[Pro2006] el-panel

Mon Sep 26 21:24:26 EDT 2005

I should start by saying that I do not know a source of pre-cut panels of
the correct size.  What I have done is modify, bend, shape, make artwork,
and otherwise screw around with EL panels of various types - my company uses
all sorts of them so I scavenge them all the time.
	In every panel there is a metallic backplane, an electro-luminescent
coating, and a top conductive stripe.  Most companies laminate this for
durability, but not all.  Because the power required for these things are so
low, it takes the barest shred of backplane to provide connection to a large
area.  I found this out by cutting one with scissors while it was on, to see
if the intensity of the glow changed with shape, size or anything else I
could come up with.  The results of that experiment revealed that the entire
area stayed evenly lit until the last sliver of backplane was severed.
Wiggling the joint caused flickering as the connection was made, but no
sparks or burning or any such thing like that.  The portion which was
removed did not have any soldered connections, but there was a remaining
portion of the top conductive stripe.  By carefully scraping back the
plastic I was able to connect to this stripe and the backplane, which did
allow the remnant EL piece to work as expected. I did not attempt to
actually solder to this scraped off area, although a clamping style of
connection would probably have worked fine.
	I also performed experiments in supply voltage and frequency.  Some
panels were able to reproduce only a narrow range of green light, whereas a
different one is capable of various shades of green, blue and purple
depending on the power source.  I found that the frequency primarily
controlled the color, and the amplitude (voltage) controlled the brightness.
(actually more like a volt/Hz product... but never mind).  Although it is
highly subjective, here is some data for those who are interested.  The item
under test is a 2&1/2 by 4&1/2 panel "ELL-660-W(D)" which is one of those
ones that looks bright pink when it's not being powered.  The source is a
Fluke 5700 Multifunction Calibrator with WideBand Option:

The lowest voltage which produced noticeable light in a dim room was 25V @
60kHz

The lowest frequency which produced noticeable light in a dim room was 30Hz
@ 200V

At 100V, the unit looked dull green at 60Hz, which became much brighter and
lime green by 200Hz.  This progressed towards white at 500Hz but did not
change much in luminosity.  As the source was driven higher in frequency the
unit dimmed a bit and started shifting color, and is recognized as blue
about 1kHz. The brightness stayed about the same as the color shift becomes
a distinct "baby blue" around 2kHz.  About 2.5kHz it seems to be shifting
towards a pale purple which becomes slightly brighter as the frequency is
increased.  By 10kHz, the panel is a nice lavender.  At this point, the
voltage must be lowered from 100V to 50V to stay within the power limits of
my test equipment. The frequency is now stepped up at 10kHz increments, as
smaller 1kHz steps are having little effect.  From 10kHz to 60kHz it seems
to be progressively brighter and 'washing out' the purple, until it is a
very pale white-lavender, almost white, at 50V/60kHz.
  I did not monitor amperage or try to find the most energy efficient color
or anything (Hmm... perhaps later...)

At the conclusion of color testing the frequency was set to 200Hz and the
voltage was driven to cause device failure.  The device first developed a
"pinhole" arc at around 800V, which burned a small brown dot on the edge of
the top conductive stripe, through the electro-luminescent coating to the
metallic backplane.  The failure voltage then dropped to 750V, where
multiple burn-throughs started appearing along all edges of the top
conductive stripe.  It is interesting to note that the failure voltage did
not reduce much below 700V despite multiple forced failures, which indicates
a localized destruction of the conductive EL material, forcing failure to
occur at the next weakest spot. 

	I don't know if this helps anyone, but if you ever wondered at the
capabilities of this EL stuff, at least it is interesting reading...  :)

	Have fun,

	~ Laird Free
	laird.free at fluke.com

-----Original Message-----
From: pro2006-bounces+laird.free=fluke.com at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:pro2006-bounces+laird.free=fluke.com at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of
David H. Hills
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2005 2:00 PM
To: 2006
Subject: [Pro2006] el-panel

I am trying to replace my a  el-panel on my pro 2006.  taking it apart and 
putting it back together was fairly straight forward.  I purchased a panel 
from miller engineering and cut it to size.   I cut the panel and found that

it now had a short in it.  I tried repairing the panel , the way the 
instructions from the modifications manual said.  it said just run your 
thumb nail along the cut edge. there is no way I could do this.

my question is where can I buy pre-made panels instead of cutting larger 
ones.  I would like to buy them new.

Dave hills
ka8afn
port Clinton Ohio
dhhills at infinet.com

Have  A  Good  Day
Dave 

_______________________________________________
Pro2006 mailing list
Pro2006 at mailman.qth.net
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/pro2006