I have never done any custom lighting and would like to include some in some of my Sci-Fi kits (Star Trek, Star Wars, BSG, etc.).
I know that I will I need to match up the LEDs with the correct battery voltage, include resistors, etc., but I am fuzy on the terminology and correct math. Does anyone have any advice on guides or links to sites that explain it well? I have heard that there may be some online tools that will help a novice calculate the correct battery voltage, LED rating, resitors, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
(Edit): I am mostly interested in understanding the electrical math between the LEDs, battery power, resitors, etc.
Hi Colonel! Have you tried asking the members in the Sci-Fi group for help. I know that some of them have put lights in their models. Maybe they can give you a hand or a link to someone who can. Hope that this helps.
This subject has been raised before, so I think it might be good to have one thread (for example this one) to pack some basic and more advanced info into.
I was trained as electronics engineer and I would like to help, so if there are specific questions, please post them here and I think we can collectively work out the answers.
I have done some lighting recently, too:
Some comments - I’m using SMD (surface mount) parts because they are small - but harder to solder. The thin wire is called Kynar good stuff for wiring in really tight spaces. And I used 5V power source - this way you can use any computer, many cellphones or cellphone chargers as power source. It just has to have a USB socket.
If you tell me how many LEDs you want to power (and what colour), then I can work out a wiring diagram for you, that’s not really complicated one you get the hang of it. It would still be up to you to mount all the parts and wire up everything.
