I am trying to put EL Wire Tape in a project that I am working on.
I decided to go and build an inverter for 12VDC to 100VAC and that fell through. I couldn't find any guides that helped on EL Wire in computers and a lot of people used battery packs. So I was going to buy a battery pack and tear it apart. That didn't work either.
The molex connector on a computer is Yellow (+12VDC), Black (Ground), Black (Ground), Red (+5VDC). So either way I needed to get from 12VDC or 5VDC to 3VAC for the battery pack inverter.
So, I finally changed my plan to a 12VDC Inverter from Radio Shack. One end has a barrel plug for a wall adapter and the other is for the EL Wire. I am going to chop off the barrel end and solder it to a molex connector.
The other end is a problem… I got the EL Wire Tape and the Inverter from Radio Shack and EL Wire requires 100VAC and the Inverter puts out 160VAC 1W(Watt). That is confusing?
I know EL wire can be powered at higher current but it doesn't last as long. 180VAC will degrade it fast. I need to find a way to reduce 160VAC to 100VAC. Not sure what would be the best way to do this and the smallest way. Any help would be awesome. Update: Added Radio Shack Sku's.
Best Answer
These devices are both sold by Radioshack. Assuming they work together is reasonable. Asking Radioshack themselves would be even more reasonable.
EL Wire doesn't have a single working voltage; it works over a range of voltages; as long as your Voltage isn't high enough to break the dielectric barrier, you won't have problems, unless your wire overheats. Since that inverter is spec'ed to deliver a maximum power, which directly limits the amount of heat you can produce as a byproduct of switching the direction of the electrical field over the electroluminescent dielectric, you'll be fine.