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Light Bar Ambient Lighting

by QuackMasterDan on May 28, 2008 Table of Contents License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: Light Bar Ambient Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 1: Parts & Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 2: Light Bar Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 3: Mark and Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 4: Measure Twice, Drill Once . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 5: Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 4 6 7 8 9
step 6: Snip, Sheath, & Solder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 step 7: Finishing Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 step 8: Mounting the Light Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
http://www.instructables.com/id/Light-Bar-Ambient-Lighting/
License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) Intro: Light Bar Ambient Lighting
A light bar can brighten your house through the use of ambient lighting. You can lighten up hallways, add a fading glow effect behind your entertainment center, create new patterns in light graffiti or simply add a light source to your house. There are endless possibilities for lighting with a light bar, it's all up to you! The parts are fairly cheap and the project is fairly easy. You will need to strip wires, solder leds, and be able to use a power drill. With LEDs cheap and long-lasting this project will add a warm glow to your house. Once you have purchased the parts you need (You likely have most of them already) actually putting the bar together should take about 3 hours (if you are inexperienced). This instructable is designed to teach with pictures as well as words. Most of the pictures have notes added to them with tips and information. *** I am not liable for any injury, property damage, or any other losses that happen within this project. You will be working with electricity and should be careful. Though the voltage and amperages I used in this project are not harmful (or even be felt), using a more powerful electricity source, and the use of hot objects (Soldering Iron & Hot Glue Gun) can cause damage. ***
Image Notes 1. These 13000mcd LEDs glow brightly at night. I suggest sticking them behind a couch, wall mounted Flat Screen TV, or entertainment center. 2. My first project with LEDs. Its more of a light wire, using speaker wire with copper nails going through each side. This has evolved into the light bar.
Image Notes 1. The light bar was pointed at the wall for a glowing effect.
Image Notes 1. Light bar pointing straight up in daylight. Leaves a long trail @ 13000mcd(Millicandelas).
Image Notes 1. The mirror in the background provides double the lights. These are slow fading RGB LEDs.
Image Notes 1. Light graffiti with the light bar. Makes for fun photography.
step 1: Parts & Tools

The pieces needed for a LED bar are reasonably cheap. Don't be alarmed at the amount of parts needed - nothing is expensive, all of them are pretty common and easy to use. You probably already have 3/4ths of this stuff right now. Most of these parts were purchased at The Home Depot and Lowes. Metal Wire Cover (Light Bar) $5.00 for (1) 5' bar. Used to keep people from tripping over wires in the home or office, I modified it to become my light bar. You could also use wood, PVC pipe, or another material. (Though I suggest something compact and tidy). Rubber Insulated Clamps (3) $1.25 for 2 - These are used to mount the light bar to a surface. Electrical Tape (1) $4.00 for 66' - Used to hold pieces together and insulate wires from bar. Wet Rag - Any cloth or sponge will do, just soak it in water, its used to clean leftover solder off your soldering iron. LEDs (18 for one light bar) $10 for 100- Pick whatever colors you want. I also suggest fading LEDS. You can use any voltage you want, though most colors fall in two categories, 1.9-2.1v(red, orange,yellow), and 3.0-3.4v (green,blue,white). Brightness is up to you, 10000mcd-18000mcd (Millicandelas) are plenty for night lighting, something like 25,000mcd may be too bright for night time, but good for accent lighting (glowing under furnitur, though 35,000mcd or higher can even be daytime lighting. Real life stores are far too expensive, so on EBay you can get them from Hong Kong for 1/20th the price. I suggest the sellers HKJE LED or LED-HK Hot Glue Gun $5 - Get a lot of glue sticks, as they will hold things in place and insulate. Power Supply (1) $1- Any source of power will do, though LEDs run on DC. Your voltage can be whatever you want, but you must choose your own resistors. (Supply Voltage should be higher than the LEDs Forward Voltage, around 300mA for one light bar (Milliamps are the max amount of LEDs you can have). I got three supplies for $3 at my local GoodWill charity. Resistors (At Least 10) $3 for 100 on EBay, I suggest ResistorsPlus- These keep the LED from taking in too much electricity. It can change a 9 volt or 12 volt power supply into a 3.3 volt for an LED. For my 9 volt supply, I needed 150 Ohm resistors (9 Volts for 2 LEDs in Series). Calculate yours @ ledcalc.com A common rating is wattage, this simply means heat dissipation, you can always have the W number higher than recommended, but never lower. A higher wattage rating costs a tiny bit more, and is larger, for the most part 1/2 watt is fine, unless you begin using ultra-high power LEDs (like Luxeon Stars which can need 3-10W resistors). 20 Gauge Speaker Wire (Around 8-10 feet) - Used to connect the LEDs to the power supply. Soldering Iron $10 (1) - Cheap, everyone should have one around. A 15 Watt iron from Radioshack works fine. Solder (1) $3 at Radioshack- Solder with flux. I recommend silver solder at 0.022" thickness and a rosin core, it's easier to flow and more durable. Used to connect LEDs to the Speaker Wire. Needle-nose Pliers - Used to bend LED legs. Insulated Quick Disconnects (Optional) $2 for 12- This is used to easily plug the power supply into the light bar. You could just solder the power supply wires straight to the speaker wire, but then you always have the cord attached. (***Update, I now recommend using 2.5mm DC barrel plug connectors, they are much more durable, easier to plug in, and make a stronger connection. Buying them online is semi-random, try eBay as always** Power Drill (1) - If you don't have one, ask a friend. 13/64" Drill Bit (2) - $1.50 for one. Used to drill the holes in the light bar. 13/64th" is the perfect size for a 5mm LED, it keeps them from going through the hole and holds them in place. Wire Clippers - Used to cut the legs of LEDs. You can use some small scissors as well. Awl - Something sharp with a fine point. I'm sure you can find something. Scissors - Used to cut speaker wire and electrical tape. Wire Stripper or Knife - Used to strip plastic insulation from the speaker wire. If you are new to LEDs or soldering, I suggest viewing this guide @ llamma.com
Image Notes 1. Insulated Quick Disconnects. Used to connect power supply to light bar. 2. Rubber Insulated Clamps. Holds light bar to wall.
Image Notes 1. Insulated Quick Disconnects. Found near the more commonly known spade connectors. $2 for 12.
3. Soldering Iron 4. Solder. 5. Resistors. 6. Blue LEDS 50 pack. 13000mcd 7. Green LEDS 13000mcd 8. Power Drill. 9. Wire Clippers. Clips off LED legs. Scissors also work. 10. Awl. Sharp and pointy, good for punching holes. 11. Vinyl electrical tape. 12. Wet Cloth. Removes leftover solder. A clean iron is a good iron. 13. 9V Cordless Phone power supply. Small and compact, and delivers 9 volts of power. 14. 18 Gauge Speaker Wire 50 Feet. The wire that carries electricity to the LEDS. 15. Needlenose Pliers. Easily bends the legs of LEDs. 16. Hot Glue Gun. Smother the LEDS and wires in this stuff. It keeps them electrically insulated and holds them in place. 17. Scissors. Used to cut electrical tape and speaker wire. 18. 13/64ths inch drill bit. Perfect for 5mm LEDs.
2. Female Quick Disconnect 3. Male Quick Disconnect 4. Male Red QD plugged into a Female Blue.
Image Notes 1. Supply Voltage is 9 Volts. Well above the 3.3 volts required for the LEDs, so we are in good shape. Another commonly used voltage for LED supplies is 5V. 2. 350mA. Max amount of LEDs supported. (18 LEDS * 20mA = 360mA, a little more than 350, but not excessive enough to cause them to go dim). 3. Cut here with scissors, and there should be two wires. These will be attached to the speaker wire.
Image Notes 1. 150Ohms is needed for 9V supply, with two 3.3V LEDs in series. 2. This is the max wattage the resistor can take. This value should be higher than the wattage the led actually uses, your LED calculator will tell you what is a safe pick.
Image Notes 1. Blue and green LEDs are usually 20mA and 3.3V. Lit with a 2032 3V battery (used in LED Throwies)
Image Notes 1. Green 3.3V 20mA LED. Lit with a 2032 3V battery (used in LED Throwies)
Image Notes 1. You can use whatever you want to hold the bar in place, this works for me and is cheap.
step 2: Light Bar Material

