Turn an ordinary umbrella into something whimsical and magical. The Electric Umbrella will glow with many pinpoints of light. Carry the sun and the stars with you at night! Perfect for night-time strolls through the countryside or just being silly. And it's dimmer adjustable so you can set how bright you want to be - anywhere from dim ambient light for strolling in the dark to carrying your own portable supernova beacon of light!
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Signing UpStep 1: What you need
The things that you need may be found through some combination of local stores, electronics parts shops, online and scrounging parts from old electronic junk you may have lying around.
Parts & Equipment:
-One umbrella, preferably light colored (I picked yellow), with a straight handle and with a hollow shaft so that you may pass wires through it. It is very important that the umbrella be simple - none of that spring loaded-automatic stuff! You want the shaft to be hollow.
-64 SMD (surface mount) LEDs in your color of choice. The actual size does not matter except that smaller will look more invisible (preferable) but will be more difficult to work with. I used size 805 (2mm wide) 3.5V white LEDs. White, blue, UV & some greens require 3.5 Volts and won't require additional resistors on each LED, but 1.8V LEDs (red, yellow, green) do (more trouble!)
-A spool of thin single strand, lacquered copper wire. Thin enough to be almost invisible against the umbrella, but thick enough to withstand the occasional stresses/snags. This is what the SMD LEDs will be soldered onto.
-3AA battery holder, preferably compact and arranged in an L shape, as the batteries will have to lie over the umbrella's shaft. 3AAA batteries would work well too, and are more compact, but won't last as long.
-Normal plastic coated multi-strand copper wire, preferably the kind that will not break easily after repeated flexing.
-One 750 Ohm variable resistor with built-in on/off switch for dimming and turning the umbrella on & off.
-Needle and thread (of the same color as the umbrella)
-Solder and Soldering iron/gun
-Wire cutters, wire strippers, scissors, x-acto knife
-Drill and drill bits
-Large board and small nails, to be used for laying out the wires and soldering the SMD LEDs onto the wires.
-Masking tape and double sided tape/carpet tape
-Clear epoxy or Glue, super-glue
Parts & Equipment:
-One umbrella, preferably light colored (I picked yellow), with a straight handle and with a hollow shaft so that you may pass wires through it. It is very important that the umbrella be simple - none of that spring loaded-automatic stuff! You want the shaft to be hollow.
-64 SMD (surface mount) LEDs in your color of choice. The actual size does not matter except that smaller will look more invisible (preferable) but will be more difficult to work with. I used size 805 (2mm wide) 3.5V white LEDs. White, blue, UV & some greens require 3.5 Volts and won't require additional resistors on each LED, but 1.8V LEDs (red, yellow, green) do (more trouble!)
-A spool of thin single strand, lacquered copper wire. Thin enough to be almost invisible against the umbrella, but thick enough to withstand the occasional stresses/snags. This is what the SMD LEDs will be soldered onto.
-3AA battery holder, preferably compact and arranged in an L shape, as the batteries will have to lie over the umbrella's shaft. 3AAA batteries would work well too, and are more compact, but won't last as long.
-Normal plastic coated multi-strand copper wire, preferably the kind that will not break easily after repeated flexing.
-One 750 Ohm variable resistor with built-in on/off switch for dimming and turning the umbrella on & off.
-Needle and thread (of the same color as the umbrella)
-Solder and Soldering iron/gun
-Wire cutters, wire strippers, scissors, x-acto knife
-Drill and drill bits
-Large board and small nails, to be used for laying out the wires and soldering the SMD LEDs onto the wires.
-Masking tape and double sided tape/carpet tape
-Clear epoxy or Glue, super-glue
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http://www.ebay.com/itm/Solid-White-Mini-Umbrella-40-Weddings-Golf-Photo-Shoot-/180651232118?pt=US_Umbrellas&hash=item2a0fa70b76
Is that umbrella okay? It's an auto-open one, but I can't find any umbrellas that don't have the auto-open nowadays.
just so people have an easier time locating a part. very cool build i want to make one myself
;D
What are the cons of using a darker colored umbrella? Obviously, you get less reflection of the LEDs and thus they look more like points of light rather than a flood of it but are there any other reasons?
My Specs:
- size 0805 white SMD LEDs (luminous intensity: 150mcd) Got em from Harvateck. Mouser electronics works too. Most places have a minimum order of 1000 LEDs but these dont.
- green stick umbrella from target
- 500 ohm variable resistor (for dimming the lights)
- 9v battery (had to use a 100 ohm resistor to reduce the voltage across LEDs to the prescribed 3.3v)
- adhesive coated velcro to secure the battery.
Notes: I messed up the first time and bought yellow LEDs that weren't bright enough (8mcd) so i had to re-order white LEDs with a luminous intensity of 150mcd. I used size 0805 but it honestly wouldn't make much difference if you went to the next size up, 1206, which would definitely be easier to work with since they are so small. I was initially worried that the LEDs would not stand up to water but i did some tests and soaked a few of them for a couple hours and they light up great.
It was a pretty long and hard project for me considering i didnt know how to solder and had limited electronics experience but it worked out swell!
put up your photos I would love to see them.
my umbrella is much easier!
olsapich@gmail.com
This is the shiznit.
I want to marry someone like you.
KINDLY CONFIRM WHETHER THUNDER WILL AFFECT THE PERSON WHO IS USING THIS UMBRELLA ?
Perhaps you mean would lightning have any effect? No more effect to the umbrella carrier than if the umbrella did not have this enhancement.
Gracias.
Un saludo desde España.
Lighting estimated average Voltage 100,000,000
Just a little bit of a difference besides it not the voltage that normally kills you it's the Amperage
Chance of injury from 2 AA batteries only if you eat them
But there's a big difference between a few AA batteries and a lightning strike.