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Really a left-handed glove but something to show direction or give that needed backhand for those who get out of line. This is really a lighted LED glove to highlight visibility of your hand when you give proper hand turn signals when riding in the dark or near-dark.
This was inspired by the turn signal biking jacket and Adrian monk's sculpted hand but what do you do if you are not ready to tackle an arduino microprocessor controlled blinking LED project which also uses conductive thread as a component? Well, spin the dial of frugalness and hack a dollar-store red LED blinker and a pair of regular gloves to give you a scaled down ghetto version of a turn-signal device on a piece of clothing that provides the same functionality.
This was inspired by the turn signal biking jacket and Adrian monk's sculpted hand but what do you do if you are not ready to tackle an arduino microprocessor controlled blinking LED project which also uses conductive thread as a component? Well, spin the dial of frugalness and hack a dollar-store red LED blinker and a pair of regular gloves to give you a scaled down ghetto version of a turn-signal device on a piece of clothing that provides the same functionality.
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I had thought about building a joule thief (search for the many and improved designs) as a greener way to power this project but you need to go find a couple of transistors and torroids. Well, you know what kind of luck I have when I walk into a Radio Shack to ask about parts...
GLOVES
You will need to get a pair of gloves.
I used a pair of regular insulated fleece gloves for this project. You can really use any kind of glove that you might use for riding. You can also mod your real mesh/leather riding gloves if you want in the same manner.
LED BLINKER
As a quick alternative to building a control circuit, get a blinking LED flasher that runners or bicyclists use. We will gut out the circuitry and splice on wires to connect to our custom switch.
Hopefully there will be a few operating modes for the flasher - mine has constant ON, rapid flash, slow flash, slow chase up, slow chase down, fast chase, slow chase up and down.
This will add to the versatility and fun use of the glove for different effects.
MOMENTARY SWITCH and HOOKUP WIRE
I did not have any conductive thread and have not worked with it before so I used regular thin wire to work with this project. I just took a piece of some spare network cable I had lying around. It was actually four conductors inside but you only need 2 wires to extend our circuit switch.
Please don't snip a segment of your network cabling if you can't scavenge spare wire. And it comes insulated so you don't have to worry about any shorts. Wait, you may need shorts to ride...
REFLECTIVE TAPE or DUCT TAPE in any color
This is a simple hack to the gloves so reflective tape found in an auto parts store will be the best choice. You can also use duct tape but the reflective properties of the reflective tape adds to the visibility factor of the glove.
You can also do sewing such as hemming the edges of our cutouts to reinforce the openings and to attach the switch. Tape works great in our case.
CAUTION: You will need to solder wires to the circuit board and to the new switch. Please know how to handle and use a soldering iron or gun properly. It is HOT! Low voltage is present in exposed circuitry. Please follow all precautions regarding safety around electricity.
GLOVES
You will need to get a pair of gloves.
I used a pair of regular insulated fleece gloves for this project. You can really use any kind of glove that you might use for riding. You can also mod your real mesh/leather riding gloves if you want in the same manner.
LED BLINKER
As a quick alternative to building a control circuit, get a blinking LED flasher that runners or bicyclists use. We will gut out the circuitry and splice on wires to connect to our custom switch.
Hopefully there will be a few operating modes for the flasher - mine has constant ON, rapid flash, slow flash, slow chase up, slow chase down, fast chase, slow chase up and down.
This will add to the versatility and fun use of the glove for different effects.
MOMENTARY SWITCH and HOOKUP WIRE
I did not have any conductive thread and have not worked with it before so I used regular thin wire to work with this project. I just took a piece of some spare network cable I had lying around. It was actually four conductors inside but you only need 2 wires to extend our circuit switch.
Please don't snip a segment of your network cabling if you can't scavenge spare wire. And it comes insulated so you don't have to worry about any shorts. Wait, you may need shorts to ride...
REFLECTIVE TAPE or DUCT TAPE in any color
This is a simple hack to the gloves so reflective tape found in an auto parts store will be the best choice. You can also use duct tape but the reflective properties of the reflective tape adds to the visibility factor of the glove.
You can also do sewing such as hemming the edges of our cutouts to reinforce the openings and to attach the switch. Tape works great in our case.
CAUTION: You will need to solder wires to the circuit board and to the new switch. Please know how to handle and use a soldering iron or gun properly. It is HOT! Low voltage is present in exposed circuitry. Please follow all precautions regarding safety around electricity.
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Big Mouse Is Watching You
But anyway, cool Instructable! I would definitely use this when I'm out at night. 5 stars!
5 stars for that comment! :D
DiscussedDebated here.Please, no calls from laywers on bait and switch. That's Adrian monk.