el wire and bicycle generators

[Don Bright]

Hello

I have been wondering if anyone has put elwire ( el-wire, el wire, electroluminescent wire, glowire
) on their bikes, but rather than battery power, I was wondering if you could power it via some kind
of generator dynamo type of setup. The EL-Wire apparently takes 60-120VAC input and its brightness
varies with frequency, from low at 60hz to bright at 4000hz. Current needed is apparently pretty
low, 200mA for a 30 foot length of wire. (see www.glowire.com for their various DC battery powered
kits) Anyone done something like this?

How much hz is in the AC output of a bicycle generator? How much Voltage?

Thanks.

 

[Boris Foelsch]

[email protected] (don bright) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> Hello
>
> I have been wondering if anyone has put elwire ( el-wire, el wire, electroluminescent wire,
> glowire ) on their bikes, but rather than battery power, I was wondering if you could power it via
> some kind of generator dynamo type of setup. The EL-Wire apparently takes 60-120VAC input and its
> brightness varies with frequency, from low at 60hz to bright at 4000hz. Current needed is
> apparently pretty low, 200mA for a 30 foot length of wire. (see www.glowire.com for their various
> DC battery powered kits) Anyone done something like this?
>
> How much hz is in the AC output of a bicycle generator? How much Voltage?
>
> Thanks.

I don't know if you're planning on doing this for safety or fun. EL wire is neat and draws a lot of
stares and smiles, but doesn't do much for visibility from the types of distances that make it
really useful in traffic. I've got a helmet done up with it and it helps me in close quarters, at
intersections, but mostly it just has that Tron look. I used an inverter with a 9V battery, like the
kits on the website.

If you already have a dynamo, just measure it's output. If not, I recommend the battery/inverter
setup since you'll probably get a higher frequency, definitely won't need a transformer and that way
and you'll be illuminated without moving.