Glowies, Blinkies, UVies & Other Illuminations

[illy dilly]

10 ohms isn't going to make a visual difference, and your voltage will drop on you as you use them.. so go 140ohm. The wizard must just be doing some rounding.

Purple LEDs are also very dim, FYI. I've got a bag of 1000 here that I was going to use until I saw how dim they were. Now they are going on the girls outfit embedded in the long white shag fur for a cool purple glow..

Also, that seller is great FWIW. I've order 5 different orders through him, and they are always at my door within like 10 days.

Yeah, I ordered based on your recommendation (pretty sure it was you)
I'm not really going for the brightness of the purple, more for the UV aspect. We're doing 'cyber fetish' outfits one night. Gonna use them in strategic places to make some bright oranges, pinks, and greens really pop. With out the whole damned thing needing to be el wire.
And my GF has had some "glow in the dark" body paint that doesn't glow in the dark, but looks great in UV.

How "UV" are these LEDd? Do they make neon colors really glow at all? Or are they just more kinda purple?

Not gonna lie, it was in impulse buy. I saw the price and bought them. First time I've ever bought 'raw' LEDs. For $5 bucks and no shipping cost, screw it.

So if they want to see 3-3.2 volts, if I use two AA batteries, will it actually screw up the LEDs?

[junglesmacks]

No.. that's how I'm wiring the girls skirt. Since 2xAA = 3v, you can just hook all the LEDs in parallel and be fine. Did you check out the link I posted for the battery holders? All Electronics has some cool holders that use the 9v snap type connector, and you can buy the snap connector with leads seperate.. so to turn on and off, you just connect or disconnect. I'm sewing a little pouch on the waistline of the skirt for her to hold the battery holder and we'll safety pin it or get fancy and put a small zipper maybe to hold it shut.

The purple ones do glow a cool black light looking UV purple, but I've never tested them to see if they actually work as a blacklight. They look pretty cool diffussed though. I'm embedding like 20 purple and 10 pinks in a white fur strip around the bottom of her skirt. We tested it and it makes the white fur light up really cool..

[BBadger]

Yeah, I ordered based on your recommendation (pretty sure it was you)
I'm not really going for the brightness of the purple, more for the UV aspect. We're doing 'cyber fetish' outfits one night. Gonna use them in strategic places to make some bright oranges, pinks, and greens really pop. With out the whole damned thing needing to be el wire.
And my GF has had some "glow in the dark" body paint that doesn't glow in the dark, but looks great in UV.

How "UV" are these LEDd? Do they make neon colors really glow at all? Or are they just more kinda purple?

Most of the UV LEDs are around 390nm, where true "black light" is 365nm. However, they'll still fluoresce pretty well, as you can see in this photo as it shines on a fluorescent Post-It pad:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

So if they want to see 3-3.2 volts, if I use two AA batteries, will it actually screw up the LEDs?

Nope, in fact they'll probably still turn on, but just not be very bright. I put a 10ohm resistor in series just in case. However, to see the full potential of your UVs (and they're not very bright as is), you'll need to supply them with proper voltage and current. I found these parameters worked well:

V_battery: 6V
Resistor: 110ohm

That gives roughly 20mA and it looks pretty bright (as per the photo above).

[junglesmacks]

I found these parameters worked well:

V_battery: 6V
Resistor: 110ohm

That gives roughly 20mA and it looks pretty bright (as per the photo above).

That actually gives it 25mA @ 6v, but 20mA @ 5.6v which is what the batteries would be draining to after a while. You're running right on the edge of burning the LED out with that much current, but hey.. if it can take it.. go for it.

With my experience, you can run super bright LEDs @ 15mA all day long and in fact it can be preferable due to them being SO DAMN BRIGHT. In fact, for my 1200 LED pants, I'm running everything at 15mA and they are still so bright that I'm literally worried about them being uncomfortably bright. I'm working now on a resistor pack that I can plug inline to bring them selectively down to around 10mA or even lower. I've tested and they light up just fine at lower currents.

Mine are green and blue LEDs which are the brightest in the spectrum, though. For purple LEDs you would have to drive them with much more power to get the brightness out of them.. agreed. It's your own individual project goal.

[illy dilly]

We tested it and it makes the white fur light up really cool..

Did it give the white that sorta purplish huh that black light gives white?

So here is my current plan. At this late in the game, I'm just gonna to to radio shake and buy a pack of 5 140 ohm resistors, for $1.90. I know this is too much for 5 resistors. But with shipping costs and time to ship I believe its my best bet. I need as much time as possible to to screw with this stuff, since I've never done it before.
While at Radio Shake, I'm gonna check out batter packs, see what I think will work best for us. Shit, if need be and they have a 3 AA battery back maybe I'll do that, and grab some 50-65 ohm resistors?
Then I'll go home, and start screwing around with some different combos.
1. LEDs in Parallel to 2 AA
2. LEDs in Parallel to 4 AA with some 140 ohm resistors
3. LEDs in Parallel to 3 AA with 60 ohm resistors

See what works for us and how it goes. And most important see if there is a noticeable difference between option 1 and 2. And also, leave them on over night, and see what it looks like in the morning.