What I used for my light bar is a metal wire cover. It is designed to stuff wires into to keep people from tripping over them and yanking everything out. I chose metal because I wanted something durable and all in one piece. You don't have to use metal like I am, or even a wire cover. If you can find a piece of wood and drill holes through that, awesome! Plastic wire channels work even better, and are much easier to drill through. I chose this because it's cheap, I was unexperienced when I made this guide, and I wanted the bars rigid, today I suggest plastic channels, don't get the thin ones though. For mine, it has a metal clip that is just smashed on top of the bar. Just push on it with some pliers to pop it out.
Image Notes 1. Picture of later construction. The metal slide goes over the wires inside the bar, keeping everything nice and neat.
Image Notes 1. This is the metal clip that holds the slide in place. Friction does the work.
step 3: Mark and Measure

Mark the LEDS Light Bar = 5 feet = 60". Take off 2" on each side for the Insulated Clamps and connectors = 56". 9 Modules of 2 LEDs each = 18 LEDs. 56/8= 7" of spacing. (We divide by 8 rather than 9 because 2" is the where the first module goes). For a light bar 5 feet long, each module should be spaced 7 inches apart. Get a measuring tape or yard-stick and with a pencil mark these slots for a 5' light bar. 2" 9" 16" 23" 30" 37" 44" 51" 58" Now the LEDs should be spaced 1 inch apart. So at each of the previous marks, measure 1/2" on each side and make a plus with a pencil (Try to put it near the middle of the width of the bar). This is where each LED will go. Measure the Length of the Speaker Wire. This is fairly simple. Just stick your wire along the bar and measure out 8 or so extra inches. These 8 inches make up for any slack within the bar, and provide extra wire to connect to power supply. When you are finished, you'll just cut off the extra anyways. Pull the two speaker wires apart from each other, we want them to be separate (see picture).
Image Notes 1. There is a weak glue holding the two wires together. Just pull them apart and you've got your negative and positive speaker wires.
Image Notes 1. 5 Feet and around 8 extra inches.
step 4: Measure Twice, Drill Once

There are a couple ways you can go about putting the holes into the bar. You could just use the drill bit and inaccurately drill through the bar. However this takes far more work and is more tedious than it should be. This is where the awl comes in. Remember the marks we made on the inside of the bar? Well, take your awl (or another sharp pointy tool) and put it on the line you drew for a LED. Try to line it up with the middle of the bar and smash the awl with a hammer. Initially you should make a dent and punch a very tiny hole, later you will punch a small hole back through. Flip the bar over, and put the awl on the new dent pointing towards you, and smash it downward to leave a bigger dent (this is thanks to metal fatigue). Hit it until there is small hole (less than the width of an LED), and use your 13/64" drill bit to clean it up. Repeat 18 times for 18 holes, and then we will prepare the wire.
Image Notes 1. Point where hole will be made for LED 2. Initial 7 inch spacing mark.
Image Notes 1. Line up your awl with the middle of the bar, and dent it with a hammer.
Image Notes 1. Going back through. 2. This hole is offset, I will just punch my real hole more towards the middle.
Image Notes 1. 13/64ths inch drill bit is perfect for a 5mm LED.
Image Notes 1. Success!
Image Notes 1. LED shines brightly through one of the holes.
step 5: Power
Power Supply Your power supply can be from pretty much anything. An old PSU from a computer, a leftover hard drive power brick; I prefer small and compact power supplies such as those in cordless phones. Laptop power supplies are an amazing power source, they are super cheap and available, usually can supply 3-5 amps (which means a max of about 230 LEDs), and are regulated [which are normally super expensive] at 12v DC. No matter what the plug on the end is, you can bet there are two wires in there: Positive and Negative. I obtained three 9 volt power supplies at my local goodwill for $3. eBay also has a plentiful selection of power supplies, though it will take some searching. The supply needs 350mA or more to power 18 LEDs. mA determines the maximum amount of LEDs. 99% of 5mm LEDs use 20mA each, so just multiply the number of LEDs by 0.020A (18 LEDs * 0.020A = 360mA, which is technically overloading it, but it still works). The speaker wire will carry the electricity from the power supply wires to the LED wires. Decide right now which of your two speaker wires will be your positive, and which will be your negative. As a general rule, the red, yellow, white, or lined wire is the positive, while the solid (usually black) is negative. After the next step, you will have two LEDs and a resistor soldered together. Just try touching them both to the speaker wire, whichever lights up for you is your correct solution. Quick Disconnects This step is optional. It makes it easy to plug and unplug the light bar from the power supply. If you don't want to use Quick Disconnects and want the power supply always attached, just twist the wires of the speaker wire and the power supply together and solder them. Wrap them with electrical tape to keep anything from shorting out. Quick Disconnects have a wire going into them, and usually you just crush it with pliers (Called crimping) and the wire stays in place. An optional purchase to skip this awl & solder method is a pair of crimping pliers. Regular pliers were incapable of doing the job for me, so I pierced and soldered them into place. Knowing from experience now, I strongly recommend just buying crimping pliers than this next awl + solder method. If you don't feel like spending money, then go for this method, which actually is
a stronger connection than crimping alone. Because its not possible to stick solder into the Quick Disconnect (its covered in plastic) and melt it and the wire together, you should coat the end of your wire with solder. Stick the wire into the quick disconnect. Now hit the Awl on top of the Quick Disconnect, this will pierce the casing and squish the metal and wire together. Follow it up with sticking the tip of your soldering iron into the hole to melt the solder. You should have a very solid connection between the wire and Quick Disconnect. Finally, wrap any exposed areas up with electrical tape.
Image Notes 1. Supply Voltage is 9 Volts. Well above the 3.3 volts required for the LEDs, so we are in good shape. Another commonly used voltage for LED supplies is 5V. 2. 350mA. Max amount of LEDs supported. (18 LEDS * 20mA = 360mA, a little more than 350, but not excessive enough to cause them to go dim). 3. Cut here with scissors, and there should be two wires. These will be attached to the speaker wire.
Image Notes 1. Slowly and carefully remove the sheathing. We want those two wires intact.
Image Notes 1. After the cut and removing the sheathing, we find two wires and twist the ends to keep them from fraying.
Image Notes 1. Blue wire has been coated with lots of solder. Awl will smash them together and create a hole for the soldering iron.
Image Notes 1. Soldering Iron is about to go into the hole made by the awl, and melt the solder to bind them together.
Image Notes 1. Once you've soldered the wire and Quick Disconnect together, wrap up the ends with electrical tape.
step 6: Snip, Sheath, & Solder

