# LED spotlights



## RookieSpooker (Jul 23, 2007)

Has anyone made any of the super-bright LED's with the short peices of PVC? If so, how do you think they would work outdoors in a graveyard? After thinking of all of the lighting elements that I need, it appears that I would have to string out an insane amount of extention cords.


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

I made 30 plus LED spots using plastic coke bottle caps, 3/4" thin wall PVC, 9 volt battery and ultra-brite LEDs last year, and I was very happy with the performance. I am planning on getting a how-to on my site by this weeked; LED spots keep coming up and they can be done very simply (or complicated, you choose).


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## Hellspawn (Oct 13, 2006)

heresjohnny said:


> I made 30 plus LED spots using plastic coke bottle caps, 3/4" thin wall PVC, 9 volt battery and ultra-brite LEDs last year, and I was very happy with the performance. I am planning on getting a how-to on my site by this weeked; LED spots keep coming up and they can be done very simply (or complicated, you choose).


How many leds were you able to fit in the coke bottle cap? how much light did it produce? im very interested in learning more!


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## 5artist5 (Jul 10, 2007)

Hellspawn said:


> How many leds were you able to fit in the coke bottle cap? how much light did it produce? im very interested in learning more!


x2

cant wait for your writeup!


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

Hellspawn said:


> How many leds were you able to fit in the coke bottle cap? how much light did it produce? im very interested in learning more!


The most I have used is 7 5mm, but more would fit. The max for 10mm is 3, but you do not get a smooth light from the 10mm LEDs and I would not recommend them. You can see some pictures here http://www.johnnyspage.com/home2006.htm in which the scarecrow and all the tombstones are lit by individual LED spots. More to come.


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## NecroBones (Feb 10, 2006)

I haven't made spots with LEDs, but I may try it.

In general, the trick with LEDs is to get the voltage and resistance right. Ideally you want to buy LEDs with known specs... specifically forward voltage and current draw in milliamps.

Here's a useful calculator for determining how much of a resistor you need:

http://metku.net/index.html?sect=view&n=1&path=mods/ledcalc/index_eng

But if you get the voltage exactly matched to that of the battery, it all cancels out and you won't need a resistor at all. And you can get away with not using one a lot of the time since 9v batteries are relatively low current anyway, but you'll drain the battery faster than necessary.


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## kungfubonanza (Jul 17, 2007)

Hellspawn said:


> How many leds were you able to fit in the coke bottle cap? how much light did it produce? im very interested in learning more!


x3. I'm definitely interested in this.


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## jrzmac (Aug 22, 2006)

i made this spot from an led i ripped out of some outdoor speakers my wife bought for me that turned out getting f*ed up from being outdoors???? i found the led from the on light and hooked it up to a 2aa battery pack with a slider switch. it's only 1 blue led also. not u.v. pretty bright as the pic does no justice at all.


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

I have not forgotten this, but I am making it more detailed then originally planned, and written so hopefully people not very experienced with electronic projects will be able to build them. A few more days.....


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## Otaku (Dec 3, 2004)

Not to put a crimp in the DIY LED spotlights (and I've made a bunch of 'em), but I found an LED light at Big Lots today for $5 that is very bright. Only comes in white LEDs, though. The lens can pivot 180°, and it uses 2AA batteries. I taped a piece of waxed paper on the lens to act as a diffuser, and really liked the results. I'll post a pic of it tomorrow.


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

Otaku said:


> Not to put a crimp in the DIY LED spotlights (and I've made a bunch of 'em), but I found an LED light at Big Lots today for $5 that is very bright. Only comes in white LEDs, though. The lens can pivot 180°, and it uses 2AA batteries. I taped a piece of waxed paper on the lens to act as a diffuser, and really liked the results. I'll post a pic of it tomorrow.


No crimp at all, buying an existing spotlight will be the right approach for many people. The ones I build cost a little under a $1 apiece. I wonder if using 3 volts (2 AA batteries) instead of 9 volts is a better approach economically?


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## Otaku (Dec 3, 2004)

Depends on the number of LEDs, I imagine. Series-wired, they'll suck up a couple volts each so 9 volts is good. Also, you just can't beat the convenience of the battery snap. The device I found uses just one LED so 3VDC works.


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## slimy (Jul 12, 2006)

I found a bunch of LED battery lights at a flea market for a quarter a piece. ( the 'push on' type ) Gonna try gels over them, then I might replace the white LED for colored ones. 

