Geek LED Belt

After seeing the 'ible "LED Belt" by Doctor What, I decided to make my own belt. It is basically just a belt that lights up when you flip the switch.

Here's how I made it:

1) Get a belt.

2) Mark a hole in the center of the belt.

3) Mark holes (evenly spaced) down the rest of the belt so that you have about 20.

4) Place a block of wood under the first mark in the belt and drill a hole using the mark as a guide. Make the hole slightly smaller than the LED so that it will slide in from the back and stay put. Continue for all the holes. After you do this, make one extra smaller hole on the side of the belt with the belt buckle. This will be used in Step 11.

5) Push all the LEDs through the holes, with all the positive leads facing one way and all the negative leads facing the other way. The LEDs will stay better if you push them in from the back.

6) Bend all the positive leads over. Trim them all so they are flush with the side of the belt. Run a stripped wire along all the positive leads and bend the leads of the LEDs over the wire.

7) Repeat step 6 with the negative leads.

8) Put a little solder on all the connections so they aren't loose.

9) Cut the excess wire off the side of the belt with the holes so you only have about an extra inch. Use electrical tape to secure those wires to the belt.

10) On the front of the belt (on the side with the belt buckle), hot glue a 9V battery holder (not a battery snap) 2-3 inches from the end of the LEDs. Put a 9V battery w/ snap in the holder.

11) Shorten only the positive lead of the battery snap. Solder that wire to a switch. Solder another wire to the other lead of the switch. Run the new positive wire from the switch and the negative from the battery lead through the smaller hole we drilled in Step 4.

12) Solder the positive and negative wires from the battery to the positive and negative wires of the the LED strip on the back.

13) Hot-glue the switch to the front of the belt beside the battery.

14) Flip the switch to see if it turns on. If it doesn't, check the polarity of the battery wires. If most of the LEDs light up but a few don't, check the polarity of those LEDs and make sure they are making a solid connection with the wire.

15) Use black duct tape to insulate the back of the belt (You could also use electrical tape but I find duct tape is easier to use for insulating a wider area).

16) Put the belt on, go to the mall, turn on the belt, and walk around. It's fun.

Note: I actually used E6000 glue and some super glue instead of hot glue, but either will work fine.

Did you make one? Post it in the comments!!!