THE SITUATION:

"if you are alive, you are in the situation." - Bread & Puppet Theater

UV LIGHT KILLS VIRUSES, GERMS & THREATS.

UV-C IS HARMLESS TO HUMAN CELLS, INCLUDING RETINAS.

This isn’t a permanent installation. It’s a promotional prototype for a lovely medical disposable germ-suit.

So far so good, and meanwhile, we think it looks great.

The GOAL:



is an inexpensive (eventually, under $25-30?), portable USB powered virus-zapper suit that

1. Will provide a 5-10 meter radius of safe-to-humans UVGI germicidal protection for any wearing it and

2. That anyone can put together without special expertise for both practical application ASAP during this Corona-Enclosure period, as well as

3. to sport about town in a show of support for the Columbia University recent campaign: (https://crowdfund.columbia.edu/pages/cuimc-research) to further the cause for putting 100% safe levels of low range UV-C in all people’s hands as “…a way to “curtail not only COVID-19 now, but future super-viruses as well as more familiar viruses like influenza…” And as written about here in Gadgeteer. https://the-gadgeteer.com/2020/03/29/crowdfunding...



4. KILL BILL & all associate viruses

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MATERIALS -

Goal: $25-30 / Reality: $69 (not including power bank)

1. Medical or paint coveralls, X-large - $9.99, Rainbow (30 mins wait on line)

2. Two 16.5’ LED strips USB-ready with music! Amazon)

3. Aluminum Tape (Yes!) - $3.24 x 3 rolls = $9.72, Amazon

4. iCraft SuperTape Strong Double Sided Permanent Adhesive, 1/2" x 6 yards - $5, Amazon

5. Power Bank

More about those Materials...

Shortwave UV-C LED strips measured at 254 nanometers ARE AVAILABLE, but with current shipping delays, I opted to buy regular RGB strips from Amazon to get the idea assembled quickly for this contest. So many choices exist, but these were shipped fast and were super EASY to use.I also want to research more before making any claims.

Aluminum Tape - this stuff is fantastic! Apparently, aluminum as a base for LED wicks excess heat from the diodes, preventing over-heating which both extends their lifespan and keeps them operating at their brightest. So I thought, why not break out the tinfoil? I love this tape! It’s providing a non-porous surface for the 3M adhesive on the light strips, attaches so easily, flexes with the coverall material and is holding up wonderfully even during my brave model's 24 squats.

Super Tape - Fortunately, I had this two-sided super sticky tape on hand as the LED adhesive was absent across a 12” patch. Super Tape to the rescue!

Power Bank - This is where my learning curve is at its greatest incline: Each 16.4’ (5 meter) strip was listed at 24 watts (is that per foot or total strip length?) I decided 24 watts sounds like a lot for just a few meters of LED so likely 24W was calculated for the whole strip (or was it a typo?) Each strip is recommended for 12 volts of electrical draw. I doubled that for both strips to 24 volts since I planned to connect them onto one power source and one supplier advised to divide 24 by 12 to get the amps - so 2 amps total. Wait.. is that a lot or a little? Portable power banks are measured in mili-amps so would this need something like a mini-car battery? (UPDATE: I have since found another Instructable that is now my designated tutorial on electricity here):

https://www.instructables.com/id/How-electricity-a...