Well I am finally finished with my EL project for my son and now it's time to move on to my daughter. Question: Is it possible to fade EL wire? I understand the principles of fading LED's and lights but not sure about EL. (in the middle of building this) (Not my design so credit to whomever drew this at Solarbotics) I know if I supply a lower voltage to the inverter the wire glows dimmer, but that doesn’t help "cross fade" between strands. What I was thinking was using something like a 5 channel sequencer, but instead of flashing on and off, fading in and out between different colors. I assume that the fading would need to occur at the output of the inverter where the voltage is very high. Knowing the limitations of EL, I would settle for the strands to be dim and then slowly brighten and dim again. Electronics are a hobby and not a profession, so if anyone has an idea, would it be possible to post a schematic? Scope: 5 channel sequencing 2 x 2” strand EL wire per channel 9v Inverter Thanks!
EL wire dims very well, you need to vary the low voltage supply, and the best way is PWM, as the Rigter circuit. Your circuit doesn't show led resistors, which are probably needed at 9V supply, and to drive an inverter you'll need to add a switching transistor (eg 2N2222A) to boost the current. PWM frequency needs to be around 100-150Hz, so the inverter has plenty of time to get going on each pulse. Rigter's are running far too fast for an inverter at around 2kHz (but fine for LEDs).
So what you are saying is bassically replace the LEDs with a transistor and connect the low voltage side of the inverter to the transistor. I would then need an inverter per "channel". Not a problem. I am lost on the PWM. The inverter I intended to use is 2k. What type of circuit should I use assuming the above circuit cannot be modified? The project will be a slow dim and have no fast switching. Aslo, how would I connect a transistor to control the inverter? Sorry to ask such basic questions, but I am limited on the electronic design side. I can construct a circuit from schematics but not design.
