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? asked in Games & RecreationHobbies & Crafts · 7 years ago

how do I power my LEDs?

I'm making an Isaac Clarke Dead space costume. I was wondering what kind of LEDs I will need, and how will I power them. I will be needing them for the back and helmet.

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  • 7 years ago
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    You can buy just about any LEDs there is out there. However you will need a resistor to make sure you don't burn out the LEDs. LEDs can be sold at eBay and amazon. you need the volts and amps of the LEDs. You will need to find the resistance of power that these LEDs can hold up so they don't burn up. Using the equation you can find the resistance based on the packaged information

    V=R X I

    Volts equals resistance times current.

    So just switch it around R=V/I

    I is the current or amps. If your using a 12 volt battery your going to subtract it by the volts that the power the LED. So lets say you have a 5 volt LED. Just subtract 12-5 to get the volts needed for the equation. Most LEDs are in mili amps for the current. So your going to need to divide the number of miliamps by a thousand to convert it into amps. Lets say you have 25 miliamps on the LED. Converting to amps would simply be 25/1000 because there are 1000 mili amps in an Amp.

    R=V/I So

    (12-5) / (25/1000)= R or 280 Ohms

    Source(s): Then buy the resistors that match that number or close to that number.
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