LEDs like the ones we are using in this project have two legs. A positive long leg (and a skinny head), and a negative short leg (with a bulky head). The resistor attaches to the front positive leg (see picture) and the resistor is soldered to the positive speaker wire. The purpose of the resistor is to keep the LED from getting overloaded (they will without one, and become very hot and burn out permanently). Use the pictures as a guide. Soldering LEDs Together Bend the legs of each LED to 90 degree angles. Clip the front positive leg so it is short , this is where the resistor will be attached. These are wired in a Series, meaning the LEDs legs meet back to back (postive-negative-positive). See the diagram for a visual illustration. Set the LEDs into the drilled holes, as this keeps them aligned and pointing in the same direction. Make the legs meet, and touch the soldering iron at the meeting point. Touch your solder to the legs, and it should melt onto the legs binding them together. Now bend the front positive leg into a U shape, repeat for the resistor. This hooks them together and makes it easier to manage. Solder them together. Soldering LEDs to Wires After the resistor has been attached to the front positive LED, remove sheathing from the positive speaker wire, and solder the leftover resistor leg to it. Then remove sheathing from the negative speaker wire, and solder the negative LED leg to it. You can now test if your LEDs light up by plugging in your power supply. Securing/Insulating with Hot Glue Place the LEDs and the newly attached wires into the bar, and the LEDs go into the holes. Make sure that no LED legs or exposed wire is touching the bar. The LEDs and wire will naturally want to move around, so press the LEDs down with pliers so they are flush with the holes, pour on a lot of hot glue, and wait for it to dry. Repeat this step 8 more times, and then its time to finish everything up.
Image Notes 1. Positive Speaker Wire 2. Resistors 3. Negative Speaker Wire
Image Notes 1. Short Leg = Negative. 2. Long Leg = Positive. 3. Little blobs are where the legs should be bent 90 degrees (see next picture) 4. Skinny Head and Long Leg = Positive. 5. Bulky Head and Short Leg = Negative
Image Notes 1. Needlenose pliers are great for this job. Try to make a 90 degree angle at the little blob on the upper part of the legs.
Image Notes 1. Resting the LEDS in the holes makes them much easier to handle and keep aligned
Image Notes 1. After soldering. Good electrical connection and ready for a resistor. 2. Notice I've bent the front positive leg. This makes it easier to attach the resistor.
Image Notes 1. Why do things the hard way? Bend the legs into hooks and its much easier to keep them in place for soldering.
Image Notes 1. Resistor has been soldered to positive leg of LED. Excess of the legs was clipped off with the wire clippers.
Image Notes 1. Negative LED leg will be soldered to the negative speaker wire.
Image Notes 1. Drown it in hot glue. Not only does it hold the pieces in place, it prevents a short circuit.
Image Notes 1. Negative wire stays on the right side, Positive wire on the left
step 7: Finishing Up
Hopefully all your LEDs light up, your power supply has a solid connection to the speaker wires, and the hot glue is holding everything in place. Now its time to finish this light bar. If everything is set on your light bar, snip off any extra cord handing out the back end. Wrap the end with electrical tape just to keep it together. If you find yourself making a lot of these, a step I don't cover is called daisy chaining. Basically you put quick disconnects on both ends, so it can be powered on via either side. Then you make a short (3 inch or so) connector cable that plugs the light bars into each other end to end, this chain can go on indefinitely. If the quick disconnects on both sides of the light bar are female plugs, then your connector cable would have male plugs on both ends of it. Put the slide back into the bar, closing up the light bar. Reinsert the friction clip to lock the slide in place. And the light bar should be completed. Now you can choose where you want to put the bar itself. This is where the Rubber Insulated Clamps come in. I like to use screws, however nails are equally good. One clamp goes in the middle, and two on the ends. This is why we saved 2" on each end of the light bar, making it easy to attach to a surface. Pictures show how it can be done. Optional Sanding This is a step you can use to change the appearance of your LEDs. If you feel that your LEDs are too bright or shining too strong of focused beams, you can sand the tops of the LEDs to more evenly diffuse the light. Go purchase some very fine (600-1200grit) sandpaper and just rub the top of each LED. you should have a smooth blurred LED, and this will scatter the light more effectively.
Image Notes 1. Picture of later construction. The metal slide goes over the wires inside the bar, keeping everything nice and neat.
Image Notes 1. Insulated Rubber Clamp fits great over the light bar. Can be tightened with pliers and mounted with a screw or nail.
Image Notes 1. Regular Clearwater 5mm LED. 2. Very concentrated beam. Powered by 2032 3V battery (like LED Throwies)
Image Notes 1. The 3 clamps will each have a screw that goes into the wall. It can be mounting in any direction you please. Use your imagination!
Image Notes 1. Same LED, only sanded with 600 grit sandpaper.
step 8: Mounting the Light Bar

