thejuggla1
New Member
First off this guy at work wanted me to make a LED light bulb, but I looked online they sell for like $5 for like a bulb that has 20 5mm LEDs, so there's no point, however he might want it a lot bigger so I might be able to do something for him still.
I have made a strobe light that plugs into the outlet at school, but I am not exactly sure what lets me plug that project into the wall and why the rest I made were designed to be battery operated. How do I make LEDs work off the 110V power coming from a house? Power coming from the house is AC and LEDs use DC correct? I couldn't just group like 60 LEDs in series and throw in a resistor then? The only thing I've tried so far is an old computer power supply, but I question how safe it is because it is old and not sure if tampering with it can cause problems.(What I did was cut the 5V wire and a ground and plug 2 LEDs + Resistor into it and it worked fine) I seen some LED drivers while browsing the web, they look like something I should use for something like this?
What is all the Specs on LEDs mean? I know what they are but not sure what they mean an example off ebay:
SPECIFICATIONS:
* Source Material: AlGaInP !
* Emitting Colour: 5mm 60° 5-Chips 0.5 Watt High Power Red LED
* LENS Type:Water clear
* Luminous Intensity-MCD: Min: 70,000mcd Max: 80,000 mcd
* Reverse Voltage:5.0 V
* DC Forward Voltage: Typical: 2.0 V Max: 2.4V
* DC Forward Current:100mA
* Viewing Angle:60 degree
* Lead Soldering Temp:260°C for 5 seconds
* Intensely Bright
Now I know 5mm is the size, 60° is the viewing angle, and I think the mcd is the brightness rating. Now this (Min: 70,000mcd Max: 80,000 mcd) really means nothing to me to tell me how bright it is. What is a good MCD to look for?
If say I bought a 15° Min: 70,000mcd Max: 80,000 mcd compared to 60° Min: 70,000mcd Max: 80,000 mcd the 15° is brighter because it is more concentrated correct? But would grouping a bunch of 60° give me better area coverage? What would be a good mix between Brightness and Viewing angle for lighting?
What does the Reverse Voltage mean? Ex.
"* Reverse Voltage:5.0 V"
Is there any places that sell cheap but good LEDs that you guys know of?
I have made a strobe light that plugs into the outlet at school, but I am not exactly sure what lets me plug that project into the wall and why the rest I made were designed to be battery operated. How do I make LEDs work off the 110V power coming from a house? Power coming from the house is AC and LEDs use DC correct? I couldn't just group like 60 LEDs in series and throw in a resistor then? The only thing I've tried so far is an old computer power supply, but I question how safe it is because it is old and not sure if tampering with it can cause problems.(What I did was cut the 5V wire and a ground and plug 2 LEDs + Resistor into it and it worked fine) I seen some LED drivers while browsing the web, they look like something I should use for something like this?
What is all the Specs on LEDs mean? I know what they are but not sure what they mean an example off ebay:
SPECIFICATIONS:
* Source Material: AlGaInP !
* Emitting Colour: 5mm 60° 5-Chips 0.5 Watt High Power Red LED
* LENS Type:Water clear
* Luminous Intensity-MCD: Min: 70,000mcd Max: 80,000 mcd
* Reverse Voltage:5.0 V
* DC Forward Voltage: Typical: 2.0 V Max: 2.4V
* DC Forward Current:100mA
* Viewing Angle:60 degree
* Lead Soldering Temp:260°C for 5 seconds
* Intensely Bright
Now I know 5mm is the size, 60° is the viewing angle, and I think the mcd is the brightness rating. Now this (Min: 70,000mcd Max: 80,000 mcd) really means nothing to me to tell me how bright it is. What is a good MCD to look for?
If say I bought a 15° Min: 70,000mcd Max: 80,000 mcd compared to 60° Min: 70,000mcd Max: 80,000 mcd the 15° is brighter because it is more concentrated correct? But would grouping a bunch of 60° give me better area coverage? What would be a good mix between Brightness and Viewing angle for lighting?
What does the Reverse Voltage mean? Ex.
"* Reverse Voltage:5.0 V"
Is there any places that sell cheap but good LEDs that you guys know of?