12 replies to this topic

[Bedhed117]

Hey so I recently got two AT3K's from Thanatos. They are super great and I want to make them even greater by pimping them up with LED's. Unfortunately I know almost nothing about LED's. After surching for a while I found these http://superbrightle...cs/r3_specs.htm. I would like to have three in the front to blind people and two elswhere for cool looks. I want them all to turn on from the same switch and run from the same 9 volt battery. I figure that this (crappily drawn) model should do the trick.

http://s619.photobuc...=untitled-1.jpg

The problem is I don't know what type of resistor to use or what type of switch. Based off of this, here are my questions:

1)Will three of these lights be able to blind someone in the dark and from how far away approximately?
2)What type of resistor should I use?
3)What type of switch should I use?
4)Will a nine volt battery be strong enough to power all five of the lights?
5)Where is the best place to by resistors and switchs.

Answers like "figure it out on your own" and "NOOb" won't help.


100th Post!! Hooray

Edited by Bedhed117, 22 August 2009 - 03:09 PM.

[Forsaken angel24]

1) Depends on the level of MCD
2) Resistor Calculator
3) On/off switch if you want to keep them on all the time. Or a momentary switch which is always off unless you press the button. Once release the circuit is closed and the light is off.
4) Fuck yeah. I had a single 9V powering 10 blue leds in my latest Lancer.
5) I got mine at circuit city.

Good luck.

I like to see well done cosmetic mods. A well done led integration is like the frosting on the cake!

[nerfboi]

Pretty sums it all up. You should look at your local Radio Shack. Thats the number one place to look for loose electronics and parts.

[Fome]

Pretty sums it all up. You should look at your local Radio Shack. Thats the number one place to look for loose electronics and parts.

Maybe for the occasional thing. But for electrical components in large quantities, especially LEDs, Radio Shack sucks. Their markup is enormous.

I know some electrical engineers and get most of my stuff from them, but I've heard them mention various online sites. I'll see if I can get these for you.

Paying $2.00 for a few LEDs is absolutely stupid but if you really need them NOW then I guess it doesn't hurt.

Looking up the difference between parallel and series circuits is a good place to start. Read until you understand, it might take a few tries but it'll make the whole process much easier. If this advice is your idea of "figure it out on your own noob" then that's too bad, you're going to have to do some degree of independent thinking either way.

Good luck, and please post the results!

And remember, everything is easier with the correct tools.

[Forsaken angel24]

Stick with a parallel circuit.
Unless you like each led after the first in the circuit to be less bright then the one before it.

[MoonMaster]

Depending on the circumstances, series circuits can work without a noticable difference in brightness. On a clear airsof gun I used 2 parallel sets of 4 LED series circuts. They all appear the same brightness even though they're in a series circuit. I also didn't use a resistor because the LED's I used were 2.25 volts each.

[Talio]

Cause everyone knows you get ten more feet if your gun has LED's.

[Bedhed117]

Forsaken_angel24-Thank you for all the advice and for answering my questions. That resistor calculator makes my life a lot easier.

nerfboi-Thank you but I think that I'll use Circuit City. I have a gift card there.

Fome-Your advice is both helpful and knowledgable. It doesn't come off at all as "figure it out on your own" and I apreciate you posting it.

MoonMaster- I think I'll use a parrelel circuit if for no other reason than it would cut down on extra wire inside the shell.

Talio- I think that I might be able to pull off 15 extra feet if I place them right.

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'll be sure to post the finished product but it'll probably be a while.

Edited by Bedhed117, 22 August 2009 - 01:12 PM.

[Fome]

Stick with a parallel circuit.
Unless you like each led after the first in the circuit to be less bright then the one before it.

Agreed. The concept of series vs parallel really helped me understand how circuits in general work though. Good for beginners.

Cause everyone knows you get ten more feet if your gun has LED's.

Everyone also has access to laser tag arenas that support nerf, college nerf groups, and 15 fuckin East Coast nerf wars a week.

Sorry man, but some people have to find different ways to enjoy this hobby. Not everyone can just "STFU and nerf, dude!!"

Bedhed, I don't think the link to your picture is working.

[Bedhed117]

Picture link is working now. Sorry about that being broken.

[Dr BoB]

nerfboi-Thank you but I think that I'll use Circuit City. I have a gift card there.

Ｉｓｎ’ｔ　Ｃｉｒｃｕｉｔ　Ｃｉｔｙ　ｏｕｔ　ｏｆ　ｂｕｓｉｎｅｓｓ. WTF 0y f6nt 5n cra* 5s a33 screwed 4*. Th5s 2ee*s ha**en5ng. 1 cant f1gure 1t out. Ok got it. Something keeps happening to my computer. Its just a peice oh crap laptop from asus. It shut down while I was typing then started using some weird font.

[nerfitynerf]

nerfboi-Thank you but I think that I'll use Circuit City. I have a gift card there.

Good luck, they went out in January

[Longbow]

Well it looks like most of your questions have been answered pretty well, but being an EE I feel like it's my duty to at least post something in this topic.


I have some leds in my Longshot that I run off of a 9v battery. It's not the best battery to use, but it is usually easier because it provides the voltage levels you need without being too big to fit in a gun.

As far as the switch, this is something I like to do. Get a two position switch, should be easy to find at radioshak or somewhere similar. You will be looking for a switch labeled as SPDT (single pole double throw) What you do is have the first position hooked up to be on at all times and the other you can run through a second button so that the lights will only be on while you are holding down the button. Make sure when you buy the button is is a "Normally open" type so that the circuit is open until the button is pressed. This will give you the option of constant light or a quick blinding flash for ambushes. This is a little difficult to explain by words, so if you want I can draw up the circuit.

In the serial vs parallel debate I am going to go to the side of parallel wiring. The "proper" way to build this circuit would be to have a power supply that would be about 6-7v higher than what you need for you load (the LEDs). Then you would build a circuit with 3 parallel loops, each with it's own resistor and it's own led. In an application like nerf gun lighting, efficiency isn't as big of a concern and components failing isn't going to be catastrophic, so if you wanted to have all the LEDs share a resistor it probably wont be a huge deal. But putting them in series will make it significantly more difficult to get the correct resistance values, so just go parallel.

Also keep in mind that white light LEDs are built to function drawing ~20mA of current, which is what that calculator angel linked is doing for you. You can put more juice into them, and they will be brighter for a while, but it is at the cost of severely lessened lifetime as well as greatly reduced battery drain. So don't be tempted to go low on your resistor just because it looks a tad bit brighter. Unless you feel like replacing LEDs every couple weeks.

One question for you, are you planning on soldering these circuits or using some alternate method?

TL;DR: most of your questions have already been answered but I just felt the need to use my degree in some manner.

Edited by Longbow, 30 August 2009 - 09:30 PM.