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will the rope light?
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Hactar
Apr 28, 2013, 8:57:54 PM4/28/13
to
So I have this crazy idea of rigging up a switch and 14 9v batteries in
series (they have these convient terminals) and using that to power an
LED rope light to decorate my wheels. How do I find out if a rope light
works on DC? I have no diodes or test equipment at home. I figure
someone in the Engineering department at the local university (at which
I'm a student) can test it, but short of pounding on likely-looking
doors, anyone have a good idea? The rope appears to flicker, but I don't
know if it's the whole rope on for half the cycle then off for half the
cycle, or two halves of the rope taking turns being on.
--
-eben QebWe...@vTerYizUonI.nOetP royalty.mine.nu:81
LIBRA: A big promotion is just around the corner for someone
much more talented than you. Laughter is the very best medicine,
remember that when your appendix bursts next week. -- Weird Al
series (they have these convient terminals) and using that to power an
LED rope light to decorate my wheels. How do I find out if a rope light
works on DC? I have no diodes or test equipment at home. I figure
someone in the Engineering department at the local university (at which
I'm a student) can test it, but short of pounding on likely-looking
doors, anyone have a good idea? The rope appears to flicker, but I don't
know if it's the whole rope on for half the cycle then off for half the
cycle, or two halves of the rope taking turns being on.
--
-eben QebWe...@vTerYizUonI.nOetP royalty.mine.nu:81
LIBRA: A big promotion is just around the corner for someone
much more talented than you. Laughter is the very best medicine,
remember that when your appendix bursts next week. -- Weird Al
Snidely
Apr 29, 2013, 1:01:47 AM4/29/13
to
On Sunday, Hactar queried:
> So I have this crazy idea of rigging up a switch and 14 9v batteries in
> series (they have these convient terminals) and using that to power an
> LED rope light to decorate my wheels. How do I find out if a rope light
> works on DC? I have no diodes or test equipment at home. I figure
> someone in the Engineering department at the local university (at
that run on 110V AC. The former, in it's snowflake incarnation, has 10
lamps well spaced over a 6 ft span, which may not be dense enough for
the effect you want. The string with the stars uses a wall wart to put
24VDC on a 15' string, but I didn't count the stars. More than 10,
though.
I used to have actual rope lights, but I'm not sure I waited long
enough to get LED ones. I think I have an indoor/outdoor string of LED
lights that imitate the mini-bulbs that dominated for the last 30
years, but it isn't anyplace convenient, so I don't expect to disect it
soon.
/dps "or even to bisect it"
--
Maybe C282Y is simply one of the hangers-on, a groupie following a
future guitar god of the human genome: an allele with undiscovered
virtuosity, currently soloing in obscurity in Mom's garage.
Bradley Wertheim, theAtlantic.com, Jan 10 2013
> So I have this crazy idea of rigging up a switch and 14 9v batteries in
> series (they have these convient terminals) and using that to power an
> LED rope light to decorate my wheels. How do I find out if a rope light
> works on DC? I have no diodes or test equipment at home. I figure
> someone in the Engineering department at the local university (at
> I'm a student) can test it, but short of pounding on likely-looking
> doors, anyone have a good idea? The rope appears to flicker, but I don't
> know if it's the whole rope on for half the cycle then off for half the
> cycle, or two halves of the rope taking turns being on.
Ikea has LED light strings that run on 2x AA cells, as well as ones
> doors, anyone have a good idea? The rope appears to flicker, but I don't
> know if it's the whole rope on for half the cycle then off for half the
> cycle, or two halves of the rope taking turns being on.
that run on 110V AC. The former, in it's snowflake incarnation, has 10
lamps well spaced over a 6 ft span, which may not be dense enough for
the effect you want. The string with the stars uses a wall wart to put
24VDC on a 15' string, but I didn't count the stars. More than 10,
though.
I used to have actual rope lights, but I'm not sure I waited long
enough to get LED ones. I think I have an indoor/outdoor string of LED
lights that imitate the mini-bulbs that dominated for the last 30
years, but it isn't anyplace convenient, so I don't expect to disect it
soon.
/dps "or even to bisect it"
--
Maybe C282Y is simply one of the hangers-on, a groupie following a
future guitar god of the human genome: an allele with undiscovered
virtuosity, currently soloing in obscurity in Mom's garage.
