Testing and tearing apart some 12V LED neon-flex.

Рет қаралды 482,293

5 жыл бұрын

This is a fairly common material now. It's an attempt to match the super-smooth linear light output of neon tube without the fragility or expense. In many applications nothing will beat real neon, but for some environments like theatre or fairgrounds where the real thing would be too fragile it's an interesting alternative.
Here's a link to the UK listing I bought this from:-
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302169852307
And what appears to be the same sellers USA listing:-
www.ebay.com/itm/292246704318
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm
This also keeps the channel independent of KZfaq's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.

Пікірлер: 462

@SK-se7ox 3 жыл бұрын

This man has the voice of a documentary

@stephensmith799 Жыл бұрын

Yes. Perfect for documentary making. Have a listen to Fife Robinson. He had a wonderful documentary makers voice

@donleland9157 Жыл бұрын

OUTSTANDING video - great detail on the power mapping and breaking down (with fantastic focus, I might add)...and all with a mesmerizing voice and accent! I always wondered why we don't see the individual LEDs on these increasingly popular flex lights, and you showed us why! CHEERS!

@neonfactory35 4 жыл бұрын

You are the reason we have created our own factory of neon led sign. We got many clients from all over the world. Thank you very much

@ken9503 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the vid bigclive. I usually don't make many comments but since this is about leds, I couldn't help think that those coasters made of clear plastic would make a neat night light.

@4468 5 жыл бұрын

Oh I like the look of this stuff, the possibilities are almost endless!

@daviddesrosiers1946 4 жыл бұрын

I have some of this stuff, except the light is directed out both sides. It's marvelous. Thanks for the content.

@MrSwosh89 4 жыл бұрын

As always, thanks Clive! I am planning on using these neonflexes inside my pc case as they are like 1/10th of the cost of the "gamer" ones, lovely stuff, i just nees to make the final calculations on what I need, lenght, etc and my case shall glow!

@BEdmonson85 5 жыл бұрын

That coaster rocks! :D I hope the files do get shared. I'd like to turn it into a bigclive button.

@BigRTKingKong 5 жыл бұрын

Clive, I watched this a couple days ago and now this morning I got an ad on my Instagram for the very same product. Crazy how they know just everything.

@wannabetechnician7451 5 жыл бұрын

a sharp knife is surprisingly often the best way to cut stuff

@Deathbyfartz 3 жыл бұрын

Also works surprisingly well at keeping people at Corona distance lol

@sheezy2526 2 жыл бұрын

@@Deathbyfartz u NEED A short sword for that to swing around ur body

@ripudamansharma5990 2 жыл бұрын

@@sheezy2526 not if you're good at throwing knives.

@JneBrr 4 жыл бұрын

Wow this is the best tutorial I have ever watched. thank you so much

@jlucasound 5 жыл бұрын

The recessed "glasses" will actually help by allowing air to escape through the seam, so the coaster won't stick to your "glasses" when you pick them up.

@WmLatin 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks again for yet another technology introduction- I have some projects in mind and parts coming from China! Always enjoy your videos...

@Isa-yb8zy 4 жыл бұрын

most detailed review i've ever seen!!! amazing

@kristopf 5 жыл бұрын

I hope the anonymous coaster designer reveals more. Of course I'd like to print some Official Big Clive coasters but also I'm really curious to learn more about how it was made. The finished result looks as good, or even better than many of the multi-material prints that I've seen. I hope they release a blog or video documenting their process!

@apm136 5 жыл бұрын

the shiny/gloss look is achieved by printing the side youll put your cup on on the bed, hairspray applied to a clean bed with the right first layer squish right gives a great smooth finish to the underside of your prints.

@JLsoft 5 жыл бұрын

"I can show you an end profile, because I took a picture of it earlier." Good chat message.

@grabasandwich Жыл бұрын

I just picked up 2 boxes of Twinkly Flex 7 ft strips. I normally don't like retail, but I had a $50 Best Buy gift card and they were on sale for $79 CAD (regular $129 but still overpriced I'm sure) so I took a chance. You are SO right about this stuff. I tried using the clips and double sided adhesive, but it's so rigid that it kept lifting them off of my kids' headboards.

@Miata822 5 жыл бұрын

Before I'm 4:00 in to the video I stopped and hit the Ebay link before the price went up. I know how this works.