Look around, you might find something already built that will work fine for you.


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

Does anybody have an idea on how we could independently test the intensity of these various spots so they could be compared? In other words, I could test mine, Otaku his, and Slimy his in a way we could accurately compare results?


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## Ravenscroft (Jun 7, 2007)

I was thinking of the same thing. Some sort of jig will be needed, with a uniform length, angle of attack (angle to which the LED device will be placed. The target should be the same too, be it paper, cloth, stone, foam, etc. I want in on this too.........I have some LED's coming from a supplier and I want to be able to test them as well. I won't be getting them until next week, and that of course is the week I'm going to Disneyland so I won't be able to have them test worthy until........the 17th or 18th of August.


What is a good length for the jig: 2' , 4' , 5' , 10' , 15' or all of the above.
I figure on the angle of attack at about 30 degrees of incline should be sufficient to test.
Now as for the target it needs to be something that anyone has or can find in a national retailer.


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## BooGirl666 (Jul 29, 2006)

How about a How-to??? I would love to make some of these...  thanx


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## Otaku (Dec 3, 2004)

Tough one, HJ. The light I have has only one LED of unknown power. I'd have to say that DIYs using multiple LEDs of known intensity, like your 60K MCDs, would definitely win. All of my multi-LED spots are brighter than the off-the-shelf unit as well. I only mentioned these because some folks find soldering LEDs scary. I'll probably use 2 or 3 of these where I need some white uplighting. Be nice if Big Lots puts these on sale - $5 is OK, but $3 would be better.


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

BooGirl666 said:


> How about a How-to??? I would love to make some of these...  thanx


I have one that is almost complete, here is a preview http://johnnyspage.com/ledspothowto.htm


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## Hellspawn (Oct 13, 2006)

Thanks Johnny, anxiously awaiting the finished how-too, I usually just run with an idea and figure things out on my own, but with leds and resistors, ive got a mental block, I tried once and failed miserably and gave up. so some hand holding would be awesome


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## krypt (Oct 25, 2005)

I have a decent design also and i have played with different mcd led's and anything under 20,000 per led is a waste of time and im messing with three 30,000 mcd leds at the moment and placement on the led holder and seems to work out ....Ask bonedancer he has three i made for him he can tell ya what he thinks.


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

krypt said:


> I have a decent design also and i have played with different mcd led's and anything under 20,000 per led is a waste of time and im messing with three 30,000 mcd leds at the moment and placement on the led holder and seems to work out ....Ask bonedancer he has three i made for him he can tell ya what he thinks.


What size are the LED's?


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## krypt (Oct 25, 2005)

5mm


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

krypt said:


> 5mm


Thanks krypt, 5mm is as big as I will go, I have yet to see a 10mm that will give a good consistent beam of light.


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## Otaku (Dec 3, 2004)

30K MCD! Wow, what's the forward voltage on those things?


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## Haunted Wolf (Apr 18, 2007)

Here another nice how-to:
http://www.cindybob.com/halloween/ledlighting/ledspotlights/


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## NecroBones (Feb 10, 2006)

Otaku said:


> Depends on the number of LEDs, I imagine. Series-wired, they'll suck up a couple volts each so 9 volts is good. Also, you just can't beat the convenience of the battery snap. The device I found uses just one LED so 3VDC works.


Just want to point out that most LEDs use a forward voltage of 1.7 to about 2.5 volts, and some of the high-intensity ones can go as high as 5 volts. If you run standard-brightness red 5mm LEDs at 3V each (or in parallel) without a resistor, you're going to drain the battery much more quickly than necessary, since they're at the low-end (about 1.7V).

General rule is to put as many in series as you can get away with and have them still light up well. 

But use resistors anyway!


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## NecroBones (Feb 10, 2006)

heresjohnny said:


> I wonder if using 3 volts (2 AA batteries) instead of 9 volts is a better approach economically?


Generally 3V isn't enough to run two LEDs in series, so you'll need appropriate resistors to keep from sending too much current through them. You won't see any harm right away from putting 3V into single or parallel LEDs, but the batteries will drain a lot faster and you're shortening the lifespan of the LEDs without a resistor.

Having said that, a pair of AAs will provide a lot more milliamp-hours than a 9v, and you won't need to replace them often if you balance the current correctly. They might prove to be quite economical.


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## Otaku (Dec 3, 2004)

Good point on the resistors, NB. I always use them, but pick the one that gives the brightest light or the amount of light that's needed for the prop.


