have done some fairly untidy hacks to the el cheapo $1.50 blinkies
HughMann
flyingdutch said:
Any chance you could draw a diagram of this Hughmann?
preferably in such a way that an idiot like me can decioher?
cheers
FD
Ok heres a RHG. Hope it doesnt draw too much flack!
From the start I prefer to buy electronic bits from Jaycar as the staff at least know which end to hold a soldering iron. ( there quite good really)
Light Emitting Diodes (LED's) are polarised, that is they have a positive and a negative lead, sometimes referred to as an anode ( + ) or ( a ) and a cathode ( - ) or ( k ). To identify which lead is which some manufacturers make the + lead slightly longer. If you hold the LED up to the light you can see inside. You will see a small gap between the two electrodes inside . The + electrode is the smaller one inside while the - is larger and is sort of cup shaped on top. Photo attached I hope.
LED's need to operate in a specific voltage and current range. The LED needs to be "matched" to the voltage from the supply battery with a resistor in series, that is one end of the resistor is soldered to one end of the LED, doesn't matter which end.
The two pieces of walk away info needed when you buy LED's is, 1. the forward voltage drop of the LED, and, 2. the operating current. If the sales guy is switched on you could ask, " what size resistor do I need to run this from 3 volts" or whatever you are using. Its an extra sale for him, all of 10 cents or so.
For those with the urge this is the formula to work out the resistor for yourself.
R=(E-Vf)x1000/I
R= Resistance in ohms
E=DC supply voltage
I=LED current in mA ( milli amps)
Vf=forward voltage drop of LED
Here is a guide. Resistors don't come in all values, within 5% is quite acceptable here.
See Pics. This editor is not WYSIWYG
Sh1T cant get this to BBBbloddy work. Havent got a web page to upload from GRRRRRR all that work for ****
Constructing a front "be seen" light or a super bright non blinking tail light is probably easiest done using Vero Board and PCB pins. Vero Board is easily cut to size with a hacksaw and where needed the copper tracks can be cut by hand with a couple of turns of a 3mm twist drill.
Using PCB pins makes the project fairly forgiving of poor soldering. Poke the legs of the components through from the plain side and solder to the copper tracks. Do not push the LED's snug against the board but leave about a 2mm gap so that they can be pushed around later to get a good spread of light. PCB pins can be used to anchor wires from the battery or switch. Just push the pin into the desired hole from the plain side, solder on copper side, twist wire around the pin and solder.
One thing to be aware of is that the 20,000mcd LED's have a very narrow viewing angle, about 4 degrees. Some of the less potent LED's, say 12,000 or 16,000mcd have viewing angles near double and they cost much less. Discuss this with the sales android if you really want to impress.
Hope thats not too tech or that I am have over simplified it. Dunno what you know about this electronics stuff FD.
Just remember that all those little bits are full of smoke and if it leaks out u r stuffed.
Cheers
Hugh
Who rode 119km on Sunday, up Herveys Range and back, and is sore.