@hackbyteDanielMitzlaff 5 жыл бұрын

Maybe, instead of buying them on ebay .. you might want to look at aliexpress or so? ;) (Will at least take a bit longer to rise the prices over there... ;)) IMHO, YMMV, just some 2 cents. ;) Hacky

@watchmylgbtvideo9115 4 жыл бұрын

or you can find it, just type neon factory on google

@Michael_Michaels 5 жыл бұрын

14:54 I have a beautiful scar in my left hand caused by a similar prowess! 20 mm long and no stitching needed! 👌

@lostjohnny9000 5 жыл бұрын

This stuff looks chewy enough to resist propeller strikes on racing quadcopter gates. Flexible enough to make ASCII characters.

@jomarsh979 Жыл бұрын

I recently bought a strip and half of it is not working and now you’ve given me hope just to cut it off. Wish me luck because I have no clue what I’m doing but I thoroughly enjoyed your video. Thank you, cheerio

@fifth-scaleproductions8878 5 жыл бұрын

"I'll just put this away , its quite a long length " 😂😂😂😂😂

@specialallsorts935 5 жыл бұрын

A couple of (round) red LED'S for eyes in those coasters will look smart, that's another video bigclive can make, great video and those coasters are smart well done.

@DubiousEngineering 5 жыл бұрын

What an epic Thumbnail picture!! - Looks like a kettle element on full chat!! - Big thumbs up!! :-)

@noizeuk 5 жыл бұрын

I used one of these for a very simple DIY ring light. I spliced on an old lamp cord with a switch and simple as that, you just saved 80 quid.

@tonygick9833 2 жыл бұрын

awesome job explaining how it works, thank you for doing the video

@TravisTerrell 5 жыл бұрын

Coincidentally, Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools podcast featured these just this week! Nice to see a more in-depth look.

@davidbartley2887 8 ай бұрын

Fantastic, thankyou, now I know everything about these strip lights!

@raymondmucklow3793 5 жыл бұрын

Well done on the coasters anonymous ? This tape looks labor intensive.

@cherrieaulait 5 жыл бұрын

Oddly satisfying noise it made when you whipped it on the bench a bit at the beginning...! 😂

@AliAAdib 3 жыл бұрын

This video was really informative. Thanks so much!

@ferrumignis 5 жыл бұрын

Not seen this stuff before, thinking you could make nice big 7 segment displays from it.

@mycosys 5 жыл бұрын

That U channel reminds me of 300 Ohm cable - i wonder if they are combining 2 off the shelf parts and then adding teh outer extrusion?

@pshq 5 жыл бұрын

They were selling such LED neon stars in Biedronka stores (Poland) but they were smaller and the neon tape was two-sided.

@babyflurryheart9114 5 жыл бұрын

It looks so cool

@DCBpower 5 жыл бұрын

For even illumination of very long runs, connect + at one end and - at the other. That evens out the voltage drop and all LED segments get the same voltage. The extra bus connection at one end is prefect for feedback voltage control. On long metal grounded vehicles connect one end to the metal chassis and the other end to power.

@USDOTATF 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Tim, I am creating a very long run in my apartment, could you go into further detail about even illumination. How would I specifically connect the positive at one end and the negative at the other? Thank you ver much in advance.

@LuparaX2 5 жыл бұрын

The coasters are pretty neat. For a project you could make the glasses light up.

@homebody0089 5 жыл бұрын

If they made these with UV LEDs, I could get some of those cool posters and go back to when I was 15. Peace and Love to all today!

@bigclivedotcom 5 жыл бұрын

The black flock pictures? Strangely that's something that doesn't appear to be common on eBay.

@therealxunil2 5 жыл бұрын

I'd buy one of those coasters.

@twocvbloke 5 жыл бұрын

It's pretty neat stuff, plenty of ideas come to mind as to what to use it for... :)

@JoeWilson-cw1rt 5 жыл бұрын

I’ve never even wired a plug socket and have no knowledge of electrics, but I still find myself watching all these videos religiously.

@Oufg103f 5 жыл бұрын

Great video 👍 *idea for new video what's the best lighting for under wall mounted kitchen units*

@thehappylittlefoxakabenji8154 5 жыл бұрын

cool foxy like this I have a metal shooting star that had that incandescent rope light it failed so I snipped off the cable and threw away the rope bit I'm left with the metal frame so this will be an ideal replacement !

@TheMrMaxx 5 жыл бұрын

A strip with WS2812B LEDs in this neon style form factor must look awesome.

@bigclivedotcom 5 жыл бұрын

I think that's available.

@tehappon 5 жыл бұрын

I only found ones with 60 leds/m. Double that and it might actually look nice.

