lowering voltage of a LED

[ryancr]

Hi all,

I have one of these 12v LED 'ropes' from dealextreme, it is very bright, in fact maybe a bit to bright. I was wondering if its possible to 'under' volt it so that it will use less power and extend battery life.

 

[qwertyydude]

If it's not regulated then yes you can easily put a resistor inline and lower the brightness.

 

[LukeA]

Those aren't regulated. I think there may be a resistor in the potting compund, but there just as easily may not be. A potentiometer for dimming could be nice.

 

[ryancr]

This is the led strip: http://dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7559

If its not regulated (I don't think it is) then I can just put in a simple resistor? What would be the best way to calculate what size of resistor to put in?

Thanks for your help.

 

[degarb]

http://www.jeffpolston.com/ledlite.htm