Introduction: Cosplay Glove LED Lighting

About: Electronic Designer & Maker

Hi,

I did a quick LED lighting gauntlet for a cosplay photoshoot , it had to be battery powered because it was shooted on a remote place, so it had to be light , portable and capable to support most common batteries or powerbanks, all contained in a small box.

This was made in a hurry so the next one will be better.

The video was proof of concept.

Watch more on instagram & twitter, found me as @IObrizio

Supplies

  • Soldering iron
  • solder wire
  • cable 22awg
  • glue
  • Utility knife/scissor
  • Craft Foam
  • 12v LED strip
  • booster regulator(step up regulator)
  • 3d printed box.
  • USB micro cable
  • USB micro PCB exposed pins

Step 1: Block Diagram

The power source is the USB powerbank, it can deliver 5v and fair amount of current,1000mA at least , then we need to convert this 5v to 12v to light up the LED strip properly ,so we added the "Booster regulator", the main task of this circuit is to step up the voltage, finally we can connect our LOAD, we need 2 sources of light , one per hand.

Step 2: Shape of LED

I try several ways to connect the LEDs to be flexible on hand , i found the rectangular shape , connecting the LED in parallel helps with hand flexing and also it was easy to solder.

Step 3: Soldering LED Strip

I connected 3 LED strips in parallel, you can connect more or less LED strips according to your needs.

This 3 strips can illuminate my entire body and face , enough to take a picture in full darkness.

Step 4: Electrical Connection & Voltage Output Adjustment

Solder a small wire between USB micro connector PCB and booster regulator input.

Be sure to follow the polarity !


  1. DON'T connect the LED strip
  2. Use a multimeter , set for voltage measurement.
  3. Put the multimeter LEADs on booster regulator output, black(negative) lead to -output , red lead to +output(positive).
  4. Connect the powerbank to micro USB port to power up the booster regulator.
  5. Measure the voltaje on output and adjust to 12v, maybe you have to turn the trimpot screw until reach the proper voltage, try left or right to see if the voltage goes up or down.
  6. One you reach the voltage, un plug the usb power bank.



Step 5: Connect LED

Yeah!

You can solder a small connector for easy access between your booster regulator and LED strip or solder directly, leave a fair length of wire , how much length? enough to get free movement of your body and hands.

Step 6: 3d Printed Enclosure

I did a 2 pieces plastic enclosure, a small box to contain the micro USB PCB connector and booster and the cap.

I glue them together after setting the voltage properly.

Step 7: Glue LED Strip

The LED strip was glued to foam sheet also putting a skinny elastic band to maintain the complete assembly.

Step 8: Final Assembly

This works flawless , I'll be working on a plug & play solution.

see you then!