Bradley Wertheim, theAtlantic.com, Jan 10 2013
Sano
Apr 29, 2013, 3:41:14 AM4/29/13
to
ebenZ...@verizon.net (Hactar) wrote in news:i5t05a-...@pc.home:
> So I have this crazy idea of rigging up a switch and 14 9v batteries
> in series (they have these convient terminals) and using that to
> power an LED rope light to decorate my wheels. How do I find out if
> a rope light works on DC? I have no diodes or test equipment at
> home. I figure someone in the Engineering department at the local
> university (at which I'm a student) can test it, but short of
> pounding on likely-looking doors, anyone have a good idea? The rope
> appears to flicker, but I don't know if it's the whole rope on for
> half the cycle then off for half the cycle, or two halves of the
> rope taking turns being on.
Use LED strips made for motorcycles? Run on 12V. AFAIK all LEDs run on
DC voltage anyway.
Google search: http://tinyurl.com/cqf32ps
I have a couple of pieces of red to add to the brake light display on
my old(er) motor-putt-putt.
> So I have this crazy idea of rigging up a switch and 14 9v batteries
> in series (they have these convient terminals) and using that to
> power an LED rope light to decorate my wheels. How do I find out if
> a rope light works on DC? I have no diodes or test equipment at
> home. I figure someone in the Engineering department at the local
> university (at which I'm a student) can test it, but short of
> pounding on likely-looking doors, anyone have a good idea? The rope
> appears to flicker, but I don't know if it's the whole rope on for
> half the cycle then off for half the cycle, or two halves of the
> rope taking turns being on.
DC voltage anyway.
Google search: http://tinyurl.com/cqf32ps
I have a couple of pieces of red to add to the brake light display on
my old(er) motor-putt-putt.
Hactar
Apr 29, 2013, 10:14:14 AM4/29/13
to
In article <mn.e5297dd4ee26ba91.127094@snitoo>,
vinyl tube. What I've done in the past is manually put one of those
in a 1/2"-5/8" clear vinyl tube from e.g. Lowe's.
> as well as ones
> that run on 110V AC. The former, in it's snowflake incarnation, has 10
> lamps well spaced over a 6 ft span, which may not be dense enough for
> the effect you want.
It's not. What I've been using is two strings per wheel. What I'd like
to do is have a power distribution network with one master switch and a
6v battery and then have a voltage converter on each wheel, but I'd
need a slip ring to pass the power to each wheel. Those are easily had,
but I couldn't find a way to get/make one that would come apart and have
the pieces be physically robust. I mean, sometimes the chair gets put in
a car trunk, which is dirty and there are forces in odd directions.
Maybe some kind of inductive thingy would do, like in an electic
toothbrush base, but that sounds complex.
> The string with the stars uses a wall wart to put
> 24VDC on a 15' string, but I didn't count the stars. More than 10,
> though.
I'd probably get a string, so I can make some design that sticks close to
the spokes (it's a bicycle-style wheel) for robustness. But that's a
good idea -- find a rope light with a wall wart, then I KNOW it works on
DC. Plus 24 VDC is a bit safer than 126 VDC. I might approximate
24 ~= 3*9 because that's a lot more compact than 24 = 16*1.5, and that's
only a 12.5% overvoltage. Or 24 = 2*9 + 4*1.5, but mixing battery types
like that bothers me though.
> I used to have actual rope lights, but I'm not sure I waited long
> enough to get LED ones.
LED is practically a requirement if you're running from battery.
Incandescent bulbs will drain a normal-size battery in a day or so.
> I think I have an indoor/outdoor string of LED
> lights that imitate the mini-bulbs that dominated for the last 30
> years, but it isn't anyplace convenient, so I don't expect to disect it
> soon.
Thanks. Maybe attacking this string with a multimeter would be
informative.
Snidely <snide...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sunday, Hactar queried:
>
> > So I have this crazy idea of rigging up a switch and 14 9v batteries in
> > series (they have these convient terminals) and using that to power an
> > LED rope light to decorate my wheels. How do I find out if a rope light
> > works on DC? I have no diodes or test equipment at home. I figure
> > someone in the Engineering department at the local university (at
> > I'm a student) can test it, but short of pounding on likely-looking
> > doors, anyone have a good idea? The rope appears to flicker, but I don't
> > know if it's the whole rope on for half the cycle then off for half the
> > cycle, or two halves of the rope taking turns being on.
