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How to NEATLY wire to LEDS

I need to show 'time remaining' for an event, and would like to use a
row of 10 LEDs to do so. All 10 would start out illuminated, and one
LED after another will shut off as the time limit approaches. I'm
using LEDs with a chrome bezel on them (can't resist the sci-fi look
of those things), which will all be mounted in holes drilled in a
piece of plexi. I'm looking for a 'clean' way to wire them all up to
my microcontroller, which will be about 12" away. Like any LEDs, these
just have two thin pieces of wire sticking out of the back. Do I have
any options besides simply soldering stranded wire to them, and
covering the splice with heat-shrink tubing? Is there some product or
plug or component that will provide a less-cumbersome method of wiring
these things up?

Thanks
--Alex
 
R

Rich Grise

Jan 1, 1970
0
I need to show 'time remaining' for an event, and would like to use a
row of 10 LEDs to do so. All 10 would start out illuminated, and one
LED after another will shut off as the time limit approaches. I'm
using LEDs with a chrome bezel on them (can't resist the sci-fi look
of those things), which will all be mounted in holes drilled in a
piece of plexi. I'm looking for a 'clean' way to wire them all up to
my microcontroller, which will be about 12" away. Like any LEDs, these
just have two thin pieces of wire sticking out of the back. Do I have
any options besides simply soldering stranded wire to them, and
covering the splice with heat-shrink tubing? Is there some product or
plug or component that will provide a less-cumbersome method of wiring
these things up?

Sure. Mount them on a small PCB, with a header connector at one end,
and connect to the uC board with ribbon cable, probably with IDC
connectors.

Or you could achieve the same thing by just taking 11 conductors of
ribbon cable - you can get this from any ol' scrounged ribbon cable,
and split it up and form it like this:


bent ribbon wires bussed
v v
,----------------------[LED]---+
| ,--------------------[LED]---+
| | ,------------------[LED]---+
| | | ,----------------[LED]---+
| | | | ,--------------[LED]---+
| | | | | ,------------[LED]---+
| | | | | | ,----------[LED]---+
| | | | | | | ,--------[LED]---+
| | | | | | | | ,------[LED]---+
| | | | | | | | | ,----[LED]---+
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 VCC

active low

You can just tin the stripped ends and wrap them 3/4 turn around the
LED leads, like winding them around a post.

Have Fun!
Rich
 
R

Robert Baer

Jan 1, 1970
0
I need to show 'time remaining' for an event, and would like to use a
row of 10 LEDs to do so. All 10 would start out illuminated, and one
LED after another will shut off as the time limit approaches. I'm
using LEDs with a chrome bezel on them (can't resist the sci-fi look
of those things), which will all be mounted in holes drilled in a
piece of plexi. I'm looking for a 'clean' way to wire them all up to
my microcontroller, which will be about 12" away. Like any LEDs, these
just have two thin pieces of wire sticking out of the back. Do I have
any options besides simply soldering stranded wire to them, and
covering the splice with heat-shrink tubing? Is there some product or
plug or component that will provide a less-cumbersome method of wiring
these things up?

Thanks
--Alex
One may be able to use an IDC connector; ribbon cable (to micro) on
one end,and the LED leads plug into the openend?
 
K

krw

Jan 1, 1970
0
I need to show 'time remaining' for an event, and would like to use a
row of 10 LEDs to do so. All 10 would start out illuminated, and one
LED after another will shut off as the time limit approaches. I'm
using LEDs with a chrome bezel on them (can't resist the sci-fi look
of those things), which will all be mounted in holes drilled in a
piece of plexi. I'm looking for a 'clean' way to wire them all up to
my microcontroller, which will be about 12" away. Like any LEDs, these
just have two thin pieces of wire sticking out of the back. Do I have
any options besides simply soldering stranded wire to them, and
covering the splice with heat-shrink tubing? Is there some product or
plug or component that will provide a less-cumbersome method of wiring
these things up?

You might be able to find an LED display already wired for you in a
"thermometer" code, with a pretty bezel. Pass it four bits and it'll
display the temperature bar. Try looking in RadioTrash or some such
place.
 
G

Genome

Jan 1, 1970
0
I need to show 'time remaining' for an event, and would like to use a
row of 10 LEDs to do so. All 10 would start out illuminated, and one
LED after another will shut off as the time limit approaches. I'm
using LEDs with a chrome bezel on them (can't resist the sci-fi look
of those things), which will all be mounted in holes drilled in a
piece of plexi. I'm looking for a 'clean' way to wire them all up to
my microcontroller, which will be about 12" away. Like any LEDs, these
just have two thin pieces of wire sticking out of the back. Do I have
any options besides simply soldering stranded wire to them, and
covering the splice with heat-shrink tubing? Is there some product or
plug or component that will provide a less-cumbersome method of wiring
these things up?

Thanks
--Alex

That's an easy one......

What you do is wire all your LEDs in series on a bit of Vero-Board, Bill
will be along to give you the Farnell order number soon and you might be
able to get one of those blue handled cutting tools as well.

