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Noob with a very simple LED question

conradcliff

Oct 25, 2013
2
Joined
Oct 25, 2013
Messages
2
Hey there, just wanted to say this looks like a great forum... this is my first post so please be gentle :eek:

I'm wanting to build a circuit with 50 of these LED's.

I want to run them between 2.8 to 3 volts and I think they draw about 12 ma on average

I am thinking of a simple manufacturing process that involves running them in parallel by cutting the leads short, sharpening them on a dremel grinding wheel and stabbing them into some speaker wire.
This requires all the circuitry to be done at one end instead of soldering a resistor to every LED.

I was thinking of running it with either 1 or 2(in parallel) 3.7 volt Lithium Ion 14500 cells with one big resistor capable of handling the current to run all 50 LED's.

My understanding is that with the voltage drop (forward voltage) being 3 volts and the amperage requirement being 60 ma i would need a 1.5 watt resistor.

I'm not really sure what I'm talking about. I know that the resistor needs to have an ohm rating but I'm not sure what it should be or why exactly.

People say the voltage isn't really what your concerned with when driving LED's but the current (amperage?) but then they say if you go over a certain voltage you'll fry them.

I know you can run 50 of these LED's from two AA in series (3v) with no circuit for over 2 hours.

I was thinking about possibly using a small voltage regulator too but I'm really not sure how.

This all has to fit in a tube just slightly larger than a AA battery.

If anyone could help me out I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for any help! :D
 

conradcliff

Oct 25, 2013
2
Joined
Oct 25, 2013
Messages
2
Thanks so much for the reply, that explained a lot...sorry I didn't find it on my own :-/
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
Moderator
Jan 21, 2010
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No problems. If you still have questions, or need something clarified, please ask.
 
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