ELpod

Broken ipods are depressing... especially if they belong to your sweetie. It sits there, silently staring back at you as if to say "You know, the new models are so much better anyway...". Reap your revenge by turning it into a cool piece of glowing raver bait with cheap and bright electroluminescent wire (el wire) for less than $10 including battery. When she opens it on Valentines day, she'll forget all about wanting a new one... ya' think?

Step 1: Crack the case

Say a little prayer or whatever you need to do first to stab a screwdriver into a corner. Once lifted a little, leave the screwdriver in there and grab another one to work open the adjacent corner. You will damage it a little, but when you pop the cover off you'll see why its made difficult by the "grabby things" on all the edges.

Note: from here on out when I say right, left, top, or bottom, I am referring to your prospective as you look at the ipod fully assembled.

Comments

[Warlrosity]

My li'l nano died,.....

[Warlrosity]

MY NANO IS ALIVE

[casey321b]

im not saying i dont like the idea its cool but why not just fix it? like get a new screen or hard drive or whatever it needs and try to fix it. or if your going to do this try make a few lights and making the buttons turn on different lights

[Vertigo666]

i can't get the top open

[efilnikufecin]

It's an old one, but I will answer for those who stop by later. Go buy some batteries. AA, AAA, C, or D whatever you might use. Take the plastic from the package they came in and cut 2 pieces out of it about 1/2-1 inch wide and long enough for you to get a hold of. gently squeeze the right or left side in the middle, but below the LCD. you will see a tiny gap appear. insert a piece of plastic, then slide it up or down. Insert the other piece, and slide it the other way. slide them both away from each other, and they will release the tabs that hold the front to the back. This method normally does not scratch the Ipod, or knick it in any way. When I find my camera I might post an instructable with pictures showing how to do this.

[Vertigo666]

Nice, thanx.

[ledzep567]

liking the painting. can this el wire be submersed in water if the connection and battery and stuff is all sealed?

[Mister Jellyfish]

The painting is by Killbuck, a good friend and favorite artist. El wire does not do well under water. I've had it rained on a lot with no problem, but submersion tends to permeate and ruin it. The El Pod could be sealed I suppose. Try Goop brand adhesive or caulk.

[tj the gnome]

""It sits there, silently staring back at you as if to say "You know, the new models are so much better anyway..."."" haha i know the feeling!

[rockyt]

I purchased about 50 feet of this el wire, but I can't figure out how to hook it up. Can you add an instructable as to how to connect this stuff. Can it be directly connected to a battery power supply?

[Mister Jellyfish]

Hi Rockyt. Sounds like you're in for 50 feet of fun! There's a link to a good tutorial on hooking up el wire in this Instructable step #3. You need an inverter between the battery and the el wire. Available from the websites listed here.

[rockyt]

yes, thank you. I saw the link after I replied and sent you a private message.

[crapflinger]

i think steps 9 and 10 are inverted

[Mister Jellyfish]

Got it, 'Flinger. Thanks. Hey with a name like that, you should check out my other current project, The Unfortunate Monkey Experience.

[leevonk]

get it from allelectronics.com cheap

[Mister Jellyfish]

I've purchase things from AllElectronics and been disappointed. IMHO the best and brightest manufacturer of el wire is Lytec, which is based in Israel and has another plant in China. There are also safety considerations claimed on the web for the cheaper wire because of the chemicals in their luminescent coating. This stuff also has a half life of brightness (not radioactive). If they can't quote it at least 1500 hours, it's the cheap stuff.

[PetervG]

Whats an EL wire?

[Vertigo666]

did you read the top part- look at demonfox's answer

[Captain Pedantic]

That's sweet. I've never heard of EL wire before. BTW, you've got a few glitches: a double tap on step 4, and you dropped a dot on the worldaglow webdress.

[Mister Jellyfish]

Thanks, Cap'n. Fixed 'em both and made a couple of other clarifications. Ah the power of a second pair of eyes!

[Mister Jellyfish]

Thanks, Captain. Fixed 'em both and updated the perspective in step #1.

[demonfox]

EL wire isn't fibre optic lol Its copper core wire covered in phosphor material with 2 thin wires wrapped around that. normally inside a pvc sheath.

[fungus amungus]

Indeed. Faaaaaar from fiber optic in terms of results.

I use and endorse the products from Cool Neon. They've always been good to deal with.

[Mister Jellyfish]

Yes, Cool Neon is also good. The owner actually helped me with a field repair once in San Francisco. I've got bigger projects I've done with a partner here:

Mantis and MiniMan.

Thanks for the help, everybody. This was my first instructable and I'm up for coaching.

[fungus amungus]

Just work on the basics: macro photography and highlighting areas of the pictures. You have some unfocused pics there and there are a couple times that a highlight would help.

[fungus amungus]

Oh yeah, those two puppets are sweet.

[Project_Nightmare]

It's a fiber optic wire that when put to a light source the wire reflects and refracts the light inside of it, so the wire appears that it's glowing.