Gannon

I've trying to finish up my project and pretty much the last major hurdle I have at this point is my lighting. I've never really played around with much electrical wiring but I don't like my retail options with CCFLs and LED strips (plus they just cost way to much).

I will be using Red and UV LEDs. My thought is to run the red LEDs on the inside of the case and the UV LEDs on the backside of the front door. I'm using a Armor case with the 25cm fan so there should be plenty of room to hide them there.

My questions really come with the wiring and LED choice. First can you offer any advise on LED selection? Things to look out for both good and bad.

The wiring is completely alien to me so I need some detailed descriptions if you don't mind. I don't really know how many LEDs it will take to light the case. I want it completely covered so for discussions sake lets say somewhere in the range of 20-30 total LEDs. I also want to have everything wired to an on/off switch because bright lights bother me at night. I've done some reading and know that a parallel circuit is the best option. What I don't know is can you run multiple circuits off a single 12v lead?

Again please be descriptive. +rep for some diagrams as well. Hopefully I can get this project completed soon!

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DuckieHo

Grab the LEDs cheap from eBay.

Put the LED specs into this: http://ledcalc.com/

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tec_41

For a first timer LED's with built in resistors are a great thing...You can easily find those at radioshack. Pretty much match up positive to positive, negative to negative, and you're good to go!

Gannon

I have no problem soldering stuff and it's probably cheaper to buy them separately right?


Anybody got these answers?

Could I do this from one 12v lead form the PSU? Could I red two (red and UV) of these circuits off one lead? And how does the length of wire affect the circuit? Ok so this is what I have so far then:

Supply Voltage: 12v
Voltage Drop Across LED: 2.2 (red)
Desired LED Current: 20mA
How many leds connected: 20

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d3daiM

Yup, that's exactly how i did mine. Just do a series-parallel circuit with a resistor.

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sli_shroom

when selecting leds, keep in mind that some have a high output, but are very focused, while others are lower output, but spread the light over a wider area. uv leds generally have a low, focused output so you will want them close to the area you want to show up. this is why people generally go the ccfl route for us. takes less power and outputs alot more uv light

you can find the characteristics in the info for the led

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Gannon

I'm going to get some LEDs off ebay. When looking at mcd, I've read that I probably want something around 2000 mcd; but how much is too much for a computer case? In one of the threads on here talking about LEDs someobdy said that with a 5000 mcd LED it was virtually blinding. Is that too much to really be using? Should I be after something between 1000-2000?

Here's my plan just to try and help a little. I want to use Red and UV LEDs. The red will be on the top, bottom, and sides inside the case and the UV will probably be hidden on the back side of the front door. So my thinking is that I need less powerful UV LEDs and more powerful red LEDs so that the red is more dominant but my UV Fluid gets enough UV light to stand out.

I also want to get 1 or 2 strong red LEDs to aim at my 8800GTS to cover up the green PWB and also over my Tracers to try and drown out the blue lighting at little.

20xUV = 1000-2000 mcd
20xRed = 2000-5000 mcd
2xRed = 5000+ mcd

I'm not sure how many will actually be needed but this is ballpark what I'm thinking.

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My Current LCS Build - Crimson Betta

Gannon

Need some help please.

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My Current LCS Build - Crimson Betta

sli_shroom

5000 mcd will only be blinding if looking directly at it. they usually dont spread light very well though

i say start with what you listed, and then add from there is necessary. whether it is enough or not will depend on the leds

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holtzman

Why do you need resistors? I am looking at the led's on frozencpu.com and performance-pcs.com, they both have available mounts to just plug them in to a 12v rail, does this mean they have a resistor built in? they re only 50 cents... also, could I then not wire 3 or 4 in series? This cable has a built in resistor, could I attach 3 led's to this one cable or would I need 3 cables, therefor 3 resistors? thanks!

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