10 Watt LEDs

[Skrunks]

Hey all. Got some questions for ya if you're willing to help a newbie :)

I don't actually plan on attempting to build a saber with a 10 watt LED for some time, however, I want to work up to it and I'm curious about the practicality/requirments of a 10 Watt LED, like this one: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/LedEngin/LZ4-00B210/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMvbrKVFTEWTlv4khIGbALR3Ism1DGwJlPg%3d

What kind of battery power would be needed?
Would heat be an issue?
Would there be a brighter option?

[Clockwork]

I have used these LEDs before- here's the quick answers to your questions

Batteries: Depends on how you wire it. can be a low as 4.8v or as high as 12v

Heat: Yes

Brightness: Of course- but the above two problems are probably going to be worse s will optics.

[astromech_kuhns]

well if you are looking to set something up you could always draw out a circuit. if you know how many volts and amps you need on a high and low find where you want to be between those.

once you have a set voltage and watt then find out which batteries and how many of those kind it would take to put in there. if you have the room then find out if you are running a bit over, if so you many need a resistor in there, or a sound card. make sure you use ohms law when doing a custom circuit.

ohms law ;) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohms_law)

and if you do not understand that, then let me know, there are lots on here to help with this.

[Skrunks]

"Heat: Yes"

What would be the best way to solve the heat issue?

"Brightness: Of course- but the above two problems are probably going to be worse s will optics." Basically, I want to build the brightest Saber I can possible build while still being practical :)

"well if you are looking to set something up you could always draw out a circuit. if you know how many volts and amps you need on a high and low find where you want to be between those."

I haven't even built one complete circuit before :P

Basically what I want to do is build a couple of basic sabers, get a feel for what I'm doing, kinda learn as I go, eventually building up to a couple of super bright sabers.



On the topic of Sound Cards, are there any that are capable of running a 10 Watt LED? Like the Plecter Crystal Focus or the Ultrasound?

[mihunai]

The thing about 10W LEDs is, that they use 10W when using all emitters in series.
I would personally recommend a LuxV for now. They may get hot, but the US and such can drive it. Just search for the battery options at different soundcards. The US 2.5 has a nifty little guide for each LED.

A 10W LED is probably not a good place to start.

Like i said, try a LuxV, or a single Lux Rebel or something.
Seoul P4's and LuxIII are good for starters too.

Just.... read... start simple...

The heat 'problem' could be solved by searching for , oh, i dont know, 'heat'.....

mTm

[Clockwork]

"Heat: Yes"

What would be the best way to solve the heat issue?

10w LEDs are still 'experimental'. So there is no definitive answer to this question. Most run them at less than their full capacity.


"Brightness: Of course- but the above two problems are probably going to be worse s will optics." Basically, I want to build the brightest Saber I can possible build while still being practical :)

This all depends on what you mean by practical. People's definitions of this differ. I don't use my sabers for more than 30 minutes at a time. So an hours run time is practical for me. This may not be the case for you.


On the topic of Sound Cards, are there any that are capable of running a 10 Watt LED? Like the Plecter Crystal Focus or the Ultrasound?

Both have been used to run 10w LEDs. To run at full power it requires a much more complex setup than just wiring the LED to the board.

You may not be happy with the details of this or my previous post. The reason for vagueness is simply the vagueness of the question. 10w are experimental and there are multiple ways to use them. Furthermore, what you want to do with them will govern A) your requirements and B) your problems. You need to know more about what you want and your project (for example, do you want clash flash? Runtime?...etc.) to ask the questions you will have to ask to get the answers you want.

[astromech_kuhns]

if you have never built a complete circuit before i guess you mean actually building one, if you have no clue about circuits at all look them up, it is simple, maybe then draw a couple up with batteries and basic led's and then buy the parts and make it. then even expand and put a switch in one with multiple LED's. just to give you a idea about what wiring up a saber would be like. a circuit is when you have a full circle of current flow. the current comes back to where it started. use that as your basis searching electrical circuits and what not then look a some drawn out circuits. look for symbols that represent components and then draw your own basic ones then go to radio shack and make that reality. then learn ohms law and put that more into affect with them. you will build up to this.

like you said, you should probably build a couple before experimenting. for some that is very true for others that know electricity, one could make a 10 watt saber there first go. i actually will probably do CF and LUX V (if nothing else stands out to me, possible 10 watt) with accent LED's. after working with the droid alot i am starting to unerstand this stuff a whole lot better and its not like screwing parts together is hard. its more electronics than anything. keep at it and read!;)

[DJMoonbass]

im doing a lux 10 green right now. its hard it really is. its bright though man. its bright. just check out my Area51 parts thread i have some pics in there. what a big road black is the voltage requirements. i dont know why the put it all in series. really satupid if you ask me... they should have done parrallel so instead of 14.4 volts a 700ma. it would need 3.6 votls and 2800ma. like the P7.

but if you have your heart set on it dont get the one in all series. just get it with all dice individual. then you can power each die with 1 trustfire and not have to share all the current. same amount of batteries. 4 times the run time..

get what im saying? :mrgreen:

[Clockwork]

DJ: You should have purchased the 10W LED that doesn't come on the serial PCB. If you had looked at the LEDEngine website you would have seen they have a product code for, Serially connected PCBs, Parallel PCBs and Open PCBs. Most use the open one so they can wire it themselves (I use 2 series pair in parallel)