Then you get a bunch of (1N4148?) diodes and wire them in to tap at the
juctions with the other ends going to the output of your CUK convertor......

Then you connect the mosfet from your CUK converter to one of the outputs of
your microcontroller and PWM it and you are good to go.

You probably don't even need to bother with PID control.

Simple really.

DNA
 
B

Brian

Jan 1, 1970
0
You might be able to find an LED display already wired for you in a
"thermometer" code, with a pretty bezel. Pass it four bits and it'll
display the temperature bar. Try looking in RadioTrash or some such
place.

What Keith really means is do it like he would:

3 layer PCB
Route it with 3 mil trace/space
Be sure to use Microstrip

Hahahahahahhahahahaa!
 
J

jasen

Jan 1, 1970
0
I need to show 'time remaining' for an event, and would like to use a
row of 10 LEDs to do so. All 10 would start out illuminated, and one
LED after another will shut off as the time limit approaches. I'm
using LEDs with a chrome bezel on them (can't resist the sci-fi look
of those things), which will all be mounted in holes drilled in a
piece of plexi. I'm looking for a 'clean' way to wire them all up to
my microcontroller, which will be about 12" away. Like any LEDs, these
just have two thin pieces of wire sticking out of the back. Do I have
any options besides simply soldering stranded wire to them, and
covering the splice with heat-shrink tubing? Is there some product or
plug or component that will provide a less-cumbersome method of wiring
these things up?

a terminal strip or circuitboard,
 
I need to show 'time remaining' for an event, and would like to use a
row of 10 LEDs to do so. All 10 would start out illuminated, and one
LED after another will shut off as the time limit approaches. I'm
using LEDs with a chrome bezel on them (can't resist the sci-fi look
of those things), which will all be mounted in holes drilled in a
piece of plexi. I'm looking for a 'clean' way to wire them all up to
my microcontroller, which will be about 12" away. Like any LEDs, these


MTA-100 2 pin.

http://rocky.digikey.com/WebLib/Amp/Web Photo/New Photos/640623-2, 3-640623-2.jpg
 
L

Lionel

Jan 1, 1970
0
I need to show 'time remaining' for an event, and would like to use a
row of 10 LEDs to do so. All 10 would start out illuminated, and one
LED after another will shut off as the time limit approaches. I'm
using LEDs with a chrome bezel on them (can't resist the sci-fi look
of those things), which will all be mounted in holes drilled in a
piece of plexi. I'm looking for a 'clean' way to wire them all up to
my microcontroller, which will be about 12" away. Like any LEDs, these
just have two thin pieces of wire sticking out of the back. Do I have
any options besides simply soldering stranded wire to them, and
covering the splice with heat-shrink tubing? Is there some product or
plug or component that will provide a less-cumbersome method of wiring
these things up?

A chunk of Veroboard (strip board) & a ribbon cable connector is
probably the tidiest way to do a small number of them without making
up a custom PCB. I'd mount the bezels on the panel, clip in the LEDs,
put a thick strip of cardboard between their legs (as a standoff),
place the Veroboard, solder, then remove the cardboard &
point-to-point wire links between the LED connections & the ribbon
connector.
 
L

Lionel

Jan 1, 1970
0
What Keith really means is do it like he would:

3 layer PCB
Route it with 3 mil trace/space
Be sure to use Microstrip

Hahahahahahhahahahaa!

LOL. Cruel, but funny.

(And notice how he ignored the OP's desire to use individual chrome
bezels, which is obviously impossible with a bargraph module.)
 
R

Richard Henry

Jan 1, 1970
0
I need to show 'time remaining' for an event, and would like to use a
row of 10 LEDs to do so. All 10 would start out illuminated, and one
LED after another will shut off as the time limit approaches. I'm
using LEDs with a chrome bezel on them (can't resist the sci-fi look
of those things), which will all be mounted in holes drilled in a
piece of plexi. I'm looking for a 'clean' way to wire them all up to
my microcontroller, which will be about 12" away. Like any LEDs, these
just have two thin pieces of wire sticking out of the back. Do I have
any options besides simply soldering stranded wire to them, and
covering the splice with heat-shrink tubing? Is there some product or
plug or component that will provide a less-cumbersome method of wiring
these things up?

One word - plasics.

As in light pipes.
 
L

Lionel

Jan 1, 1970
0
Why ?

It will just extend out the back of the connector.

No problem.

Lots of PC case makers use that method, & I've seen it result in
shorts, because the legs extend so far out the back of the connector.
Another problem is the connector vibrating/shaking off the pins, or
being pulled off by the cables. All of these can be prevented by
snipping most of the legs off from the rear of the connector & bending
the stumps over by about a millimetre.
That said, it's true that those problems are rare.
 
D

Donald

Jan 1, 1970
0
Lionel said:
Good suggestion. The one (minor) complication is that you'd probably
need to clip the long leg of each LED.
Why ?

It will just extend out the back of the connector.

No problem.

donald
 
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