Now that you've finished your light bar, there are numerous places to put it. I've put some behind my couch so beams of green and blue lights shine out of the back. We also screw them into the ceiling to shine down the walls for our primary lighting in our house. For LAN parties (with the red and blue rooms of the house, each with red and blue LEDs) we place them in the corners to shine along the walls for each team's room color, and green LED light bars signify the neutral room with all the food and drinks. Use your imagination to place these bars, especially with the use of refractive (glass) or reflective surfaces. This guide was focused on a 5 foot bar, but any size will work. If you have any improvements upon my methods, or great ideas on how to use a light bar, feel free to leave a comment. Happy lighting - QuackMasterDan.
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Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 196 comments
Jan 3, 2011. 8:15 AM REPLY
joshleathers says:
would i be able to use your light bar for the light sorce for this instructable. http://www.instructables.com/id/Music-LED-Light-Box/. and would any modifications be nessasary?
QuackMasterDan says:
Jan 3, 2011. 10:41 AM REPLY You could make the light bar music reactive yes, they are a very similar design. The only difference is that you would need multiple TIP31 transistors, one per four LEDs. You can't run 18 LEDs in series, they wille be either extremely dim or not light up at all. Both projects have very similar wiring, just replace the + and - terminals of the battery with the + and - wires of the power supply. Though he is using 12v, I believe you coud use anywhere from 612v for the project, just make sure your supply can handle the 18 LEDs. Though I normally say to always use a resistor, I believe you do fine without them by using the transistor method. Dec 23, 2010. 8:14 AM REPLY
brigs164 says:
i was wondering if a 12v 1amp dc plug would work if im hooking up 5 bars together
Dec 23, 2010. 10:44 AM REPLY To measure maximum power possible by your power supply, you need to measure everything in Watts. A Watt, is simply volts * amps. So if you have 18 LEDs on your light bar, with each LED running at 20mA (milliamps) and 3.2 volts. 18 LEDs * 20mA = 360 mA. Then let's turn that into Watts 3.2v * 0.36A = 4.32 W. For five light bars 4.32 W * 5 Light Bars = 21.6 W Realistically, we want some buffer power since real electrical drain isn't perfect, let's just add 5 Watts to be safe. Thus, 26.6 Watts is our power drain. Now for what your power supply can put out, 12v * 1 Amp = 12 Watts. Sadly, that power supply cannot provide enough juice to five light bars. It will realistically be able to light three at full brightness, and at three, it will become extremely hot (like, burn your finger hot, which is bad). So the safe amount for that power supply is two light bars. If you want a cheap power supply that can handle a ton of light bars, go find a laptop power supply, They are usually in the range of 50-75 Watts, and can be found for a couple dollars at a Goodwill, or bought on eBay for $13 including s/h. Good luck.
vj03 says:
Great idea and tutorial!
Dec 18, 2010. 10:11 AM REPLY
Electroinnovation says:
You should add ebay.com as a source for most of those items. I know leds can cost about $4 for 100 with free shipping.
Oct 27, 2010. 4:47 PM REPLY
Oct 27, 2010. 5:15 PM REPLY Both HKJE and LEDHK that I linked to on part one take you to their eBay sellers stores. They are my favorite sources on eBay. Thanks for the input.
Electroinnovation says:
oh sorry i didn't see that there. I just read the first part that said $10 for 100.
Oct 28, 2010. 2:53 PM REPLY
thatsgenius says:
i love doing light graffiti!
Sep 3, 2010. 10:42 AM REPLY
ibtassam says:
Aug 24, 2010. 11:37 AM REPLY I'm intending on using around 10 LED's in series for making an LED music box. It has a TIP 31 transistor and is plugged into audio jack. But I have a power supply of 12V, 600mA. Do you think its enough to run all these LED's??
Aug 24, 2010. 12:33 PM REPLY It is not possible to wire 10 LEDs in a single series. You can chain them at a max of 3 per series for the voltage you are using (12 volts). As far as calculating the capacity to run your LEDs, I'm going to now assume it's in series of 2 (2 * 5 = 10 more cleanly than three series and a single). Using the LEDCalc.com calculator and punching in your numbers, you should use a 330 Ohm 1/8 Watt resistor for each series of two LEDs. One series of two LEDs uses 0.149Amps when running at 3.2 volts (blue, green, or white LEDs). We will calculate Watts, since it is easier to measure max capacity that way than when voltages are so different (12v vs 3.2v). A Watt is simply volts * amps. Your power supply is 12v * 0.6 A = 7.2 Watts A series of two LEDs running on a 330 Ohm resistor is 3.2v * 0.149 A = 0.48 Watts. Five series of two LEDs = 0.48 Watts * 5 = 2.4 Watts So you've got 7.2 Watts as your max, and ten LEDs use up 2.4, you have lots of spare room to work with. To put it simply, you have a ton of extra power. You could also have gone to ledcalc.com like I suggest in my guide, punched in the numbers, and it would provide you with everything you need. Good luck, I hope my math wasn't too confusing.
ibtassam says:
Aug 25, 2010. 11:56 AM REPLY Hey, I knew what it meant by connecting in 'parallel' but I just understood how to do it by seeing this link http://www.theledlight.com/ledcircuits.html . Please correct me if I'm wrong in the next statement. I can connect as many LED's as I want using 'parallel' method(say 15) and adjust my adaptor to 3V and it would work? Do I still need to add resistors to be safe or is it safe enough. Regards, Ibtassam
For parallel wiring, yes, you can connect as many LEDs as you want with only two wires and one resistor.
Aug 25, 2010. 1:32 PM REPLY
With the single resistor for the whole LED chain, each additional LED puts extra strain on the resistor. The size of the resistor needed accelerates pretty quickly, going beyond twenty or thirty LEDs will require a pretty huge resistor. I punched your numbers into the LEDcalc.com parallel calculator. It says you will need a 47 Ohm 2W resistor to power ten, 3.2v LEDs. 3.2v is for blue, green, and white LEDs. For 15 LEDs, it's a 39 Ohm 3W. If you're using another color, like red or amber, which generally run at 1.9, you would use a 56 ohm 2 Watt resistor. These numbers are "ideal", in reality, when buying, pick the closest numbered resistor you can find. As long as all the LEDs have the same voltage requirement, they will all be the same brightness. However mixing colors will cause changes in brightness, if you set your resistor for 3.2, any red LEDs along the chain will become about 30% brighter than normal [called overvolting, a nice trick for flashlights]. At this point, you're using low-power 5mm LEDs. When you get to large LEDs (like Luxeon Stars, check them out, they're a lot of fun) the power requirements increase drastically, and so does the sensitivity of the resistor. I've run a bicycle headlamp with four, 5W Luxeon stars, where a change of 0.5 volts [since I wanted an overvolt mod] can sometimes change your resistor from a 3W to a 5W or 10W.
