[bushwhacker]

Multi Colour Runway Light - Instructables - DIY, How To, craft, tech

I want to try this one, but I'm not satisfied with the switch and diodes, so i went to alternative way, and made the schematic out of Edison4.

So I just need to find out the correct resistors, because I know these resistors aren't correct.

Here's the schematic.

Also, any idea on how to make led color blend in and out, such as blue + green = cyan, or something like that. Any links would be appreciated.

Let me know

[bushwhacker]

Um, sorry for doubleposting, but I do need help with resistors. Anyone?

[samjohnson]

Don't anything bout that. But the project looks cool!
Good luck with it!

[Daveskater]

I should know this because I did electronics in college, but I'm annoyed because I can't remember.

Why do you want different resistors?

[bushwhacker]

It is not for different resistors. The resistors was used in that project, for 1 switch and 2 diodes.

For my request, i want no diodes, 3 - 5 switches and leds, hooked by one battery line.

I know the resistors wasn't right for each leds, but i want LEDS to last long time, on either 9V or 6V ( 4 battery of 1.5V AA )

[Daveskater]

I see, the circuit that they designed allowed multiple colours to be on at the same time, by the looks of it. That's what I make of it, anyway. But what you want is a switch on each colour so you can choose which ones are on/off.

LED's last about 100,000 hours or something, it's a ridiculously long amount of time, anyway. Putting bigger resistors on would make them less bright, I would have thought.

[bushwhacker]

Dave, thanks for the reply.

I could make like that, but i wants more brighter but something will lasts them long time.

[Rik]

It all depends on the led's you want to use really! Low current low brightness led's will require a higher value whereas high brightness ones will need different resistors of a lower value.

For high brightness i use 220 ohm from 5v and 470 ohm from 12v, so for 9v around 330 ohm should be fine.

[edit] Perhaps this will help - LED calculator for single LEDs

[bushwhacker]

YAY! RIK IS HERE! I LOVE YOU MAN

Thanks guys, you guys definitely tackled my problems with this one

[Rik]

Thanx for the welcome Bushwhacker. I hope that link was of good use to you.

Any other questions, ask away!

[bushwhacker]

Rik, what about a AA battery, perhaps AAA ?

tell me!


Thanks for providing me so useful information!

[Daveskater]

I think that AA would be better as they can provide a bit more current, and they would last longer I expect

[Rik]

The bigger the batteries the longer they will last. Any battery will provide more current that any led will actually use hence a current limiting resistor is required.

[bushwhacker]

Understandable, but I need to know what resistors is right for AA and AAA batteries.

[Rik]

The amperage output will not affect the resistors required for the led's (unless you use a really high output nicad battery pack in which case you will require the same value resistors but of a higher wattage).

From 9v, 330 ohm quarter watt metal film 5% or better is a good starting point. If one or more led is too dull then try 270 ohm. If one or more led is too bright then try 390 ohm.

The resistor required for an led is dependant on the current consumption of the led and not dependant on the current output of the batteries.


I hope that clarifies things.

I have just had an idea. Most led's are 3v so having them in sets of 3 in series will give more light and eliminate the need for a current limiting resistor.

[bushwhacker]

Good idea.

The one I'm thinking is NiMh rechargeable batteries, which i have 900mAh for AAA and 2500mAh for AA.

Will that affect anything to LED and resistor, or it will be able to run off the LED and batteries just fine?

Personally, I PREFER to use rechargeable batteries, so the AAA and AA is my only options.

[Daveskater]

That sounds like a good idea mate, I think you'll be alright with the two posts seeing as it's been 6 hours since the last one. That's enough time in my books

You can get rechargeable 9v's over here, can you not get them there?

[Rik]

As i said before, the resistor value is dependant on the led, not the battery.

[bushwhacker]

Dave, no. Canada no longer distribute the 9V chargers, as far i know of.

Rik, I'm not sure if i can get you about the depending on the LED for resistors, but I can give you some idea... how about some leds from FrozenCPU ?

3MM, 5MM, Dual LED, Or the triple colored LED?


Let me know!

[Rik]

Click on this link - 3mm Blue LED - FrozenCPU.com and click on specifications. The continous current for that particular led is 30ma, thats the current that the resistor needs to limit to.


Have a good read of this - DIY LED lighting Guide