LEDs

[moody07747]

ok so almost everyone here has seen my electric drumset

well i was goin through an old box of LED lights last night when it hit me....install them in the shells of my drums

i want it to be so that when its dark in the room i can just hit one switch and all 4 pads will light up

at first i thought about all blue but now im thinking those ones that change all different colors


so any ideas on how to wire this?

ill be happy with plain blue LEDs but if its possable, the multi colors would be awesome

i want at least 6 leds in each pad

 

[audioguru]

The multi-color LEDs for cars work from 12V and have a built-in current-limiting resistor. Use as many as you want and power them from a 12VDC wall-wart adapter.
You might need to shield or carefully route the supply wire away from your drums' pickups to avoid interference from the switching of the colors.

 

[bloody-orc]

to fade leds use this http://www.metku.net/index.html?sect=view&n=1&path=mods/colorfade/index_eng

 

[audioguru]

to fade leds use this http://www.metku.net/index.html?sect=view&n=1&path=mods/colorfade/index_eng

The fading circuit uses a condensator that is banned now because it used very strong radioactive material for its heater to evaporate then condense kryponite. Try the circuit with a capacitor instead, it might work.

You won't find a 30uF capacitor, which was a common condensator value so use 33uF instead. The circuit reverses the polarity of the capacitor so if a supply voltage higher than 5V is used, two polarised capacitors should be used in series with opposed polarities.

 

[bloody-orc]

my knolage id dark from that area but ehat is the difference of a cap and a condensator. is one electrolytic and one not?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

my knolage id dark from that area but ehat is the difference of a cap and a condensator. is one electrolytic and one not?

Capacitors used to be called condensors (no 'at' in the middle) - and they still are in the automotive trade!. Just the modern name and the old name for exactly the same component.

 

[moody07747]

ok after reviewing some circuits i decided i want to keep this really sinple and just go with blue super bright LEDs

whats the best online store to pick these type up?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

ok after reviewing some circuits i decided i want to keep this really sinple and just go with blue super bright LEDs

whats the best online store to pick these type up?

Perhaps you should fill your profile in properly?, so we know your location - not much point suggesting stores the wrong side of the planet!.

 

[audioguru]

I got some excellent but fairly expensive ultra-bright blue LEDs by Agilent from Digikey or Newarkinone. Agilent is a spinoff of Hewlett-Packard and are American-made. You get to select the beamwidth, brightness range and tint range. The ones I have are all exactly the same, like clones.

Cheap Chinese LEDs aren't reliable, have different brightnesses and tints. Usually they focus them into a very narrow beam to be bright. I bought cheap Chinese LEDs to try and some didn't work and others were completely different colors.

Agilent says their LEDs are used in traffic lights. Even the blue ones!!!

 

[moody07747]

ok after reviewing some circuits i decided i want to keep this really sinple and just go with blue super bright LEDs

whats the best online store to pick these type up?

Perhaps you should fill your profile in properly?, so we know your location - not much point suggesting stores the wrong side of the planet!.

ill do that now

 

[moody07747]

I got some excellent but fairly expensive ultra-bright blue LEDs by Agilent from Digikey or Newarkinone. Agilent is a spinoff of Hewlett-Packard and are American-made. You get to select the beamwidth, brightness range and tint range. The ones I have are all exactly the same, like clones.

Cheap Chinese LEDs aren't reliable, have different brightnesses and tints. Usually they focus them into a very narrow beam to be bright. I bought cheap Chinese LEDs to try and some didn't work and others were completely different colors.

Agilent says their LEDs are used in traffic lights. Even the blue ones!!!

Thanks ill look into those

 

[moody07747]

digikey does not have any LEDs at this time

i was looking at superbrightleds.com and it would cost me $30 for just the lights

 

[audioguru]

Digikey carry about 20 manufacturers' LEDs. Agilent changed their name again to Avago or something. Here's the one I recommend:

 

[moody07747]

ok im going to order these leds today

what voltage will i need for this circuit?

i want to wire it so it will be like the pic below

i wont hard wire this all, ill have it so thres a plug on each drum so i can take them off the stand and put them away if needed

the pic: yes those are diode symbals but just say they are LEDs for now

each blue point is a solder
theres a switch at the bottom and a power supply

i dont know what voltage lights these LEDs up because it does not say on digikey

so i need to know what voltage ill need to power this up

i also want to run it on a transformer so i can run off 120V

 

[audioguru]

My blue Agilent LEDs are about 3.2V at low brightness and nearly 5V when pulsed at 90mA for extremely high brightness. You could wire 4 in series and in series with a 300 ohm current-limiting resistor and a 20VDC supply.

 

[audioguru]

Your LEDs would burn out one-at-a-time within milliseconds.
They are all slightly different and the one with the lowest forward voltage would take most of the current from the supply and burn-out immediately, followed by the rest of them.
LEDs aren't lightbulbs, they are diodes and diodes don't work properly when they are in parallel. LEDs need a current-limiting resistor.

 

[moody07747]

you know me.......i need a pic for any explanation :lol:

edit...but i think i understand this so im making another wiring sheet

 

[audioguru]

Do you have 4 drums and you want 6 LEDs in each drum?

 

[moody07747]

exactly

heres what i came up with

 

[audioguru]

I selected a 12VDC wall-wart adapter because it is common and cheap. You will have difficulty finding a 20V one.
My circuit has only two wires between the drums, yours has more.
Nice try. :lol: