off the el wire connectors and adding 9v adapters so I can hook it directly to the battery pack, but the thing is that I have probably around 10 separate connections and I'd like to keep it running off the three packs. Since there's no armor or anything to hide wires under on the front, I'm fairly limited in that regard.
SliderOverride
New Member
SliderOverride
New Member
Canobi
Sr Member
hi
i have a question, i have now order some meter of the EL Tape for my costume.
i am not sure, is it possible to cut the EL Tape and reconnect the cutted part via 2 normal wire ?
like this:
So i found also this picture, but i think it will not work:
i need this to make curves with the EL Tape.
A other question is it possible to "bend" the EL Tape ? (also to make a curve)
how you do it?
Hi SliderOverride
The top reference pic you've used was one I posted. Look up something called Wire Glue on eBay, it's a carbon based liquid that is very conductive when it's cured. Basically, remove a small area of the protective layer from the outer and inner contact bands from the underside of the tape. Make sure to leave the silver layer intact though, I use a craft knife to gently score my area and use my thumbnail to remove the coating from the area I have scored. If you don't have thumbnails, just go carefully when picking the protective layer off. Once that is done measure your wire to be about 5-10mm longer than you need (this helps to compensate for any curves the tape will follow around your body so it doesn't over stretch the contact points) then use something to rest on the wire as the glue dries as it will take a while, and is not sticky at all. Once dry coat the connections with a hard drying glue to add strength to the bonded areas.
I find doing it this way gives me greater flexibility when planning a design as I'm not restricted to having the connections just on the ends of the tape, they can be anywhare along its length.
SliderOverride
New Member
I really like your gone, but it sounds very complicated,
Yesterday i have make a easy test, i have try test connection,
i have connect one EL Tape (not cutted) with a other EL Tape (also not cutted)
i have pull out the isolation on the END of the first EL Tape and plug the wire of the other El Tape on it.
But if i do this i see a smal flash and it looks like a "rash action" so i turned it off because i think it will kill the EL Tape. (But the EL Tape is still working)
So i have "bend" "this" EL Tape (2cm).
So i search a other easy way for the other EL Tapes (1cm) i have, i see all the other costums, but I dont know how the others guys solve the problem, because i see no cuts on there EL Tape.
twinight
Active Member
hi
i have a question, i have now order some meter of the EL Tape for my costume.
i am not sure, is it possible to cut the EL Tape and reconnect the cutted part via 2 normal wire ?
So i found also this picture, but i think it will not work:
i need this to make curves with the EL Tape.
A other question is it possible to "bend" the EL Tape ? (also to make a curve)
how you do it?
I did the staple method pictured above and you still need to use conductive glue or paint on top to prevent arcing. If it arcs, it will burn the connection. I didn't have glue, but used conductive paint instead.
Most connections gave me no problems, but two of them would flicker and I've repainted 5-6 times. Make sure the conductive adhesive does not cross the white line or you will short out the connection. Tape with the scribe line down the middle is better for this since you have more than a 3mm strip on one side. And tape the connection down so the wire does not move. AT ALL
Folding the tape will not work. It breaks the phosphor and creates an open connection at the bend.
Hey Bandit, any idea what the brand/model of the desk is? The item number listed no longer pulls anything up on the OfficeDepot site, and I'd like to try finding it elsewhere. Thanks!
ALSO, awesome work Paul! Looks fantastic!
colonelmasako
Active Member
Tim already stated the answer to your first question. I would say this: depending on how many LED strips you intend to use, the gauge of your wire may matter greatly. LED strips average 100mA/foot. If you are using more than 8 feet of LED strip, then you will need thicker wire. 22AWG can only handle 780mA of current.
