BraceLED

Make an ubercool LED bracelet the easy way. Basically, all you need is ducttape, alu-foil, a bunch of leds and a battery. I tried to make this braceLED the easiest possible way. Assembling is done just by sticking everything into it's place. No experience in building electrical circuits is required whatsoever! Some patience is, though.
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Update October 10th: I made a 2.0 version of the BraceLED. It's just as cool as this BraceLED, but with a different look & feel, and it fixes some minor problems. Please check it out here.
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This bracelet is only an example to show how to get led's into a wearable fashion-item. In the same way, you can make belts, patches, or anything you want. So make your Halloween-costumes blink!

Here comes a video...

Stuff you need:

• Ducttape in a color of your choice
• 6-10 LEDs (5 mm). Pick your color
• 2 strips of Aluminium-foil, 30 x 5 cm
• 1 Button shaped battery. Bigger is better (in this particular case).
  I used a Duracell 2032 Lithium cell. Costs around €1,80 / US$ 2,20
• 1 Super magnet (neodymium). I used a cube 5x5x5 mm, but a disc-model works just as well. Europeans: shop at www.supermagnete.de

optional:

• Two pieces of iron wire, 0.5 mm thick

Total costs: €8,- / US$ 10,- maximum.

Tools you need:

• Cellotape
• X-acto knife
• Scissors
• Pliers with a small tip
• Strip of paper to take the measure of a wrist

In this step:

• Determine the size of your BraceLED
• Position and fix the ducttape strips on a workbench. Sticky side up!
• Fold the alu-foil strips and stick them on the ducttape
• Stick the battery into it's place.

Also take a look at the photo's and the comments. I tried to make the pictures as self-explanatory as I could...

In this step:

• Prepare the leds by spreading the legs and bending their tips into a small loop.
• Place the leds on to the ducttape.
• Close the circuit and test it.

Also take a look at the photo's and the comments. I tried to make the pictures as self-explanatory as I could...

In this step:

• Optional: Fixing the BraceLED with two pieces of iron wire for extra rigidity.
• Cut loose the BraceLED
• Fold the ducttape inwards
• Fix the plus-side of the battery to the alu-strip.

Again, take a look at the photo's and the comments. I tried to make the pictures as self-explanatory as I could...

Almost done! All you have to do now is making your BraceLED look nice and tidy, and make the "switch" by applying a small super magnet. Look at the picture for tips.

One small thing about power, energy and batteries:

• -The 2032 model coin-battery contains about 220mAh at 3 Volts.
• I measured a current of 58 mA in the main circuit. This means that my BraceLED will shine brightly a bit over 3,5 ( = 220 / 58) hours.
• Because of the above, a bigger battery (more mAh), means a longer lasting BraceLED. Bigger is better, for once.
• Replacing the battery can be done, by gently pulling loose the ducttape around it. Be careful though not to break the alu strips.