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## turtle2778 (Jul 9, 2006)

Okay ? is there a way to make it look softer or at least wider? I dont want it to be a large amount of light over a small area.


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

Otaku, what I am finding is that 'xtra bright' LED are getting intensities in the 20k mcd and higher range in a 5mm package, here is an example: http://cgi.ebay.com/100-X-5mm-SUPER-XTRA-BRIGHT-RED-LED-LAMP-25-000-MCD-F-R_W0QQitemZ7590064962QQihZ017QQcategoryZ26207QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

NecroBones, it has been a long time since I took semiconductors, but from what I remember you're right, an LED operating with a forward current within operating range will have a relatively constrained voltage drop, and the key is making sure the current stays in that operating range by using the appropriate circuit. The intensity of the emmited radiation has more to do with the materials and the quality of the semiconductor, which keep improving and therefore we keep getting brighter LEDs.

All that being said, I take the easy way out and rely on the online calculators, they seem to do good job. I'll have to play with a 3v spot and see what the calculator says. 

Now you guys have to stop giving me reason to add more to my how-to or I will never get done.


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

turtle2778 said:


> Okay ? is there a way to make it look softer or at least wider? I dont want it to be a large amount of light over a small area.


Well, thats what a spotlight does. I have seen LEDs that would give you a wider, less focused light, but I have not used them. You may consider normal (incadescent) colored lights if you don't want a spotlight.


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## krypt (Oct 25, 2005)

Otaku said:


> 30K MCD! Wow, what's the forward voltage on those things?


3.2 volts


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## krypt (Oct 25, 2005)

have you guys never heard of besthongkong.com ?

Its 3.2-3.4... 3.8 max


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## krypt (Oct 25, 2005)

When I run 4 leds i use two 9 volts with 2 resistors, somtimes when I run 4 leds with 9 volts I don't use a resistor when i run 9 volts on 3 leds I run a resistor.


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## halloweenguy (Dec 27, 2006)

How bout these 1 watt Leds???
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/LED-109/340/1_WATT_RED_ULTRA-ULTRA_BRIGHT_LED_.html


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## NecroBones (Feb 10, 2006)

heresjohnny said:


> Otaku, what I am finding is that 'xtra bright' LED are getting intensities in the 20k mcd and higher range in a 5mm package, here is an example: http://cgi.ebay.com/100-X-5mm-SUPER-XTRA-BRIGHT-RED-LED-LAMP-25-000-MCD-F-R_W0QQitemZ7590064962QQihZ017QQcategoryZ26207QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem


Wow, 100 of them for $10? Not bad!



heresjohnny said:


> NecroBones, it has been a long time since I took semiconductors, but from what I remember you're right, an LED operating with a forward current within operating range will have a relatively constrained voltage drop, and the key is making sure the current stays in that operating range by using the appropriate circuit. The intensity of the emmited radiation has more to do with the materials and the quality of the semiconductor, which keep improving and therefore we keep getting brighter LEDs.


Yep, it's a combination of the operating efficiency of the LED and the amount of current that it draws. That's the part that trips people up who are new to electronics... Voltage vs Current. The way to think of it is that Voltage is pushed from the battery, whereas current is drawn by the load (the LED in this case). Ultimately the supply voltage from the battery and the voltage-drop across the LED will determine the amount of resistance you need to balance it, and the voltage x current gives you the wattage, which will determine the wattage-rating you need for a resistor. Most cheap-o resistors are about 1/4 watt, which at 2 volts would be 1/8 of an Amp (or about 125 milliamps). Most LEDs draw 20-30 milliamps, so you can probably safely put at least 4 or 5 of them to a resistor.

Most 9v alkaline batteries might supply a total of about 600 mAh (milliamp-hours), whereas a pair of AA alkalines might provide twice that (more if you get good ones, less if they're crap-brands).

You can estimate how long your lamps can run if they use the right resistors on a given set of batteries by dividing the total current drawn by your LEDs into the total mAh rating of the batteries.

Anyway, enough of my rambling.


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## One of the Devils Rejects (Jul 16, 2006)

WOW - I have never worked with these, before. And quite frankly, now I'm really confused. Too much information too fast. LOL LOL


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## NecroBones (Feb 10, 2006)

Nah, it's not that complicated. I'm just trying to save the lifespan of everyone's batteries and LEDs so they don't wonder why their battery drains in like an hour... lol 

I posted a link to an online calculator in an earlier message in the thread. If you know the voltage of the LED(s) and your batteries, stick it in, and use the resistor it tells you to, and you'll be all set. Very easy.