You must always use a resistor for LEDs, except in very special cases (like a 2032 battery). You can't really "adjust" a power adapter, since its output at 12v is just how it's built. You can however, choose a different kind of resistor. Parallel only uses one resistor, and as far as safe, the danger is that the LEDs burn out and don't turn on, rather than something horrible like them melt or burst into flames ;-D
ibtassam says:
Aug 25, 2010. 2:27 PM REPLY Woah! Those were SOME led's! Just saw a video of this Luxeon thingie, It's brightness is beyond it's tiny little size. But a bit too fancy for me atm. Thanks for letting me know about the resistance in advance. Because otherwise I was thinking of finding out the actual voltages of my power supply and LED(Clear blue one) by using a multimeter(which I don't own, so would've asked the shopkeeper to measure it for me) and then using ledcalc.com to find the resistance. And, yes, 15 LED's is just about the number I was thinking about, since in parallel I can now connect a hell lot of LED's(more brightness, yayy!!). So I guess, I just go ahead and buy me one 39 ohm 3W resistor?(or any number near it) [Btw, what supply voltage did you assume for the 15 Blue Led's?] And my last question is, related figure posted below, Do I imitate this figure fully( same figure from the parallel section of ledcalc.com) or do I have to make any other change? I had a hard time searching for plexiglass today but found a neat ready-made hollow plexiglass structure for the lights. If the whole thing works out, It'll be the coolest thing I've made. So excited : ] Thanks for assistance! Regards, Ibtassam.
Aug 25, 2010. 5:24 PM REPLY Yes, you should just buy a 39 Ohm 3W resistor online, I suggest eBay, my favorite store is Resistors Plus (search on google). That parallel diagram is exactly correct. Just extend it to the right for 15 LEDs instead of three. If you need plexiglass (acrylic), or polycarbonate tubing, I suggest TAP Plastics, they have square and round tubes which may be what you're looking for.
ibtassam says:
Aug 26, 2010. 12:47 AM REPLY Can you please tell me what voltage I should set my adaptor to, while running parallel circuit of 15 Led's w/ a 39ohm resistor? Should it be set at 3(as its parallel so same voltage '3' would go via all of them) or should it be 4.5(as the forward voltage of led is 3.2 so it better to be above this value?) or should it be set at 12(like you did while using ledcalc.com). I punched in supply 12, led 3.2V and 20mA to get 33ohm which is what you did, I think. Please explain. Regards, Ibtassam
Aug 26, 2010. 1:26 AM REPLY The measurement I gave you is for a 12v source, on parallel. On parallel wiring there is a single resistor at the start, and your 15 LEDs all connect along the same two wires after that resistor. I don't think you understand what a resistor does. You leave your setting at 12v, and you use the 39 Ohm resistor to drop the voltage AND current to what the LEDs need. Voltage is essentially how powerful electricity punches through something (jumping from the plate to the wire that glows), and current is the actual flow of electrons that do the punching. The resistor limits both punching power, as well as how many electrons get to go into the LED, combined they are the factors that make the measurement of Ohm. When you told the calculator you desire a 3.2 voltage running through each LED, 33 Ohms of resistance will drop 12v into 3.2v at a current flow the LEDs can use.. Using LEDCalc, I clicked Parallel (instead of GURU, Series, or Single), and punching in 12v source, 20mA current, and 3.2v voltage drop for 15 LEDs gives me a 33 Ohm 3W resitor. Sounds like you did everything exactly correct.
ibtassam says:
Aug 26, 2010. 7:59 AM REPLY I've another quick important question apart from the one I posted before this one. Can I just put 15 Led's in parallel and adjust my adaptor to 3V(by using built in switch on it)..? It works when I test ran it using 3 LEd's in parallel with supply of 3V. If I do this, do I still have to put in resistance?(since the difference in voltages is very tiny) OR do I have to adjust the adaptor to 12 V and put in the 39ohm resistor for it to work. Regards, Ibtassam
Aug 26, 2010. 8:34 AM REPLY Umm, I think that would work, I'm not entirely sure though. I've always learned that a resistor is a must for any circuit you ever make with LEDs, however the point of a resistor is that is lowers voltage while limiting current. In this scenario, it's the exact correct voltage, and completely unregulated current. I kind of want to say that just running everything at 3v might be ok, since when running some calculations I keep getting
extremely low ohm values, like you need an ideal 0.2 Ohm 1/8W resistor (which is essentially nothing). Then again, everything I've read says resistors are mandatory with LEDs, except when you have a power supply that has current limiting on it's own to about 20mA (which basically doesn't happen, except in a single battery.) So simply, I'm not sure.
ibtassam says:
Aug 26, 2010. 10:16 AM REPLY Not sure eh? lol I guess there's only one way to find out. I'll just take the risk and connect all 15 LED's at 3V in parallel and see how many hours, days or months it lasts( and let you know too). As far as I'm concerned, I have a good feeling about this circuit as It kept working for like an hour, when I connected 3 of them at 3V in parallel. If anything goes wrong, I can always spend 50 cents to get 15 more LED's(everything being really cheap here) and connect them the way you mentioned before(at 12V with a 33ohm, 3W resistor). By the way, Just to increase my knowledge I want to ask: Are you saying that there's a chance that voltage may decrease but current may remain at the same high value? But my question is how can the ac-dc adaptor(keeping in mind that I have the adjustable voltage adaptor) change the voltage from 12 to 3 without changing the current. If it doesn't change current, then Isn't there a danger of damaging other stuff that we try to run on 3V without using any resistance? Thanks. Regards, Ibtassam
Aug 26, 2010. 1:44 PM REPLY The AC/DC Rectifier reduces both voltage and current together. They are a combined function of the coil inside the power supply, reducing one reduces the other proportionately. What I mean by the LEDs receiving unlimited current, is that within the positive wire carrying juice to the LEDs, there is a huge supply of power that is more than they can tap into. Most parts only take as much juice they can handle, which is partially dependent on voltage. If current is too high, they will be essentially flooded with extra electrons, and more power will go in that the LED wire can handle and it will burn (just like a fuse). Try to think of the current as a pool of electrons trapped within the positive wire. They will take any path out of the wire they can take, which we happen to make run through the LEDs. On their way passing through, some of them deposit their energy into the LED wire/plate producing light, the excess electrons pass through back into the power source at the negative terminal. If the pool of electrons is too high within the wire, they force their way through the LED wire, whether it can handle that much power or not.
