Dart Board lighting

hi,
i need the expertise of you guys...i have been reading for a few weeks now...
i am a welder, so that is the extent of my "electricity"knowledge.

well i am wanting to build a 3 sided frame out of wood to go over the top and down both sides of my steel tip dart board ,and ruun led's all inside the frame pointing to the center to give me maximum light. but my question is this....

i bought 50 of these:
http://www.besthongkong.com/index.php?cPath=13_16&osCsid=b5f2b269f13342bb5cf0dadf6fb4d8a9

from "besthongkong" and i have a few old transformers laying around that i want to try and use.....the one transformer from an old telephone chrager i had i looked up on the web, looks like it was equivelint to 4 "AA" batteries.

is there a "better" transformer for this?and how many lights can i rig up together with the transformer...if yu look at the webpage they all have 12v resistors already built in...

please help me!

Dino

Why did you choose LEDs and not something like 3 Cold Cathode Tubes?
Are these AC or DC transformers? I dont know much about using AC on LEDs or much about LEDs themselves at all but I know if you pulse them at around 100hz it makes a nice light show.

They dont pull many amps so if they are all wired in a parallel circuit you would need to calculate the amperage draw and get a transformer or powersupply that will supply enough to match probably around 1 amp as most LEDs are around .020a or 20ma each. I have bought from besthongkong and they usually throw in 460ohm resisters. Their blue LEDs are nice but some are a nasty aqua blue color from the factory.

I wouldnt play around with random transformers unless they are labeled or you know how to test their output. I know stores like walmart and radioshack sell inexpensive wall transformers 100ma - 2amp or with selective outputs or single voltage output which you could use as your 12v source.

Hope that helps some with your project, I'm no expert but have played around with them in the past, goodluck.

You would have to measure how much current each LED requires for the brightness you want and to stay within its rating, which isn't given. Let's assume 20mA--if you use all 50, you need a 1A power supply.

Next, as bpool21 mentioned, you need to know the ratings of your transformer, both voltage and current. It will need to be about 12V with a at least a 1A output.

You mentioned "telephone charger." Do you mean a plug-in transformer for a cordless phone? If so, 4AA is about 6V, so if that is what you have, all you'll get is a dim output.

If your transformers are AC output, you will then have to convert this AC to DC. You can find circuits for this all over the place--or just buy a 12VDC wall transformer as bpool21 also mentioned. Just be sure it has the current rating you need, or buy a couple at a lower rating and divide the LEDs between them.

Do not try to run the LEDs off an AC transformer directly--the reverse voltage will kill them.