jimsp
Dec 12, 2007, 12:39 PM
120 V Strings of Christmas LED’s make for an inexpensive source of high intensity LED’s. They have a wide angle of view which makes them a good choice for lighting up our airplanes. The LED’s appear to be wired in series of 30 to 35 lights so you will find them in multiples of 30 to 35. Currently it works out to be about 10 cents per LED. After Christmas they will be less.
The LED’s are mounted similar to the miniature incandescent bulbs so they are easy to remove. To use them you will generally need a resistor to limit the current. The value of the resistor depends on the battery you are using and how many LED’s you are using in series. Using them in series rather than individually in parallel will draw less current.
Attached is a table I made up of measured values for these LED’s. It’s made for a 4.8v receiver battery, a 9V battery, a 3 cell Lipoly and a 2 cell Lipoly. The white, blue and green LED’s are similar so I grouped them together. The red and yellow LED’s are also similar so I grouped them together. These LED’s probably should be operated in the 10 to 30ma range. Radio Shack has resistors 5 for a $1.
The LED’s are mounted similar to the miniature incandescent bulbs so they are easy to remove. To use them you will generally need a resistor to limit the current. The value of the resistor depends on the battery you are using and how many LED’s you are using in series. Using them in series rather than individually in parallel will draw less current.
Attached is a table I made up of measured values for these LED’s. It’s made for a 4.8v receiver battery, a 9V battery, a 3 cell Lipoly and a 2 cell Lipoly. The white, blue and green LED’s are similar so I grouped them together. The red and yellow LED’s are also similar so I grouped them together. These LED’s probably should be operated in the 10 to 30ma range. Radio Shack has resistors 5 for a $1.