Help installing 5V relay with MR soundboard

[Strydur]

Just to refreash my memory, I have to hook the meter up in series with the LED to the board right?

Thats correct..if you are not hooking it in series with the led you are not going to get a true reading.

Before you go into elaborate setups trying to get max amperage you can do one fast and simple test to see if its needed. Run the led off the MR outputs with 4.5 or 4.8v and take a picture. Then run the led straight off the batterys with the proper resistor. If they both look the same then why bother going through all the trouble.

[james3]

Just to refreash my memory, I have to hook the meter up in series with the LED to the board right?

Thats correct..if you are not hooking it in series with the led you are not going to get a true reading.

Before you go into elaborate setups trying to get max amperage you can do one fast and simple test to see if its needed. Run the led off the MR outputs with 4.5 or 4.8v and take a picture. Then run the led straight off the batterys with the proper resistor. If they both look the same then why bother going through all the trouble.

This should be put up in bold text on the main forum page.

[Madcow]

X-wing,
My therory on the stutter effect is that the mace boards drive the LEDs a little harder than the others, (maybe in order to keep the brightness up through the purple filter).
Do-Clo suggested trying to find a 3v relay.
On my Luke MR board - I finally settled on driving the LED right off the board.

If someone has a good multimeter and both an MR mace and another MR board - please test my theory!

MC

[xwingband]

Okies... I was running on used batteries. Put in new ones... went FRIGGIN' CRAZY. I think this means it's exceeding the ratings.

I don't get why that would be messing with it in this setup vs. the Mace. This is annoying.

[xwingband]

Well at the suggestion of Do-Clo I tried a diode across the relay coil. No dice... it still went nuts with new batteries.

Short of putting a diode on the initial power I'm not sure how to proceed. I don't want to do that since it will make the sound softer.

For now I'm settling for a vanilla conversion with the white K2 anyway. Next time I get a chance to try this I'll probably order a beefier relay. I have another thought too, but it involves no relay and I don't have sensitive enough tools to test it.

Good luck to those doing this. It's pretty simple: wire it like the conversion. That goes to the coil and look at your spec sheet to get the switch contacts.