Hi guys, i need help on how to build a lighting system for my R/C car... i'm not an electrician but i know a thing or two and could follow schematic diagrams... please help me complete my goal...

i want to build a 10-LED lit system (2 steady white for headlights, 2 steady red for brake lights, 4 flashing blue for neon underglow, steady may also be and option)... all of these to be powered by a 9V battery... no programming please...

thank you very much...

 

This will be pretty easy to do, but need a little more information. The 9v battery, is this the 9.6 volts that the car runs off, or a seperate transistor radio type (won't last long). Do you have the LEDs yet? Voltage/current varies, so can't really suggest the best choice for series resistors yet.

http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz

The link takes you to a web application that will calculate the resistors for you. For 9 volts, you would put 2 LEDs in series with a resistor to limit the current to the LEDs, its protection so they don't burn theirselves up.

The flashing blues, there are LEDs that have the flashing circuit built in, the blues are likely about a $1.00 each. They flash at 2 Hz, or twice per second. A little slow for a strobe effect. A simple 555 timer circuit and regular blues will let you control the flash rate.

Finally, if you are going to tap the 9.6 car battery, you'll want to use a regulator. The car's motors will create spikes that can be a little rough on circuits. Some cars have seperate batteries for the motor and the control circuit (my truck does).

 

i dont know the value of the LED... but let's just say i will be using up to 8 LED's, which value of the LED should i purchase??? and, if i understood you correctly, there are flashing LED's without using a series of connections??? you mentioned the 555 timer, i've heard of that, but how will i be able to control the flash rate with it??? do i need to program something???

thanks so much for your reply...