@agentblueuk 5 жыл бұрын

I have some, it gives very pastel colors due to the diffuser

@Darieee 5 жыл бұрын

Btw .. how would acidy sanitary silicone work for sealing in those end caps? Being flexible could make it optimal ... it also reeaally bites into everything (and I’ve never seen it corrode anything or conduct even slightly)

@bigclivedotcom 5 жыл бұрын

Sealing the waxy flexible plastic is difficult. You really have to use a matching plastic and solvent glue or amalgamating tape.

@stevenl4422 5 жыл бұрын

alot of people use EL wiring or electro luminescent , to produce a similar effect with low power consumption and comes in many sizes, its actually really cool seeing the led ones broken down though. but yeah figured ide note that because of the general effect

@laserhawk64 5 жыл бұрын

Nice lights! The connector you're using is a standard 3-pin connector for (desktop) PC fans, by the way... its four-pin brother is for the PWM ones and comes in a couple variants depending on how you want the tongue part (which you cut off)...

@ethanpoole3443 5 жыл бұрын

It is a Molex KK type connector more specifically.

@cambridgemart2075 5 жыл бұрын

Tommorow's World, how I loved that show, especially when it didn't go to plan!

@WaltonPete 5 жыл бұрын

Yes, and Clive looks so much like Judith Hann!

@phils4634 5 жыл бұрын

Wire wrap onto square section posts used to be a highly reliable method of connection back in the day.

@AntonioClaudioMichael 5 жыл бұрын

Great video Clive

@nomadsurvival4952 5 жыл бұрын

Cool you always find all the good stuff LOL...

@spikekent 5 жыл бұрын

I love the Big Clive coaster, I'd really love to print one for myself. Hope the designer decides to release the stl's

@ericjackson7810 5 жыл бұрын

Wow that coaster would make a fantastic insert for a wireless charging station!

@S.ASmith 2 жыл бұрын

i watched this a while back, and recently booked a lap of lights lap at silverstone... im using red LED rope light as underglow for my car when im out on track there with my little brother (the visit is a christmas present). 12V works great as car battery voltage is 12.88V typically, i think addressable LED rope light might be better for car underglow, wire it in to a switch with a LED controller, and press the switch to cycle modes or have a receiver behind the switch and a remote to change colours etc. I like the diffusion of rope lights, it's much better than almost all other LED strip.

@asderferjerkel 2 жыл бұрын

Just taking a look too for a lil art piece on my houseboat, always nice to find that clive's already covered them. Cars (and boats!) are nominally 12v-ish yep, but can be 10-14.8 with potential 30v spikes from the alternator. LED strips don't tend to come with drivers so you might like to power it via a DC-DC converter to give it a stable 12v. They're dirt cheap on aliexpress (I got a few from the seller szwengao, search 12v regulator) and work great for anything that might be sensitive.

@S.ASmith 2 жыл бұрын

@@asderferjerkel Yea I have a few buck converters to provide a stable 9-12V depending on load. I've hard wired in trackers and dashcams on sports/super cars a fair bit so it's pretty straight forward. I buy stuff on Ali Express but i think I brought mine off Ebay a while back.

@kimgeraldoray 3 жыл бұрын

your voice is soothing i love it

@nerdydev 5 жыл бұрын

I saw a rgb version of this round the some waltzer cars runing off batteries. looked amazing!

@bigclivedotcom 5 жыл бұрын

I ordered a bit of the RGB stuff to check out.

@drteeth7054 5 жыл бұрын

I'd buy a few of those coasters! And in those colours too.

@johnpossum556 5 жыл бұрын

Should fit some rectangular LEDs in the eyes.

@philiphaigh5434 5 жыл бұрын

I do not no much but you are making it easier 👀

@victorthomas8363 7 ай бұрын

All respect to you Sir

@thanhwibu 4 жыл бұрын

Can you tell me what is the red color thing that hold the bending for the neon light please

@Meximagician 5 жыл бұрын

I'm surprised it's so labor intensive, as opposed to just jamming half a staple or something into the bus bar and soldering the other end onto the pad.

@BrucesWorldofStuff 5 жыл бұрын

Great Video as always! As for the coaster @11:31, To whom ever made it, it is just fantastic! I would buy one, and I don't buy merch as a ruel.. As for a BigClive T-Shirt or something, I would buy one of those too, just this once mind ya!! .....lol

@simont3686 5 жыл бұрын

Nothing comes even neat the real glow of neon or argon signs! But for LED it's quite good.

@simont3686 5 жыл бұрын

@@memberwhen22 I have seen both in real life. The bent glass tubes with an arc going through them are just a whole other leauge. And you have to keep in mind that LEDs produce a lot of plastic waste. That is also a reason why i prefer mercury vapor, metal halide and all the other gas discharge lamps/tubes.

