Hi, I am trying to wire up some yellow waterproof LED's from HobbyKing, but when I remove the waterproof covering they cease working. I hooked up a strip of three and slowly peeled back the waterproofing. The second I get it off the 1st LED, the whole set of 3 stops working. I bought the waterproof set because it was in stock when the others weren't, but I really don't want the waterproofing on it. Any idea what's going on and/or how to fix the lights I have already removed the waterproofing from?

Here are the exact lights I'm talking about: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=14289

Sounds like some of the copper got pulled off. Why did you remove the waterproof covering? Weight? I don't think there is an easy fix unless it is the copper, then you have to solder a jumper to fix the break, not worth it...

Upon further inspection, and after ruining 12 LED's in total now, it appears that as I remove the waterproof covering, the little tiny plastic "lens" thing covering the LED head is also pulled off, thereby disabling that LED, and immediately causing an open circuit to the other 2 LED's in the 3 LED strand. Then they all turn off. Once the lens is removed, or even jarred loose, pushing it back in seems to be to no avail.

I removed the covering for weight yes, but primarily for mounting purposes. With the covering off I can actually put the LED strip face-down and easily embed the LED's themselves inside the foam sheet---causing the plane to have a soft glow from the inside out. That's my desired effect, so I really do need the waterproofing off to accomplish this.

If nobody knows how to fix these LED's I'll stop ruining them, put them off to the side, and pull this effect off using a different color of non-waterproofed LED's I have. Then, I'll put another order in HobbyKing sometime and just get a strand of non-waterproofed yellow to replace my waterproofed one. Looks like I may have to leave the waterproofing on these, and use them as-is if I don't want to ruin them.

I also tried refilling the LED "lens" with Epoxy, hot glue, and white silicone bathroom tub sealant. None of them made the light strand work again....

The "lens" of an LED usually contains the wires to the actual chip.

Not sure why anyone would buy LEDs from HobbyKing or any other RC outfit, unless they are fitted to plug right into your receiver. LEDs are cheap and widely available.

Mouser and Digi Key are two outfits that will sell you quality LEDs. The only problem with buying LEDs from either of those outfits is that they both carry hundreds of models with all sorts of specifications and packages.

Originally Posted by Matt Ls Thumbs

The "lens" of an LED usually contains the wires to the actual chip.

Not sure why anyone would buy LEDs from HobbyKing or any other RC outfit, unless they are fitted to plug right into your receiver. LEDs are cheap and widely available.

Mouser and Digi Key are two outfits that will sell you quality LEDs. The only problem with buying LEDs from either of those outfits is that they both carry hundreds of models with all sorts of specifications and packages.

You answer your own question

Precisely why buying from HK or another rc vendor makes it so easy. These strips are easy to modify to fit any particular application. They can be short, long, bent, chained together, different colors, color changing, and easily install with any connector the modeler chooses to use. IMO RC retailers are a much better option for people that want a simple plug n play solution.

If you're buying parts and modifying them, it's no longer plug-and-play. Then, you might want more choices. My only point here is, there are other options.

Matt these are self adhesive strips that are extremely bright and very easy to hook up. They are the "arf" of nightflying, except they are better, brighter, and easier than any previous way of lighting up an airplane. The flying wing pictured below has 480 leds and will light up the ground from 50-60 feet up. The video is harrymc's plane but should give you an idea of how well they work in flight

Harry's & TIm's Night Radians.wmv (1 min 19 sec)

Here is a picture of the Delta Wing I was wiring lights into. It has only 27 LED's on it, with ALL of them except 3 on the front top (just behind the motor) shining from *inside* the foam. The leading edge lights you see in this picture (sorry, poor quality shot using my brick phone) are actually shining through from the *bottom* of the plane, passing through 3/8" of foam, a layer of spray paint, and 3 layers of paper. The green tail lights are also shining from inside the foam, as the light strips are face-down. I have yet to fly this plane at night, as I just finished it last night after midnight, but it flies awesome in the day, and goes somewhere around 70-80 mph I believe with it's 300 W 2200 kv motor and a 3-Cell 1300 mah Lipo. It has only a 26" wingspan and weighs ~ 0.8 lb.

PS. this is my first night-flier ever, so I hope it works well!
Lastly, I'd like to note that these 27 LED's, *with* shipping, (let me repeat: ***WITH SHIPPING***) from HobbyKing, cost me <$5.

I have to say that those look pretty slick.

I need some electronic parts for other things; I'll try to remember to look at the LED selections at the same time to see how the price stacks up. I'll probably go the "hard" route.