Other ESL build with simple materials available from local grocery stores

[Audio_idiot]

Hi,
Thanks for the great responds, I wouldn't mind trying out on Cling film for a start, I feel that it's much more importnt to get the engineering correct before we venture into more ideal materials. Shoe wax on cling film is most attractive! Love to see the face of my friends when I told them what the ESL are made from!!! :-)

I looking into combination of wire and perforated plate stator construction...

I recon we can stratch/tension the mesh using the bicycle tube stretch table and the glue the mesh on the louvre. Then apply the glue over the whole mesh with a roller brush (just like painting over em) so that the glue will double as insulator as well. Do you think this is workable?

As for the openings, I read somewhere in this forum that there are no fix and fast rule on %tage of the opening... thus, I think anything which i can blow a breath through without much restriction is goo enough... like i say, all depand on what I can get at my local hardware store. I also feel that finer wires of the wiremash cross knitted can provide a much even/stronger static field the wire or perforated stator...

BillH, I feel that the leakage problem will be worse in wire mash as the ends as all pointy sharp thin wires which is the most coducive environment for leakage to occur... but can we some how close that out???

Another question on the wire stator, will the louvre stay static after power down?? and give a unsuspected shock to anyone toucing em? as plastics can store some static charges...

Cheers
AI/

[Gustava]

You can make do without fancy jigs to string your wire on polystryrene louvres from flourescent lights. Just use small cable ties at each end to hold each loop of wire.

I used plexiglass strips for the spacers. You can just see the cable ties behind the spacer at the end of each loop.

The wire is teflon-coated 30 gauge wire-wrap.

After stretching the wire tight I held it to the louvre with dots of epoxy. Once the epoxy was dry I cut cut the cable ties off.

[Gustava]

I have a whole roll of brass screen that I haven't got round to trying yet. I'm not worried about leakage because the screen is on the outside of the spacers, away from the membrane.

Not to worry about residual charge on the membrane. The resistance is about 100k ohms and the voltage bleeds off over 4-5 minutes.

Cheers.

[Audio_idiot]

Hi Gustave,
Thanks for the respond, with 30swg wire wrap, the must be a lot of wire wrap!!! may I know what sort of spacing are you using?

Do you mean that if the looss ends are outside of the membrane area, leakages is not a concern anymore?

Cheers

[SY]

Gustava, I cheated and used stators from Acoustats, but I'd love to build more. How did you do your wire tensioning, just by hand or with a jig?

[Audio_idiot]

Hi guvasta,
The spacing between wires looks very far apart... Helps with speed of construction.

What do you mean when you said "each loop of wire" , I was in the impression that the wire stator is made out of a single length of wire.

Thanks for the pix, looks much easier then I thought.

Cheers

[Mutley666]

I have found some mylar available on ebay at a reasonable price, and the shipping is just $5 to the EU. Would be a step up from cling film.

mylar

[MJ Dijkstra]

it is not mylar (r), but hostaphan

[Mutley666]

Thats the German/Dutch equivalent is it not? Is it not produced under licence from Dupont?

[MJ Dijkstra]

Mylar is a registered trademark of Dupont only.
Hostaphan is a registered trademark of Hoechst only.

Mylar and Hostaphan both are polyester films. There are several different subtypes of both species. Some are even custom made.