EL Panel Polarity

[gbeal]

OK, slowly I am getting my act together with shooting flats, and to this end I received today an EL panel (A4 size) from elec2go. Quick service and real easy to deal with, sort of.
I was given the option of a cigarette plug, or bare wires, and as I was looking to attach an RCA plug of my own I opted for the bare wires. Now all I have is two bare wires, (yes alright I know, that is what I asked for, LOL), but no idea of what the polarity is required, if in fact there is any actual preferred/required.
I have e mailed three times to them today, and once more to another e mail address, all to no avail.
I am sure they will reply, but until they do, I am snookered, unless someone can shed some light (ha, good one), on what the required polarity is.
Any ideas?
Gary

[Karls48]

As far I know EL are driven by high frequency AC at around 100V. Therefore polarity does not matter. You will need suitable invertor to power your EL panel from 12V DC.

[gbeal]

Hi Karl,
thank you for the reply, I appreciate it.
It came supplied with an "Epicenter" fitting, I hesitate to call it an inverter, but it states "Input: 12V/DC 1.5A"
The way it was sold indicated it was a 12 volt system, and that is backed up by the input advice above. There is no indication of the output though.
Gary

[RB]

Hi Gary,

Karl is right, there's no polarity.

I've got exactly the same setup as you (A4) and the output is AC.

I've also got the cutable version with the little inverter and it's the same deal, no polarity, it's an AC signal.

:thumbsup:

[gbeal]

Hi Andrew,
slowly, very slowly, I am warming to the idea of simply chucking an RCA plug onto the end of the bare cables. I don't want to stuff it though, hence my reluctance to charge in.
On mine, the bare wire end has had a plug of some description on it previously, but now is just two bare wires, one black, one white.
Would you please look at yours and if the same, let me know which colour goes positive and which negative, even though there seems to be no need to worry.
Gary

[RB]

LOL you big woos !!!
OK I just hooked mine up both ways and it worked in both.
My wires are both white with one having a red stripe.
But it doesn't make a difference, I just took the chance for you and proved it to myself. :P

Now just for that you owe me a discount next time I buy something off you. :lol:

Cheers mate.

:thumbsup:

[[1ponders]]

Ahhhh Gary .... you're a man of my own heart when it comes to electronics :lol:

[[1ponders]]

Give it to him RB :rofl:

[RB]

I'm surprised he's willing to use RCA plugs on this.
RCA plugs are for audio, you'd think Gary would want to minimise noise in his flats. :P

:poke: :lol:

[[1ponders]]

LOL We gotta get in quick. :rofl:

[AlexN]

:) As I thought Gary - No specific polarity requirements..

[gbeal]

You believe these guys Alex, LOL?
All they are trying to do is get me to fry my new panel.
Guys, I actually got a reply from the elec2go, and they stipulated the white lead is positive, the black negative. Mind you they may have just been appeasing this old fart.
Cheers to all.
Gary

[Geoff45]

Useful thread this. I just got one of these panels and was faced with the same problem as Gary. They seem to be right about the white being positive. I did a continuity check and the white connects to the centre pin.
I presume I just dismantle the cigarette lighter plug and connect up the bare wires to it.

I also emailed elec2go before I came across this thread, but no reply yet. You'd think it would be more efficient to put in an instruction sheet, rather than having to answer emails
Geoff

[Karls48]

Guys why do you complicate your life. Unless someone invented EL that works on DC – EL works on AC 40 to 100KHz and around 100V. Just connect supplied invertor to your EL with any polarity. It will work. I have been involved in production of thousands of Code pads with EL back illumination

[gbeal]

Karl,
while it may not be rocket science to you, us mere mortals take a little more convincing. Heck, Ponders can't even get his cables into anything neat.
You could be right, and while the instructions from the seller of the EL panel were specific (I followed them) bear in mind also that at $90 a pop I was happy to ask and look like a dummy.
Gary

[DavidTrap]

I think Gary may have been talking about the 12V DC input into the inverter rather than the AC output that connects from the inverter to the panel.

Regards
David T

[Karls48]

If you are talking about 12V DC input to the inverter – that is entirely different matter. Correct polarity connection is essential. Well-designed unit would have polarity protection – if connected with reversed polarity it simply would not work. But cheap units without polarity reversal protection would blow up. To find out 12V input wires polarity you would have to open the invertor and look for large electrolytic capacitor close to your input wires.. Note (–) symbol on it and trace or buzz with multimeter to which one of your 12V input wires it connect. That wire is your (-) negative input.

[gbeal]

Ah, I can see the source of confusion perhaps. Yes, the polarity of the DC input, in my case I declined the already attached cigarette plug and wired an RCA, so I could use the existing 12 volt supply I have at my mount.
Gary

[erick]

Glad that is sorted - I've been confused since the thread started! :D

[Geoff45]

OK so I've got mine sorted. White wire to centre plug of a cigarette lighter, black to the outside contacts. Now all I have to do is construct a suitable mounting.

[multiweb]

Get a $10.00 A4 alu frame (http://www.multiweb.com.au/astro/lightbox.jpg)from office works and screw the power through the cardboard backing and you're done. You're coming to the astro-meeting tonight? I'll bring it over for you to have a look if you want.

[Geoff45]

See you there Marc--bring it along. It should interest everyone.
Geoff

[RB]

Now that clears everything up, it was getting confusing.

:lol:

[gbeal]

I saw this in an earlier post Marc, but have just revisited it. My EL panel has the wiring emanating from one corner, and protruding about 30 - 40mm. Sure I could cut the ally frame, but it would still "hang out" over and above the frame.
Did you bend yours back on itself?
Gary