Run LED strings on USB chargers and power banks.
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- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- This is a very simple project to make an adaptor that lets you run parallel strings of LEDs from USB power supplies and power banks. The types of string it can run are the parallel wired strings often found with solar powered strings or the battery powered strings. If you use the newer "effect" strings where alternate LEDs are wired in inverse parallel then only half will light depending on which way you plug it in.
The circuit is designed to run the LEDs at a nice low level for efficiency and to maximise the lifespan of the LEDs. This also allows even a basic USB power bank to run a set for a very long time. Note that the cheaper power banks do not have proper low battery cut-off, so if the LEDs suddenly go dim then that's the time to unplug them and recharge the power bank. With better quality power banks the LEDs will cut off suddenly when the battery is too low.
There's scope to change the resistor values for higher or lower output with corresponding shorter or longer battery life. Note the need to avoid exceeding the power ratings of the resistors and the possibility of a short circuit overloading the resistors.
The resistors used in this project were two very common quarter watt 22 ohm resistors.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and LED strings for modification at:-
www.bigclive.co...
Nice to see that you guys are taking care of your mother. She must have been brilliant befor she fell ill.
That button cell trick is a good tip. My multimeter doesn't have an led test mode and I don't have a bench supply.
I actually have a cosplay project that I'm working on right now that involves LED's and I'm happy to see that I did my resistor calculations correctly when I placed the order for the parts yesterday, thanks for assuaging my fears with this video.
Wearables eh? I would suggest using smaller SMD LEDs and just soldering the wires straight to them - They are a lot smaller. You can also buy ones which have holes on for thread, and you can get conductive thread also.
"I'm a complete pessimist. I like to assume that things are going to go wrong." +100
Can't thank you enough Big Clive. My wife watches Poldark while I watch and learn from your videos. This video was posted in perfect time for this evening. Your nice paced tutorial makes me want to go and buy a soldering iron and try this for myself. Cheers.
Did you ever buy a soldering iron and have a go? :)
I just use the wider part of the soldering iron to shrink the tubing. It doesn't get as hot as the tip it seems so works great to shrink it without melting anything.
I think I would have put the resistors at the LED-side of the plug, so that I can use the plug for other purposes which need 5 volt. Other than that, a very nice tutorial!
You are a good son Clive, your mum is a very lucky lady.
Great video Clive, lots of good-practise tips: the sign of a true professional. Hope your Mum enjoys the lights.
Love these beginner-friendly videos.
Nice work BCDC.
Kudos for you taking care of your mum.
I really enjoy the little tips and anecdotes along the process :)
Best for you and your mum.
Over half a watt. Wow thats more then what Fanny Flambeaux was pumping out. LOL.
Well done doing it for mum.
Nice project mate! Please give my best to your mother from us all here on RUclips!
best wishes to your mom. it seems like you and your brothers do a fantastic job of taking care of her! the fact that you all do what you need to do in order to allow her to stay in her home and not be put into a facility is wonderful
I use a small piece of rubber tube over the teeth on my helping hands. Keeps that damage you were talking about from happening.
I use a bit of heat shrink tube
you can use larger heat shrink to make things easier. The basic tubing will shrink to half its diameter, and if you want something to use outside they make a double walled heat shrink tubing with an adhesive inside that will melt and seal everything up tight. And that tubing has a 3:1 shrink ratio.
thanks, now I see the level of my ignorance and appreciate that you start the maths from the beginning. m.
Another great video BigClive. I've seen every video you've made to date (literally!). I so much enjoy all your videos. It appears to no doubt you are using a good Rosin Core 60/40 solder. I ran out some weeks ago and had to use some ROHS Silver Solder and that stuff is a torturous nightmare to use. A few days ago, I finally got a good roll of 60/40 Rosin Core solder and working with electronics is a pleasure again.