That leads to another issue: current usage. LED is the way to go in my opinion, but they are power hogs, its what you pay for that brightness. The best way to test your current needs is to measure your total needed length, and then juice it up with 12V (9V works ok too, just not as bright), then measure the current. Then you need to figure out if your battery can handle it. If you want it to last longer, then you need a higher capacity battery. A 9V battery, for example, will only give you 350mA for 1 hour. Lithium ion batteries, on average, give you >1200mA per hour. So if you want it to last longer, choose your battery appropriately.
ModernDayMarc
Well-Known Member
So I have a reel of led's, 5 meters(aprox 16 feet) and I hooked it up
so a 8aa 12v battery cage with the wire that was already attached
to the battery cage(pretty thin) It seemed to work just fine.
Is that going to affect performance somehow?
colonelmasako
Active Member
Well you will know your wire is too thin if your battery pack starts getting hotter than usual, and the lights will start to dim. At that point you are overdriving the current and killing the battery faster. It would get hot enough to burn you, but probably not catch fire (but is it worth the risk???)
How long did you drive this? Have you tried extended tests yet? Quick tests won't really show you have a problem, let it run for a while and see what happens (wait, don't, could be bad
) I made this mistake once, of using too thin a wire, and I only got 30 minutes out of my supply before it started getting REALLY hot and the lights dimmed.And with your 8aa battery cage, the highest current capacity primary cell battery available today (meaning not rechargeable) are the Energizer Advanced Lithium batteries. They give you 2000mAh. So your battery cage gives you 2A for 1 hour, and you are driving it with ~1.6A, so you would get ~1.3 hours out of it. IF you use these higher power AA batteries. Standard alkaline AA's only give you 500mA (though most manufacturers wont' specify it exactly, yet they do for the advanced lithium's).
16 feet of LED strip is nothing to scoff at. I would highly recommend going with something more robust than standard AAs. Check Ebay for 12V rechargeable Lithium Ion packs, one I bought for $25 has 6800mAh capacity and works great
Bandit-Jedi
Sr Member
The Brand was Realspace, which is an Office Depot furniture brand name.
The desk was a holiday item and is now discontinued. Some local stores might have some still in stock. My store just sold our display model today for $40. It was clearanced priced at $69.99 for any boxed units.
If you go to any local Office Depot bring the 644044 number with you and they can search the local inventory for any still available. If there is one at a different store location in the district they can most likely have it transferred and shipped to that store.
Last edited:
Icey
Active Member
I ordered 4 reels of 5 meters which is slightly over 65 feet, though my estimated usage is around 53 feet split between three battery packs. The packs are 12v already, so no worry about that. These are the packs I have which is why I said I needed 9v connectors, so apologies if it caused confusion. I'm currently using 22 gauge copper speaker wire to connect everything since I have it lying around and I was able to get a little over 4 hours of brightness on my el wire before I started to go dim with regular, non LiIon batteries and that's with probably 80+ feet of wire.
This is my first foray into electrical anything, so I kind of get what you're saying about the foot/mA thing, but I know I will have more than 8 feet strung together, especially now that I can't have a separate connection like I have for each section now. Hell, the cape alone will have more than that. I can't say for certain what lengths will connect to which battery pack since I've yet to start the swap, but based off what little I've said, what gauge wire would you recommend?
tim
Sr Member
Actually, it's the wire that would get hot and provide your first warning sign.
As for making mechanically strong connections to EL tape, I've used ETCO clips. See my tutorial here: http://www.therpf.com/f24/tron-legacy-costume-88230/index193.html#post2025108.
Annisse
Sr Member
I saw your post awhile back regarding this Wire Glue. You are making me want to redo my entire Quorra costume with this glue to get rid of all my copper connections which are causing blackout spots when looking at my suit in person or with close up photography, I still hate them though. Wish I would have discovered this Wire Glue earlier. Actually, there is ALOT of other wishes when trying to light my Quorra suit I wish I knew about last year. Like discovering the amazing LuminousFilm.com product I used to light my final suit. That stuff is amazing! I think would work well with the Wire Glue you are using.
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