Thread: LED question

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Hey All, I'm looking to light up a sign that I made with a string of about 10 or so LED's. Can anyone tell me if that would be possible using like a 9V battery, and if so, how do I choose the right LED's?

I found the quickest and easiest way is using an old computer power supply with 12v LED's socket type is 194/168. You can wire them in parallel and link them together via a molex connector. You do not have to worry about solder resisters and such.

You will need stranded wire. 12volt LEDs, old computer power supply and LED holders.

You still have to solder to the LED holders

You can use a 9V battery also but the output will suffer after a while.

Here are some pics off my webpage to help you

Another note each bulb draws 30ma so 10 would draw 300ma so a 12v power adapter plug at 600ma will allow you to run 20 LED's off of it. The draw is very little so a computer power supply may be overkill unless you are using it for some other operation.

Your local Goodwil should have bins full of old wall warts and phone chargers. They are dirt cheap and easy to hack. I agree with Industen, you could light the LEDs with a 9V battery but the current drain would suck the battery dry in a very short time.

jayb,

If you're looking to use standard 5mm/3mm LEDs (without packaging like Industen shows), check out this calculator. It will show you the optimum setup to maximize your battery life.

- Hook