If you want to practice using EL Wire and electronics in costumes, building Daft Punk outfits with helmets is a great way to go. Instructables user derektroywest and his girlfriend Kylie tackled the costumes for a themed birthday party. They added EL Wire to jeans, jackets, and two black helmets. Though the process seems time consuming, I wouldn’t rate it as difficult. Here’s how they attached the EL Wire to the helmets:
I stuck the battery pack onto the back of the helmet using some simple matt black electricity tape. It held just fine and lasted all night. I then cut a couple of small holes in the base at the back of the helmet and threaded the start of the El Wire from the inverted, through the holes, and then back out again, just to anchor it in place.
I then used sticky tape to temporarily hold the wire in place and copied the Daft Punk pattern on their helmets as best as I could. I used a little black masking tape in places to hide the fact that the entire pattern was one long piece of wire.
After the pattern was in place my Sister then kindly glued the wire onto the helmet with quick-setting superglue. It held really well and is pretty much stuck on permanently as far as I can tell.
The EL Wire on the helmet can then be switched on/off just by tapping the button on the inverter at the back of the helmet.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Open Hardware is In, New CircuitPython and Pi 5 16GB, and much more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