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

One of the Devils Rejects said:


> WOW - I have never worked with these, before. And quite frankly, now I'm really confused. Too much information too fast. LOL LOL


The how-to I am posting (hopefully tonight) will include details on how to find the values you need to use in the online calculators, and how to use the results to build the circuit. Its not that hard, and you don't need to really understand all the power and current stuff to build an LED spotlight.


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## One of the Devils Rejects (Jul 16, 2006)

Much appreciation from us beginners.


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## The Mangler (Jul 2, 2007)

For a resistor, V=RI and P=VI, what are the voltage/current and power relationships for an LED? Other than a small capacative element, they would seem to be the same, right?


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

I'm a little rusty on the theory, so somebody correct me if I'm wrong. Semiconductors, including LED's, do not have a simple, linear relationship between I, V and R. The key is to get a semiconductor in it's operating range for current at which optimal performance is achieved, be it amplification, emitting light, or whatever. I think they call this biasing.

Personally, I rely on the calculator to get me close enough, it has been years and years since I puzzled out how to do all of this by hand.


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## gmacted (Jan 18, 2006)

heresjohnny said:


> I'm a little rusty on the theory, so somebody correct me if I'm wrong. Semiconductors, including LED's, do not have a simple, linear relationship between I, V and R. The key is to get a semiconductor in it's operating range for current at which optimal performance is achieved, be it amplification, emitting light, or whatever. I think they call this biasing.
> 
> Personally, I rely on the calculator to get me close enough, it has been years and years since I puzzled out how to do all of this by hand.


Heresjohnny,

You are correct. An LED (or Light Emitting Diode) allows current to flow in one direction, but not the other. When you "forward-bias" a diode, you cause current to flow from the anode to the cathode. A "reverse-biased" diode blocks current from flowing. When a diode is "forward-biased", the diode itself "drops" some voltage. This is known as the "forward voltage". The "forward current" is the current that the diode passes when it is "forward-biased". You are correct when you say that the diode voltage versus current relationship is non-linear. Ohms law (V=IR) still hold true however. To determine the resistor value you should use use the following:

R = (Vs - Vf)/If

where

R = Resistance (Resistor value)
Vs = Voltage source (9V battery)
Vf = Foward Voltage of the diode
If= Forward Current of the diode (usually but not always ~20 mA = 0.02)

Example:

One diode:

if Vs = 9V, Vf = 3.5V, If = 0.02 (20 mA)

R = (9 - 3.5) / 0.02 = 5.5 / 0.02 = 275 ohms

If you have two diodes in series the formula would be:

R = ( 9 - 3.5 - 3.5) / 0.02 = 2 / 0.02 = 100 ohms

In this case you can't have more than two diodes in series since Vs - Vf would give you a negative number.

I hope this helps.


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## Wildomar (Aug 30, 2006)

AAAaaaaaaahhhhhh!  

What did he say???? You guys are killing me!!!! I'm melting.... melting... too much data...  

When you guys get this figured out just post the recipe. You know what to buy, how to assemble, and what to expect.


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

Wildomar said:


> AAAaaaaaaahhhhhh!
> 
> What did he say???? You guys are killing me!!!! I'm melting.... melting... too much data...
> 
> When you guys get this figured out just post the recipe. You know what to buy, how to assemble, and what to expect.


LOL look at the how-to I just posted and tell me if that helps. I stopped reading the details about halfway down myself.

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=7113


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## Wildomar (Aug 30, 2006)

Ooooo, much better. I looked a bit on eBay and see why there isnt one hard and fast recipe for these lights. Every time I looked at one it seemed to have differences from the one preceeding it.


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## Hellspawn (Oct 13, 2006)

Its not exactly diy, but I followed someone elses lead here and went to biglots yesterday, they have 12led ultrabright bike headlights (that you wear on your noggin) they have 3 different brightness settings and a flashing setting. they run on 3 AAA batteries, I have not yet found out how long they run on 3 AAA's, but at 5.00 its not a bad solution. they have a nice looking black and silver housing, if I end up going this route, ill spraypaint them flatblack.

Im going to try and track down some color gels to alter the color of the light, last year as a last minute effort, took some clear overhead projector transparencies, stuck them in my inkjet and printed sections of solid colors on them, cut them out and placed them on flashlights for my kids, they worked really well, ive never tried them on anything that gets super hot, but for leds, it would probably work fine.. going to try it later today.

