Details
We've heard you, and made a number of improvements to our EL Shield. The new version adds zero-crossing optoisolated triacs for noise-free operation and full isolation between the AC and DC sides, and includes a 1.5A adjustable linear regulator to supply regulated DC to an external inverter (not included).
EL Escudo Dos is an Arduino shield for controlling up to eight strands of electroluminescent wire. EL wire is flexible plastic cord that glows brightly when high-voltage AC is applied to it. It's available in numerous colors (see the related products below), runs cool, and requires very little current, but can be difficult to work with because of the high-voltage requirements. The El Escudo Dos contains circuitry to safely switch high-voltage AC on and off, allowing you to create animated displays or whatever else your imagination can come up with.
In addition to this shield, you will need Arduino headers (see the related products below), an inverter (a component that generates the high-voltage AC needed by EL wire), and the EL wire itself. SparkFun carries two inverters, a 3V-input version that can drive a few feet of EL wire, and a 12V-input version capable of driving dozens of feet of EL wire. Choose the one appropriate to your power source and driving requirements. The shield's built-in regulator comes preset to 3.3V, but can be set to any voltage by changing two resistors, or bypassed with a solder jumper to send the Arduino's RAW voltage directly to the inverter (perfect for 12V setups!). See the tutorial below.
Nate has used EL wire to make amazing interactive costumes; check out his Heartbeat Straitjacket and demo video.
Features:
- Eight opto-isolated, zero-crossing control channels
- No library needed - control is as easy as turning a LED on and off
- Shield is compatible with 5V or 3.3V Arduinos
- Integrated 1.5A linear regulator (LM317) to supply regulated DC power to external inverter
- Linear regulator preset to 3.3V, but can be changed via PTH resistors, or bypassed entirely
- External inverter required, not included
- Comes without headers, soldering required
Documents:
- Schematic
- Eagle files
- Example code
- Datasheet (MOC3063S)
- Datasheet (Z0103MN)
- Datasheet (LM317)
- Tutorial: setting up an EL system
- Jacob's Ladder Project
- Product Video
Specifications
Part. No. : | COM-10878 |
Shield Type : | Display, LED |
Related Products
-
710201 EL Inverter - 3v
EL inverters allow you to drive EL wires. This particular EL inverter accepts 3V input and outputs 110VAC to drive EL wire. -
710469 EL Inverter - 12v
EL inverters allow you to drive EL (electroluminescent) wires. This particular EL inverter accepts a 12 VDC wall adapter. -
711421 EL Wire - Starter Kit Retail
This Starter Kit has everything you need to add some electroluminescent fun to your project. Simply pop the included batteriefalse -
712934 EL Wire Chasing Adapter Cable
This is an Chasing EL Wire Adapter Cable, a simple connector that splits up the four wires in a Chasing EL wire allowing themfalse