Christmas LED lights - Arcade applications?

[More Cowbell]

I picked up a ton of cool LED lights at $2.50 per strand of 100. While they don't look great on the house (too cold looking), I'm thinking they could be used in arcade cabs. Would they work if wired up to 5v or 12v? I'm thinking they are a cheap alternative to buying bulbs one at a time.

[ChadTower]

Depends on the LED type and what resistors if any are on them...

...now is also a good time to pick up tons of stuff like remote control power outlets and wall wart friendly power strips since so many stores carry them as seasonal items.

[unclet]

More importantly, if you have the correct resistors on them, then you probably can connect then up to the LED-Wiz by GGG .... correct?

I would think the best time to buy power strips and stuff would be right after Christmas ...... but I guess then you are gambling whether the stores have any left or not ....

[ChadTower]

Least expensive time, definitely, but you'll find a much smaller selection of course.

[unclet]

Ha ... I was editing my post when you posted ...... 

[ahofle]

Where in the hell did you find 100 strand LED lights for $2.50?  I can never find them locally for cheap.

[SavannahLion]

Where in the hell did you find 100 strand LED lights for $2.50?  I can never find them locally for cheap.

Not for a strand of 100. Lower counts for sure, but not the 100's. Maybe be one of those dollar tree type places?

I think the super cheap ones look like ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---. Either not bright enough or they're so damn bright (because they're being overdriven) that they start getting burned out really quick.

[ChadTower]

I think the super cheap ones look like ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---. Either not bright enough or they're so damn bright (because they're being overdriven) that they start getting burned out really quick.

That pretty much applies to the traditional string lights too.   

[SavannahLion]

I think the super cheap ones look like ---Cleveland steamer---. Either not bright enough or they're so damn bright (because they're being overdriven) that they start getting burned out really quick.

That pretty much applies to the traditional string lights too.   

I guess so. The brightness on those cheap traditionals seem OK. They don't seem to last nearly as long outdoors though. I left a set of strings around my house for three years without taking them down. The el-cheapos turned a bright yellow and a whole section was dead by the time I had to take them down.

Interestingly, the bulbs on ALL of them seemed to suck pretty bad. Every year I turned them on, three or four would pop like popcorn.

[RandyT]

I haven't had direct experience with these other than a short string that get connected to a USB port.  Usually the cheap LED's used are considered by the manufacturer to be very low, or "throw away" quality.  They have little quality control and the lights are considered "good" pretty much if they just light up.  The strand I have are all blue, but without looking too hard I can see obvious differences in brightness and shade.

You can get nice strings, like those I have seen at Sam's Club, but they aren't cheap.  There might be some deals to be had at the end of the season, however.

If your application is one where you aren't too concerned with getting anything but colored lights, the cheap ones will probably be fine.  Longevity may be the only concern after that.

RandyT

[Crafty]

Basically you get what you pay for...

[HoopstarsGarage]

On the other end of the scale.. I think the Led-Wiz would be a great basis for a funky lighting controller for that uber-xmas light show that would make you "king of the street" - use it to control strings of lights ala this..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD4g0gmQSLk[/youtube]


Hoops

[ChadTower]

Heh, maybe if you had 40 of them.  That guy spent 5 figures to do that.

[RandyT]

Heh, maybe if you had 40 of them.  That guy spent 5 figures to do that.

Actually, based on the number of unique lights there, I'd be surprised if it would take more than 1 or 2      But you'd need a bunch of solid state relays for the outputs.

RandyT

[ChadTower]

And external power supplies for sure, which is basically what I meant.  He used professional theater lighting equipment for controls IIRC.

[More Cowbell]

Looking back at my strings they are actually 50 lights. I got them at Jewel and they had just received them so they weren't scanned into the computer. The person at customer service decided to go with $2.50 for the strings of little lights (50) and $1.25 for the strings of bigger lights (25). They look pretty bright but like I said, they are just so cold looking and you can't mix them with regular lights as they are totally different. I'll start hacking a string apart this weekend and see what I can do with them.

[Lindner24]

If nothing else, they're another source for stranded wire.
As far as I can tell, there is one wire that continues from end to end.

Probably, not much cheaper (if at all) than buying wire from RadioShack.
But, I wouldn't throw any away before salvaging that wire.