As a beginner at soldering I'm always a bit struggling to hold everything at once, I'm definitely taking note of how you do it at 11:44
Clive is very proficient at soldering, practice makes perfect :)
i did this for a led set last christmas - two fat resistors , some heatshrink - and a dog chewed usb charge cable - works well, bright and cool running
I hope you are still around to answer questions from beginners like me. Thank you for a very informative video!
Clive, maybe already said, but a bit of heatshrink tube on the yaws of the alligator clips, and shrinked of course, give the jaws more grip and less scratch problems on what's kept by them :)
One day I will actually put a bit of heatshrink on them. It's a good idea.
Brilliant video! Thanks Clive! I'll be heading to Poundland to stock up on Halloween lights to pull apart and re-purpose for my annual pumpkin and 'other projects'
Great job.
Another good project for all the USB cords and chargers from the hotels lost and found.
Gah! Just reading your comment made me realise I left my phone charger in a hotel last night, 7 hours drive away. Damnit.
Clive's taking after me, pre-cooking his resistors before service. B)
Good on you bigclive taking care of your Mum , I wish I still had mine to bring her enjoyment with a string of usb led lights.
Cheers Clive. All the best to your mum.
I wonder with all the lights that must be in and around Clive's house, is it visible from space?
Clive, please take a look at the XS3868 Bluetooth module and the PAM8403 3W stereo amp to make Bluetooth speaker with one of those power banks. There are a few videos on RUclips but the disregard the datasheets and introduce ground loops, generating noise, and i dont know how to deal with it. I have followed your LED and fiber optics tutorials to had lighting to my scale models. 5V from powerbank or cellphone charger is quite handy and projects tend to stay cheap and simple like this. BTW, i purchased one of those RFID modules to help my mom.
The noise could also have been generated by the Bluetooth modules.
there is no noise when plugging the headphones to the module, only when using the amp module. the bluetooth datasheet indicates ground should not be shares but i dont know how that is done when using a songle powersupply.
Friendroid
You should use a simple ground loop isolator and connect it between the BT receiver and the amp
You can probably find one for cheap on eBay
You're a good son. I kept my mother in the shed for years with no lights....Just kidding!
Clive, something I've done (limited kit situations). the soldering iron at the base of the bit usually radiates enough heat to shrink the heat shrink.
Fantastic Build Clive It's Really Cool. Thank you for showing us it. Keep up the great work. Nick.
Nice project Clive, hope your Mom likes the lights.
If you put the pos and neg side by side in those 3 way connectors - pin 1 and 2 or 2 and 3 - you can never get the polarity wrong. It's either connected correctly or only the centre pin is connected (I usually make that my ground).
p.s. just ordered a cliff plastics tester, those guys should be firing you a kick back for all the sales!
I’m going Coronation Street Clive✍️, Thanks Clive
24:45 I recently was building a deal with led's and grabbed my CR2032 cell to test the LED, only to find that my battery had compleatly drained. So I dug through my parts only to discover that I had run out of this particular battery. In the past when such things happened, I simply bunged a resistor on a 9 volt plug and put a Dupont connector on the end to make the test, but I was in a hurry. So just for shits and giggles, I took the dead battery and held it across a recently charged niMH 9 Volt for my TENS unit. I held it there for a few seconds, then tried the cell and found that she had enough power to get me through my project. I know such things should not be done, and I am happy to say that the cell never blew up in my hand or anything. The cell didn't have a lot of use in it from that boost, so when I had finished, I took a little 3mm white LED and put across the cell to see what was left. It only lasted under a minute then was dead once more. A few more seconds across the 9 volt battery brought her back to limited life once again. I think I will be sticking a resistor across another 9v plug and putting one of those molonex ends on her so I don't have to try and burn down my house just to check an LED though. T
Thanks a billion for the videos, I look forward to them a lot, and when a new one is not forthcoming, I seek out some of the older ones for a boost in the old brain pan of knowledge.
