![backpack in the light](http://www.tenbergen.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/IMG_20160107_172507-e1474400919444.jpg)
![backpack in the dark](http://www.tenbergen.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/IMG_20160107_172454-e1474401001698.jpg)
I ride my bike to work on main roads year around, so I need to be visible. In the winter that means lights. If I attach them to the bike, I have to remember to take them off, and they are relatively low to the road and less visible. I had them on my helmet for a while, but that was heavy. So, I have them on my backpack.
This has worked well for some time, but I usually put on my backpack and then remember that I did not turn them on. Then I have to take the pack back off and switch them on. So, I added a remote switch to the EL driver where its
![EL driver with plug attached](http://www.tenbergen.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/IMG_20160107_163113-e1474401502316.jpg)
internal switch is attached. Because I wanted to still be able to disconnect the driver, I wanted a plug connection. All I had flying around was an old USB port and plenty of USB cables to salvage, so that’s what I did. Ya, I labelled it “NOT USB”.
I made the remote switch by wiring a scavenged
![switch soldered right onto the cable](http://www.tenbergen.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/IMG_20160107_152903-e1474401079157.jpg)
momentary switch right into the end of the wire and putting heat shrink tubing around it. The tubing waterproofs the setup and is flexible enough to trigger the switch.
Then I fed it around the backpack straps.
![remote switch on backpack strap](http://www.tenbergen.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/IMG_20160107_172319-e1474401252342.jpg)