SparkFun Forums

[blf]

BTW if you use the 8 channels to drive 8 poodles and only ever have 1 poodle on at a time ... do you really need the 12v inverter ?

That's a very good point. Only one dog is lit at a time. So a 3v inverter should be fine.

Are all connections to the board ( battery and inverter) JST? It looks like maybe the battery is a barrell?

[blf]

Ummm, really dumb question. How do I get this connected to the computer. I thought it tok a 5v ftdi cord, which I have.......

[Mee_n_Mac]

Ummm, really dumb question. How do I get this connected to the computer. I thought it tok a 5v ftdi cord, which I have.......

Yup, it takes the 5v FTDI adapter/converter board.
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9718
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9716
The EL Sequencer does not have pins to connect to for the above, it just has the unpopulated header. You need to solder on some pins or perhaps just use some clip leads.

el_seq_back.jpg

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/501
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... cale=en_US

[blf]

Crap. I have the https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9718. I thought it was all I needed. So is it easier to get the board? How do the two boards go together? I realllllllly don't want to solder, I suck at it. Does the FTDI board just clip in to the header on the El Seq? Does it need soldering too? If I go to radioshak for the clips, do I need 6 ? I am confused...again.

[Mee_n_Mac]

All you need to do is figure out how to connect your FTDI cable to to EL. I'd plug some bare wires into the FTDI connector and then use clip leads to go from the wires to the EL. The GRN and BLK holes on the EL are labelled and the rest of the connections can be figured out from those.

[blf]

All you need to do is figure out how to connect your FTDI cable to to EL. I'd plug some bare wires into the FTDI connector and then use clip leads to go from the wires to the EL. The GRN and BLK holes on the EL are labelled and the rest of the connections can be figured out from those.

Cool, just any old wire bits I have?

[Mee_n_Mac]

So long as they fit snugly into the connector at the end of the cable, yes.

[blf]

So long as they fit snugly into the connector at the end of the cable, yes.

You're a genius. Thanks for hanging in there with me

[blf]

OK, little hiccup. I have el wire that plugs into an inverter directly. I need the kind of connecters this el wire has https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11427. I have the El, can I buy these https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8612 and change out the regular connectors?

[blf]

I bought the El Seq, got the program uploaded, have the inverter and found my EL Wire. It has the following connector http://www.adafruit.com/products/319. Will this https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8598
jumper the two ends?

[Mee_n_Mac]

If you mean to connect the Adafruit EL wire with the 2.5 mm female JST connector to the EL Sequencer's 2 mm JST male connectors ... then no, I don't think the Molex end plugs into the 2.5 mm female JST. I believe the JST end does mate with the JST on the EL Seq. You might want to e-mail SFE tech support to verify.

FWIW you might want to ask Adafruit about this line ...

It is required to connect EL wire to the inverter!

Can the inverter be run w/o any EL wire attached ?

Sometimes it pays to buy stuff that just plugs in.

[blf]

Sometimes it pays to buy stuff that just plugs in.

Yeah I'm thinking I should just by spark fun el wire. That's what I get for liking two separate sites.

[TS-Tim]

The 12V inverter will make you EL brighter. It is well worth the extra trouble to power at 12V. You can regulate a 12V supply down to the lower voltage needed by the sequencer. That way you can still get away with one battery.