ibtassam says:
Aug 26, 2010. 2:34 PM REPLY I see. So I have to limit the amount of juice too in addition to limiting the speed of juice. This electrical field is easy but only if there's someone good to teach it. Sadly It's too late for me now as I chose the mechanical engineering field 3 years ago(which is awesome in its own special way). By the way, what course/degree are you doing and from where? Regards, Ibtassam
Aug 26, 2010. 7:02 PM REPLY I'm actually a history major, and just graduated college this Spring. I'm currently entering a teaching credential program (started Monday), to get a credential for high-schoolers. Really, it's just a backup plan to return to when I leave the country. My future plans are essentially, get the credential, turn to the peace corps, say where is help needed, and end up in some random country for two or three years. I'll continue studying wherever I go, and upon returning, and after doing other stupid jobs like ski-instructor or ditchdigger ;-D, I'll become a teacher. History has essentially nothing to do with all of my hobbies, my reasons for selecting history: it makes your brain a much more fun place to live; everyone enjoys stories, especially the craziest stories across fivethousand years of humanity; a more balanced understanding of how different societies have lived, what they valued, and a highly analytical perspective on everything applying to my own society. I envy you mechanical engineers, I can barely change the oil and light-bulbs in my car. However I can gladly install a complex (electrical) stereo system.
ibtassam says:
Aug 27, 2010. 2:29 AM REPLY Well, yeah, I can change the oil and do a bunch of other stuff but I think there's literally thousands of cool things that you can do by the application of electrical knowledge. Although I must say mechanical engineering field to me is the best engineering field with all the boilers, turbines, pressure vessels, compressors etc one can never get bored studying these things. You have quite an adventurous life plan. I don't think I be able to bear 'tough' situations that you may encounter travelling all these countries. But one thing's for sure that there'll always be new things to see, learn and do. About history, I'm always doubtful about the truth of many stories because there are always different accounts by people on the same single story, who to believe? Wikipedia? lol.
Aug 27, 2010. 9:41 AM REPLY I am going to attempt a piece of mechanical engineering next summer when I get access to a MIG and TIG welding machine. I'm going to create a real-life, functional version, of the power-fist from Fallout 3. It's essentially an arm brace with a pneumatic rod going along the length of the forearm, with upon the press of a thumb-button, releases the pressure into a metal plate placed beyond the hand which will fires a ton of force in its forward movement (imagine just being able to "punch" a hole through a washing machine or brick-wall). I hope it's practical, something tells me I'll need to have a motor of some kind to actually increase the pressure immensely (compressor ? ), rather than just have it contained within a pre-pressurized gas-cylinder, at which point, I'd be very confused. Anyways, that's the next crazy mechanical project I have lined up, before that though, I might go purchase some junky $40 road bicycle and make a motor for the rear wheel. As far as history being accurate, you're right, it's hard to find "truth", or what really happened out the past. When talking about the Roman or Greek era, we have something called the rule of 10. In referring to military conflicts, whatever number they used, divide it by 10 and you have the real
amount of forces. Even today, with something like the Vietnam War (on which I did my seniorthesis), various perceptions from very tiny battles to massive attacks cause many different truth. For an example of small-numbered confusion in Vietnam, there is the famous My Lai Incident. For an example of an absolutely crazy story from the same era (1976, after the war, and everybody loves a good story), search, "Operation Paul Bunyan" or "The Axe Murder Incident" on google. A military engagement which reads out like a comedy.
ibtassam says:
Aug 27, 2010. 12:44 PM REPLY Yes compressor may be the way to go because of the quick response it can give( mythbusters used this but don't remember which one, maybe the episode in which they shot chickens into aeroplane windshields). Another thing you can try with this is the X-men:Wolverine style hand(but it's something to be careful with). Why not work more and develop the full Iron man original costume(without the jetpacks it's quite possible :P ). Although I now own a bike but as a child I always used to think of having a motor installed on my bicycle. So yes that'll be a pretty fun project. My 'self-assigned' project is over. The 16 LEDeed light is so cool. I'll make a video of it working soon. I read the article 'axe murder incident' and I too find it funny that they fought over a tree. And can't figure out why they took so many men to cut a tree and with what? axes! not jigsaws or anything that could do the job fast. lol. Although I think America is a great country but I must say that it has very bad policies that are influenced by some selfish people. Like some time ago I watched the movie 'Sicko' and it really opens the eyes to what is happening in USA. Politicians have sold themselves out to pass bills that make it easy for the health insurance companies to do whatever they want without any accountability. It further said that USA ranked 34 in the world in healthcare while neighbouring Canada was at #2. When politicians don't think about their own country, how can one expect it to be nicer to nations(whom they've grown up to see as terrorists in movies and shows). While the truth is that every country has a majority of nice people with families and children who want to live happily instead of being killed in wars. I hope someday USA realizes this or maybe starts walking on the right path.
Aug 27, 2010. 1:21 PM REPLY I don't perceive our political system improving at all in the near future, but rather become progressively more inefficient and aggressive. What a bummer. I'm glad your LED bar turned out well, got a picture? (Instructables has an "add images" button in the lower left of a post). As far as the Axe Murder Incident, here is the breakdown: Americans go in to trim the poplar tree, rain delays them by seven days, the re-notify the North Koreans, the message never gets delivered, they go in anyways. Trimming the tree, the North Korean soldiers cause trouble since the Americans ignore their claims about Kim Il Sung personally planting the poplar tree. The North Koreans attack with metal chains, and crowbars (guns are heavily restricted and could start a war), the Americans respond with maddox' (mini-hatchet), some of the maddox' were taken by North Korean soldiers and used to kill two American soldiers. In response, the Americans went in with essentially a small-army, rigged the bridges with explosives, sent in a huge manned force, with armored personal carriers, cobra attack helicopters, and fighter jets, with two engineers cutting down the tree with chainsaws. It was essentially a big show to say, "we are America, don't mess with us". After it was over, Kim Il Sung gave a statement about his regrets the Americans ganged up on innocent North Korean soldiers acting in defense, and hoped it would never happen again. The American leadership decided to say, "meh", and leave the conflict at that. What a way for those two soldiers to die serving their country, over trimming a poplar tree ;-)
