LED question

[Jobi101]

Hey all. Ive got a costume party coming up in 2 weeks and im planning on going as Iron Man
Now im looking at buying some LEDs so i can replicate the Arc reactor from the chest. I was wondering whether i can solder the LEDs directly to the batteries or whether i need to have resistors/cables between the batteries and the LEDs. Any advice?

 

[vne147]

You will need resistors otherwise you'll burn our the LEDs. The type and number of batteries you plan to use will dictate the resistor value you need.

 

[Jobi101]

i figured it wasn't gonna be easy lol, thanks

 

[vne147]

Dont give up so easy. Check this out.

**broken link removed**

The resistors that are pre-soldered are sized for a 12V supply so you can use 8AAs or a 9V(this would work but the LEDs would be dimmer). You might also consider picking up a simple switch from Radio Shack or somewhere so you can turn them on and off. Fell free to ask more questions if you need help.

 

[Jobi101]

Ah cool, thanks mate .
Don't worry, Im not giving up. This project's getting done, come hell or high water

 

[microtexan]

I hate to keep pushing Instructables here but check out this for your Arc Reactor:
**broken link removed**

 

[Jobi101]

Ooh, nice. That saves me crap loads of trouble!! Keep em comin boys

 

[audioguru]

Why are Instructables designed by people who know nothing about electronic circuits?
Why is a schematic always missing or hard to find?

 

[Hero999]

Like of the circuits on many electronics sites - just look at Electronics Lab.

The name 'Intstrucables' sounds semi-literate so it's not surprising that you get lots of people who don't know much about electronics.