correct batteries and foam placement

EL Wire/Tape/Panels, LEDs, pixels and strips, LCDs and TFTs, etc products from Adafruit

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mae
 
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correct batteries and foam placement

Post by mae »

Hi All,

I just got the orange EL wire starter pack, and I've been trying out different batteries in the inverter. My Duracell NiMH AA 2650mAh produced very dim splotchy glow, with poor color. Lower-powered Duracell NiMH AA 2050mAh batteries made the wire glow much brighter and more solidly, not in blotches. The color is still not orange, but yellowish enough.

So now I have two questions for you guys:
1. What is the correct mAh rating for the AA batteries powering your EL wire? 1800mAh? 2000mAh? 2400? 2600?

2. The inverter whines at a high pitch. (I must say, the faerie wire I got pre-made off Amazon didn't whine. I might pick my battles and go back and get EL wire from there.) Anyway, there is mention of foam "to dampen noise" both in the stater package web page and in the forums. But there are no instructions on where to stick that foam. Around the batteries? But holding them with my finger doesn't help. Open the casing further where the circuit board is, risk cracking it, and crazy-glue it back together after I'm done sticking the foam? Where?

Thanks,
Mae

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: correct batteries and foam placement

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

1. What is the correct mAh rating for the AA batteries powering your EL wire? 1800mAh? 2000mAh? 2400? 2600?
mAh affects only the runtime. (more mAh will run proportionally longer). But NiMH is only 1.2v. You will probably get better light using higher (1.5v) voltage Alkaline cells.
But there are no instructions on where to stick that foam.
Usually we pack it in around the circuit board. If you have a hot-glue gun, squirting some hot glue in around the capacitors usually helps too.

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mae
 
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Re: correct batteries and foam placement

Post by mae »

Unscrewed the single screw, opened the top of the adapter, packed foam around every single bit of circuit. To minor if any effect. Why was this not solved in the factory?

The batteries keep coming loose in the compartment, and the whole unit shuts off. This won't do while I'm dancing. How can I get a replacement before the end of the week?

And yes, I'll get a voltmeter and measure all my rechargeable batteries to make sure they're really 1.5V when fully charged.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: correct batteries and foam placement

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

And yes, I'll get a voltmeter and measure all my rechargeable batteries to make sure they're really 1.5V when fully charged.
But they are NiMH cells and will drop back to 1.2v as soon as you put a load on them.

If you are not satisfied with this product. Please contact [email protected] with a link to this thread for a refund.

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