Author Topic: Potential cheap LED source  (Read 1021 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Philip H

  • Crew
  • *
  • Posts: 9024
  • Gender: Male
  • Respect: +1793
    • Layout Progress Blog
Potential cheap LED source
« on: January 05, 2016, 01:27:21 PM »
0
Not sure where to post this . . .

While doing a bit of lunch time shopping at the Giant supermarket across the street from my office, I encountered these:

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

30 "dewdrop sized LEDs with. 3 AA battery pack for $1.25 (after using my Giant card to get 75%off the $4.99 retail)

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

No idea how well they work, what current they draw or what I will use them for but at that price I couldn't pass them up.
Philip H.
Chief Everything Officer
Baton Rouge Southern RR - Mount Rainier Division.


peteski

  • Crew
  • *
  • Posts: 35244
  • Gender: Male
  • Honorary Resident Curmudgeon
  • Respect: +6632
    • Coming (not so) soon...
Re: Potential cheap LED source
« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2016, 02:33:11 PM »
+1
These look like a variation (or repackaging)  of the little Christmas tree LED lights @Lemosteam found few years ago. We had a thread on them and their uses.  I even asked Lemosteam to buy couple of strings f0or me (my local Walmart didn't have any).  I try to find that thread later and post the URL here.

LED is an LED - they all work the same.  I don't care for the fact that they are all hooked up in parallel, but the string can be cut apart and then each LED can be used separately.  I don't remember now but I think they are eiither 0603 or 0805 size LEds encases in a drop of some sort of epoxy resin.  I was even able to liberate few LEDs out of that drop of epoxy (I needed them as small as possible.

These are standard white LEDs the Vf is around 3V and I wouldn't pass more than 20mA through them.  The Christmas tree LED light strings were available in warm or cool white. I don't know if you had a choice this time.  Warm white is good for simulating incandescent bulbs while cool white is bluish, like fluorescent lights.

Here is the other thread I mentioned - lost of good info in there: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=27923
« Last Edit: January 05, 2016, 05:12:24 PM by peteski »
. . . 42 . . .

Lemosteam

  • Crew
  • *
  • Posts: 6403
  • Gender: Male
  • PRR, The Standard Railroad of my World
  • Respect: +4816
Re: Potential cheap LED source
« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2016, 07:20:15 PM »
0
Yep, they are used to light this:

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=34628.0

There are multi color sets that are helpful too!
John "Lemosteam" LeMerise

Philip H

  • Crew
  • *
  • Posts: 9024
  • Gender: Male
  • Respect: +1793
    • Layout Progress Blog
Re: Potential cheap LED source
« Reply #3 on: January 05, 2016, 08:03:52 PM »
0
These are the multicolor sets.

And thanks for the link - now I know how to wire them.
Philip H.
Chief Everything Officer
Baton Rouge Southern RR - Mount Rainier Division.