Forums > Help! > Making LED poi

Posted: 31st Oct 2003
One wheel daves, electro glo hammer head poi

Me train running low on soul coal
They push+pull tactics are driving me loco
They shouldn't do that no no no

Posted: 31st Oct 2003
why not try getting some, bout 6, superbright leds from RS components. theyre not expensive, then all u need 2 do is conetc up a simple circuit and run the wire in and out of the chain links. you'll also need a couple of resistors to stop it blowing the leds. as for a ball type object, try those clear hollow balls that u get in toy shops, there kinda like the material u used to get jelly sandles made of. it made be a bit slappy but it should lite up a treat.

happy spinnin

Posted: 31st Oct 2003
On the subject of hammerhead poi (thanks dave) does anyone know where to get really long sports socks from? The ones I've got aren't long enough to wind round my hand and I keep letting them go!

...dream is destiny...

Posted: 31st Oct 2003
Cheers guys...
Were would you get these components baring in mind im from the U.K

What do you guys think of putting LED's going up the chain to create smaller lines of light before the big one at the end

Just an idea.

Who tries to use knives-dies, Who tries to use fire-insinerates! >:)

Posted: 3rd Nov 2003
Try Maplin in the UK or try the internet.

I live in a world of infinite possibilities.

Posted: 6th Nov 2003
I looked into doing this myself for a long time, then gave up and just bought the buggers from Malcolm. If you manage sucessfully let me know as I'd like a set with loads of LEDs in.

There is a slight possibility that I am not actually right all of the time.

Posted: 6th Nov 2003
Deviation:

Lights all the way down the chains can look really good, but does remove some flexibility, and can lead to nasty twisted tangles.

To diffuse the light some more push the led's inside pingpong balls - cut a small slit and force them in. This looks kinda dumb, like pompoms on your chain, but then you see the effect while swinging.

Time lapse photos look great. ^_^

--Luke

Posted: 7th Nov 2003
Hi all. a couple quick thoughts on led poi. i myself own some of the gen 1 electroglo poi, which i've "modded" with shoelaces(makes them MUCH quieter and waaay better for wraps) also i've soldered leads onto the circuit board so i can use larger batteries with them, (i had a bunch of cr2032 lying around, the same size as the standard batteries, but twice as thick.)

anyway, here's what im working on now:
the superbright led's can be had off of Ebay.com or similar sites for ridicuolously(sp?) low prices and in just about any color (im a sucker for blue). i got two lots of ten for $0.01 + $4.95 usd shipping each. that's 10 led's per poi. i still haven't decided on if im going to use lithium 123 cells or 4 double or triple a batteries, but basically im going to look for a holder that's about the right size, and mount the leds on it, then put the whole shebang inside a lexan tube. i'm also considering using some plastic sphere's, but thery're kinda hard to find around. also due to the amount of leds i'm using i think resistors won't be necessary. if they are, putting one in the circuit is as easy as putting in another led. anyway, here's the part that i like. im going to mount the switches on the finger loops so that you can turn them on and off while spinning, and just run the wires along the chain/shoelaces. the current configuration i'm going for is a "t" shape as well, with one double a in each side of the "t" and two down the center, two led's per side and the other 6 down the sides of the tubes. pictures will be forthcoming. also, if my *rough* estimates are correct, 4 double a's will give me a run time of 100 or more hours, not to mention some nice weight to play with.

on a slightly offtopic note, have any of you seen the led bicycle wheel lights? they flash in programmed patterns and communicate to each other with infrared, as soon as i can cough up 60 dollars per pair, i really wanna see what THOSE will do on strings.

anyway, just some tidbits to chew on, and see what inspiration sparks.
-Rhys

[ 07. November 2003, 22:48: Message edited by: Mr.Coffee ]

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