The EL wire Contest seems expensive and how many people actually have EL wire?

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its quite correct to say "its wrong to spend money on something in order to win a contest! " but since its only 250 dollars, i doubt there will be few people doing that. i am guessing that the people who are entering have been intrigued with starting a project and just needed a little something to pull them out of their inertia. i am planning a project that will involved el wire. ( i have ALWAYS loved that neon lighting, and now its the TRON visual effect) however, my plans will just be starting as the voting is concluded. but thats okay for me because it will give me ideas on how to make my project better.
TSC5 years ago
I do not have EL wire!!!
MACKattacksnipe (author)  TSC5 years ago
Then dont enter
I may not enter at all!!
MACKattacksnipe (author)  TSC5 years ago
You don't have to enter every contest
I know that!
revelae TSC5 years ago
I do not as well!!!
TSC revelae5 years ago
Hmm ok!
toku5 years ago
Share promo codes!
frollard5 years ago
Red Green Blue   3m for 10 dollars shipping included // 12v includes inverter.

Order soon or it won't arrive before the contest is up!
I just rec'd mine. Ten days. Now to make something cool in the quick timeness...
billytwix5 years ago
somebody better make a sweet tron legacy costume using el tape ID disc included
that was actually my exact idea for Halloween this year. I doubt I can pull it off in a month tho for this contest too...
canida schroedc5 years ago
Oh, I so want to see this...
knektek5 years ago
The abundant source of EL wire on the cheap could be right around the net, ebay. They have lots of wire, from China and Hong Kong. 3M for £3.50.
Zyzzyan5 years ago
They want us to buy their product so we can win their product? This is shameless and deceitful. BLEACK! If I want to purchase their product I will, I'm not going to purchase it to win a contest.
lemonie Zyzzyan5 years ago

Spite them by buying EL wire from somewhere else then...

This is rediculous. What other reason would a company have to sponsor a contest? Its not deceitful or wrong, especially since they dont "force" you into buying from them to enter. You must think that the companies that sponsor Nascar are so deceitful for requiring their logo be put on the cars... If I do order, it will be from them. If these contests work for the sponsors, we as a community will get more sponsored contests. Seems like a win-win situation from my POV.
Yes indeed. But your comment seems to have attached to mine, rather than that other guy... (probably not an error on your part).

Wasagi lemonie5 years ago
I second that
Kiteman Zyzzyan5 years ago
You can use EL wire from any source, even second-hand.
They're not the only people that sell EL wire and nobody is forcing you to buy from them. Relax.
Actually MOST contests are for that very purpose, so "deceitful" it is not. Expected is more the case. Since all companies that run these contests (those that have a product to sell) do so to promote their product in some way, it isn't really shameful either, unless you count all contests shameful. Whether they ask you to buy their product for use, or buy their product to get a code number off it (Pepsi, Coke, products, etc), it all comes out about the same.
you don't have to purchase from them!
RelientOwl5 years ago
Its kind of like gambling, you hope that your instructable, involving El wire, that you spent money, on will win. Simple as that.
Or you make something you love and would have made anyway, and get some bonus stuff for a new project. ;)

Making stuff you don't really like just in the hopes of winning a prize is silly - statistically speaking it is unlikely to pay off - and IMHO goes against the main points of DIY (like saving money, avoiding buying things from big companies, enjoying the process, expressing creativity and making unique products for yourself...though not necessarily against the spirit of the site itself, I suppose).
I have a lot of experience working with EL wire, and it is certainly more expensive that other popular lighting methods like LEDs or CCFLs. If you're going to do a job, do it right, I suggest using hi-brightness wire, which generally runs around $1.30-1.50/foot. On top of using hi-brightness, go for a relatively high frequency if you can, around 5000Hz or higher. Though they are not the absolute lowest price for raw materials, I suggest using http://shopping.netsuite.com/coolneonstore since they have everything needed to get a project done within the same shipment. The wires are fairly difficult to manufacture due to how complex their construction is: copper wire, paint coating, insulating layer, corona wires, secondary protective layer, and shell, all within 2.5 or 3.2mm, so the high cost is justified.
toku5 years ago
I need Promo Codes to buy more elwire,
Kasaron5 years ago
Great. The -last- thing I need is another project. I hope you people are happy, now I have even -more-work to do.
canida Kasaron5 years ago
Life is hard. ;)

steven1235 years ago
I have some on order that cost 99 cents per foot.
kcls steven1235 years ago
Really? Where are you getting it from?
http://www.worldaglow.com/rcProdmain.asp?c1=4&id=143 rite there! hehehe :P found it on google.
It can be as expensive as you make it to be. You can get a bright 4 foot piece with a driver for under $20. It may not sound like much, but I've seen people do some cool stuff with even that.
joey2point05 years ago
i dooooo