User:Sakitar

EL wires are a linear source of lighting that uses very little power
 . EL wire is NOT THE SAME AS LED ROPELIGHT. You may have heard the term EL wire, neon wires, soft neon, glow wire, glo cable, string lights, flashing wires etc. They are basically the same thing.

There are plenty of sites giving detailed technical information but in brief simple terms, EL wire consists of a core wire coated in phosphor powder. Wrapped around the phosphor layer are two super fine wires and coating it all is a layer of colured vinyl.

When this wire is unpowered it just looks like a brightly coloured plastic wire but once powered via an EL inverter, it lights up and visually takes on a new dimension.

So how does EL differ from all the other glowing and flashing gadgets?
EL wire - V - LED ropelight:- EL is much thinner with varying diameters from 0.9mm to 5mm. The EL wire itself has an almost zero failure rate. EL wire - V - LED flashing gadgets:- The light emitted from EL is more subtle and comfortable on the eye. EL wire - V - Incandescent light sources:- EL does not get hot. EL wire - V - Glow sticks and chemical glow products for clubbing:- The raw materials in EL take a long time to expire - around 2 years for them to reach half-light.

What is EL used for?
EL wire has virtually limitless applications due in part to it's flexibility and the fact that it does not get hot. It really does stay cool to the touch so it is safe enough to wear on the body.

Some EL wire ideas: 

Attach it to costume or club gear. Wrap it around your neck for a glowing necklace. Slot it into the ridges of your dashboard. Highlight the edges of steps for safety at night. Use it to highlight the edges of picture frames. Coil it around bike frames to be seen at night time. Run it parralel to your guy ropes on your tent so no-one trips over them. Create amazing glowing sculptures for exibits, for fun and for the Burning man Festival. Create your own mini pseudo neon signs by effectively writing your name in lights! Lighting up your car or boat.

Electroluminescent wire and inverters for props, set and costume
This is a guide to give some idea of the flexibility of application of EL wire.

The wires must be powered by an inverter (sometimes called a driver). This little unit ensures that the power leaving the inverter is the correct voltage and frequency. Both AC (household powered) and battery powered inverters are available.

Each model of inverter is capable of powering a specific range of total EL length but it is irrelevant whether that length is one piece or multiple pieces.

If you wanted to run different lengths of EL from the one inverter, you can increase the number of ports. Most EL sellers will have wires such as splitter wires to enable you to do this. There is no limit to the number of ports you can create.

For example, you could purchase a portable inverter capable of powering EL ranging from 3.5 to 5m. You could run a single 4m piece of EL from this inverter or you could also buy a splitter wire to increase the number of ports then run a 2m piece in one colour and 3m piece in another(total 5m) from the same little unit.