Subject:
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Re: Lego "style" wire and electrical connectors
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Fri, 16 Dec 2005 15:57:53 GMT
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Viewed:
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1482 times
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In lugnet.robotics, Ken Koleda wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I have periodically scoured lugnet for information on this topic and results
> have been limited.
>
> Q1. Can anyone point me to a source of wire that looks as close as possible to
> the wire that lego uses. I prefer the more flexible variant (multistrand?). I
> have tried to look through some online electronics sources, but I don't know
> enough about wire specs and nomencalture to find what I need. It must be out
> there, right?
>
> Q2. What is the best way to make a lego compatible connector? Seems to me one
> could maybe use small screws the size of studs or something...
>
> Q3. What would be a good alternative connector that I might use? I would splice
> this onto the wire end of a chopped-in-half lego wire. lego connector on one
> end and other electrical connector on the other. Then I could have varying
> lengths of wire with the alternate connectors. Is phone wire useable?--(I know
> it won't look like lego wire)... phone wire had modular ends readily available
> and cheap and I think the strandard is two pair of wires.. is the power of an
> RCX too much for phone wire?
>
> Q4. I've been googling around and so forth not much luck just yet. I'd like to
> build a lego christmas village and "light" it. Non-lego lighting would be a
> lot cheaper. Ideally I would like a string of lights.. perhaps clusters of LEDS
> yellow or white... between 12 and 20 clusters maybe 12 inches between clusters.
> I heistate to put even normal mini lights in side lego houses over concern of
> the heat.
>
> any tips are greatly appreciated.
>
> -Thanks
>
> Ken
As a purist I'll tell you that LEGO's educational store sells wires in 3 meter
lengths along with the more typical sizes. However, I've had to make my own
wires before, so . . .
Official LEGO wire is pretty thin; I'd guess it's 24 guage. You'll be fine if
you buy a spool of multi-strand 22 or 24 guage speaker wire. Finding it in black
to match LEGO's is possible, too. Even single strand speaker wire will work, but
it's not as flexible. You needn't worry about drawing too much current from an
RCX. As for phone wire, it should work fine.
To make the connections, I soldered alligator clips onto the wire ends and
clipped them to the underside of official LEGO wire connection plates. If you're
not planning on using LEGO lights, either, then just clip onto your LED
terminals (pay attention to which terminal is + and which is -, though). As you
suggested, you can cut off the ends of official wire and put clips on them.
The real challenge will be setting up your wiring to allow blinking lights and
sequences. Since the RCX has only three outputs, if you want more than three
light circuits you'll need a custom built multiplexer or something like that to
send the power to the correct set of lights.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Lego "style" wire and electrical connectors
|
| Hello, I have periodically scoured lugnet for information on this topic and results have been limited. Q1. Can anyone point me to a source of wire that looks as close as possible to the wire that lego uses. I prefer the more flexible variant (...) (19 years ago, 16-Dec-05, to lugnet.robotics)
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