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[Viking Goldfish]

I can solder, I can weld, I can wire a house and make components. The thing that evades my knowledge is making the power source. I got the parts from radio shack and asked (I should have known better) how do I make this use batteries. So the guy read the package and it says input voltage is 12vdc. Cool right so he says get this 12 v battery and this battery holder and you are good to go. Get home solder some parts together with a switch and WOOO it works. I had it on for about 2 minutes total and it was bright and beautiful. Took battery out so as not to waste it, and I tried it again tonight and it worked great for another 2 minutes or so then went very dim then off. To me this means the power supply was insufficient correct? I was browsing the net and kept reading you cannot run El wire on batteries for DC only AC. I see that adafruit sells battery power supplies for them though. So any advice oh great and mighty electronics master oh the Mandalorian Mercs?

[Kebii'laar]

Adafruit's battery power supplies are all inverters.  Your research is correct in that EL requires AC, and all batteries produce DC.  So you have two options: you can order an inverter of the necessary size from Adafruit, which should run you about $10 including shipping if memory serves, or you can try to wire an inverter yourself.  But hooking the EL component directly to the battery is a no-go.

[Viking Goldfish]

So it would go Battery, inverter, El wire?  So the EL wire would be powered off of the batteries in the inverter setup correct?

[Kebii'laar]

Correct.  The inverter is a circuit that converts the battery's Direct Current to Alternating Current.

[Viking Goldfish]

Thank you thank you!

[Kebii'laar]

No problem! I'd go more in-depth, but I don't have much more than a conceptual knowledge of electronics.  It's one of those things I just seem to hit a wall whenever I try to self-teach.  It's my understanding that the inductor involves some kind of oscillator, but that's about it.  I trust you can go on from there?

[Viking Goldfish]

lol yep

[Kebii'laar]

Excellent, let me know how it turns out!

[Viking Goldfish]

Its going to be on one of my gauntlets when they arrive, I ordered the inverter last night so hope it gets here soon.