What I would really like to do with these led headlights is hack them so that I can use a permanent power source with them instead of batteries, I just dont know how to figure out what voltage to use with them. I thought I would grab my box of walwarts and start with the lowest voltage one and work my way up untill they lit up, but that might not be a good idea.


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## Hellspawn (Oct 13, 2006)

I just pulled some transparencies out of the closet, printed some sections of red/blue/green and orange, cut them out and slid them into the 12led bike light, I wouldent call it a success or a failure, the solid printed color tints the light, but its not as vivid as a color led, I think im going to find some color gels and give them a try to see if it looks any better..

Honestly, this works fine, I learned a long time ago that the only person who would notice anything not perfect would be me, I might just go this route for this year, from my calculations, I could fabricate my own led spotlights for around 3.00 - 4.00, these are allready done for me, have a nice looking housing and work well enough.. ill post pictures as soon as I can get a camera


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

I'll be the first to stress that DIY is not for everyone. Last year I would spend hours building LED flicker circuits, and finally decided the best flicker was a 10 minute hack Otaku came up with using commercial LED flicker candles.


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## One of the Devils Rejects (Jul 16, 2006)

holly voltage, batman, how can we follow all this LOL


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## The Mangler (Jul 2, 2007)

Thank you all. But when V=RI applies, the relationship is, by definition, linear. On that note, I was able to get my hands on some electrical specs and it appears that the forward voltage (FV) is the MINIMUM voltage to get the diode to work properly, i.e., below this number, the diode is somewhat underpowered and may not emit properly. Above the FV, the V/I relationship is linear like a resistor. Below the FV, it is not. Thus, it would appear that a PROPERLY supplied diode has a linear relationship between V and I.


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## The Mangler (Jul 2, 2007)

Great Link

http://freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/overview.jsp?nodeId=1624684490DEC1BBD&tid=t8nl


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## ScareFX (Aug 18, 2004)

The Mangler said:


> Great Link
> 
> http://freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/overview.jsp?nodeId=162684490DEC1BBD&tid=t8nl


Getting a 404 error... page not found. What's the link to on that site?


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## Wildomar (Aug 30, 2006)

Heck reading through the schematic formula stuff was giving my brain a 404 error... page not found.


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## Ravenscroft (Jun 7, 2007)

WOO HOO!!!!!!!! I just got my LED's today all 300 in several colors, blue, dark red, bright red, amber, yellow, green, white, UV, and more that I can't remember without taking everything back out of the box. I will let you all know how this weekend turns out.


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## Ravenscroft (Jun 7, 2007)

OK so I got a ton of Spots and other LEDs completed, BUT I ran out of resistors. So I had to order some more and I hope to have them by next week.


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## buggybuilder (Jan 23, 2007)

Speaking of resistors.....Ive seen a few different ways to wire these things and I was hoping I could get some real world advice......

Which way works best?

1.) Parallel wired with 1 resistor for an array of 5 LEDS
2.) Parallel wired with a resistor on each LED
3.) Series wired with 1 resistor for the array of 5 LEDS
4.) Series wired with a resistor for each LED......



What do you think?


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## Ravenscroft (Jun 7, 2007)

Depends on the situation, at least that is the case for me. I will be running some LED's in a type of series. I will be using 14 arrays, 9 LED's each array with 6 different colors. For those of you counting that is 126 LED's in the system.


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## tonguesandwich (Oct 13, 2006)

Just a heads up. I am having bigtime issues with BestHongKong. They have changed their shipping charges on me 4 times even after I paid. I am a Power buyer so I will be going into dispute...let you know how it turns out.


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

I suggest using this calculator http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz, which way is best is to balance brightness with battery life. Getting the circuit wrong means you ruin the LEDs, burn through batteries quickly, or end up with a result that is not bright enough.

Just so you know, there is a big difference between 1 and 2, so I would not recommend modifying a known circuit this way. No difference between 3 and 4, you could replace the resistors in 4 with a single resistor that is the sum of all the individual resistors.

If you have not seen it, you might check out this how-to http://johnnyspage.com/ledspothowto.htm



buggybuilder said:


> Speaking of resistors.....Ive seen a few different ways to wire these things and I was hoping I could get some real world advice......
> 
> Which way works best?
> 
> ...


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

How's all of that working out for you?



