led taillight delima...help

[David Bridgen]

The 1N400 series diodes all have a curent rating of 1A.

The difference is in their reverse voltage rating.

That of the 1N4001 is 50V. The others are progressively higher.

Any of them will be ok in your circuit.

 

[airbrush]

alright...thx again...i'll give it a try tomorrow

 

[panic mode]

Hi Panic mode,
I like it, all with only one IC.
I see that you are in "the suburb run by Hazel" too. Have you counted all those stairs at City Hall?

glad you liked it, i was trying to make it simple and inexpencive...
personally i like the most idea of having oscillator and adjustment using cheap treampot instead of fixed series resistor or big rheostat,
specially after seeing solderjob pictures posted by airbrush.
i hope those are just prototype...

i moved from etobicoke to mississauga half a year ago. your profile doesn't state location but now i know it's mississauga... :wink:

 

[audioguru]

Hi Panic Mode,
Those were solder joints?
I thought he just wrapped a bit of alum foil around the wires. On closer inspection, it's solder wrapped around, plumber's solder.

I've seen it done, called "The Drip Technique". They melt the solder with a match or lighter high above and let it drip onto the joint. Did you see the clear silicone that holds the solder in place?
Of course, instead of using wire-strippers, sharp teeth or wire-cutters were used to nick the wires to make certain they will break cleanly the first time they are moved!

Where's the big ice storm? I got up early to shovel and scrape but it's nice outside. Those weather forcasters and their fancy satellites and stuff! All they have to do is phone a place upwind and ask what's happening.

 

[airbrush]

I'm glad you guys like my handywork...anytime you need me to come and solder up your stuff just let me know... :lol: . And yes that is just temporary til i had all of it working...i put silicone around the regulator ends so they dont touch when i bundle this up better to go in the bike, how would you usually do it? thats all i could think of. Everyone loves to pick on the newbie

 

[audioguru]

Hi Airbrush,
Sorry for ridiculing your craftwork.
I use a temperature-controlled soldering iron and rosin-core 63/37 solder.
I cover open joints with heat-shrink tubing.

Those weather forcasters were correct, they just got the timing wrong.
Everything is covered with ice now and cars and trucks are sliding all over the place! Luckily the electrical wires for my neighbourhood are underground.

 

[panic mode]

Where's the big ice storm?

don't mention, i don't need one...
i've left the car in the driveway but the weather was nice. well it was still covered with thin ice crust that was melting but it was a nice day.
took the kid to daycare, waited 10min, nobody was there except other enraged parents, then found that place is closed - because stupid school buses are canceled (what kind of excuse is that? it's a daycare, kids are brought in by parents and none of us is driving school buses either...).
anyway, took him back home, got late to work...
those bloody educators don't do anything... :evil:

 

[airbrush]

IT WORKS! :shock: IT WORKS! :shock: ITS ALIVE! MUUUUUAAAAHHHAHAHAHA :twisted:

 

[audioguru]

Hurray! :lol:

 

[airbrush]

now to clean up this ugly mess...haha. Thx for everyones input!

 

[airbrush]

Just curious ....are any so called "white" LEDs actually give off white light...mine are more of a light blue which isnt really what i want. I only need a couple of em.

 

[bonxer]

Any white LED that you get will have some blueish/purple tint to it, some moreso than others. I've found some at https://www.futurlec.com/LEDGen.shtml that are almost pure white. The thing is, though, they're so bright that you can't look at them straight on without your brain hurting. I didn't notice any blueness to this one, but then again I don't stare at it long. LED5W is the part number for the white 5mm.

 

[airbrush]

okay...did some more searching....apparently you can tint it using transparent paints....either yellow or orange on the lens to shift if more to a typical white or incandescent look....good good.

 

[airbrush]

okay heres the pics
**broken link removed**
and the beast
**broken link removed**

thx for everyones help especially David Bridgen..thanks man.

 

[airbrush]

okay...got another question for you guys out there....what is the best way to control the voltage from a household power outlet....i want to make a table lamp made outta leds. I could use an adapter, but i dont really want a big bulking box sticking outta the wall....is there another approach i can use?

 

[audioguru]

Hi Airbrush,
The LED Christmas tree lights I got have thirty 2V LEDs wired all in series with a diode. They are for 120VAC. They didn't even use a current-limiting resistor which is dumb. If you use 3.5V LEDs, you only need 17 in series. Since the diode makes them on only half the time, they aren't very bright and flicker.
You could put twice as many LEDs in series and use a full-wave-bridge rectifier for more brightness and no noticable flickering. I recommend using a current-limiting resistor to drop at least 10% of the voltage.
You could dim them with a low-power AC light dimmer circuit. An ordinary AC dimmer might not dim low enough

 

[airbrush]

hey audioguru,

As a newbie...now i have more questions for you on your answer.

Why would they be flickering...shouldnt the household current be more stable and consistent than that of i a vehicle?

So what exactly does a full bridge rectifier do? is this a common thing i can pick up?

A low power AC dimmer circuit? where can i get these from.... i would like to put a dimmer switch on it of some kind...something that is not big and bulky....a small dial or slider would be nice.

 

[airbrush]

also....i wanted to fabricate a unique base out of sheet aluminum...does anyone know if you can solder aluminum sheet together or does it need to be welded??

 

[audioguru]

Hi Airbrush,
1) AC power swings the voltage positive then negative then positive again, etc. The LEDs flicker because the diode passes the power half the time, at 30 times per second, since my power is 60Hz AC. LEDs switch much quicker than ordinary "hot-lightbulbs".
2) A full-wave-bridge has 4 diodes inside and 4 wires. 2 wires are for AC input and 2 wires are for DC pulses output. They are rated for voltage and current. For 120VAC, use at least 400V ones. They are very common.
3) A low-power dimmer is a circuit you would have to make. It uses an IC and a small "volume control". Some ordinary lamp dimmers turn off completely. But when you slowly turn them up from being off, they suddenly jump to 1/2 brightness.

I have heard that aluminum can be soldered with a special flux. But you probably need a big torch because aluminum conducts the heat away.

 

[pianoman]

also....i wanted to fabricate a unique base out of sheet aluminum...does anyone know if you can solder aluminum sheet together or does it need to be welded??

Welded. You may be able to get solder in between, but it will not be strong _at all_. Also, aluminum is one of the hardest common metals there is to weld...