18650 LED whoop gate

thingiverse

I modified my EL wire Whoop Gate with some fairy lights I found on Amazon last year. The EL wire worked well in very dark rooms, but wasn't bright enough when lights were on. The 10-foot length of the fairy lights wraps around the loop twice or once folded in half. After almost a year of use, the coin cells in my battery packs wore out, so I decided to try using an 18650 as a replacement. It works well, so I redesigned the gate to hold the cell and switch. **Note: This design doesn't have any cell protection built in, so it's recommended to use "protected" 18650 cells.** I also modified the design to take velcro straps, which can be hung sideways or upside down. This version requires more work and soldering than my previous one, but results in a brighter, cleaner gate with rechargeable batteries. Required: 1. Fairy lights: 10-foot length - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K1J5YC1 2. 18650 battery tabs - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HRTMY5T 3. The base is designed to reuse the switch from the fairy light battery case. 4. 1/2" PVC pipe from Menards for the base: https://www.menards.com/main/plumbing/rough-plumbing/pipe-tubing-hoses-fittings-accessories/cpvc-pipe/flowguard-gold-reg-cpvc-water-supply-pipe-sdr-11/cts120050600/p-1444426394192-c-8566.htm 5. 3/8" OD tubing from Menards for the loop: https://www.menards.com/main/plumbing/rough-plumbing/pipe-tubing-hoses-fittings-accessories/hoses-tubing/polyethylene-tubing/sioux-chief-3-8-od-x-25-polyethylene-tubing/901-03103w0025m/p-1470660864282.htm Instructions: 1. Cut a 59-60" long piece of the 3/8" diameter tubing. 2. Tie a screw that fits loosely in the tube to some string or fishing line. 3. Feed the screw with line through the tube. 4. Tape the fishing line to the end of the lights wire. 5. Pull the lights wire through the tube. 6. Feed the loop into the gate base. 7. Disassemble the battery pack. 8. Unsolder the switch from the battery pack (positive wire). 9. Unsolder the negative wire from the battery pack. 10. Feed the wire through the hole in the gate base. 11. Measure the distance from the hole to the switch location. 12. Cut the positive wire and solder the switch in-line with the positive wire. 13. Measure the distance from the hole to the ends of the battery compartment. 14. Positive goes on the side with the switch, cut + and - to length. 15. Solder + and - wires to the + and - terminals. The negative terminal gets the spring. 16. Push the switch into the switch holder, use hot glue to mount it. 17. Bend the tabs on the battery terminals 90° inward. 18. Push the battery tabs into slots in the base; the tabs don't need to be glued. 19. Insert the battery. 20. Snap the battery cover into place. 21. Reuse the screws from the original battery case to hold the battery cover on. The PVC pipe fits VERY tight into the gate, it helps to put a tapered end onto the PVC pipe (my oversized pencil sharpener works great for this).