How are you using EL Wire? Got Pics?

[mcseforsale]

I'm looking at EL Wire (in blue) on my cab to enhance the already blue CCFL stuff that I'll be installing.  I'd like to do a Knievel Neon Mame-esqe treatment on the side, but I can't seem to find the CCFL/Neon speaker rings anywhere.

So, has anyone substituted el-wire?  What other creative uses of this stuff did you find?  Got any pics?

Thanks!
AJ

[GregD]

Well, I just read this and decided to pick up some neon green EL wire with a USB inverter shipped from Ebay for $6.50.  No idea what I am going to do with it yet.  I might just use it to light up the inside of the cabinet.

[wp34]

I'd like to do a Knievel Neon Mame-esqe treatment on the side, but I can't seem to find the CCFL/Neon speaker rings anywhere.

I bought some off this seller on eBay. 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/macigiver/m.html?hash=item4cee2b19f8&item=330413316600&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&_trksid=p4340.l2562

They came broken and he refunded my money.  Good seller.  I ended up going a different direction and didn't order another set.

I have kicked around using flexible light strips instead if I go that route again.
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=%2Fspecs%2FNFLS.htm

[BadMouth]

I was considering it for my next cab, but haven't actually experimented with it yet.  (was waiting for wp34 to try it on his tron legacy cab   )

A few random thoughts:

Awesome use of EL sheet http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?25078-Arcade-Electroluminescent-Panel
I was considering doing something similar to have cp art for golden tee light up underneath smoked plexi only when that game was selected.  
A piece large enough to do the arrows around the trackball would be very expensive and I'm not sure that it's worth it for one game that I hardly ever play.  

Some of the reviews on amazon claim that the power supply for the EL wire makes an annoying buzzing sound.

I ordered a sample of clear t-molding to see if it would light up if EL wire or LEDs were placed in the channel behind it.
It does not diffuse light at all, and therefore looks like crap.  I did not try sanding the surface.

Quick google search turned up this faq:
http://www.ellightmade.com/el-wiki/suls-el-wire-faq-and-technical-information

[DaOld Man]

I used green el wire on the marquee of "The Rage". It looks pretty cool, however to me it looks more light blue than green.

[mcseforsale]

Wow.  That turned out awesome.     How to you power it (I'm looking to perhaps power it using an ATX power supply) and how did you form the letters?

AJ

I used green el wire on the marquee of "The Rage". It looks pretty cool, however to me it looks more light blue than green.

[yotsuya]

Wow.  That turned out awesome.     How to you power it (I'm looking to perhaps power it using an ATX power supply) and how did you form the letters?

AJ

I used green el wire on the marquee of "The Rage". It looks pretty cool, however to me it looks more light blue than green.

You can find USB inverters..

[DaOld Man]

Wow.  That turned out awesome.     How to you power it (I'm looking to perhaps power it using an ATX power supply) and how did you form the letters?

AJ

Thank you!
Here is the blog I kept when building The Rage:

http://skennys-arcade.blogspot.com/

I cut the lettering out with my router and laid the wire in the grooves.
The el wire has a 12vdc inverter, which I powered from a 12 vdc "wall wart" adapter, however you could easily power it from the 12 vdc power supply in the PC.
Complete methods are listed in the blog, just go back through the older posts.
I also have links to where I bought everything.
One note: Since I made this blog, the front end for The Rage has been changed from GLaunch to Mala.

[mcseforsale]

Thanks man.  I'm grooving on the power strip.  What did you use it for? (I know...read the damn blog.. .)

Thanks,
AJ

Wow.  That turned out awesome.     How to you power it (I'm looking to perhaps power it using an ATX power supply) and how did you form the letters?

AJ

Thank you!
Here is the blog I kept when building The Rage:

http://skennys-arcade.blogspot.com/

I cut the lettering out with my router and laid the wire in the grooves.
The el wire has a 12vdc inverter, which I powered from a 12 vdc "wall wart" adapter, however you could easily power it from the 12 vdc power supply in the PC.
Complete methods are listed in the blog, just go back through the older posts.
I also have links to where I bought everything.
One note: Since I made this blog, the front end for The Rage has been changed from GLaunch to Mala.

[wp34]

I was considering it for my next cab, but haven't actually experimented with it yet.  (was waiting for wp34 to try it on his tron legacy cab   )

LOL - I'm hesitating due to the buzzing you mentioned and the fact that EL wire and EL sheets supposedly don't last.  I've haven't given up totally yet.

[DaOld Man]

Thanks man.  I'm grooving on the power strip.  What did you use it for? (I know...read the damn blog.. .)

Thanks,
AJ

I used a cheap power strip and added a 12 vdc relay to turn it off and on. The relay was fed from the computer power supply.
I then plugged that strip and the computer into another more expensive surge protect strip.
Turn on the pc, the 12 volts (yellow and black wires on one of the ide plugs) turns on the relay. Relay turns on the cheap power strip. Anything plugged into the cheap strip turns on.
Shut computer down, 12 volts goes off, relay goes off, cheap power strip goes off.
It works flawlessly. But it is quite a bit more work than using one of those "smart power strips".

[DaOld Man]

I was considering it for my next cab, but haven't actually experimented with it yet.  (was waiting for wp34 to try it on his tron legacy cab   )

LOL - I'm hesitating due to the buzzing you mentioned and the fact that EL wire and EL sheets supposedly don't last.  I've haven't given up totally yet.

Just my 2 cents worth:
My son has been using The Rage for about 5 years now. Of course when he first got it it probably stayed on all day and maybe all night. He was in college then.
Since then he has gotten married and now has a small daughter, so he probably doesnt have time to play it very often now.
I was at his house for Christmas and we fired up The Rage.
The marquee surprised me that it still looks very bright and clear.
I had heard stories about the el wire decreasing in brightness over time, but I couldnt see much difference in it.
But I always had it in my mind that if it did fade out to the point of no longer being good looking, I can easily take the marquee apart, pull the wire out and thread some new el wire in its place.

[drventure]

I used EL Wire in my Buffet project, for some cabinet lighting and in some fake "Nixie tubes" that I have yet to figure out what I'm going to do with<g>

The wire can be tricky to get connected, but once you get the hang of it, it's not bad.

Also, be aware that the color of the wire you might see online is usually not even close to the actual color. Mine showed orange online, but is actually pretty green in real life.

I actually hooked mine up to opto-isolator circuits and hooked that up to a LEDWiz, so the el segments can be controlled by the LEDWiz, exactly as if they were LED's. You can get pretty nifty effects that way.

I did have one segment burn out, but, it was in a clear tube filled with liquid soap (it's supposed to look like "bio goo"), so It's entirely possible I either shorted it out, or the soap soaked through the plastic coating on the wire.

But other than that, no issues with it.

And it does look great!

[wp34]

Thanks for the feedback drventure and DaOld Man.   

The way I would like to use this technology would require me to disassemble my CP if any of the lights went bad.  Hence my hesitation.  It is good to hear your positive stories.