>
> Ikea has LED light strings that run on 2x AA cells,
Right, those are all over the place. But they're not protected in a
> On Sunday, Hactar queried:
>
> > So I have this crazy idea of rigging up a switch and 14 9v batteries in
> > series (they have these convient terminals) and using that to power an
> > LED rope light to decorate my wheels. How do I find out if a rope light
> > works on DC? I have no diodes or test equipment at home. I figure
> > someone in the Engineering department at the local university (at
> > I'm a student) can test it, but short of pounding on likely-looking
> > doors, anyone have a good idea? The rope appears to flicker, but I don't
> > know if it's the whole rope on for half the cycle then off for half the
> > cycle, or two halves of the rope taking turns being on.
>
> Ikea has LED light strings that run on 2x AA cells,
vinyl tube. What I've done in the past is manually put one of those
in a 1/2"-5/8" clear vinyl tube from e.g. Lowe's.
> as well as ones
> that run on 110V AC. The former, in it's snowflake incarnation, has 10
> lamps well spaced over a 6 ft span, which may not be dense enough for
> the effect you want.
to do is have a power distribution network with one master switch and a
6v battery and then have a voltage converter on each wheel, but I'd
need a slip ring to pass the power to each wheel. Those are easily had,
but I couldn't find a way to get/make one that would come apart and have
the pieces be physically robust. I mean, sometimes the chair gets put in
a car trunk, which is dirty and there are forces in odd directions.
Maybe some kind of inductive thingy would do, like in an electic
toothbrush base, but that sounds complex.
> The string with the stars uses a wall wart to put
> 24VDC on a 15' string, but I didn't count the stars. More than 10,
> though.
the spokes (it's a bicycle-style wheel) for robustness. But that's a
good idea -- find a rope light with a wall wart, then I KNOW it works on
DC. Plus 24 VDC is a bit safer than 126 VDC. I might approximate
24 ~= 3*9 because that's a lot more compact than 24 = 16*1.5, and that's
only a 12.5% overvoltage. Or 24 = 2*9 + 4*1.5, but mixing battery types
like that bothers me though.
> I used to have actual rope lights, but I'm not sure I waited long
> enough to get LED ones.
Incandescent bulbs will drain a normal-size battery in a day or so.
> I think I have an indoor/outdoor string of LED
> lights that imitate the mini-bulbs that dominated for the last 30
> years, but it isn't anyplace convenient, so I don't expect to disect it
> soon.
informative.
Stanley Daniel de Liver
Apr 30, 2013, 6:43:31 AM4/30/13
to
On Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:57:54 +0100, Hactar <ebenZ...@verizon.net> wrote:
> So I have this crazy idea of rigging up a switch and 14 9v batteries in
> series (they have these convient terminals) and using that to power an
> LED rope light to decorate my wheels.
Urgh!
> So I have this crazy idea of rigging up a switch and 14 9v batteries in
> series (they have these convient terminals) and using that to power an
> LED rope light to decorate my wheels.
--
It's a money /life balance.
Hactar
Apr 30, 2013, 10:03:09 AM4/30/13
to
In article <op.wwcn2tiio4et73@dell3100>,
Stanley Daniel de Liver <ad...@127.0.0.1> wrote:
> On Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:57:54 +0100, Hactar <ebenZ...@verizon.net> wrote:
>
> > So I have this crazy idea of rigging up a switch and 14 9v batteries in
> > series (they have these convient terminals) and using that to power an
> > LED rope light to decorate my wheels.
>
> Urgh!
Jool!
> On Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:57:54 +0100, Hactar <ebenZ...@verizon.net> wrote:
>
> > So I have this crazy idea of rigging up a switch and 14 9v batteries in
> > series (they have these convient terminals) and using that to power an
> > LED rope light to decorate my wheels.
>
> Urgh!
Greg Goss
Apr 30, 2013, 1:08:53 PM4/30/13
to
ebenZ...@verizon.net (Hactar) wrote:
>I'd
>need a slip ring to pass the power to each wheel. Those are easily had,
>but I couldn't find a way to get/make one that would come apart and have
>the pieces be physically robust. I mean, sometimes the chair gets put in
>a car trunk, which is dirty and there are forces in odd directions.
