ladyjayne Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Wasn't sure whether this would have been better of in costumes etc but seeing as it's lighting related I've put it here.A friend of mine designs costumes and want to incorporate some rgb Led Strip into Showgirl-type outfits and he's basically wondering if this kind of battery will power something like this.The full 5 mtrs of led strip will be incorporated into to costume and the whole thing should be powered for up to 10 minutes a night max.Batteries etc. aren't really my forte so any advice/suggestions will be most welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Short answer.... yes Using very rough numbers that battery pack will output 12v for 6.8amp/hours (ie 1 amp for 6.8 hours, 2 amp for 3.4hours, 3amp for 2.2hours, etc)That LED strip apparently uses 12v @ 6amp so in theory that battery pack will power that LED system for just over an hour (longer if using single colours rather than all three at the same time) This is assuming 100% efficacy and that the published figures are correct - I think your need for 10min light is more than achievable from this set-up though. There's cheaper ways of doing this but I think the convenience of the magic box and idiot proof charging arrangements make it worth the extra cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I used 5V LED strip, and 4 x 1.2V NiCds, Eneloop AA, 2000mAh, and they work a treat albeit on a lower load than you are using. I had a couple more ordinary AA cells in series so that the electronics had at least 6v when the NiCds had been hammered down to 3V. There was very little difference in LED intensity between fully charged and hammered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyjayne Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Thanks for the advice, found the exact same one on alixpress for half the price so with 12 needed that will be the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramdram Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I am intrigued as to where on the "showgirls' costumes" the battery pack is to be hidden...the kit looks a bit chunky monkey to be completely undetectable, plus if these ladies are to be jumping around you'd want to be happy the packs would not fall off. Would not care to be the target for a lump that size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyjayne Posted December 18, 2012 Author Share Posted December 18, 2012 I am intrigued as to where on the "showgirls' costumes" the battery pack is to be hidden...the kit looks a bit chunky monkey to be completely undetectable, plus if these ladies are to be jumping around you'd want to be happy the packs would not fall off. Would not care to be the target for a lump that size. We're making a shoulder frames that will be held in place by elastic straps that go under the arms and around the back. Between the shoulder blades will be a back plate to hold the electrics. The whole ''nerve centre'' takes up about the same amount of space as 3 packets of cigarettes. Once the led strips and wiring are in place the whole thing gets covered in fabric, sequin trim and feathers. As for the operation of the whole kit? With it being remote controlled that's going to present a whole load of fun problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Just FYI the "remote control" is Infra-red, very temperamental and un-reliable over distance - don't plan being able to cue the performers/lights on stage with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam2 Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Yes, the battery pack should be fine.Stated capacity is 6.8 AH, possibly chinese AH so might only be about 5 real AH but still enough.The capacity will be reduced, perhaps considerably on fast discharge but should still suffice for 10 minutes operation. Purchase one set and test before buying a qauntity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modge Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 For remote control I've seen people build things like these: http://www.lumenradio.com/crmxoemproducts.php into battery powered LED products, with good results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maeterlinck Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 For costume weight can be a big factor. With that LED strip you are swapping lower current draw for higher voltage. Battery pack will certainly power it, as ImagineerTom says it will easily power it for 10mins based on the figures. Remote control is a whole other area. As has been said the remote is infra red and they aren't the best. What sort of control are you wanting to get over the LED? If you're making several do they all need to be in sync? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timd Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 For the wireless, I'd look at something like Zigbee. Absolutely no point hurling an entire DMX universe around when you don't need to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 For the wireless, I'd look at something like Zigbee. Absolutely no point hurling an entire DMX universe around when you don't need to. Naah, Zigbee is far too complex for this application. Something like this would be finehttp://www.maplin.co...ntroller-515856 These work on 2.4GHz and have a range of about 10-15 metres. Just stick the battery into one end and the LED tape out the other end. However you do need to check if you can control multiple receivers from one transmitter or if they are paired with different coding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyjayne Posted December 18, 2012 Author Share Posted December 18, 2012 Just FYI the "remote control" is Infra-red, very temperamental and un-reliable over distance - don't plan being able to cue the performers/lights on stage with it. The tail with the IR sensor on is just over 12'' long, I'm planning to have it incorporated in such a way that it sticks out of the costume almost like an antenna. For remote control I've seen people build things like these: http://www.lumenradio.com/crmxoemproducts.php into battery powered LED products, with good results. Very interesting kit this, not needed for this application but filed for future reference, any idea of prices/ UK distributors? For costume weight can be a big factor. With that LED strip you are swapping lower current draw for higher voltage. Battery pack will certainly power it, as ImagineerTom says it will easily power it for 10mins based on the figures. Remote control is a whole other area. As has been said the remote is infra red and they aren't the best. What sort of control are you wanting to get over the LED? If you're making several do they all need to be in sync? The initial effect needed is one static color per costume and they will be switched on in the wings, after curtain down there is a 1 minute gap where they need to be changed to a full colour chase, there are four people available to take care of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 In the interests of full disclosure, we have one of these setups in our kitchen as the under-cupboard lights! As you might expect from RGB LEDs, the white doesn't have good CRI, and some stuff looks quite dodgy, microwave curries for one... For the intended application, the IR remote should be fine, as there is a minute to faff about changing colours. Be carefull on who's toes you tread on the way up.They'll be attached to the ass you'll have to kiss on the way down. Like that sig a lot :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 The Infra red remotes generally use low-tech, un-coded signals and we've discovered that other remotes and infra-red sources can trigger them (infra-red flood on CCTV cameras, infra-red hearing aid loops, IR remote for the CD player etc) so it might be safer to position the receiver more covertly so that it can't be accidentally triggered by other IR sources Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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