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- EL Wire - Red 3m (Chasing)
EL Wire - Red 3m (Chasing)
EL wire, or electroluminescent wire, is a flexible wire coated in phosphor. Apply the appropriate voltage and it lights up! Each EL wire looks a lot like a thin flexible neon tube and they come in many bright colors which can be driven pretty easily with an inverter. As this is a "chasing" EL wire you will see the glowing red light seem to move across the length of itself as if it were flowing out the end, this feature provides you to add some really fantastic lighting effects to your next project!
This particular wire is 3m (almost 10 feet) in length, 2.3mm in diameter and is terminated with a 4-pin JST SMP connector. Each EL wire is also designed to be driven at 3.3V with an inverter. The connector works perfectly with the inverter and pigtail that have come out with this EL wire line, which can both be found in the Recommended Products section below.
EL Wire - Red 3m (Chasing) Product Help and Resources
Getting Started with Electroluminescent (EL) Wire
July 13, 2018
This guide will help you get started with electroluminescent (EL) wire, tape, panel, chasing wire, and bendable wire to let your project glow!
EL Sequencer/Escudo Dos Hookup Guide
December 3, 2015
A basic guide to getting started with the SparkFun EL Sequencer and Escudo Dos to control electroluminescence (EL) wire, panels, and strips.
Heartbeat Straight Jacket
June 4, 2009
An EL project that displays one person's heartbeat on another person's costume.
EL Wire Hoodie
October 24, 2018
In this tutorial, we will sew standard electroluminescent (EL) wire to a hoodie.
EL Wire Pants
July 18, 2019
In this tutorial, we will sew standard electroluminescent (EL) wire to a pair of pants.
Core Skill: Electrical Prototyping
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.
See all skill levels
Comments
Looking for answers to technical questions?
We welcome your comments and suggestions below. However, if you are looking for solutions to technical questions please see our Technical Assistance page.
Customer Reviews
2 out of 5
Based on 2 ratings:
Don't expect to see it in the light
Very dim except for in the dark and up close. Would be ok for costumes where people will see you up close, but not for display purposes.
Thanks for the review. You are right that these aren't the brightest when in bright light. The one big tip I can offer is that a 12V inverter tends to provide a brighter glow on the line.
Very Dim
Works fine, chase-wise, but you're not going to see it except under very dark conditions - it's quite dim.
Are you able to cut this wire? I'm making a cosplay blade for a friends, and it glows on the edges. Thanks!
This product can be cut. Please see the Getting Started with Electroluminescent (EL) Wire (also linked in the Tutorials section above) for more details.
Is there any way to run this wire (EL Chasing) with an Arduino? I'm using an Arduino in a project and have a lot of spare points available so I would like to just add this vs: buying an inverter, making space for installing an inverter, taking up space with another battery or voltage converter as it will all run on a large battery pack. It would be much easier for my project to just wire it up to the microcontroller. Thanks
No, you cannot run this product directly off (most) Arduino boards; it requires an AC signal. Please see the Getting Started with Electroluminescent (EL) Wire (also linked in the Tutorials section above) for more details.
Hi there, Is it possible to use this chasing wire in a PC chassis mod, run off of the 3.3V supply from the PSU? I would like to run two 18" lengths loosely wrapped around my power and video cables. What would be involved with creating this set up (also, being able to switch it on and off)? Thanks.
You could, you would need an inverter and a switch; otherwise, your simplest option is to just use the battery powered inverters, which already have an on/off switch. Please see the Getting Started with Electroluminescent (EL) Wire (also linked in the Tutorials section above) for more details.
Recommended products? I don' see no steenkin' Recommended Products.
And that datasheet is something else. Good thing numbers are comprehensible in any language because the words certainly aren't.
Look up, we moved them. There are two tabs, Comments and Recommended Products just above this comment.