EL wire control?

[emmo]

I want to make a very large numeric display, and was thinking about a 7 segment array of EL wire.· Has anyone done·interface and control work with this cool stuff?

Any Stamps In Class exercises, catalog apps, completed projects, app notes or N&V columns on it?·[Wow, so many places to look - is there a master index of all of these 'success stories'??]

·I have seen some really amazing animations with this wire mounted on bicycles, such as a penguin with ice skates skating along behind the rider.

· Most of these (all?) use sequencers that the wire vendors sell, is there anything special about those, specifically, can a Stamp replace (best)·or interface with (not as good)·those?

Thanks!
Emmo
Chief Locator
Black Rock City GeoLocation Service

[Zoot]

1. Here is a gentleman who built an EL wire display hooked up to a Stamp. He has schematics and code posted. Obviously, his sequencer code is not the same as what you need to do, but it should get you started. www.instructables.com/id/E7SJAP0QAWEP28742N/ (http://www.instructables.com/id/E7SJAP0QAWEP28742N/)

2. EL wire only has a useful life of some 1000s of hours (that's not much, really). If your display was to be on 4 hours per day the EL wire might only last a year or two before needing replacement. This might be something to consider depending on how often/how long your display will be on and running.

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When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. -- HST

[emmo]

Thank you for the pointer! I am making a big display to mount on the back of a bicycle, about three feet tall, to display the LAT & LONG data from a GPS. It only has to last a week.

[Zoot]

Until the Man Burns, eh?

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When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. -- HST