Which option would make the batteries last the longest? Probably option 2 huh?

[NellieX]

Check THIS little toy out..

http://cgi.ebay.com/5M-SMD-5050-RGB-Wat ... 3366cdaf1c

So buying this.

[junglesmacks]

Ahhh resistors are so dirt cheap on Ebay! Like $4 for 100. Just make sure to use the check box on the left for US sellers only. Price isn't much diff and you'll have them in days.

Yeah.. the purple LEDs in the white fur gave a cool purple glow/aura. I wouldn't call in blacklight, but just a purple glow. Very nice. I'm mixing some pink ones in as well.

Yeah.. more batteries, the longer it will last. You should be good for at least a night or two if not longer on a couple of AAs though. LED power draw is so minimal.. that's one thing that makes them great.

[Workinonit]

Yeah, I ordered based on your recommendation (pretty sure it was you)
I'm not really going for the brightness of the purple, more for the UV aspect. We're doing 'cyber fetish' outfits one night. Gonna use them in strategic places to make some bright oranges, pinks, and greens really pop. With out the whole damned thing needing to be el wire.
And my GF has had some "glow in the dark" body paint that doesn't glow in the dark, but looks great in UV.

How "UV" are these LEDd? Do they make neon colors really glow at all? Or are they just more kinda purple?

Not gonna lie, it was in impulse buy. I saw the price and bought them. First time I've ever bought 'raw' LEDs. For $5 bucks and no shipping cost, screw it.

So if they want to see 3-3.2 volts, if I use two AA batteries, will it actually screw up the LEDs?

This is a video I made for my project and I use 4 UV LEDs running on 3 AAA (4.5v) batteries with current limiting resistors to light my face with UV facepaint. Is that glowing enough? You be the judge.
[youtube][/youtube]

Here is a picture too...

[Workinonit]

Ahhh resistors are so dirt cheap on Ebay! Like $4 for 100. Just make sure to use the check box on the left for US sellers only. Price isn't much diff and you'll have them in days.

Yeah.. the purple LEDs in the white fur gave a cool purple glow/aura. I wouldn't call in blacklight, but just a purple glow. Very nice. I'm mixing some pink ones in as well.

Yeah.. more batteries, the longer it will last. You should be good for at least a night or two if not longer on a couple of AAs though. LED power draw is so minimal.. that's one thing that makes them great.

More batteries is not necessarily better. You want to keep the voltages as close to the rated forward voltage as you can. Otherwise you are going to reduce the life of the LEDs with higher voltages than the rated forward voltage. If you wire a couple sets 2 AA in series, then take those and put them in parallel, it will prolong your battery life as its drawing the 3 volts from both sets at the same time, effectively doubling your time. I suggest just getting a battery holder and keep two batteries in your pocket. When it gets low, change them.

The white fur is likely not UV-Reactive. Just cause its white does not make it UV reactive.

[Workinonit]

Check THIS little toy out..

http://cgi.ebay.com/5M-SMD-5050-RGB-Wat ... 3366cdaf1c

So buying this.

You can then build one of these
[youtube][/youtube]

[junglesmacks]

More batteries is fine as long as you use the correct resistor.. that goes without saying.

[junglesmacks]

Mis-read post.. NM

[BBadger]

That actually gives it 25mA @ 6v, but 20mA @ 5.6v which is what the batteries would be draining to after a while. You're running right on the edge of burning the LED out with that much current, but hey.. if it can take it.. go for it.

These ones supposedly take 30mA continuous current. They're some I got from DealExtreme and supposedly pretty hardy, though I don't have a datasheet for them unfortunately. Empirically, I've found that the sweet spot is usually just slightly before there's no gain in brightness (the "knee"), though how well my eyes are at actually evaluating that on purple LEDs is to be seen.

If you can heatsink the diodes, they'll last a lot longer too at the limits. For the 5mm LEDs that usually means using the leads as the heatsink (even just to wires), and pushing it far, but not too far.

[NellieX]

Check THIS little toy out..

http://cgi.ebay.com/5M-SMD-5050-RGB-Wat ... 3366cdaf1c

So buying this.

You can then build one of these
[youtube][/youtube]

I think this is more my style:
[youtube][/youtube]

Now how to sneak my flocks in past Gate...

[illy dilly]

STILL WAITING FOR MY DAMNED 50 UV LEDs!!!

But I broke down and I had to buy a pair from Radio Shack!
I just wanted to play with them soo bad!

And yep sure as shit, touched the first one right to the battery pack. It lit up for a half a second, then turned orange and started smoking.
Definitely need the resistors if you're using the 4 AA battery pack, LOL!!!

