moon lights

[NJDevilsWinCup]

i did a search on moonlights and a while back some had asked if u can just use christmas lights and put the leds in there is this true?

 

[indy]

LED's run on about 4v DC current. Christmas lights run 110v AC. So the simple answer is no. However, you can limit the voltage down to an acceptable level and they will work, but they will flash at 60 hz. This is much faster than the human brain can see so it will look steady. On an intersting side note, if you did drop the voltate down and put 1 led on the end of a string and spin said LED in a fast circle, you would be able to see the cycle. Science is fun!

 

[yaksplat]

If you don't know much about electricity, you're better off playing with DC, since you're less likely to hurt yourself. You can pickup a cheap transformer at www.allelectronics.com .

Do some more research before diving in.

Jim

 

[Hammer]

You can build your our also look at www.lcled.com at the 500TB4D Super blue led
A transformer from radio shack 300ma 1-12 vdc ( volts 3.3 depending on amount of leds ) Better to get the variable trans start low then test.
Resistors 150 ohm per led on the + side (longer wire ) Radio shack part # 271-1312 5%tolerance

This is what i remember please look into it more for your own safety. 8O hope this helps.

 

[indy]

The resistance needed will change depending on the voltage supplied. If you have a 4v DC transformer, you shouldn't need any resistors to run a single led. For multiple leds wired in series, you'll need more voltage to run the string, wired in parallel the voltage will be fine as long as your transformer can support the current. Led's are very low draw, so it shouldn't be an issue to run several with just about any transformer you can find.

And Yak is right. You're much better off experimenting with low voltage/current DC than high voltage/current AC. To be real safe, play with 3 AA batteries and an LED : ) That would give you 4.5v dc and run an led for quite a while.

 

[yaksplat]

check out the tutorial at lsdiodes.com

http://www.lsdiodes.com/tutorial/

it'll give you some insight