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Modding Illuminating Coaster *with pics !*

Discussion in 'Modding' started by Hippo, 8 Sep 2003.

  1. :: Phat ::

    :: Phat :: Oooh shakalaka!

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    I've just had a brainwave, thanks guys :thumb: should give me an excuse to get out some wood, plexi, leds & my soldering iron and work on a little circuitry :dremel:

    You gonna love what I got planned ;)
     
  2. MrDT

    MrDT fapfap

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    impressed by the original coaster, but bards table is gonna be awesome! need to do something with my desk a bit like this...
     
  3. Supercool

    Supercool Gone.

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    That sounds dangerous :p

    /runs for the hills
     
  4. troyka

    troyka What's a Dremel?

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    i cant seem to get led's to light up when connected together like the pic on page 1 of this thread. im testing with a batery till i get it to work but no light :( :wallbash:

    is there a basic 101 to led's?
     
  5. Hippo

    Hippo Pre-dates 5.25" Floppies

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    LED's have a value called a foward voltage, this value has to be met before the LED's will turn on. For Reds, greens its about 2V for blues its 3-3.5V. What colour are yours and how are you trying to connect them ?
     
  6. sinizterguy

    sinizterguy Dark & Sinizter

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    Just saw this thread.

    That coaster looks really good.

    And now because of looking at that pic, I have to go get myself a coffee.
     
  7. troyka

    troyka What's a Dremel?

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    mine are green
    i have solderd the legs together ( tried diode to anode and diode to diode but nothing worked)
     
  8. Enak

    Enak Also known as Kane

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    What voltage are they running from?
     
  9. troyka

    troyka What's a Dremel?

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    im testing them on a 3v batery
     
  10. Enak

    Enak Also known as Kane

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    If you have three connected in series you will need about 6 volts to light them properly... try only 2 or use a higher voltage.
     
  11. troyka

    troyka What's a Dremel?

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    what do you mean in series?
     
  12. Shadowspawn

    Shadowspawn Another hated American.

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    Series = negative leg connected to positive leg, 2nd led drawing power from first, etc.

    Parallel = positive wire connected directly to all of the positive legs, each led connected to the power source directly.

    (I think)
     
  13. Hippo

    Hippo Pre-dates 5.25" Floppies

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    Just try dabbing the LED leads on the terminals of that battery it should light brightly (dont do this for longer than a split second, you will fry the LED).

    Since you are working from a 3V battery then you will need to connect your LED's in parallel, ie so each LED has the full 3V. You will then need to insert a resistor in series with each LED to limit the current and drop some voltage. According to this you will need a 56 Ohm resistor for each LED @ 20mA
     
  14. troyka

    troyka What's a Dremel?

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    im only testing on a 3v they will be attached to ether the 12 v or 5v line in my pc.

    so what is best
    parralell or series?

    series i cant get to light up with the test 3v

    parralell i can light , but i beleive the pic on the first page is in series.

    im so :confused: :wallbash:
     
    Last edited: 8 Oct 2003
  15. MrDT

    MrDT fapfap

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    If running in parallel, if the voltage is ok then leds are bright but more current is drawn. Series is ok if say you're running 4 3v leds off a 12v line. I doubt there is a better or worse way of doing things, just depends on your voltage and current.

    I assume you haven't got the led's the wrong way round?
     
  16. Hippo

    Hippo Pre-dates 5.25" Floppies

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    Since you are using green LED's which usually have a forward voltage of 2V then I would put them in series connected to the 12V line with a current limiting resistor.

    Neither Series or Parallel is best, use either or a mix of both depending on the application, voltage etc
     
  17. SteveyG

    SteveyG Electromodder

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    Since it's now the holidays, I finally found time to make myself one of these coasters:
    [​IMG]

    I made it from one disc of 7mm polycarbonate. There are 3 LED's in the middle, one red, one green and one blue, controlled by a tiny PIC which you can just see as a black dot to the side of the green and red LED's. There's also 3 UV LED's shining out round the edge.

    Here's some more pictures in action:
    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]
    [​IMG][​IMG]
     
  18. Dazbo666

    Dazbo666 What's a Dremel?

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    Very nice work Stevey!!

    I'm hoping to have some extra time over the Xmas period to get some modding done.... and eagerly waiting for some more modding tools from Santa!? LOL
     
  19. TX297

    TX297 Hey guys have you heard of seenly?

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    Steve, mind posting schematics? :naughty:
     
  20. SteveyG

    SteveyG Electromodder

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    Of course, but you'll kick yourself when you see how simple it is...
    [​IMG]
    Since I used PWM control of the LED's, only 1 resistor is required, as only one LED is lit at the same time (although it appears to the eye that more than one LED is illuminated). This made the component count minimal, and it all fitted within the 7mm polycarbonate coaster - A round hollow was made into the disc with a router, and then I filled the hollow with epoxy, so all the electronics are sealed. I used a surface mount PIC since they are much smaller.
     
    Last edited: 24 Dec 2003

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