>Maybe some kind of inductive thingy would do, like in an electic
>toothbrush base, but that sounds complex.
I'm not sure if you want inductive power transfer that close to your
>I'd
>need a slip ring to pass the power to each wheel. Those are easily had,
>but I couldn't find a way to get/make one that would come apart and have
>the pieces be physically robust. I mean, sometimes the chair gets put in
>a car trunk, which is dirty and there are forces in odd directions.
>Maybe some kind of inductive thingy would do, like in an electic
>toothbrush base, but that sounds complex.
seat. They're PROBABLY safe, but I wouldn't want anything like that
too close to organs that I keep near my chair.
--
I used to own a mind like a steel trap.
Perhaps if I'd specified a brass one, it
wouldn't have rusted like this.
Hactar
Apr 30, 2013, 2:27:06 PM4/30/13
to
In article <auac51...@mid.individual.net>,
trucks/boats/etc. I'll make 12 V from two 4D packs or four 2D packs
(they balance while an 8D case won't, plus I might be able to slip them
between the spokes). I just have to save up a while -- we're looking at
$60+.
If I get fancy I'll use two ropes per wheel, so that the design appears
to change color depending on the angle you see it from, but since the
design rotates, it'd be weird. Theoretically I could get really fancy
and wire up an Arduino to do some bizarre stuff, but I'm not that fancy.
Or that rich.
Greg Goss <go...@gossg.org> wrote:
> ebenZ...@verizon.net (Hactar) wrote:
>
> >I'd
> >need a slip ring to pass the power to each wheel. Those are easily had,
> >but I couldn't find a way to get/make one that would come apart and have
> >the pieces be physically robust. I mean, sometimes the chair gets put in
> >a car trunk, which is dirty and there are forces in odd directions.
> >Maybe some kind of inductive thingy would do, like in an electic
> >toothbrush base, but that sounds complex.
>
> I'm not sure if you want inductive power transfer that close to your
> seat. They're PROBABLY safe, but I wouldn't want anything like that
> too close to organs that I keep near my chair.
There's apparently lots of 12 VDC rope lights out there, for use on
> ebenZ...@verizon.net (Hactar) wrote:
>
> >I'd
> >need a slip ring to pass the power to each wheel. Those are easily had,
> >but I couldn't find a way to get/make one that would come apart and have
> >the pieces be physically robust. I mean, sometimes the chair gets put in
> >a car trunk, which is dirty and there are forces in odd directions.
> >Maybe some kind of inductive thingy would do, like in an electic
> >toothbrush base, but that sounds complex.
>
> I'm not sure if you want inductive power transfer that close to your
> seat. They're PROBABLY safe, but I wouldn't want anything like that
> too close to organs that I keep near my chair.
trucks/boats/etc. I'll make 12 V from two 4D packs or four 2D packs
(they balance while an 8D case won't, plus I might be able to slip them
between the spokes). I just have to save up a while -- we're looking at
$60+.
If I get fancy I'll use two ropes per wheel, so that the design appears
to change color depending on the angle you see it from, but since the
design rotates, it'd be weird. Theoretically I could get really fancy
and wire up an Arduino to do some bizarre stuff, but I'm not that fancy.
Or that rich.
Snidely
May 1, 2013, 1:41:11 AM5/1/13
to
Hactar submitted this idea :
> If I get fancy I'll use two ropes per wheel, so that the design appears
> to change color depending on the angle you see it from, but since the
> design rotates, it'd be weird. Theoretically I could get really fancy
> and wire up an Arduino to do some bizarre stuff, but I'm not that fancy.
> Or that rich.
GEt the right rope, the Arduino is already there ... and maybe with a
speaker, too.
/dps
--
But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. One must have a reason
to 'be happy.'"
Viktor Frankl
> If I get fancy I'll use two ropes per wheel, so that the design appears
> to change color depending on the angle you see it from, but since the
> design rotates, it'd be weird. Theoretically I could get really fancy
> and wire up an Arduino to do some bizarre stuff, but I'm not that fancy.
> Or that rich.
speaker, too.
/dps
--
But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. One must have a reason
to 'be happy.'"
Viktor Frankl
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