First attempt.... Well, I screwed up.....BAD

[K_Labs]

So UM I'm new to all this. I've been reading all week and I just thought hey you can just add more power to a led and make it brighter..... Big mistake. So I had an aquarium fish tank light around 10 5mm leds. I bipassed the resistor (No idea why I bipassed) and added 1 more AAA. It worked and was a bit brighter. So MORE POWER right? WRONG. I added a 4 AA battery pack and it was even brighter. Then I added a 8 AA battery pack super bright. SUCCESS woooo hoooo I'm am so great..... Then I hear hisssssssssss and smoke pours out of the light and the leds slowly started to shut off and stop working completely. Now it works but worse than when it was only powered with 3 AAAs.

I was wondering is there a simple guide for noobs. You know the DO's and DON'Ts to LEDs. Because I'm going to get some cree leds soon and I don't want to make the same mistake. I realize I need a volt meter now... Oh and feel free to laugh it up

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

Shoot man I've been doing this stuff for a while.

I bought a dollar store 3 LED 3AAA light. I put three not even new Alkaline AAA in it. For about 20 seconds it gave near UV light. Then the LEDs went red and then out.

Happens to the best of us, even when we DON'T overpower the LEDs!

 

[Ken_McE]

I was wondering is there a simple guide for noobs. You know the DO's and DON'Ts to LEDs.

1.) Underdrive your LEDs all you want. They thrive on it.

2.) Turn them on and off as often as you like. Heck, use them for strobes. They don't care.

3.) Don't overheat your LEDs. It'll kill them.

4.) Don't overdrive your LEDs (too much voltage) It'll kill them.

5.) Do not allow puppies and children to chew your LEDs. They'll get all sticky and nasty and the neighbors will wonder why you're walking around behind the dog with a trowel and a determined expression.

6.) That is all.

Oh and feel free to laugh it up

*Shrugs* No mistakes = no learning.

 

[Gryloc]

Well put, Ken_McE. K_Labs, do not feel bad. I have made a lot of "learning events" over the years. Many LEDs, flashlights, and drivers have let me "learn". For you, there is a lot of "learning" in your future, so do not let the "learning events" get the best of you.

Oh, I guess remember to take it slow when wondering through new frontiers. As you "play" with more expensive gizmos, you will learn to think about your past learning experiences and you will learn to look up specs on the components, or what ever you think you forgot to do last time. I am very careful now, but I have yet to experiment with new LED products and technologies in the future. I am sure that the future for you will be bright... then blu-ish... then burney... no, just kidding. You'll be fine! :grin2:

-Tony

 

[Stillphoto]

Welcome to what is known here as the "magic smoke." Do your best to avoid it lol.

 

[K_Labs]

Ha Ha. Glad to hear I'm not the only one. I didn't even clean up my mess until this morning because I was so frustrated. I guess I should run some of my ideas by the forums before I actually power up my next trial led lights. Is a volt meter the same as a lux meter? Or do they make a combo volt/lux meter?

Oh and I'll do my best to avoid the "Magic Smoke"

 

[K_Labs]

So how do I know what resistors to use?

 

[Grox]

Ha Ha. Glad to hear I'm not the only one. I didn't even clean up my mess until this morning because I was so frustrated. I guess I should run some of my ideas by the forums before I actually power up my next trial led lights. Is a volt meter the same as a lux meter? Or do they make a combo volt/lux meter?

Oh and I'll do my best to avoid the "Magic Smoke"

Well volts are a measure of electricity and lux is a measurement of light. I don't think they make combo meters.

You should try looking at LED drivers - they take a given input eg. 12V DC and send it to the LED(s) so that you don't fry them running them straight from the battery (or "direct drive" as we call it).

 

[JohnR66]

You could have made them brighter by increasing the current a bit, but with 5mm LEDs, you will shorten the lifetime as they will dim faster. Putting an 8AA pack on them is way too much (obviously, as you found out).:laughing: I have found that most consumer applications tend to overdrive the LEDs a bit anyway.

With 5mm LEDs on battery powered stuff, keep the current 30ma or below. If using on continous lit applications, keep the current below 20ma (15ma is good).

To know the current would take some basic fomulas and understanding of voltage drop around a circuit. Get a basic electricity book to help you learn.

 

[K_Labs]

Any suggestions on which book I should get maybe one that you guys have read? Or maybe even something that is on the net I can read.....

 

[dbvanhorn]

A bit of overkill perhaps, but "The Art of Electronics" is a very good book to have around. You'll find used copies on Amazon sometimes.

It will cover the basics of LED driving, and take you into designing SMPS constant current circuits, if you want to go there.

 

[K_Labs]

Right on thanks for the suggestion. I'll pick up a copy of that when I get paid tomorrow. Is this it? http://cgi.ebay.com/The-Art-of-Electronics-Student-Manual-with-Exercises_W0QQitemZ290271180278QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Texbook_Education?hash=item290271180278&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A15%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

BTW just a follow up. I have a second attempt that is working well.... But now it's just getting out of control. I couldn't have done it without help from the forum members posts giving me insane ideas. With countless seaches on the google search bar up top. Your inputs and suggestions are always welcome over here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=2707268#post2707268

 

[jason 77]

Any suggestions on which book I should get maybe one that you guys have read? Or maybe even something that is on the net I can read.....

Try these sites... course knowing what your individual LED's are rated at is a big help......

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Bill_Bowden/led.htm

http://www.theledlight.com/ledcircuits.html

You will probably want a volt meter.. nothing fancy or expensive like a nice FLUKE but something with volt, resistance, capacitance, etc....

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00066ZZO4/?tag=cpf0b6-20

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

I have the meter shown just above and use it pretty often!

I also tend to think it tells the truth for the most part!

There are only 5 other multi-meters within reach.....

 

[K_Labs]

I have a craftsman multi meter with some needle thing on the top and digital read out right under that. It was pretty expensive. I've only used to install car stereos and I could have found the power wire with a flippin test light. Are you guys starting to see my pattern of overkill yet?

 

[jason 77]

I have a craftsman multi meter with some needle thing on the top and digital read out right under that. It was pretty expensive. I've only used to install car stereos and I could have found the power wire with a flippin test light. Are you guys starting to see my pattern of overkill yet?

well if that craftsman has volts, amps, resistance.. you are set for what you are trying to do..