Light Up Paracord Dog Collar

Hello, In this instructable I'm going to show you how to make a paracord dog collar that lights up using LEDs.
I made this collar because sometimes I have to take my dog out for a walk when it is dark and I am afraid that one day a car or a bicycle will run him over since he is a small dog and people might not be able to see him, So with this, people are more likely to see him.

• Paracord(A good rule of thumb is to use 1 foot of paracord for one inch of collar) I'm going to use red and glow in the dark paracord
• LEDs
• Wire
• Switch
• Electrical tape
• Aluminum foil
• LR44 batteries
• Dog collar(You are going to take the buckle and the D ring from it)
• Blue painters tape
• Popsicle sticks

You can download the parts on thingiverse.
Just search "Light up dog collar pieces"

If the pieces don't fit you might need to sand them until they fit snugly.

• Soldering Iron
• Hot glue gun
• Pliers
• Lighter
• Scissors
Optional:
• Helping hands
• Ezzzy-Jig Bracelet maker
• Sanding paper or some other sanding tool(this is for sanding your 3D printed pieces in case they are too big)

In this step you must solder the LEDs you are going to use.
I am going to use 7 LEDs for this 10 inch collar, but the number of LEDs you are going to use depends on the size of the collar you want to make.

1.- First you must solder all the LEDs in parallel that means you must solder all the positive legs of the LEDs together and all the negative legs together.(tip: the positive leg is the longer leg in the led and the shorter is the negative)
2.- Now you must place some blue painters tape on the table and wrap 2 Popsicle sticks with more blue painters tape.
3.- Place a bead of glue on the blue painters tape and then place the LEDs on top.
4.- Use the Popsicle sticks to stop the hot glue from flowing away.
5.- Place more glue on top, So the LEDs are waterproofed.
6.- Solder a red wire to the positive leg of the LEDs and a black wire to the negative leg of the LEDs.
7.- Cover the connection with hot glue.

OPTIONAL:
• Before covering the LEDs in glue, wrap a small wire around the positive Legs and another around the negative legs. This makes the connection harder to break.

1.- Cut a 5cm x 3cm piece of aluminum foil.
2.- Fold the aluminum piece in half and then fold it in half again so you end up with a 2.5cm x 1.5cm square.
3.- Place the square inside the box .
4.- Place the smallest black piece on top of the aluminum foil like in the picture.
5.- Place a battery in one side with the negative side facing up.
6.- Place a second battery in the other side with the positive side facing up.

1.- Cut 2 1.5cm x 1.5cm aluminum foil squares.
2.- Fold them in half and then in half again so you have 2 0.75cm x0.75cm aluminum foil squares.

3.- Solder a red wire to one of the squares.

4.- Solder a black wire to the other square.
5.- Push the wires through the holes of the top piece and glue them with hot glue.

You are only going to need the buckle and the D ring from this collar so just take the collar apart and save the buckle and the D-ring for later.

1.- Add about 1 inch to your desired length of collar and set that measurement in the Ezzzy-Jig.
2.- Place half of your buckle on one side and the other half in the other side.(I was lucky that my buckle from the collar fitted in the Ezzzy-Jig)
3.- Loop the paracord through the buckles with the box and the D-ring in between.(Look at the pictures)
4.- Melt the ends of the paracord and squish them so they are flat and can´t get out from the box.

I don't really know how to explain this step so it might be better if you look at the pictures.
It is just a Cobra stitch.

1.- Solder the red wire from the LEDs to the middle of the switch and the red wire from the battery case to either side of the switch.
2.- Solder the black wire from the LEDs together with the black wire from the battery case.

3.-Add hot glue to the switch so it doesn´t break and the connections don´t touch each other.(use less glue than in the photos or the lid might not fit)

Place hot glue in the hole.

Congratulations you have finished you dog collar.


I hope you enjoyed this Instructables.