Hi guys! Yes, another newbie here to ask questions - but have been hanging around here as a guest reading over some threads for a while. Very helpful forum and a ton of great information!
Anyways, I figured it was time for a question of my own. I currently have a little project that I'd like to do involving RGB LED Ribbon lighting but couldn't find too much info on what I need to do. Right now I'm in the 'theoretical' stage! This is the ribbon I am talking about:
**broken link removed**
**broken link removed**
These strips are rated for a 12V input. However, I currently only have a 5V input (via a USB cable from a computer) which I would like to be able to use to power it. I e-mailed the retailer and he said these may not even light up with 5V, but said that I should not try to change anything with them and instead get a 12V input source. Well, that kind of answer is unacceptable - especially on this kind of forum!! lol. Anything can be done! My best guess is that the ratings of the SMD resistors are the cause for why it will not light up (or be very dim) at 5V. They are probably rated to deliver a safe amount of power to the LED's with a 12V input.
So my thinking is that I could just desolder and resolder on new SMD resistors with the appropriate rating for a 5V input. The only problem is that I'm not exactly sure of the power ratings of the SMD LED's, so I can't calculate the sizes of the resistors to use. I think this info sheet resembles these LED's the most: https://www.electro-tech-online.com/custompdfs/2008/11/PLCC6RGBCT.pdf Actually, to be honest, I'm not really sure how I would go about to calculate the resistor sizes to use for this type of application!!!
I'm not sure if you guys need any more info on the number of LED's on the strip as well? I would probably be using about 2 feet of the ribbon, which equals 18 SMD RGB LED's (1.3 LED's per inch). This is the technical page from one of the stores: Ribbon LED Strips (scroll down the RGB ribbon).
Okay, well I've tried to be as detailed as I can! Any help on determining resistor size for a 5V input (instead of 12V) would be greatly appreciated!! Or any (constructive) criticism as well! If you guys don't think that this would be a good idea, I would also be up to making a PCB and soldering on regular RGB LED's as well.
Thanks, Mike
Anyways, I figured it was time for a question of my own. I currently have a little project that I'd like to do involving RGB LED Ribbon lighting but couldn't find too much info on what I need to do. Right now I'm in the 'theoretical' stage! This is the ribbon I am talking about:
**broken link removed**
**broken link removed**
These strips are rated for a 12V input. However, I currently only have a 5V input (via a USB cable from a computer) which I would like to be able to use to power it. I e-mailed the retailer and he said these may not even light up with 5V, but said that I should not try to change anything with them and instead get a 12V input source. Well, that kind of answer is unacceptable - especially on this kind of forum!! lol. Anything can be done! My best guess is that the ratings of the SMD resistors are the cause for why it will not light up (or be very dim) at 5V. They are probably rated to deliver a safe amount of power to the LED's with a 12V input.
So my thinking is that I could just desolder and resolder on new SMD resistors with the appropriate rating for a 5V input. The only problem is that I'm not exactly sure of the power ratings of the SMD LED's, so I can't calculate the sizes of the resistors to use. I think this info sheet resembles these LED's the most: https://www.electro-tech-online.com/custompdfs/2008/11/PLCC6RGBCT.pdf Actually, to be honest, I'm not really sure how I would go about to calculate the resistor sizes to use for this type of application!!!
I'm not sure if you guys need any more info on the number of LED's on the strip as well? I would probably be using about 2 feet of the ribbon, which equals 18 SMD RGB LED's (1.3 LED's per inch). This is the technical page from one of the stores: Ribbon LED Strips (scroll down the RGB ribbon).
Okay, well I've tried to be as detailed as I can! Any help on determining resistor size for a 5V input (instead of 12V) would be greatly appreciated!! Or any (constructive) criticism as well! If you guys don't think that this would be a good idea, I would also be up to making a PCB and soldering on regular RGB LED's as well.
Thanks, Mike