Here in Pennsylvania the Renaissance Fair is going on through October and a friend invited my wife and I. I figured I'd make it fun and dress up as something...the only thing I'm certain on is a staff like I'm a mage, wizard, or what-have-you. I'd like to be able to illuminate my DIY "crystal" with a LED. I'm not *completely* new to electronics but things like what resister to use, what capacitor, how much voltage, etc. are mainly foreign to me.
Now, the caveats: I want to be able to hide this in my staff with a small button that would be covered by a small amount of wood or a wrap, whatever. I figured a 9v battery would be a good sized battery that would be easy to hide. And of course I would need it to snake up to the top where my "crystal" is. So far I think just one white 3mm 3v LED would be good.
I've seen the commonly-referenced video (I searched before posting) and it looks mostly like what I'd be doing. The "problem" of that design is perfectly fine for my project. I don't mind a delay before the LED starts fading in.
I figure about a 5 second fade-in time would work and a 3 second fade-out. Also, a "safety" switch would be great to have so I don't accidentally start illuminating my staff unless I want to.
I know it would (probably) be better for me to learn all of the ins and outs about circuits, resistors, capacitors, Ohm's law, etc., but this is just one project and I really don't see myself doing anything like this again. I humbly ask you, the experts, what parts I should get that would solve my dilemma and how to throw them together without soldering (I have plenty of electrical tape). The diameter of my wooden "dowel" is 1 1/4" and it's about 5 feet in length.
Thank you everyone for any help.
Now, the caveats: I want to be able to hide this in my staff with a small button that would be covered by a small amount of wood or a wrap, whatever. I figured a 9v battery would be a good sized battery that would be easy to hide. And of course I would need it to snake up to the top where my "crystal" is. So far I think just one white 3mm 3v LED would be good.
I've seen the commonly-referenced video (I searched before posting) and it looks mostly like what I'd be doing. The "problem" of that design is perfectly fine for my project. I don't mind a delay before the LED starts fading in.
I know it would (probably) be better for me to learn all of the ins and outs about circuits, resistors, capacitors, Ohm's law, etc., but this is just one project and I really don't see myself doing anything like this again. I humbly ask you, the experts, what parts I should get that would solve my dilemma and how to throw them together without soldering (I have plenty of electrical tape). The diameter of my wooden "dowel" is 1 1/4" and it's about 5 feet in length.
Thank you everyone for any help.