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Thread: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

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    Default Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    So, I was referred to this site a while ago. I'm basically just trying to see if what I'm trying to do is completely outrageous or not. Some time ago, I was approached by a friend to make her a pair of light up heels for her Halloween costume. Seeing everything on the market was not very bright, I did just that - put in a couple super bright LEDs in a set of heels. Here are a few photos of the results. They are quite bright, even in a lit room. Unfortunately, in my haste, I did not make it possible to change the batteries, so after the 30 or so hours, you'd have to rebuild them.

    6579551785_7ffc1d2377_z.jpg

    6579551881_996a361bc6_z.jpg

    Just chatting about what all could be done, I said on my free time I'd see what else I could do. Well, right now, I'm trying to design a circuit board to fit inside. It will listen for ambient noise (music), separate what it hears thru a series of filters, and pulse 3 different colored LEDs to the beat, depending if it's bass, mid, or treble note. Also plan on making these with lithium ion batteries to resolve the dead battery issue. Now, the reason I'm posting on this site is because I have to use stripper heels seeing the battery and circuit board is going to take up a good bit of room, although I'm doing my best to make it as small as possible.

    Is this a completely dumb idea? Is it kinda neat? These are two things I'd never imagine combining together. Just wanting to get some opinions of what others think.

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    PERSONALLY, I think it's fucking bad ass, and I'd buy some!

    I love stuff that stands out, that's flashy, that's bright and that's fun.
    I love the idea!!

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    I think that sounds pretty awesome

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    So, I know only a couple people expressed interest, but I figured I'd update everyone on my progress. First off, the original heels that died. I have since re-taken them apart and rebuilt them to use left over lithium ion rechargeable batteries from old work cell phones they let me have. Each battery is able to run for over 30 hours before they need recharged again. I put in a charging port that accepts USB for convenience sake so it doesn't need to be taken apart every time.



    As for the sound sensitive lights, I finally got everything to work how I want it. Sorry it took so long; this is just a side project for me. This is also just a prototype. The final circuit will be about a third smaller and hopefully a lot cleaner. Anyway, enjoy the video. Just pretend it's in a shoe.



    Oh, I didn't show it in the video, but I also programmed in a push button where you can force the LEDs to go thru predetermined patterns if you don't care for it to sync to music/sound.

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    That sounds awesome. I LOVE that they'd be chargeable via USB.
    Quote Originally Posted by camille27 View Post
    i am losing my fucking mind and i really just want this chloroform dream because i think that would just get me right with jesus.

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    Senior Member snakesandmonkeys's Avatar
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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    Quote Originally Posted by Flat4 View Post
    So, I know only a couple people expressed interest, but I figured I'd update everyone on my progress. First off, the original heels that died. I have since re-taken them apart and rebuilt them to use left over lithium ion rechargeable batteries from old work cell phones they let me have. Each battery is able to run for over 30 hours before they need recharged again. I put in a charging port that accepts USB for convenience sake so it doesn't need to be taken apart every time.



    As for the sound sensitive lights, I finally got everything to work how I want it. Sorry it took so long; this is just a side project for me. This is also just a prototype. The final circuit will be about a third smaller and hopefully a lot cleaner. Anyway, enjoy the video. Just pretend it's in a shoe.

    http://youtu.be/aMecgAlhnCk

    Oh, I didn't show it in the video, but I also programmed in a push button where you can force the LEDs to go thru predetermined patterns if you don't care for it to sync to music/sound.

    I'm hijacking my wife's account (she showed this to me). Great idea on the LEDs and USB charging! I love this! I just want to mention LEDs that change color with varying voltage. Customization seems to be the next logical step in your endeavors. Keep up the great work!

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    Quote Originally Posted by snakesandmonkeys View Post
    I'm hijacking my wife's account (she showed this to me). Great idea on the LEDs and USB charging! I love this! I just want to mention LEDs that change color with varying voltage. Customization seems to be the next logical step in your endeavors. Keep up the great work!
    Actually, I do have tri color LEDs. Because of the features of the LED driver, I can program it to do whatever your mind can imagine. I can't wait to move onto the next step which is integrating the actual battery charger circuit into this board (right now on the other pair it's external and separate), getting a PCB fabricated, and seeing how it all fits together. Thanks for the comments guys and gals!

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    Hi everyone. I'm happy to report everything works. Turned out better than I expected. We used a Pleaser shoe as the base. I have no idea which model since she was the one who ordered them. It's 5.25" which is probably the minimum height I'd use. I just got everything to fit. Unfortunately, when I was drilling the hole for the microphone, I ended up damaging one trying to remove it during a test fit, so I only have one finished heel to show. I have a replacement mic on order. In any case, the sound sensitive circuit works, the LED cycle pattern override works, and so does the built in USB charger for the batteries.

    My next project is to make the board smaller and perhaps use a smaller battery so it takes up less space. I over-sized the battery by way too much. This thing will probably run for over 40 hours straight. In moderate light to low light conditions, the circuit board is barely visible and will not go noticed by the average person. However, in day light, it's pretty easy to tell there's circuits inside, which is why I'm designing a new board. As cool as it is and how handy it is for taking photos, I'm going to phase out the pre-programmed LED pattern feature to save on space in future versions. I don't like drilling more holes or to take up more room in the platform than necessary. Maybe if I used sandpaper to "frost" the inside of the heel, I could conceal everything, but still have usable light shine thru. Tho, it seems like a waste to put sandpaper to a brand new set of heels.

