Design Suggestions? Portable Jukebox needs lights

[grahamkingsley]

Hi all, first post after lurking for a while.

I've been tasked with building a small fake jukebox prop (thinking about 3-4' high, 2' wide, 6" deep), that needs to "come alive" with light after being touched. Limited budget is a sticking point, and the director would like for it to be battery powered.

General thoughts:
-A strand of rope light would be ideal, as well as a few single LED's in various locations.
-Rechargeable would be nice, but not necessarily a must.
-Not looking for wireless DMX control, I'm sure a small push-on-push-off switch will do.

Basically I just don't know where to look for a battery I can use to light up a strand of rope light, or what converters I would need in order to do so. If anyone has suggestions of how to do this, I could really use some pointers!

 

[JD]

A UPS battery backup for a computer (beeper disabled/removed) would give you a portable 120v power source that would run rope lights. How long does it have to be on for? The old APC type, sold at Staples, are rated for 350 watts for 5 minutes, but under light load they will run much, much longer.

 

[grahamkingsley]

A UPS battery backup for a computer (beeper disabled/removed) would give you a portable 120v power source that would run rope lights. How long does it have to be on for? The old APC type, sold at Staples, are rated for 350 watts for 5 minutes, but under light load they will run much, much longer.

I'll definitely look into that, the high school might have a few sitting around I can pull into use too. Thanks!