LED poi, powered by 2xAAA batteries! Spinny lights! Light up the night!

thingiverse

First of all, WATCH THIS VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76OVStXA5N0 THIS explains poi! This is the best design I've come up with so far! Want to talk about lighting up the night? There is NOTHING like spinning poi to do that! Originally a tradition by Pacific Islanders using things on fire, this is much safer! These were printed in glow-in-the-dark Hatchbox PLA. I can turn them on for a little bit, then turn them back off, and keep spinning! The batteries for these will last ages and ages! My calculations show between 75 and 100 hours on a single set of AAA batteries! I first tried to take a video in the dark at the park down the street from me, and drew an audience. These are great! The reason this is a winner? It's so simple, and so easy, yet it lights up the night better than anything I've seen on here! The rules specifically say: "Make a 3D-printable design that incorporates LED lights, for wearing, using, or watching during those warm summer nights" - and there's no invention on here that lights up the night better than this!!! This is the 3rd and most decent version of LED poi that I've designed and printed so far. There is a much smaller version with a single LED on my channel, but that has the LED facing outwards. This version uses the rope to hold in the battery compartment. It's very secure once the rope is tied off. I also designed one with nine LEDs, all of which poke through a poi ball. This actually didn't work well. it's just harsh on the eyes. So, this design uses a single LED, that's pointed at plastic from the other side. it works much better - watch the video if you don't believe me! While my design used a battery box with a switch from Ebay, which is very cheap, I have also included a box that you can wire the LED to then super glue to the same supports I created. Just need to use a paper clip through the hole for your wiring. Required for the build is a single LED, some rope (I used glow-in-the-dark Harbor Freight rope), any soldering iron (this process is so easy, anyone can do it), some super glue, two batteries, the correct wiring, and an optional battery box with switch. I'll be including a wiring diagram and a picture of the wiring for an RGB LED with a 3-position switch. This is only a few additional dollars, and you can have 3 different colors, instead of just a single one! Just have to glue the switch in place, too, then you have 3 colors! Actual cost of (faaaar extra) materials for me, in the US: -100x white LEDs on Ebay: $1.31, free shipping -100x UV LEDs (black lights) on Ebay: $3.29 shipped -100x RGB diffused LEDs, common anode: $7.77 shipped -3-way switch for RGB LEDs: 10x for $2 -AAA battery boxes with switches and wires: $0.77 /each -Harbor Freight 1/4" glow in the dark rope: $4 You can literally build the same thing I did by ordering some rope form Harbor Freight and ordering a few LEDs and a battery box with switch for under $10 for the pair. Using RGB LEDs, you'll still be under $15 for the pair if you bought too many components. My next design will involve an ATTiny85 microchip. Unfortunately, these didn't arrive in time for me to use them in this contest. Using these, I can get all sorts of RGB patterns, blinks, and color changes. This one, though, is perfect in its simplicity! Get printed, and get spinning! :D