@dashcamandy2242 5 жыл бұрын

This "LED neon" stuff looks like a reasonable replacement for preexisting incandescent rope light sculptures. To whomever sent Clive the coasters - NICE JOB! I'd love to try 3D printing, but I cannot justify the expense of buying a printer and filament when I can't even wrap my mind around design. There's a massive mental block between having an idea and implementing that idea that I haven't been able to overcome. LOL

@bigclivedotcom 5 жыл бұрын

For full 360 degree viewing the LED ropelight might be a better option.

@pvtwillward 3 жыл бұрын

Can't get any sections that I cut jump and solder I get 9.8v at the first second and on the end weld plates. Pos to pos and neg to neg any thoughts or recommendations? Would be much appreciated

@dennisseuferling815 5 жыл бұрын

I don't know if Adafruit ships internationally but I believe they sell this product here in the states. I feel like this was a featured product like a month ago.

@SootySweep22 5 жыл бұрын

I would guess that rippling is a lens for piping the light out to the front.

@ManWithBeard1990 5 жыл бұрын

I don't envy the man whose job it is to wrap those little wires around the busbar. It almost has to be manual though, because if you went through the trouble of automating it you'd do it before the busbars were molded into the transparent plastic.

@licensetodrive9930 5 жыл бұрын

OMG, it looks perfect for making some LED race gates for indoor micro quadcopters! The price is a little >ouch< though for making more than a couple, and you want lots of them.

@bigclivedotcom 5 жыл бұрын

At about £5 / $7 a metre it's cheap for what it is.

@licensetodrive9930 5 жыл бұрын

Yeah you're right, I've been used to bargain basement Chinese stuff for too long :) I did make some LED race gates for about £2 each using 2xAA powered 1 meter festive LED strings wrapped round garden wire, the effect is pretty good - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bqhlfNGjvcylgKc.html Especially when you tape a diffraction filter over the lens, it gets 'trippy'... kzfaq.info/get/bejne/g7lkZcVyr5zMhKs.html

@Kineth1 5 жыл бұрын

Keep making neat stuff like that, I subscribed.

@licensetodrive9930 5 жыл бұрын

@Kineth1 I'm always on the lookout for interesting things to modify/make/play with. Did you see the gyroscope I designed & 3D printed to hold a micro quadcopter? kzfaq.info/get/bejne/h699YNdiuauod5c.html

@chrisj835 5 жыл бұрын

Love to use this stuff to make a giant 7 segment type display, imagine a clock display that takes up an entire wall. Big-Time?

@wantagetreat 4 жыл бұрын

does the white coating come off? is it self adhesive?

@korifallon8210 3 жыл бұрын

Big Clive, I think you should make a video tutorial on how to use this to make a DIY faux neon sign!

@brianevans1946 5 жыл бұрын

Those coaster are very cool..

@milksheihk 5 жыл бұрын

Those black marks look like the reg marks that bagging & tube(like toothpaste tubes) forming machines use for indexing where to cut & seal.

@mrdovie47 3 жыл бұрын

I got some from AliExpress that is just a 12 Volt LED tape extruded into the form, 5 X 13 mm with no other embedded wires. It has barrel connectors for 12VDC, but lights at 9VDC as well.

@crazyaa5651 2 жыл бұрын

How you manage to make it work?

@mrdovie47 2 жыл бұрын

@@crazyaa5651 I put a Pulse Width Modulator on my under cabinet lights to control brightness. I made a Joule Thief circuit that has 9 Volt output but has 13 Volt spikes also on the output and it lights very well.

@EnvAdam 5 жыл бұрын

11:54 - Just had a funny thought "Dr. Clives electrical opperation theater"

@Tgbec 5 жыл бұрын

Maybe some glow in the dark resin for the lenses on the coaster.

@N1CK0N 5 жыл бұрын

Interesting, last christmas i got myself a christmas tree shaped light of this type. But the difference was that the flex let out light both on the front and rear, not sure how they managed to do that. Also it was two colours, green for the tree and white-ish for the star. Would be interesting to see the cross section of that type of flex too.

@bigclivedotcom 5 жыл бұрын

Similar, but the LED tape is mounted sideways with a translucent dome out both sides. The LED tape was probably either manufactured with the two colours or spliced before insertion into the diffuser.

@BarnsleyMan 2 жыл бұрын

I bought 200m in 5m lengths to re do my non working xmas rope lights. Look great when painted with with glass paints.

@zhunwin 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the detail explanation u are a hero.

