SparkFun Forums

[Tenacious_Techhunter]

I have a circuit that I’m debugging, and I need a SPICE model for EL Wire, particularly the features that contribute to it consuming power. This one is probably pretty easy, but I don’t really know much about how exactly EL Wire consumes power.

I also need a SPICE model for the 3.3v regulator on an Arduino Leonardo (the LP2985-33DBVR). This is either easy or challenging, depending on whether there is already an equivalent model from another manufacturer, how equivalent that model is, and whether any manufacturer published regulator model is any good to begin with.

[zxm2164]

If I am not mistaken, I remember reading somewhere that EL wire operates effectively as a capacitor that is being charged and discharged at high frequency. I doubt you will find someone who has made a model specifically for EL wire, but you probably model it as a capacitor with a parasitic resistance - RC circuit. To really optimize the model however, you would need some data either from a data sheet or taken by yourself. Measure the voltage provided and the current drawn when the wire is in use and that should give you its effective internal resistance...

[waltr]

Check the Adafruit tutorial on EL wire. They do present a model in the tutorial to get you started.
But as zxm said, you will need to make measurements of the 'real' EL wire to refine the model.

[Tenacious_Techhunter]

Easier said than done, frankly. I suspect I'd need one of those blasted current probes for scopes. There isn't enough current to measure a voltage difference across a resistor otherwise.