I just did this with a home depot Halloween battery powered set with timer. but all I used was a 1n4001 diode. 0.7V drop was perfect. My supply was 5V both unloaded and loaded, but keep in mind some supplies are up to 5.3V unloaded and loaded (Samsung high capacity usb charger) so adjust accordingly.
Nice little soldering tutorial in with the project. Linked to. :)
Nice sir same mi D.I.Y project. more power to your channel
hi clive I understand what you talk about in videos I enjoy the facts and little things i didnt already know and enjoy watching them mainly just because of your voice and the creativity behind them im glad your channel is getting so big :)
thx.. I just plugged it into my portable battery pack and now I'm a human LED light
Thank-you this is exactly what I needed!! I'm wiring my Lego city with similiar LED's but modifying the lengths of wires. 👍
Having 2 set of.solar ones I had that I cut panels off and chucked resistor in line on a usb and work a treat .
A very good project, one that i'm going to use for some dancing light table decorations for my wifes old peoples home, so they can have them when they are having a music afternoon, also Christmas, heaps of possibilities. I'm going to utilise the wristband circuitry from one of youre earlier vids.All the best from OzJohnny
nice job! gives me a idea for a plastic palm tree I have that the Christmas lights have gone out on. and I like what your lights are for!
Clive, first, fantastic of you guys to take care of your mom! Also, could you give a little more detail on those wire strippers you like... make model and/or anything else? I'm in the market for a good pair. Great videos, thanks! Thumbs up!
I couldn't fond those, but Amazon has some some Silverline ones for ~£4
www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-282479-Wire-Stripping-Pliers/dp/B000LFXIP8/
UP to some CK Redline for £25
I was given a pair of the strippers a long time ago and they were old then, but they have never let me down and it the easiest pair of strippers i have ever used!
Those silverline look alright - I've got an old RS branded pair (must be mid 80s). But the ones on the RS website now have the adjuster screw going through the centre of the helical spring (like the ones clive's using today)which to me looks like it'd cock-up and kink the spring eventually (though it probably doesn't I guess).
I just returned from a holiday in the Scottish Central Highlands, based in a self catered cottage in Killin. Anyway, I was in Glasgow on our last day and saw a Pound Store. Because of your frequent mention of it, I had to enter. It is similar to the USA's Dollar-Tree but, of course, also a bit different. I made one purchase and my wife made another.
P.S.: I enjoy your videos - keep it up.
Hehe, not exactly a touristy thing, but you're getting the good places! Might I ask which poundland it was?
72-74 Sauchiehall St, Glasgow G2 3AH ( 55.864574, -4.255206 ) - It was a pedestrian only street, at least on that day. My wife had been shopping at the many nearby stores which, disappointingly, are mostly also in the USA. The world is becoming much too homogenized.
celem1
Ahh, Sauchiehall St. It is completely pedestrianised on half of it. It used to be so much more interesting, but nowadays it is awful boring. The best part of town in my opinion is Argyle Street/The Merchant City, which are nearby to there.
We also enjoyed a good Indian meal at Charcoals on Renfield St.
www.opentable.co.uk/charcoals
celem1
Oh no! You never went to Mother India? Mother India across from Kelvingrove Art Gallery is one of the most famous indians in the world! Although their chef moved to Usha's on Byres road, so that's my favourite at the moment.
I get the heat shrink tubing in red or black, sometimes others. I think it might be possible to use a bit of red nail polish on the inside of the clear heat shrink tubing to tell the polarity. Thanks for another informative video.
I usually put ground or negative in the center position on "odd number"-connectors, that way, if i mess up "left/right", i dont accidentally reverse the polarity that easily, (left/right/up/down on connectors can be confusing after a couple of beers. I have shaky hands, but alcohol makes them steady, so i normally have a couple of beers before I start soldering.).
I don't know why but when Clive said
the power supply is putting out 5 volts... _5 volts_
i couldn't stop laughing
The past few years, I've run into more and more stuff using aluminum wire that just wont solder. Everything from USB cables to name-brand computer power supply cables to 4pin-to-SATA power adapters. It's getting rather irritating, at best.