@TheChipmunk2008 5 жыл бұрын

This answers an actual issue we're dealing with now (sign that needs to be bright, visible, not fragile... and cheap.). Real neon doesn't satisfy cat 3 and 4. LED tape is cheap... but the really cheap stuff looks like a string of individual dots, even from a distance

@kargaroc386 5 жыл бұрын

I guess the best way to deal with that would be to incorporate the dots into the design so that it doesn't look out of place

@NM-wd7kx 2 жыл бұрын

@@kargaroc386 some dot matrix art diffused through a screen to advertise a retro style place sounds great

@give_me_my_nick_back 5 жыл бұрын

Wow that X-mas star on Easter xD

@EsotericArctos 4 жыл бұрын

Love the coasters and the fact that you have made them "official". I hope to see a lot more of these. That LED tape looks very interesting. I love the fact it has a proper bus bar inside to help reduce voltage drop along the strip and keep a more uniform lighting effect. I'd love to know if it was available in RGB or even indvidually addressable LED's like a WS2812 version.

@bigclivedotcom 4 жыл бұрын

Both those versions are available, but a bit harder to find.

@EsotericArctos 4 жыл бұрын

@@bigclivedotcom Thank you for the information. Very much appreciated :)

@steuk6510 5 жыл бұрын

Where do you buy it from I shop on amazon

@ikbification 5 жыл бұрын

The white plastic, will probably deteriorate and turn yellow under the influence of the light. I have a lot of clear flexi LED strips, and they have all yellowed.

@phonotical 5 жыл бұрын

I honestly thought you were going to use some of this in the coaster for the eyes!

@nbtmx1 5 жыл бұрын

Same here 😂

@BassPlayerAvailable 4 жыл бұрын

Hi. Do you happen to know if it produces any "Noise" when being used in conjunction PA systems, mixing desk etc? Also how is the flicker on video? Did you have to avoid certain shutter speeds on your camera to not make it flicker in this video? Thanks for the very interesting video. Andy.

@bigclivedotcom 4 жыл бұрын

The 12v material runs on smooth DC with no flicker. The quality of the power supply will determine if audio interference is generated.

@nuhoangcaptreo3897 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot for video, can i use power 24 Vdc for this LED?

@bigclivedotcom 5 жыл бұрын

They do a 24V version.

@killer1479 5 жыл бұрын

wonder if a WS2811/2812 version exits ? :o

@MrBobWareham 5 жыл бұрын

Very interesting as allways so there is no heatsink for the leds then?If they make this manualy I would think the bench is very long

@bigclivedotcom 5 жыл бұрын

The LEDs won't get very hot at 16mA. They often do have long benches for manufacturing stuff like this.

@addisme7561 5 жыл бұрын

Watch out for the Big Clive, EBay effect, where the price unreasonably skyrockets to unreasonable amounts. 💶💵💷💸💡❓

@whatevernamegoeshere3644 5 жыл бұрын

I think they have the bus bar wrapped with wires on it before they extrude it. They just make a slit and pull it out. Notice how the winding is perfect but the tail looks like it was dragged across a battlefield

@attamamei1494 3 жыл бұрын

can you solder these together using those wires that kind of stick out that he describes art 8:59 ?

@noelsherron 2 жыл бұрын

Learn from my stupidity and don’t pull on it to straighten it out. I think the link between the bus and the pad broke and now there’s a dead half meter section in my 2 meter strip. But it’s fairly cheap so I bought another. This video turned me on to the stuff. It’s really nice. I got it in a 110vac version. Very convenient and certainly looks nice.

@agvulpine 5 жыл бұрын

Does anyone still do cold cathode flex? I remember it came out about 20 years ago, but was very dim. Advertised for wrapping around your bicycle frame or car interior. That had a pretty neon glow.

@DanafoxyVixen 5 жыл бұрын

"cold cathode flex?" I think you'll find its called Electroluminescent wire. its still available

@MrSongokuxxx 3 жыл бұрын

does this mean that light from the strip doesn't fade on long sections?

@natashanatural Жыл бұрын

@xtremecables why doesn't your led lights have cutting instructions???

@jacobwcrosby 2 жыл бұрын

I love enabling the subs when watching a Clive film!! Every time he says 'neon' it is a different translation from Scottish-English: Nian. Nyan. Mean. Reunion. Noon. Me. Neon. Name. In That kind. AND I'M ONLY 2:00 IN!!! 😊😁😂🤣🤣🤣🤣

@chickeneggsituation4399 2 жыл бұрын

I just bought one strip of 12V flexible neon exactly like the one in your video. My question is, how do I power it on? Where can I get a 12V power adapter? Thanks

@bigclivedotcom 2 жыл бұрын

You can buy 12V plug-in power supplies from most electronic distributors.