ibtassam says:
Aug 28, 2010. 6:56 AM REPLY Yeah sure. Here are two of the pics I took. First one is when I had arranged the LED circuit into the metallic frame. I took a sheet, put 16 holes in it, wrapped it with silver paper(for more light) and then connected the transistor etc into it. (in the back you can see the semi-circle diffused glass structure that will come on top of it). Second picture is when I test ran the circuit in the outer diffused glass structure( the whole assembly of steel and glass cost me about 5$ that also had 2 holders for energy savers but I removed them for more space, so basically it was really cheap as compared to plexiglas that would've cost me a LOT here). As you can see the silver paper combined with the diffused glass gave it a really nice blue look. I've just recently finished mounting the light onto the wall. Will upload a video of it working soon. Thanks for the help! :) Regards, Ibtassam
ibtassam says:
Aug 26, 2010. 3:07 AM REPLY Hi there! Hey I had gone out, while you replied, to get all the stuff needed to make this complete circuit and without knowledge I stuck with the 39 ohm resistor you initially said. Is this 39 W one also fine or should I get a 33ohm one when I go out again? Secondly, there is no 3W one available in 39 ohm, what I got is a 39 ohm 2W. Please let me know if I should buy the exact 33ohm or is it fine to use 39, 2W as well. Other than that I've got everything needed like 15 blue LED's, good wire, y-splitter, transistor, adaptor pin socket and the plexiglass(kinda) casing. Regards, Ibtassam
Aug 26, 2010. 8:26 AM REPLY 39 Ohms works, higher resistance will always work (blocks more juice, slightly more dim), low can sometimes work if you don't push it too far (I'd say 33ohms would work too, and could actually be more desirable since it's slight overvolt and thus brighter). The wattage is important though, you should try to get a 3W or higher. Otherwise they can melt =\ Found you a link to some in about 5 seconds on google, $6 for ten including shipping. Buying resistors on eBay is easy, if you get it from a US rather than Chinese shipper receiving them generally takes about 3-4 days. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300454393129
ibtassam says:
Aug 25, 2010. 11:20 AM REPLY Thank you for the quick response! Actually I'm trying to make this: http://www.instructables.com/id/Music-LED-Light-Box/step6/Building-the-circuit/ I've already tested it out with 1 LED adjusting my 12V adaptor to 3V( It can be adjusted to 3, 4.5,6,7..5 etc ) and it works. Now I was planning to go big scale tomorrow. But you're probably right about adding resistances, as it may burn the LED's out? Can I just accurately measure the 'real' output of my adaptor at 12V and then divide it by 3 and add the obtained amount of LED's (say if it's 18V then I add 6 LED's without resistances and be worry-free of any damage of burning out?) The schematic of the music box also shows a lot of LED's in series but I'm not sure how to wire in the resistances. Can you also tell what the total wattage will be if I put 10 LED's in series without resistance. Sorry if I asked anything obvious, lol. And THANKS! Regards, Ibtassam.
Aug 25, 2010. 1:38 PM REPLY Measuring the voltage output of the 12v from the adapter and simply dividing does not work like you'd think. There are equations (which I'm not going to get into, using the calculator is simpler for answering questions) that take into account current, resistance, and voltage. All three elements combine to determine what resistor you need. Bumping up to 18v is a huge increase in how much energy conversion needs to be made by your resistor(s). Yes, guesstimating and just connecting extra LEDs onto the circuit would relieve the resistor of energy conversion, but they all need to be attached (the full entire number) when you first power it on, since if you give everything 18v supply without the proper amount of draw (how much energy the LEDs are sucking out of the power supply), they will toast themselves. That being said, there is still a little give room, 3.2v LEDs can really operate from around ~2.6v-5v, however being lower or higher than the ideal 3.2 really changes brightness. Don't put LEDs in series without resistance, they simply will break. I've learned from experience, they have to have a resistor of some kind. If you want to see what I mean, solder three LEDs in series, and touch a 9v battery to the leads. They will become very bright, then become extremely hot, and then turn off and never work again. Good luck.
Millenium_Bt says:
Istead of clamps can one just drill a hole and screw the thing on? Greets
Aug 11, 2010. 1:43 AM REPLY
Aug 11, 2010. 1:32 PM REPLY Sure, that works too. There is no correct way to mount them really, it's your project, mod it how you want. Today I don't even bother with rubber clamps, I use a screw eyelet, and a steel triangle ring running through the eyelet to mount them from my ceiling. There are a million ways to do it, do whatever works for you.
Millenium_Bt says:
And how do you keep the LEDs from conducting with the metall bar? Greets
Aug 11, 2010. 1:31 AM REPLY
Aug 11, 2010. 1:25 PM REPLY For the most part, the LED legs don't really bump into the casing as long as the LEDs remain in their slots, they float about 1/2" over the case, right in the center. Since I know that the light bar will face abuse, LEDs get knocked loose, whatever, I simply cover the LEDs and the legs completely in hot-glue, ensuring they will not move, and even if they did from shock, they would be electrically isolated from the casing. Hot glue is really a miracle for hobby-makers, whenever I solder a modchip to a Xbox motherboard, I often end up just covering connection points and wires in hot-glue, since it won't conduct electricity into the motherboard - amazing stuff.
Millenium_Bt says:
Thx this is great combined with my project if you dont mind i could put a link of your instructable into my instructable. Greets
Aug 10, 2010. 5:41 AM REPLY
Aug 10, 2010. 6:15 AM REPLY Sure, sounds fine to me, good luck on it, thanks for asking =D. Message me again when it's complete so I can see how your guide turned out.
channy1510 says:
Jul 31, 2010. 8:14 AM REPLY Hi i am new to this and am a complete amature, i have two power suplies. No. 1 is AC , 12V, 700ma No. 2 is DC, 5-7V, 400ma I don't know which one to use, how many LED's i can have on each and what resistors i should use?
