alright guys, i was just wondering, in lamens terms... if i were to get a molex, and splice off the 12v line, how many of THESE could i hook up? 1-what resistor should i use 2-a diagram of how they should be soldered (just a picture, none of that crazy electronic diagram stuff) =P sorry, im a bit of a newb at electricity.. as long as somone tells me what goes where, i can handle myself. thanks a ton guys.
Technically, the limit depends on how strong your power supply is. It'd help if you told us what application these were to be used in, since there's about a zillion different combonations you could use. If you were to wire them in series (diagram 1), then you might be able to get away with 4 LEDs, no resistor. Most likely though, you'll need to go with 3 LEDs and a ((12-10.8)/.02 = 60) 56 or 68 ohm resistor. In parallel (diagram 2a), it really depends on just how many LEDs you want to use. Each LED will add another 20mA to the equation ((supply voltage - forward) / total current = ohms needed, in your case (12-3.6)/total number of LEDs*.02 = ohms). Conversely, you could figure out the resistenace needed for just 1 LED (390 or 470 ohms in your case), then wire 1 LED with 1 resistor, then string a bunch of them together in parallel (diagram 2b) The finally, there's series-parallel (diagram 3), in which you find the most LEDs you can use in series, with the appropriate resistor added, and connect the strings in parallel. Diagram 1: Code: +12v - |>| - |>| - |>|- v^v^v - GND Diagram 2: Code: +12v - v^v^v - | - | - | - | - | - - - - - V V V V V - - - - - GND - - - - - | - | - | - | - | Diagram 2b: Code: +12v - - - - - | - | - | - | - | - - - - - V V V V V - - - - - | | | | | > > > > > < < < < < > > > > > < < < < < > > > > > GND - - - - - | - | - | - | - | Diagram 3: Code: +12v - - - - - | - | - | - | - | - - - - - V V V V V - - - - - | | | | | | | | | | - - - - - V V V V V - - - - - | | | | | | | | | | - - - - - V V V V V - - - - - | | | | | > > > > > < < < < < > > > > > < < < < < > > > > > GND - - - - - | - | - | - | - | That damn well better be comprehensive enough.
whypick1 - thanks so much. im really a newb at this, im gonna put some into my computer with my CCFL, and i wanted to know if i could hook them up to my PSU... probally around 400w. ill stik to 3 leds + resistor.... also, can i do that with a car? a car battery is 12v, and there is a lot of juice there. could i just hook 1 resistor up to the 12v and string a bunch of leds onto it?that would be sweet... thanks guys! this sounds easy to me +12v - |>| - |>| - |>|- v^v^v - GND
