$11 dollar L.E.D. Hula-Hoop Racing Gates

Indoor season usually means project builds and micro flying. So this project combinds the best of both worlds. I was looking to set up a "Race Course" for a little competition between myself and my Brother-in-law. I thought, "What about Hula-Hoops!" You can leave them plain as is, or light them up with L.E.D. lighting for a spectacular look!

The Parts
$1.00 Hula-Hoop from Dollar Tree
$2.00 Battery Plug of your choice
$8.00 White LED Strip
Velcro Securing Straps
Electrical Tape
Wire

Step One
Drill a 1/4" hole ON THE INSIDE DIAMETER into the hoop, but not through the hoop. (approximately 1/2" from the center seam)

Step Two
Cut the tape holding the Hula-Hoop together. Remove the "Center Insert" and keep for later. Empty the Hula-Hoop of the little rocks, and discard them.

Step Three
L.E.D. strips come in various shapes, sizes, and colors. You can choose whatever you like. For my project, I found that doubling up the strip, back to back (sticky side to sticky side), created a better "glowing effect" for the Hula Hoop. Again, your preferance as to what you like.

Step Four
Feed the L.E.D. light strip through the Hula-Hoop. I hot glued a piece of string to a AAA battery, then tied the other end of the string to the L.E.D. strip. I Fed the battery through the hoop easily, then pull the L.E.D. strip through by the string.

Step Five
Take the Posative / Negative wires and feed them through the hole you drilled in the "Center Insert".

Step Six
Take the wires from the "Center Insert" and feed them through the hole in the Hula-Hoop.

Step Seven
Re-insert the "Center Insert" piece into the Hula-Hoop, while pulling on the posative / negative wires through the Hula-Hoop. Make sure to line up the holes.

Step Eight
Use Electrical tape to re-tape the Hula-Hoop back together.

Step Nine
Solder your battery connector to the posative / negative wires.

Step Ten
Use the Velcro Straps to secure it to your Lipo Battery and plug it in!

Conclusion
These make excellent, nice looking, and simple racing gates! Dollar Tree has 4 different sizes for more challenging options, if you want smaller gates.

I find that a bigger battery as the base helps with the overall stability. I am using 3s 6200 Zippy batteries. Nice and heavy. If you use smaller batteries such as a 2200, and fly like I do constantly hitting the hoops, the gates can tip over too easily. You might need to secure the base better somehow.

Be sure to check your voltage allowences on the light strip. For the ones I use, it is 12v.

• 2s battery at 7.4v is very dim.
• 4s battery at 14.8v would burn the strip out.
• 3s battery at 11.1v is perfect.

I also recommend that you always connect a low voltage beeper alarm! The L.E.D. lighting doesn't use much, but you might be surprised, when racing indoors for the day, the lights can deplete your batteries. Safety First!

Have Fun!!!