LED's Explained (with calculator)
  
Back to Tutorials

Soldering your LEDs

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)

The best way to connect your LEDs is to solder them. Sometimes however, it gets difficult to hold everything in place. If you need an extra hand and do not have all of the fancy equipment to use that you would like, here is a way to free up a hand to make the soldering easier.

Use a pair of pliers and a rubber band to hold the LED in place while you work.

The most effective method of securing a resistor or wire to the LED is pictured below. This is the most effective way of connecting the wire because it allows maximum conductivity.

For more information on actually soldering, please refer to our soldering tutorial.

 

As mentioned before, you'll need to use a resistor in series with your LEDs to make sure not too much current runs through them. Use the following calculator to see what  resistor you will need. To use the calculator, find the collective voltage of your LEDs. If you are using more than one LED wired in SERIES, then add the LED-voltages together. If you are using just one LED, you may choose from one of the color selections (keep in mind, not all LEDs are the same, check yours to make sure). Click Calculate. The calculator will let you know the best and the next best option for your resistor values.

Calculator:

LED Voltage: V    +-  * infrared=1.5V      red=~1.6V      green=~2.1V      yellow=~2.2V      blue=~2.9V      white=~4.0V Voltage: V Current: mA Calculate   Voltage: V Best Resistor: Ohm Next Best resistor: Ohm Current:

Page 1

Some of the pictures and information courtesy of Troy P.

All tutorials are Copyright © Elite Installer Supply, All Rights Reserved.

Back to Tutorials