Jul 31, 2010. 12:28 PM REPLY Actually, both of those are AC->DC adapters, both will work. The voltages are different, which is something you need to take into account for choosing your resistors. Aa far as calculating how many LEDs each can use, the 5-7v adapter can power one light bar, and the 12v adapter can power two, maybe three. As far as calculating resistors, I punched the numbers into LEDcalc.com, and got these results: For the 12v adapter, you would need 330 Ohm 1/8 W (Minimum) resistors per two LEDs. For the 7v adapter, you would need 33 Ohm 1/8 W (minimum) resistors. Note that whatever resistor you get doesn't have to be perfectly that number, 330s are very common, if you can't find a pack of 33 Ohm resistors, 30, 35, 40, will all work; You'll find something. Have fun!
channy1510 says:
Thanks, ill get started on it today
Aug 2, 2010. 12:24 AM REPLY
Onay91 says:
Jul 21, 2010. 10:26 PM REPLY I don't want to sound like an electronics noob, but I have a question. Do the positive and negative wires just run along the sides of the wire covering, and then just stop at one end? I know one end is needed to be soldered to the power supply, but what do you do with the other end? I'm not planning on putting in the quick disconnects. Also, what switch (I would use that to turn it on/off instead of unplugging it) would you recommend using? Thanks
Jul 22, 2010. 12:51 AM REPLY Electricity comes through the positive wire. It goes through whatever you are powering (a motor, a led, whatever), and then goes into the ground wire. The electricity goes in a big loop/circle/circuit. Within a house, electricity flows through the positive, electricity goes into the components, and the negative is actually the ground wire that goes from your house into the ground. Neat eh? The quick disconnects are not needed, they simply make it easier to shuffle around. You can just snip off the end of your power connector from the power adapter, and solder directly to your positive and negative wires. As far as a switch for on/off, there are a ton of options. Just go to radioshack, and look in the Switch drawers, you'll find a lot of choices. I personally am a fan of on/off toggle switches (a mostly flat disc that tilts from one side to the other), but you'd need to drill a hole in the case to fit it in. The switch would only have a single wire running through it. So positive from the power adapter goes into one pin on the switch, and the wire on the other side of the switch goes to all the components. One break in the system turns the whole thing off. If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask.
Onay91 says:
Jul 27, 2010. 2:13 PM REPLY Thanks, I'm starting to understand this more. I have another question, though. If the voltage difference between the two wires is the same as the supply voltage (for you, its 9V), then why do you need such high ohm resistors? Aren't you essentially hooking up 18 LEDs in parallel? Or is the voltage supply regulated such that there isn't a voltage drop that you'd get from a battery? I hope that my question isn't too confusing
Jul 28, 2010. 12:44 AM REPLY The LEDs are not running in parallel. They are running in series of two LEDs each, which is a very low power requirement. A 150 Ohm resistor is actually an extremely low ohmage rating. "Normal" ratings are 5k (5000), 10k, 50k, 100k, and 1M (1 million). As far as "voltage difference" I do not know what you mean. 9v runs through the positive wire, dumps its power into the LEDs, then any excess that the LEDs didn't use up in creating light gets sent back into the loop via the ground/negative wire. It should be 9v on both the positive and negative wires, but after passing through the LEDs, the current (mA) would be lower, but voltage would stay the same (voltage is essentially how hard electricity "punches" through a material). For the last question, voltage regulation is highly overrated unless you're working with some hardcore wiring schemes (such as running two 5 Watt Luxeon Stars in parallel). These power supplies I'm using are el cheapo-crappy unregulated supplies whose voltage varies from 8v-12v all the time. Nonetheless, the LEDs work fine, and have been working fine for over a year now.
bsoccer1616 says:
Could you use just a regular power cord for this project? not a phone charger or anything with a box on the cord?
Jul 19, 2010. 5:28 AM REPLY
Jul 19, 2010. 11:24 AM REPLY Just a straight power cord, as in going from the wall to the light bar, would absolutely destroy the LEDs and could possibly melt your wire if you ground it wrong. House wiring (mains) runs at 120 volts AC, not DC like LEDs need. LEDs are very fragile, and run at anywhere from 1.2-3.5v, so you would need to step down 120 volts to 3.5, of which I don't know if a resistor like that exists (and it would be huge, and extremely hot). A phone charger is a different story. It has a rectifier (AC->DC) inside of it, and only draws a very small amount of power. Depending on your phone charger, it could work extremely well, provided it can supply over 360mA of current. Almost any small electronics power supply will work, however a straight cord from the wall socket to the light bar will not.
junits15 says:
Jun 14, 2010. 11:39 AM REPLY That spade plug (quick disconnect) isn't meant to be soldered, simply crush it with pliers or a vice and the wire will be locked in place.
junits15 says:
whoops didnt read sorry!
Jun 14, 2010. 11:44 AM REPLY
siddhanth says:
Mar 17, 2010. 12:59 AM REPLY i have been planning something same with my room.the only problem is that i am bit confused on what type of leds i should use.i am thinking of using faded ones as i want to create ambient lighting that fades the light all over my room.i want to join the led holding brackets to my ceiling.usually clear leds have a concentration point... on which the whole light is concentrated... i suppose if i put it on my ceiling, what i will be getting is light circles below.i want it more faded type.there are faded leds that are available in the market....which MIGHT color the whole room...but they dont offer as much luminance...uhh i guess i must go to some local electronic shop...or... maybe i shall go with superflux ones...maybe i should sandpaper clear ones to see the effect.. but itll be a waste of time.... ughh.. someone help me?
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What are the steps to build a light bar?

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Light Bar Ambient Lighting

step 1: Parts & Tools

step 2: Light Bar Material

step 3: Mark and Measure

Image Notes 1. 5 Feet and around 8 extra inches.

step 4: Measure Twice, Drill Once

Image Notes 1. Success!

Image Notes 1. LED shines brightly through one of the holes.

step 6: Snip, Sheath, & Solder

Image Notes 1. Positive Speaker Wire 2. Resistors 3. Negative Speaker Wire

step 8: Mounting the Light Bar

LED-Day-DriveLight for your bicycle by Wiesi

High Power LED Head or Bar Mount Light by raintonr

Building your own ambient color lighting bars by Sh4d0w

Nokia Bike Light USB Sensor Bar by rosscer by oniGamemaster

Blue LED mouse by DeLorean4905

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