Ravenscroft said:


> Depends on the situation, at least that is the case for me. I will be running some LED's in a type of series. I will be using 14 arrays, 9 LED's each array with 6 different colors. For those of you counting that is 126 LED's in the system.


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## dionicia (Aug 4, 2007)

tonguesandwich said:


> Just a heads up. I am having bigtime issues with BestHongKong. They have changed their shipping charges on me 4 times even after I paid. I am a Power buyer so I will be going into dispute...let you know how it turns out.


I found a seller on Ebay that is cheaper and here in the US. I got the LEDs in two days. The seller is FCB Electronics. He has the 5mm ultra bright in yellow, red, blue, green, white, and UV. He sells packs of 100 for $4.50.

I have been talking with him about making LED Spotlights and he is totally excited about trying it too.


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## scare-m (Jul 16, 2007)

Ravenscroft said:


> WOO HOO!!!!!!!! I just got my LED's today all 300 in several colors, blue, dark red, bright red, amber, yellow, green, white, UV, and more that I can't remember without taking everything back out of the box. I will let you all know how this weekend turns out.


Do you have any picts of various colors in action?

I am making a cemetery scene and want to know if I should stay with a uniform color for the LED spots for all gravestones or change em up throughout the scene randomly. Any advice on color selection for this topic? Blues appear to work well

Also what are you creating with the LEDs besides spotlights?


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

Pictures of LED spots in action
http://johnnyspage.com/images/Picture%201265.jpg
http://johnnyspage.com/images/Picture%201263.jpg


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## Hellspawn (Oct 13, 2006)

dionicia said:


> I found a seller on Ebay that is cheaper and here in the US. I got the LEDs in two days. The seller is FCB Electronics. He has the 5mm ultra bright in yellow, red, blue, green, white, and UV. He sells packs of 100 for $4.50.
> 
> I have been talking with him about making LED Spotlights and he is totally excited about trying it too.


I cant seem to find that particular seller on ebay, could you send me a link to one of his auctions?

**nevermind, found him


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## Evil Bob (Sep 1, 2005)

http://stores.ebay.com/FCB-Electron...QcolZ4QQdirZQ2d1QQfsubZ12485796QQftidZ2QQtZkm


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

dionicia said:


> I found a seller on Ebay that is cheaper and here in the US. I got the LEDs in two days. The seller is FCB Electronics. He has the 5mm ultra bright in yellow, red, blue, green, white, and UV. He sells packs of 100 for $4.50.
> 
> I have been talking with him about making LED Spotlights and he is totally excited about trying it too.


Sweet! I'll have to check it out.


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## Hellspawn (Oct 13, 2006)

im going to end up with aLOT of leds, much more than I will ever use for spots.


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## Ravenscroft (Jun 7, 2007)

Sorry for the slowness in getting back you all. I still don't have video or Pics posted, but they have been taken (the pics of construction at least, which is almost the same as you have heresjohnny). I have been working with Jonnymac over at efx-tek to get the programing right for my one idea. The other "simple" spots are done and ready for use, but I need to test them outside with some tombstones and such. I'm also looking into getting more LED's and starting to switch all of my stuff to LEDs. I will try to have them up by tomorrow.


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## scare-m (Jul 16, 2007)

PLEASE HELP Arrgh!!

Everyone has posted great info and pics..thanks..I need to make some

But I still dont get it.

Can someone please translate what the following means?

Blue LED - 20 Degree (is this narrow and is 100 degree better and wider for spots?)

Clear 9000mcd (Is this (mcd) brightness and if so is the higher number the brighter it is?)

5mm ( is 10 mm larger and therefore brighter or just larger? and if 10 is not brighter than 5, why would I go with 10 over 5mm?)

also from time to time I see LEDs referencing 20x (something or other)What is 20x referencing?

This sheds a little light 

http://www.theledlight.com/led-definitions.html


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

scare-m, I have a how-to that explains all of your questions, you might check it out http://johnnyspage.com/ledspothowto.htm.

20 degees is good for an LED spot, 20-25 degrees is typical for ultra-bright, though I think there are some new ones with wider viewing angles becoming available.

mcd is the brightness, 9000 mcd is on the low side for LED spotlights, but should work. I suggest 10,000 or higher.

I use 5mm, you can get brighter light with the 10mm but the results I have had are not a clean light. I will not use 10mm again. For example, I got several 60,000mcd 10mm LED last year.

Not sure what 20x is for, unless it means quantity.


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