LEDWiz install questions - wiring, resistor, etc...

[unclet]

1) Do you need to plug in the USB cable to the LEDWiz to a computer before any of the lights will turn on?

I am going to use a spare power supply to provide the required 5V required to the LEDWiz.  I wanted to light up one blue LED just to see if I had everything wired correctly, but once I had everything set up, the blue LED light did nothing when power was turned on.  Now I did not connect the USB power cable yet since I am working on in the garage right now and did not want to drag my computer out there yet.  Let me know whether the LEDWiz USB cable needs to be connected the a computer before anything works.

2) Does the resistor go on the "short" wire from the LED or the "long" wire?

3) I am "soldering" wires to the LED light ..... does everyone use solder to connect these LED lights up?

4)  Can I bend the wires coming from the LED light for mounting purposes or will they break of easily?

5) Does it matter which side of the resistor is connected to the LED light or can I attach the supplied resistor an way?

6) Can I use plain old masking tape to secure the LED light wires for mounting or is this a fire hazard?

[DaOld Man]

I think I can answer a few of your questions:

(1) I dont have an LEDWIZ so I dont know much about them.

(2) As far as LEDs go, it does not matter which wire you attach to the resistor, but the ledwiz might require a special orientation. On the LED, the short wire goes to negative, or ground. The long wire is positive.

(3) IMHO, I think soldering is best, but its a good idea to put an alligator clip on the led lead between the led and the solder joint to absorb excess heat from getting to the led. (remove clip when you are done.)

(4) You can bend the wires, but not too many times. Its like any solid wire, bend it enough times and it will break.

(5) It does not matter. A resistor works the same in either direction.

(6) You can, but I dont recommend it. Masking tape dries out over time and will crumble. Of course it is slightly possible it can catch on fire (not likely, but who knows 2-10 years down the road?). Use a good rubber electrical tape, such as Scotch brand. (Not the clear present wrapping scotch tape.)
I would suggest you secure the led wires with a spot of hot glue or or some other type adhesive.

Hope this helps..

[unclet]

Thanks a lot for the information.    It seems I did everything correct but still the LED light does not light up.  I even tried connecting the USB cable to my computer after all .... but the light does not light up.    I will start a new post to trouble shoot this problem.

[DaveMMR]

I used the LedBlinky plugin for Mala and the included programs to test the LEDs.   

[unclet]

I am using this with my jukebox which does not have a frontend associted with it .....

[DaveMMR]

I am using this with my jukebox which does not have a frontend associted with it .....

You can test it without using the frontend but I do not know how to implement it without using a frontend.  You can use Randy's program from his website (assuming you only need to address an LEDwiz with an ID of 1), and see if it can be used in conjunction with your jukebox software.

EDIT: Me speak English worser!

[headkaze]

You programmed your own jukebox software right? Why not add LEDWiz support for it then?

Check out the LEDWiz SDK

Doh! I just realised your jukebox is written in VB6. MikeQ never updated his LEDWiz.dll to use stdcall's so it won't work in VB6 AFAIK. You can of course get the LEDWiz.ocx from the GGG site and add LEDWiz support to your Jukebox using that.

[unclet]

I am more interested in finishing my jukebox project instead of updating my jukebox software right now.   I downloaded the LuminAudio_WIP from Randy's post but can not get it to light up my LED light.   I opened another post to deal with testing the LEDWiz stuff....