Hi,

I have what i hope is a simple problem....I have a PCB with 8 blue LED's on it and i would like to drive 12V filament lamps instead of the LED's. One slight problem is that the LED's currently are either fully 'on' or about half bright if that makes sence (depending on the state of what they are connected to)....i would like the lamps to mimic the varying brightness too.

Is this fairly simple to do, and if so how? - the LED's and lamps dont have to funtion simultaneously i.e. i dont mind sacrificing the LED's but it would be a bonus it that wasnt necessary.

Cheers,
Joel.

 

It's not likely to be simple, LED's take a great deal less current than filament bulbs, so you would have to redesign the drive to them - possibly quite substantially?, depending on exactly what is there now.

Why would you want to replace the LED's with bulbs?, it's usually the other way round.

What is the application as well?, that will have a considerable bearing on what it might take.

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Use different coloured LEDs, perhapps even white?

But I agree the application makes a very big difference, for example if you want to drive large halogen lamps you'll need to build a seperate buffer circuit from transistors, MOSFETS are probably the best.

How big are the bulbsm you plan to replace the LEDs with?

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Okay - this will hopefully clear things up a bit. I have attached 2 photos, one is a panel with some led backlit buttons and the other one is a 12v illuminated button as seen on gaming machines etc. The manufacturer of the panel has agreed to supply me a PCB without the buttons soldered in place, the intention being that the control inputs can connected to the other buttons that we want to use on a custom panel - thats where the problems start with the illumination as the gaming buttons are lit by 12v filament lamps.

Just to explain - the PCB is PC programmable to issue RS232 commands from 3 built in serial ports. Its a product that is available off the shelf and it does exactly what i need it to do.

Thank for your help.

Attached Images

	panel.jpg (6.8 KB, 124 views)
	5400045x.jpg (6.0 KB, 124 views)

 

Would it be possible to modify the switches to use LEDs? I think that would be alittle easier IMO.

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Jeff Zimmerman
To the optimist, the glass is half full.
To the pessimist, the glass is half empty.
To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

What exactly does this thing do? It might be easier to make your own. I would never go LEDs to bulbs.

And you say it has 3 serial ports on it?

Is there a link to the specs on the panel?