Main > Main Forum
Alternate power source for single light led push buttons
kyomagi:
Is there a way to wire or power 16 LED push buttons without having to purchase a LED wiz?
Nephasth:
Directly to the computer's power supply. If they have a voltage in their description, they've got built in resistors and use that voltage with them (5V red wire, 12V yellow wire, black wire is ground). If they're not specified 5V or 12V, you'll need to wire them in with the appropriate resistors.
kyomagi:
Is there a wiring guide for the 12v? i have a spare PSU that i can use
(i am no longer using a PC to power my front end)
Nephasth:
What are you running? A console?
But if you do use your spare computer PSU, you can jump the green wire to ground on the motherboard connector to turn the PSU on. Then just wire your + leads of your LEDs to a yellow wire of one of the Molex connectors and your grounds of your LEDs to a black wire of the same Molex connector.
molton:
Here's a tough question, if you hook up a computer power supply to power some leds only, will the power supply be drawing the 250W-1000W it's rated for or will it be more efficient? Does it vary from power supply to power supply? Using a PC power supply to light 16 led's could potentially be a huge waste of power. take a look at some of the led drivers they have at ledsupply.com, even if you have to drop $40 on a 12W power supply, the energy saving costs could far outweigh the price, if in fact the power supply is pulling 100 Watts or more.