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Cheap LED lights
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DrewKaree:
Picking up a strand of the LED Christmas lights seems WAY cheaper than buying them individually, but being as I know nothing about wiring them up, how would one go about figuring out all the added fiddly bits that seem to be needed in an LED circuit? 
RandyT:

--- Quote from: DrewKaree on December 17, 2005, 01:53:58 am ---Picking up a strand of the LED Christmas lights seems WAY cheaper than buying them individually, but being as I know nothing about wiring them up, how would one go about figuring out all the added fiddly bits that seem to be needed in an LED circuit? 

--- End quote ---

I've explored this a little, but haven't actually played with the real thing.

But I'm thinking that the old adage about getting what you pay for is going to come into play.  Christmas tree lights don't really need to be that bright to be effective, there needs to be a lot of them and they need to be cheap.  That makes them perfect candidates for indicator lighting, but not necessarily for things like lighting buttons and such.

You would probably have to do some tricks with the wiring as well.  They seem to be wired in series and are fed by 24 to 36v power supplies.

There might be some decent ones out there though.

RandyT
BobA:
I had a cheap string go half dead.
Infinity_Yak:
www.lsdiodes.com

You want cheap LEDs?  They've got cheap LEDs!

Seriously, if you need LEDs of any color/brightness/size, they're your hookup.  I made a huge order for a bunch of different LEDs, including RGB LEDs, and it was less than half the price of the nearest competitor.  I have nothing but good things to say about them!
RandyT:

--- Quote from: Infinity_Yak on December 18, 2005, 01:00:04 am ---Seriously, if you need LEDs of any color/brightness/size, they're your hookup.  I made a huge order for a bunch of different LEDs, including RGB LEDs, and it was less than half the price of the nearest competitor.  I have nothing but good things to say about them!

--- End quote ---


The LEDs this outfit sells are not optimal for lighting buttons from the bottom (above the microswitch.)  The angle is wrong.

Probably fine for other purposes though.

RandyT
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