Charles Nafziger Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Hey everyone, I am working with EL panels and inverters. We make our own via the silk-screening process with graphic overlays.I was just thinking how it might work for our Christmas/Halloween/4th of July displaysWe do up to 8 different channels of programming, sequence on, flash, steady on, etc.let me know what you think,Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Hamilton Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 The first thought that comes to mind is how environmentally sturdy are they? Rain?And aren't they typically higher voltage by using a stepup transformer? Any shock hazard with that? Posting more info about their specs and construction would be helpful :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Nafziger Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 Hi Rick, yes there is a higher AC voltage applied by the inverter. Typically the inverter takes 6-12 volts DC and steps it up to 100-120vac @ 5ma or less (depends on panel size).The panels we make are laser die cut which seals the edges. Moisture will kill the panel. being able to run from a DC voltage input to the inverter, the panel can be controlled from a LOR DC board.We typically program the PIC for the sequence required for the particular sign, however since we use mini-triacs I thought an inverter could be built that would be similar to the DC controller using opto isolators and drive the on/off of the triacs directly form LOR. I think you could get some fading or twinkle effect this way.Just playing with ideas, I am going to do some test screens and inverters and see what I can come up with... stay tunedI hope to have some basic stuff for Christmas.... maybe a Santa face or something...Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizmomkr Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I use a lot of EL Wire.Love the stuff. I have seen some of the pannels / strips.The only thing im not wild about is response time.I dont know if my inverter is just over / under powered, but I have a hard time getting miltiple elements to sync when sending signals from LOR / controller.I know the electrical properties are similar to a capacitor, but that asside some pieces just seem to sync better.Sync issues asside, I LOVE the look of EL Materials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Weiland Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Charles Nafziger wrote:Hi Rick, yes there is a higher AC voltage applied by the inverter. Typically the inverter takes 6-12 volts DC and steps it up to 100-120vac @ 5ma or less (depends on panel size).The panels we make are laser die cut which seals the edges. Moisture will kill the panel. being able to run from a DC voltage input to the inverter, the panel can be controlled from a LOR DC board.We typically program the PIC for the sequence required for the particular sign, however since we use mini-triacs I thought an inverter could be built that would be similar to the DC controller using opto isolators and drive the on/off of the triacs directly form LOR. I think you could get some fading or twinkle effect this way.Just playing with ideas, I am going to do some test screens and inverters and see what I can come up with... stay tunedI hope to have some basic stuff for Christmas.... maybe a Santa face or something...CharlesI look forward to seeing some of your creations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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