Antennae - Part 1

The antennae on the top of the walking monster were the first component that needed re-designing as there were a few issues that needed to be resolved. The antennae design consisted of very thin steel rods with a lot of flexibility on which the positive arm of an standard red LED was soldered to the top end. The rods were then covered in a single length of clear shrink tubing to insulate the rod's positive electrical charge that would be applied from below. The negative post of the LED was then soldered to another very thin piece of wire and insulated to separate it from the positive charge. The thin wire was then twisted around the outside of the rod with the shrink tubing, therefore bringing the negative charge also to the bottom of the rod, yet keeping it separate from the positive charge. I was then able to weave the rod and the wire through the system of disks I had created containing many tiny holes the same size as the steel rod so that reconfiguration could occur or more rods could be added in the future. In total I decided to produce 8 antennae, each of which contained a positive charge and a negative charge which powered the LED on the end, therefore making it possible to draw with light.

Several issues needed to be addressed including the weight of the antennae as the plastic tubing and the large LED's caused each individual rod to flop over to the side. As a temporary fix I secured the bunch with a wire strapping which caused the rods to curve outwards creating a kind of flowering effect. Each of these issues will be resolved in the re-design....to come!