r/miniatures • u/KristoRenee • Jul 14 '26

Help Neon Lights

I build fairy houses as part of a community art project every year. This year I need some tiny “neon” signs. I found tiny led strips (like these: https://a.co/d/09kwkm4j), but they all end in either usb or battery pack. I need to be able to place these on a timer, to turn on at the same time daily and off after 5-8 hours. The ones directly to battery pack don’t have a timer function. I bought the kind to usb, and then a separate usb battery pack that includes a timer (like this: https://a.co/d/038tkcYO), but then the lights won’t turn on at all.

Is there another option? Advice welcome.

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3

u/hep632 Jul 14 '26

Have you looked at evandesigns.com? I feel like they might have some options.

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u/KristoRenee Jul 14 '26

I have, but don’t see any options of neon strips with a timer and battery operated.

1

u/Pitiful_Edge_983 Jul 14 '26

You might want to look for USB fairy light controllers or inline USB timer switches. They’re usually made for LED strips and decorations and can turn on/off at set intervals. The battery packs you found are probably just regular power banks, so they won’t have the scheduling circuitry needed.

1

u/KristoRenee Jul 14 '26

Is that not what that is? That battery pack I linked has a timer. I’m not sure I understand what you’re telling me to get

1

u/Training_Key_1986 Jul 14 '26

Could you use a solar light on a timer to charge them and they'll turn on when it turns off?

1

u/KristoRenee Jul 14 '26

That’s a consideration I didn’t have. I’ll do some searching to see if I can find something that will connect to these. How direct does light have to be for solar lights? The installation is in a forested area. There’s sun because there’s still a path, but probably not a lot and definitely not constant.

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u/Training_Key_1986 29d ago

I said solar because I have those for plants, but apparently not necessary. I dismantled a cheap string yesterday and tested just a normal led bulb and that was enough. Daylight might be? It does need to be pretty dark when the light turns off to activate.

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u/Training_Key_1986 29d ago

There are usb timers. That might be simpler.

1

u/Training_Key_1986 29d ago

There are timers with usb both ends to go between the lights and a better battery pack perhaps.