[Workinonit]

STILL WAITING FOR MY DAMNED 50 UV LEDs!!!

But I broke down and I had to buy a pair from Radio Shack!
I just wanted to play with them soo bad!

And yep sure as shit, touched the first one right to the battery pack. It lit up for a half a second, then turned orange and started smoking.
Definitely need the resistors if you're using the 4 AA battery pack, LOL!!!

Well depends how you wired them up. If you have 4 AA batteries in series you will have 6 volts. If you put 2 pairs in series and then wire them in parallel, you will have 3v... which is likely around the proper voltage and you might not need the resistors. I would always just go with resistors though anyway... they are cheap and will ensure you the longest life for your LEDs.

[illy dilly]

STILL WAITING FOR MY DAMNED 50 UV LEDs!!!

But I broke down and I had to buy a pair from Radio Shack!
I just wanted to play with them soo bad!

And yep sure as shit, touched the first one right to the battery pack. It lit up for a half a second, then turned orange and started smoking.
Definitely need the resistors if you're using the 4 AA battery pack, LOL!!!

Well depends how you wired them up. If you have 4 AA batteries in series you will have 6 volts. If you put 2 pairs in series and then wire them in parallel, you will have 3v... which is likely around the proper voltage and you might not need the resistors. I would always just go with resistors though anyway... they are cheap and will ensure you the longest life for your LEDs.

Yeah I'm using the 4AA battery back in series for the easy of the 9v snap connectors.
1 quick question I have for you. Each LED has a flat side, when looking down at it, so that you can't see the wires below it. Is the wire on the flat side positive or negative? It seems like when I wired it up it was the positive side.

[Workinonit]

1 quick question I have for you. Each LED has a flat side, when looking down at it, so that you can't see the wires below it. Is the wire on the flat side positive or negative? It seems like when I wired it up it was the positive side.

Short wire or flat wire is negative.
http://tinyurl.com/3va7sj3

[illy dilly]

Neither wire was shorter. And they both seemed square. But I'll look again tonight.

O hay, by the way, thanks for googling that for me. I thought that maybe since you were the LED pro you could just tell me. But its all good.

[capjbadger]

-Badger

[junglesmacks]

Lol.. ya man.. come on.. with all the preaching going on here in this thread, you should know better than to apply 4 - AAs worth of 6v power to one LED. Connect a couple in series if you want.. short wire to (-) battery terminal, long wire (+) to the next short (-) wire of the next LED, long (+) wire to the battery pack. Voila.. 2 LEDs in series, both sucking 3v of power off of your 6v source. Not a problem.

This stuff is eaaaaaaaaaaaaaasy..

[Workinonit]

Neither wire was shorter. And they both seemed square. But I'll look again tonight.

O hay, by the way, thanks for googling that for me. I thought that maybe since you were the LED pro you could just tell me. But its all good.

Well... I did tell you...
At least I told you what I know... I am no expert. I've just spent a lot of time googling information.

[illy dilly]

Lol.. ya man.. come on.. with all the preaching going on here in this thread, you should know better than to apply 4 - AAs worth of 6v power to one LED. Connect a couple in series if you want.. short wire to (-) battery terminal, long wire (+) to the next short (-) wire of the next LED, long (+) wire to the battery pack. Voila.. 2 LEDs in series, both sucking 3v of power off of your 6v source. Not a problem.

This stuff is eaaaaaaaaaaaaaasy..

I know, I just figured I'd try it. Why the hell not!
Those damned LEDs still haven't arrived though!

[junglesmacks]

Here you go. Note the slightly longer electrode on all LEDs.. this is always the positive side. Look closely.

[illy dilly]

Guess I never looked.
I'll have to check it out tonight.

[capjbadger]

All the info you would need...

-Badger

[junglesmacks]

Uhhh.. except for the fact that looking at the pin length is way easier than trying to strain your eyes for the minute little flat spot on a 5mm clear LED. You could barely see it on mine.. yet pick one up and check the pins and bam.. there you go.

[capjbadger]

Uhhh.. except for the fact that looking at the pin length is way easier than trying to strain your eyes for the minute little flat spot on a 5mm clear LED. You could barely see it on mine.. yet pick one up and check the pins and bam.. there you go.

Well sure... IF it wasn't trimmed to the same length.
The rest is fool proof way to tell. Of course just hook it up to the (correct!) power. If it doesn't light, turn it around.

-Badger

[junglesmacks]

Just an fyi as well.. until the end of this month, Coolneon is giving 20% off with coupon code "JRS". It goes down to 10% next month. I just ordered 17' of 3.2mm "phat" pink wire and a driver for the girls white fur jacket. Doing a ring of pink and purple LEDs on a white fur strip that goes around the bottom of her black vinyl miniskirt. Grab her some neon pink and black striped thigh highs and she's good to go..

[illy dilly]

Holy shit! The cat is out of the bag
JungleSmacks is a Sparkle Mule!



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