I really appreciate your video tutorials ... thank you
Another great video Clive. I just did this to a set of Aldi lights that were running off 3 x AA batteries with one 36 ohm resistor at about 70 ma. They're now running off a deathdaptor with 2 x 22 ohm resistors.
Sorry to hear about your Mum. It's nice for you to do something like that for her
I am trying to build a solar powered water fountain be interesting to see you review some solar stuff Clive - see how we can get the most from an old solar cell from one of those cheap poundland things - ive got loads of broken poundland garden lamps so gonna chain em all up and add a few batteries - managed to find a pump that will take a low voltage and designing the fountain it will be quite an interesting waterfall design but next is the circuit design - i guess i can take all the old components off the knackered poundland lights and use those chip controller things rather than do it old style solar with discrete components?
hmmmmm your thoughts would be interesting but no sweat....i always get there on my own!
Awww, nice guy Clive :)
With winter creeping up maybe you could show us how to make a cheap and safe USB hand warmer?
Anything that involves heat eats power. I get the feeling that many USB heated gloves are just - gloves.
Hey Clive! I really like your very detailed and slow explanations. Thanks for having all the patience for the beginners in the crowd. One thing I am missing, though, is the reasoning behind some of your decisions. You seem to pull out some of the digits (like 70mA, 0.5 watt, etc), but you don't mention where they come from. Seems like they come from Your personal experience, but that's not good enough for people who don't have experience to rely on. Is there some datasheet that you used to reference for these values? Did you do a bunch of experiments yourself?
70mA is the typical current draw for such a string of LEDs. You can work this out with a multimeter or by looking online. 0.5 watt was calculated with the voltage and current draw (P = IV, P=0.07*5,P=0.35watts for example)
So, if I plug the LED's to any 2V power supply, they will always only draw 70mA? Also, look online but where? Is it some datasheet somewhere? I
The resistor was chosen to limit the current for a wide range of loads, but the actual current depends on the forward voltage of the LED string. The resistors were standard quarter watt resistors.
thanx for this one clive it's exactly what I requested to see what seems months ago
I've been thinking of outfitting my shelving with LED lighting, and powering from USB seems like the logical choice given how USB supplies are so plentiful... :)
12V will give you more options of things like LED strip.
bigclivedotcom
I've tried LED strips and they just don't seem to work aesthetically for me, but them Ikea "Varva" USB LED spotlights (little grey or black clip-on jobbies, assuming Ikea still sells them of course) are perfect, cut off most of the clip leaving the ball joint, bit of double-sided foam tape, stick in place, and there we go, nice little USB-powered spotlights... :)
Also pulled the lenses out of my two, gives a nicer spread of light without a yellow halo around the edge the lenses gave the light beam... :)
Take care of your Mum. My Mum died last year and I miss her so much :-(
Thanks Clive, Really enjoyed this project :)
Would be cool to make a starscape in your mum's bedroom using those fibre optics from your other video. I wonder if you could make a sort of twinkling effect with a rotating filter full of holes or something...
I have learned so much from your videos... Thank you.
I had an odd problem the other day while soldering to a strip of LEDs. Each time I tinned the pads on the strip, a few of the LEDs would light very dimly, and in diminishing brightness the further away from the pad they were. No idea what was going on, and I haven't noticed any damage to the LEDs, but it certainly gave me a bit of a startle!
Leakage current from the iron probably. LEDs will light visibly at just micro-amps of current.
bigclivedotcom
I had considered that, but seeing as I was only soldering one terminal pad at a time, there wouldn't have been a complete circuit. AC induction noise, maybe?
Could have been capacitive coupling to ground or via you touching the contacts.
Thanks for these videos - really interesting stuff .
thanks for that clive, and a merry christmas to you and your mum.
How many values of resistors do you have? Or maybe you order specific ones for each project?
