Who doesn't love the soft glow of electroluminescence? This EL panel is a flexible plastic sheet which contains a phosphor layer and lights up with a neon-like glow when the proper voltage is applied. It's a lot like the ever-popular EL wire except, well, it's a panel. Panels are particularly well suited for backlighting LCDs as well as illuminated signage.
These can be driven with any of the EL inverters and sequencers that we carry and come in a variety of bright colors (check below for other colors). This particular panel is 10cm square and illuminates red. It is attached to a 20cm cable which is terminated with a JST PH connector.
Note: These panels can be cut to any shape! Regular scissors work fine to cut this EL panel but after you've cut the panel you should seal the exposed edges with some tape or epoxy to avoid shorting the panel or shocking yourself.
If it requires power, you need to know how much, what all the pins do, and how to hook it up. You may need to reference datasheets, schematics, and know the ins and outs of electronics.
Skill Level: Rookie - You may be required to know a bit more about the component, such as orientation, or how to hook it up, in addition to power requirements. You will need to understand polarized components.
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Helping my wife with dressing up a rather boring subject on her display for a convention....
Would it work if I was to perforate this using a CNC router table? My goal is to create something that you can see through (like a mesh) but still illuminate. I'd probably coat the backside with clear fingernail polish or something similar to seal the edges. I'm not sure if it's two continuous layers with no restriction on hole placement. At some point, too many holes would probably crack it etc.
Random flickering and dimming can be easily fixed by cutting away the heat shrink, and reflowing the solder connections between the panel and the I/O wires. The panels are quite fragile, so you may find yourself fixing them a number of times throughout a project.
is there transparent El-Panel ., available.. I want to use it on my goggles.,.,
What length of EL wire is one of these panels equivalent to? I'm trying to select an new inverter - when hooked up to the 3V inverter this barely lights up at all.
Would I be able to power them up, without the EL Inverter, for example by using an Arduino?
You'll need an inverter, the minimum voltage to excite the Phosphor is 110AC, thus the need for the inverter.
Would I be able to power them up, without the EL Inverter, for example by using an Arduino?
How about some pics of them lit up so we can get an idea of the colour? The red and blue is pretty obvious, but the blue-green panels the colour is not obvious unless powered up apparently.
How bright are they? I don't need to know exact lumen figures, just somewhere from "bright enough to know when it's on" to "painful to look directly at in the dark".
Would you be able to navigate a dark room with a lit up panel?
I'm basically rebuilding tail lights on a car, and I want to know if I should go for these or a bunch of LEDs or something.
As light sources these are relatively dim, and would definitely not be suitable for tail lights on a car (unless, like the military, the person behind you is wearing night-vision goggles).
Can you cut it into different shapes?
...let me go find out... I'll get right back to you
Well, the Electroluminescent SparkFun flame I just made is proof enough for me. This stuff cuts just fine! You may want to seal the edges with some tape or something afterwords, or maybe laminate the thing, since the conductive layers will now have exposed edges.
Thanks. Looks like my car is going to have light up subaru badges now.
http://hackaday.com/2011/08/25/all-about-electroluminescence/
the video on here explains alot more about how el 'wire' panels can be cut up
though they are using special panels meant to be cut up and still use both halves