[Hackupy-discuss] Lighting

[sam reese]

A little over a year ago, in one of my electronics classes, a student
wanted to drive an ass-load of 3 watt Luxeon's, so we put together
that circuit, (actually, a more complicated version, as seen here:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Circuits-for-using-High-Power-LED-s/

These constant current sources have a very nice behavior, and that is
that at higher temperatures, they give higher impedence, so you can
put these drivers in parallel and they stack addatively, as the
current loads balance automagically!

If I were to get off my lazy ass (ie: quit building any of the 5
projects I'm mired in atm), I'd put together the slightly more
complicated circuit, as it is a proven commodity in my experience, and
make a few interestingly shaped lanterns using bent circuit boards
(following this method:
http://craziestgadgets.com/2010/08/06/double-helix-led-lantern/ ), but
alas, at this point, I'm all talk and no game.

If, however, any oaklandites or bay area denziens are into this, I
have most of the components (save the LEDs), and the setups to build
all of this at my shop, so contact me off-list if you are into putting
a few of these together.

On Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 6:30 PM, Arlen Abraham <arlen.abraham at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Dana,
>
> I'm not sure exactly what you have in terms of LED tape, but
> preliminary poking at ebay suggested the current draw is 2A. The
> instructable you linked to uses the LM317 regulator, which is only
> good for 1.5A/18W
> (http://www.national.com/mpf/LM/LM317.html#Overview).
>
> There are a lot of good options out there for making simple drivers
> for running the tape, but I'm not sure it's strictly necessary
> depending on how the LED tape is constructed. Check the spec sheet
> before connecting directly to a car battery :)
>
> Running lighting on 12VDC is a problem that has been solved by people
> who make things for RVs and cars.
>
> The reason I like the 12VDC Christmas lights is there are no solder
> joints to worry about, no heat sinks, no parts to source, no enclosure
> to build, they have familiar looking parts that won't freak out fire
> inspectors, etc. They just work.
>
> That being said, if your goal here is to learn and teach, by all means
> make a thing.
>
> --a
>
>
>
> On Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 17:39, Dana S. <dsniezko at sonic.net> wrote:
>> For the moment I bought a 5M 12V waterproof LED strip:
>> http://www.ebay.com/sch/?_nkw=5m%20led
>>
>> And some 1W and 3W LEDs,  will use something to diffuse the light.
>> http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=star+led+high+power
>>
>> I'm not very experienced with high power led drivers, would something like this work?
>> http://www.instructables.com/id/Super-simple-high-power-LED-driver/
>>
>> - Dana
>>
>>
>> On Tue 22/11/11  4:46 PM , Rubin Abdi <rubin at starset.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Arlen Abraham wrote, On 2011-11-21 20:23:
>>> > Tiz the season:
>>> > http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005OI67KU/ref=redir_mdp_mobile [1]
>>>
>>> These lights are pretty close to what you want. The give enough light
>>> without being too painful to look at.
>>>
>>> The other option are 3W LEDs...
>>>
>>> http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-pcs-New-3W-High-Power-white-Led-Lamp-Prolight-St
>>> ar-/230683894264?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b5d4e1f8[2]
>>>
>>> One of these with a single 9V battery can last for 6ish hours, give or
>>> take. They're bright as hell, and can also blind you if you stare into
>>> it. They require a heat sink but considering how cold it is outside,
>>> they should be fine without one.
>>>
>>> I think one would need a drive to make it work with 12V properly. You
>>> could also make it run off of some AA batteries and recharge them.
>>>
>>> Miloh: Do you have any input? I'm still keen on building Altoids lights
>>> that can be reused with one of these on the lid.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Rubin
>>> rubin at starset.net
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Hackupy-discuss mailing list
>>> Hackupy-discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
>>> http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/hackupy-discuss [3]
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Links:
>>> ------
>>> [1]
>>> http://webmail.sonic.net/parse.php?redirect=http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B
>>> 005OI67KU/ref%3Dredir_mdp_mobile[2]
>>> http://webmail.sonic.net/parse.php?redirect=http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-pcs-
>>> New-3W-High-Power-white-Led-Lamp-Prolight-Star-/230683894264%3Fpt%3DLH_Defa
>>> ultDomain_0%26amp%3Bhash%3Ditem35b5d4e1f8[3]
>>> http://webmail.sonic.net/parse.php?redirect=http://lists.hackerspaces.org/m
>>> ailman/listinfo/hackupy-discuss
>>>
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