easy EL wire driver circuit

You can use the flash circuit out of a disposable camera to drive EL wire! You will need to remove the big capacitor to get it to work. Use a meter to find the output side of the transformer. It should have 250-300 V ac across the output. Connect your EL wire to the output side when you find it. You might have to press the button on the front side of the board to get it to start going. WARNING: These little flash circuits run on high voltage that can shock you. It hurts. Be careful. Also be careful with the capacitor. If it's fully charged and you short it out, you will get a big loud spark that can actually melt small pieces of metal.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• EL
• wire
• driver
• circuit

[CalicoatMaker]

Hey, thanks for this! Will save me a lot of time on a rush job I need done.

Whats the frequency?

How long does it last (at a decent brightness level) on one 1.5v alkaline?

[dav1dh0ff]

@CalicoatMaker I don't know what the frequency is, but you can hear a high pitch whine when it's running. I haven't used it enough to run out a battery yet. I would say at least a couple hours of runtime.

[zackthegoth]

will it work on a el night light?

[dav1dh0ff]

@zackthegoth I would think so, but I haven't tried it myself

[bassnectarine]

What kind of disposable camera did you take apart to make this? Your project looks great!

[dav1dh0ff]

@bassnectarine I don't remember. I had taken it apart a long time ago, and just found the pieces in my junk box. Most of them are pretty similar inside.

[ken25taylor]

thanks for the upload man!

[JD8853]

thx sooooo much i cant find a 555 or any type of oscillator anywhere for my real taser project

[akimbomidget]

You are awesome...

I was thinking about the same deal, but somehow never came around to doing it. I will definitely keep that in mind.