http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2010/12/07/tutorial-el-wire-electroluminescent-wire/:
EL is ‘cold’ – the wires generate no heat!
EL wire requires a driver/inverter that can provide 400-2000 Hz, 60-120VAC (that’s
RMS not peak-to-peak!)
Higher frequency/voltage results in a brighter wire
Running the wire brighter will lead to a reduced lifetime (how many hours it takes until its
half-brightness)
Our high-brightness/long-life EL wire can be driven at 100V/2000Hz for 3000 hours
before it is half the original brightness
EL wire is capacitive, and cannot be PWM’ed or easily dimmed (unless you can adjust the
voltage/frequency of the inverter)
The more wire you connect to an inverter, the more ‘loaded’ it is and the dimmer it will
be our AA pocket driver can drive about 2.5 meters before it starts dimming significantly.
2 meters is a good amount, 3 is OK but wont be as bright.
If you ‘split’ and connect more than one piece of EL to an inverter, count the total length
of all the pieces
The AA inverter works best with fresh batteries, but you can use rechargables – it’ll just
be dimmer because the input voltage is lower.
The capacitance ‘load’ of the EL is required to stabilize the inverter so never run the
inverter without at least 1 foot of EL attached!
Characteristics of EL Wire:
1. Flexible
2. Energy saving
3. Easy to install
4. Cool to the touch
5. Available in many color
6. Available in continuous lengths (ranges several inches to thousands of feet.)
7. Powered by either batteries or house outlets
8. Suitable for ornaments and jewelry
9. Can be cut and spliced
10. Enables braiding or looping
11. Water resistant and weather durable
EL Wire Quickstart Guide
https://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/404
Technical Information
EL is ‘cold’ – the wires generate no heat!
EL wire requires a driver/inverter that can provide 400-2000 Hz, 60-120VAC (that’s
RMS not peak-to-peak!)
Higher frequency/voltage results in a brighter wire
Running the wire brighter will lead to a reduced lifetime (how many hours it takes until its
half-brightness)
Our high-brightness/long-life EL wire can be driven at 100V/2000Hz for 3000 hours
before it is half the original brightness
EL wire is capacitive, and cannot be PWM’ed or easily dimmed (unless you can adjust the
voltage/frequency of the inverter)
The more wire you connect to an inverter, the more ‘loaded’ it is and the dimmer it will
be our AA pocket driver can drive about 2.5 meters before it starts dimming significantly.
2 meters is a good amount, 3 is OK but wont be as bright.
If you ‘split’ and connect more than one piece of EL to an inverter, count the total length
of all the pieces
The AA inverter works best with fresh batteries, but you can use rechargables – it’ll just
be dimmer because the input voltage is lower.
The capacitance ‘load’ of the EL is required to stabilize the inverter so never run the
inverter without at least 1 foot of EL attached!
Characteristics of EL Wire:
1. Flexible
2. Energy saving
3. Easy to install
4. Cool to the touch
5. Available in many color
6. Available in continuous lengths (ranges several inches to thousands of feet.)
7. Powered by either batteries or house outlets
8. Suitable for ornaments and jewelry
9. Can be cut and spliced
10. Enables braiding or looping
11. Water resistant and weather durable
EL Wire Quickstart Guide
https://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/404
Technical Information
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