moonlighting question

[Clownish]

i was just wondering.... i have an AC adapter that is rated 3.5 volts....could i wire that to a group of LED's in parallel, that ate rated at 3.6V???? i don't need a lot of technical jargain just a yes or no or a easy way to alter it.... thx

[schwaggs]

yes

[DvSkIn]

yup, I did, wanna see??? HeHE, here's a pic for ya!!!


Down the canopy, with the LED's on

http://dvskin.smugmug.com/photos/338131-M.jpg


Here's a tank shot, LED's only

http://dvskin.smugmug.com/photos/338132-M.jpg


Just for an FYI, I used hot glue to hold the LED's and the wires there, it worked great!! Lemme tell you!! HTH



DVS

[DvSkIn]

yup, I did, wanna see??? HeHE, here's a pic for ya!!!


Down the canopy, with the LED's on

http://dvskin.smugmug.com/photos/338131-M.jpg


Here's a tank shot, LED's only

http://dvskin.smugmug.com/photos/338132-M.jpg


Just for an FYI, I used hot glue to hold the LED's and the wires there, it worked great!! Lemme tell you!! HTH



DVS

[DvSkIn]

Too bad they dont let us delete posts on here, sry for the dbl post everyone

[Clownish]

thats great... cuz i have like 4 gameboy adapters..... so i don't need any resistors or anything right.... besides the stuff in the adapter

[DvSkIn]

hmm, see now I'm no electrician. I did not run any resistors, but I only run the LED's for like a 10-15 minute time span, so I wouldnt have to worry about the LED's overheating. Maybe someone else could shed a little more ligh ton that one. I know it has to do with how many amps that the adapter is rated for, as well as voltage. HTH



DVS

[Clownish]

here are the exacts....DC3V(not.3.5 as i said before :D ) 250mA

[Clownish]

also which wire is the + and the - one is smooth and one is ridged

[hammerhead]

No you wont be able to use that power supply you need one that has min 6volts 200ma. You can get one at radio shack for 5$.
On the LED package find out what the Vf is. Forward Bias Voltage. Find a power supply that is a higher voltage than Vf. If you dont use a resister the led will burn out. the long leed is possitive.

[Team Slug]

Quick Answer: Probably not.

Slightly Longer Answer: It would be a bad idea to even try it if you value your LEDs. Without a resistor to limit current the LEDs WILL burn out sooner rather than later. Follow mrrobertson's advice and get yourself a 5V or 6V adapter capable of at least 200mA-300mA and go from there. If you repost when you have a suitable transformer we can help you figure out what size resistors you will need.

[DJ88©]

You will want a current limiting resistor in there. as another to add to the list. By not having them in there you will severely shorten the lifespan of your LED's by overdriving them or possibly burning them out very quickly.

[Clownish]

well now i have a 12v 780mA adapter....4 LEDs rated for 20mA and Vf 3.7- 4.5

[hammerhead]

You will need a 420ohm resister for each led solder it to the long leed (anode)

[Clownish]

anybody know where i can get that size... RadioShack only has 320 and 470... being the closest

[DJ88©]

www.digikey.com :)

Or take a look for electonics supply stores in your area. There will be some. And cheaper than Radio shack

[hammerhead]

Get one that is rated as close to 420 as you can get it does not nessaseraly(sp) need to be the exact one 480 will work.

[DJ88©]

Oh I didn't even see your initial value. :)

Go for the 470 ohm. You want to go higher if need be than lower. :) Less current. longer life. :)

[englishreefer]

what about christmas tree lights, can you use them with blue bulbs. whats so special about led or is it that their just small, surely using tree lights would be far easier, or is their more to it.

[DJ88©]

Many people use blue incandescent lighting like christmas lights.

Big thing for the LED's is long life and it's fun. :D

[Clownish]

Well it looks like i have some shopping to do :D


lets see here....

3 blue leds- 12 bucks total

1 12 v adapter.... free (already had)

3 470 ohm resistors 99 cents

solder- already had it

soldering gun- already had it

my time- 30 minutes... estimate.... 2 bucks


doesn't look too expensive on paper

[Team Slug]

I like your labor rate...I have lots of landscaping to do, would you be interested? :D

[Clownish]

Well I got bored at about 1am today so I finished the moonlighting.... sorry about the quality of the pics... they are from about a 1 megapixel camera (with no flash) :D

Phase 1 Shown during testing..... to check for overheating
http://C:\My Documents\Tof00001.jpg

Phase 2 (addition of plastic Switch and Pot housing

http://C:\My Documents\Tof00002.jpg

Finished Pic 1 This shows that i put the LED in the bulb removing spot

http://C:\My Documents\Tof00003.jpg

Finished Pic 2 Shows 2nd LED

http://C:\My Documents\Tof00004.jpg

Finished Pic 3 Shows closeup of switch housing and Pot.

http://C:\My Documents\Tof00005.jpg

The Pic of the tank lit with moonlighting turned out really bad since i can't leave the shutter open.... but it I must say the prodject went off without a hitch.... except for my dog trying to eat my solder :eek1:

O and slug that is the pricing for things reef related... not landscaping

[Clownish]

o k i need a little help on how to post the pics


how do you get it from ur C drive

[DJ88©]

You will either need to host them online on a server. Or upload them to RC's server. If you can't upload look for attach file below the window when you are typing a message.

[Clownish]

Well here goes nothing... the pics are in the same order as they were before

[Clownish]

this is the testing (Phase 1)

[Clownish]

Phase2... the addition of the switch box

[Clownish]

The pic of the placement of the LED

[Clownish]

Placement of 2nd LED

[Clownish]

Last Pic of switch and pot holder.... i just drilled a few holes and glued it to the side of my florescent housing :)