    Enough talk, I'm sure you'd rather see pictures.
    Finished custom PCB



    Audio sync mode



    All LEDs forced on mode



    And of course, video. Enjoy. Let me know what you all think!

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    Very cool.
    Quote Originally Posted by camille27 View Post
    i am losing my fucking mind and i really just want this chloroform dream because i think that would just get me right with jesus.

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    I looove these!
    I have a pair of light up heels I bought years ago from DEBs and now only one lights up...so unless I just bang it on the floor til it dies I feel stupid wearing heels where only one lights up. They turned on by the clicking against the floor when you walk.
    Rechargeable shoes...that is amazing. How much are these going to be?

    As for hiding the hard wiring inside maybe a material to cover it that matches the shoe that perhaps holds it up to the base where your foot goes?

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    That is so completely awesome-what a great idea! They look really cool and I love that the lights actually correspond with the beat of the music vs just sporadically just going off...

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    Nice! I would attach the circuit board to the under side of the platform, then it will be less visible. Patent it quick!

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    Those are awesome! Can those music flashy ones stay a solid color too, so they look more like the ones in the pics above?
    Quote Originally Posted by Kyaaa View Post
    Oh, something i did tonight when a guy wanted to give me his number i said 'we can't accept numbers when there's so many people/cameras watching. i'll only accept it if you hide it in a tip.' So he gave me $10. Ha.
    Now that's thinking green!

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    Quote Originally Posted by MissSeraphim View Post
    I looove these!
    I have a pair of light up heels I bought years ago from DEBs and now only one lights up...so unless I just bang it on the floor til it dies I feel stupid wearing heels where only one lights up. They turned on by the clicking against the floor when you walk.
    Rechargeable shoes...that is amazing. How much are these going to be?

    As for hiding the hard wiring inside maybe a material to cover it that matches the shoe that perhaps holds it up to the base where your foot goes?
    Did the batteries die or did the switching mechanism break? It should be pretty straight forward to fix if you're willing to get your hands dirty. If you're local, I wouldn't mind fixing them. I hate to see people throw stuff out like this when all you need to do is swap a battery or switch.

    Haha, I don't know about selling. I'm still trying to prefect the circuit. The only problem with trying to hide the circuit board is right now with a 1" platform, it takes up most of the space. If it were like a 4 or 5 inch platform, then yes, it would be much easier to conceal with standoffs and whatnot. My friend wasn't exactly eager to rock 7" heels out to the club

    Quote Originally Posted by ArmySGT. View Post
    Nice! I would attach the circuit board to the under side of the platform, then it will be less visible. Patent it quick!
    Same for what I mentioned about having a 1" platform. My buddy actually works for the US Patent office. Sadly, it's more expensive to patent something like this than it's worth. This was just a fun project. Not out to make money. Just hoping to show people something new. I figured it would be really cool to see on a dance floor.

    Quote Originally Posted by kissykins View Post
    Those are awesome! Can those music flashy ones stay a solid color too, so they look more like the ones in the pics above?
    This circuit can. That's how I actually captured the solid color. I didn't show it in the video because I figure people don't care as much (i can upload an additional video if you do want to see it). Programmed in right now is a solid on, all blink on/off, random cycle thru the LEDs, cycle in a sequence, and audio sync. As I mentioned, because it seems less useful, I might eliminate that part to save on space. Those modes also use more battery life (but completely optional to use) since they're using the full brightness of the LEDs and the microcontroller is active the whole time. Realistically makes little difference with that huge battery in it now. The battery size is probably comparable what you have in your smart phone. I went overboard.

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    Oh wow I love it!!!
    I have 8" heels that I think have a 2" platform, might help.

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels


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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    I'm not local =/ . I think the battery just died out in them, I've had them going on 6 years. From back when light up heels were everyones favorite.
    I wouldn't even mind the circuit showing...I'm a bit of a technosexual and I think they look sexy even with them. Pushes the high tech heel look even further! In fact even if you added some funky looking wires in there I would love them even more.
    After watching the video of how well they go with the music I WANT!

    you should really find somewhere to get wholesale heels and make these! I would gladly be a test customer for you lol

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    These are really cool I'd like a pair lol

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    Hi again. Made another pair for my friend that's big into the EDM scene. I also modified the light output and sensitivity so it's more accurate. Hope you all enjoy.

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    WOAH! That's fucking awesome!!!

    I'd be pissed if I had those and broke them!!
    **Rockabilly Harley Quinn**

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    You should make a site and sell those!!!
    **Rockabilly Harley Quinn**

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    Appreciate the kind words. It's just a fun side project for me. I have a day job that I enjoy very much. There's no reason for them to break. I designed them to be pretty sturdy. They're not hard to fix if something did happen to break.

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    I would also be interested in buying a pair if you were willing to make them, these are awesome!

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    I saw t-shirts like this at a local street fair recently. The image lit up and changed with the music.

    But somehow, I have a feeling that this would get very annoying very quickly.
    Quote Originally Posted by Jay12 View Post
    ^What Sophia said.
    Quote Originally Posted by yoda57us View Post
    I wish there was an "auto-like" setting that I could just have applied to all of your posts Sophia....

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    Default Re: Customizing Light Up LED Heels

    Quote Originally Posted by Flat4 View Post
    so after the 30 or so hours, you'd have to rebuild them.
    30 hours is three shifts for me.
    Quote Originally Posted by Jay12 View Post
    ^What Sophia said.
    Quote Originally Posted by yoda57us View Post
    I wish there was an "auto-like" setting that I could just have applied to all of your posts Sophia....

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