LED lights build thread

Discussion in 'I made this!' started by That Guy, Dec 30, 2008.

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  1. That Guy

    That Guy Aiptasia Anemone

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    well i got a few ideas brewing over xmas while staring at my future in laws xmas tree about LED lighting for aquarium applications. :) So when i get home that night i went right to the drawing board! I stayed up till 4am that night designing some circuits...the next day i went back and rechecked all my math just to make sure i didnt mess up while half asleep from the night before and ordered some parts. Later on that day i went to my local electronics parts store and picked up a few things...of coarse they were missing a few things i needed so i had to go and order some more parts. so, now i am anxiously awaiting a package so i can get the main part of this build on the way.

    This build thread will consist of two different LED lighting systems...the first part of the build will be a few low powered (high brightness) LED arrays retrofit into 50W halogen flood lamps. These arrays will consist 12-22 LED's per halogen lamp using red, pink, blue, green, warm white, and cool white LED's. These will be able to screw into a lamp and be powered by a 12Vdc power supply. They will be used for refugium lights or you can use them for grow lights on planted aquariums.

    The next build will be a little more interesting :) I will be building a high powered RGB LED fixture w/ an analog RGB controller. I'll go more in to detail on that as i get the parts in and start that build so for now....back to the halogen lamp retrofits......

    First i took a halogen lamp and pulled the guts out...
    I found the best way to do this was to use an exacto knife to remove as much of the silicone that connected the glass cover of the lamp to the reflector of the lamp. Then i wrapped it in a towel and gave it a good whack with the hammer to shatter the glass lens. Then i chipped away the rest of the glass and the remainder of the silicone. Then i used a plyer and flat head screw driver to remove the actual lamp from inside the reflector. Finally i used the screwdriver to carefully pry the screw-in-base of the lamp from the reflector while taking care not to warp the shape of the base so i can re-attach it later. Here is what i was left with.

    [​IMG]

    Then i pulled out the bread board and started building some LED arrays to make sure my circuit designs worked before i started soldering them to the PCB.

    [​IMG]

    then i came up with a few ways to layout the LEDs in order to fit them nicely into the halogen lamps. Once i came up with a few designs...I printed them up and layed them on the PCB and started stuffing the boards.

    [​IMG]

    As of now i am still soldering these and will update this as i get further along with this build. :)
     
    3 people like this.
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  3. Froc3

    Froc3 Fire Goby

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    Nice build thread! LEDs are so confusing and i like your pics.
     
  4. lunatik_69

    lunatik_69 Giant Squid

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    Cant wait to see this all finished up. Great idea. Luna
     
  5. getinpora

    getinpora Coral Banded Shrimp

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    got me on the edge of my seat cant wait for the next update ill be watching
     
  6. Poseidon

    Poseidon Astrea Snail

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    Tagging along, I look forward to your progress.
     
  7. {Nano}Reefer

    {Nano}Reefer Dragon Wrasse

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    Sweet build!!! what inspired this project?
     
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  9. jakeh24

    jakeh24 Pajama Cardinal

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    I don't think they are that confusing it just looks confusing because he attatched them all to resistors so there are a lot of wires.

    nice job though looks good!
    (i always thought the easiest way to do led lighting would be to use the white led christmas lights)
     
  10. connemark

    connemark Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    What chip are you using to drive the led's cause after taxes I am going to do the same. Tired of 500 watts of MH.
     
  11. connemark

    connemark Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    FYI I have been looking into buying a bulk amount of high intensity 3.5v leds around 200 at that quantity I get them for like 1 buck a piece blue and white.
     
  12. phoenixhieghts

    phoenixhieghts Panda Puffer

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    please keep us updated with your progression :)