[jroode]

Hey all,

So I'm working on putting some LEDs into a monolith and I have some questions regarding the whole circuitry of the beast.

My main concern is of resistors: whether or not I need them. Now, I'll be powering the LEDs with two AAA batteries, resulting in 3V of power. The LEDs I have are green, and therefore command a 2.1 voltage drop over them to light up. This leaves me with .9V in excess running through the diode. My concern is having the LEDs burn out with the extra voltage.

I've tried lighting them straight off of the battery as well as with a 2.2 kOhm resistor. The former resulted in a brilliant LED where the latter resulted in a somewhat lackluster appearance. I'd much rather use them sans-resistor for the visual effect, but if that doesn't seem a wise idea, I'll certainly compromise.

So I'm here to gather wisdom from those of you who have done something like this before or have experience with wiring/circuitry. Do I run the risk of burning out the LEDs with the extra voltage or am I making it more of a concern than it really is? If you were building this project, would you use resistors or not?

Thanks,

Jroode

 

[Pickle]

I would say use a resistor becuase evnetually if you don't have one, the LEDs will blow out. Leaving you with a non lit up model. This link has great info on it so have a read of it.

Starship Modeler - Lighted Warhammer 40K Crusader

 

[CBrate]

Doesn't Radioshak, Jaycar or any other of a myriad of electronics stores have LED kits? Some of them even allow you to pulse or light the LED's sequentially.