Wiring LEDs

Amnesia_180 · 01-28-2006, 09:39 AM

Hiya,

Sorry for this sudden spree of posting but I am looking for some sort of instruction manual or guidance from you guys on how to wire a LED light so it either runs from a battery or the USB port (haven't made up my mind yet).

Basically, what I have, is this Aftershave bottle, and the light hit it today at a certain angle and my WHOLE WALL just lit up the same colour as this bottle... I thought it was pretty cool.... So I'm going to fill it with water and shine a light through it.... Which looks cool in itself...

But my next little experiment will be to see wether I can fit an LED in there.... just so it can be turned on/off.

Thanks for any advice etc you could give :)

Thanks
Amnesia

**Terrister** · 01-28-2006, 10:13 AM

I am moving this the case mod section.

**forcifer** · 01-28-2006, 03:59 PM

your probably could, but you would need to water proof it. what color do you want the LED to be? you could run a led power cord out side your case from a extra cdrom drive or extra floppy. you could also run it out the back from a pci slot. i tihnk this is what you are looking for

**UncleMacro** · 01-28-2006, 09:43 PM

Running an LED requires just a series resistor. This page gives the gory details on how to select the resistor value. A USB port provides 5 volts with enough current to run plenty of LEDs.

**Lectraplayer** · 01-30-2006, 04:03 PM

I can make it a little simpler--figure on enough resistance to get 15mA through the resistor (assuming you have no LED) and then throw the LED in series. The formula you need is something like R=V/I if I'm not trippin'. Formula comes out of the box as V=I*R, and as you are probably better at algebra than I am, please check this.

I half-watt resistor will often be fine. I've seen many way smaller used for LED's, but my half-watts do get hot enough to get your attention. Be aware, however, that LED's are directional, and if you have it bass-ackwards, it will never do anything. The only thing you would need to waterproof for your bottle would be where the wires go in. LED's can handle a good soaking with no problem. The leads rusting would be your biggest concern here.

**blackduck30** · 01-30-2006, 04:18 PM

you could alway insert the led setup into a glass syring or eye dropper after sealing up the small end with silcone, then once you have the led in place you can seal up the large end with silcone as well

manofsorrow · 02-12-2006, 03:43 PM

this is a good thread, ive been thinking about running a led into my resovior so i could see when my coolent is low much easier. My only concern is with water proofing since my resovior is internally mounted. I think I might attempt this after I switch to non-conductive coolent just to be on the safe side of things.

01-28-2006, 09:39 AM	#1 (permalink)
Amnesia_180 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 325 OS: Windows XP	Wiring LEDs Hiya, Sorry for this sudden spree of posting but I am looking for some sort of instruction manual or guidance from you guys on how to wire a LED light so it either runs from a battery or the USB port (haven't made up my mind yet). Basically, what I have, is this Aftershave bottle, and the light hit it today at a certain angle and my WHOLE WALL just lit up the same colour as this bottle... I thought it was pretty cool.... So I'm going to fill it with water and shine a light through it.... Which looks cool in itself... But my next little experiment will be to see wether I can fit an LED in there.... just so it can be turned on/off. Thanks for any advice etc you could give :) Thanks Amnesia __________________ ... --[Amnesia]-- ...

01-28-2006, 10:13 AM	#2 (permalink)
Terrister Moderator Hardware Forum Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: West Georgia, USA Posts: 7,098 OS: Xp	I am moving this the case mod section. __________________

01-28-2006, 03:59 PM	#3 (permalink)
forcifer Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Kansas City kansas Posts: 3,624 OS: Vista Premium 32 My System Blog Entries: 1	your probably could, but you would need to water proof it. what color do you want the LED to be? you could run a led power cord out side your case from a extra cdrom drive or extra floppy. you could also run it out the back from a pci slot. i tihnk this is what you are looking for __________________ now i remember

01-30-2006, 04:03 PM	#5 (permalink)
Lectraplayer TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Birmingham, AL Posts: 527 OS: Win-XP, Debian/Sarge, and SuSI 9.1	I can make it a little simpler--figure on enough resistance to get 15mA through the resistor (assuming you have no LED) and then throw the LED in series. The formula you need is something like R=V/I if I'm not trippin'. Formula comes out of the box as V=I*R, and as you are probably better at algebra than I am, please check this. I half-watt resistor will often be fine. I've seen many way smaller used for LED's, but my half-watts do get hot enough to get your attention. Be aware, however, that LED's are directional, and if you have it bass-ackwards, it will never do anything. The only thing you would need to waterproof for your bottle would be where the wires go in. LED's can handle a good soaking with no problem. The leads rusting would be your biggest concern here. __________________ Finally, killed the Window! Microsoft free, baby!!

01-30-2006, 04:18 PM	#6 (permalink)
blackduck30 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Wollongong/Australia Posts: 4,230 OS: XP pro SP3/Vista Ultimate My System	you could alway insert the led setup into a glass syring or eye dropper after sealing up the small end with silcone, then once you have the led in place you can seal up the large end with silcone as well __________________ Blackduck30 Time is like money and milk, It's always running out Any Donations Help Keep TSF Free For All

01-28-2006, 09:43 PM	#4 (permalink)
UncleMacro TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: San Diego Posts: 2,133 OS: Vista SP1 My System	Running an LED requires just a series resistor. This page gives the gory details on how to select the resistor value. A USB port provides 5 volts with enough current to run plenty of LEDs.

02-12-2006, 03:43 PM	#7 (permalink)
manofsorrow Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 89 OS: winxp	this is a good thread, ive been thinking about running a led into my resovior so i could see when my coolent is low much easier. My only concern is with water proofing since my resovior is internally mounted. I think I might attempt this after I switch to non-conductive coolent just to be on the safe side of things. __________________ Asus A8N-E mobo Benq light scribe dvd-rw Amd athlon x2 4400+ @ 2.8 ghz 2x 160 gig hard drives in RAID 0 array water cooled 4x 80mm case fans controlled by a Vantec controller 42" LG plasma monitor Idle temp. 28C load temp. 34C (on average) Fully sleeved etc.