I have about 80 values of resistors ranging from 1 ohm to 10 Megohm. You don't need to have that many values for most applications, but if you do you can get mixed value kits.
bigclivedotcom
Thank you for replying to this comment, I was wondering the same thing.
I've been looking to see if you have taken something to bits yet, have you seen these rechargeable "rgb video lights" ? They come with a 3100mah lithium batteries. Im wondering if they are quite dodgey enough to be usable. Many different manufacturers, pricing ranging from 20 to 200 us dollars. Figured it would be right up your alley!
Hi Clive nice one for your Mum always look after your Mum anyway what flux pen do you use I purchased some flux from China and it went in the bin as it was crap so don't want to waste more money do you have a part number you would recommend?
Thanks if you can help
It was just a general purpose random pen pre-loaded with flux. I couldn't even tell you what sort of flux it is.
For what it's worth, I really like Amtech NC-559-V2. Good for almost everything from board repair to wire soldering. I learned about it from Lous Rossmann's channel, and it's very convenient in that it's sticky.
I use a SRA No.99-20 Mildly Activated Rosin Flux Type RMA
It's a very relaxing video. Thanks!
I use same heat gun / love it, also great for bending plexiglass / lexan small sheet parts.
Isn't the standard for USB charging or power delivery or something to short out the data lines? I could have sworn i read that at one point.
That's to signal to the load what sort of power supply it is connected to. In this case the LEDs don't care and just take their current.
Sorry to hear about your mum, altzeimers creates lots of confusion :-(.
Ive seen lots of those 3,4,5,6 pin connectors in old video recorders, they work for years.
Also old plastic film containers are good for protecting mid cable mods :-D
I just use my soldering iron to finish off the heat shrink tubing. Hold it a few mm away and it shrinks right down.
really cool idea!!! i had some solar powered led's and i wired them strait to a usb ! they work fine but get hot after a while!!! anyway i really like this video of yours it is really cool and helpfull and i will keep this in mind and maybe do it myself!!! love your vids by the way they are all awesome!!!
Sorry to hear about yer mum Clive!
You have to go through all of that just to plug some lights in? Don't they have self adjusting usb banks that do that?
i have a embossing/craft heat gun i use for shrinking the sleeving, it is basically a low powered paint stripping gun, and of course because it is generally marketed to women it is pink
If I use 47 ohm resistor to power 24 LED's off a USB phone power bank, 1 amp, 5v, will they be bright enough? Great video, thank you!!
Yes. They will run at about 20 mA each. It might be better to use a 100 ohm resistor.
I'm struggling to figure out what would happen if I wanted to do multiple string lights and how toeasure what im. Like if all together all of the string lights used 14 AA batteries would that mean to power all of them I would be using 21 volts?
those molex style connectors kinda look like pc fan headers/plugs
@bigclivedotcom
I have some of the cheap poundland LEDs that you showed in the "Poundlands 2016 Halloween lights" video.
When you do not know the specs of LEDs what forward voltage and milliamparage do you go for?
I can assume 3v Forward Voltage (3v battery and no resistor) but should I aim for 70m amp or is there another "best number" to use when calculating resistors?
So simple, even a numpty like me could do it.
Thanks for making electronics so easy to understand. If possible could you show how to add a 4pin power conector to a pc power supply for conecting to a motherboard. I have a power supply with a 20pin conector but missing the 4pin. I hope that makes sense. Thanks.
Thank you for your quick reply. I think my motherboard is an old p4 board and my newish power supply has no 4pin connector. It powers up but I don't get any bios. I thought maybe the missing connector was the problem.
That 12v 4pin connector is meant to supply the CPU itself. And is rated for more than 10A on most power supplies. If your PSU hasn't got that connector, it probably doesn't have the guts to run it.
I feel you could get more views with mentioning in the description or title "Ohms law lessons included "
Thank you! A plesant voice and vert informative. Awesome for a beginner like me. Thank you again :D
Can you give us a close up view of the teeth on that crimping tool next time you use it? I went and got one after last time you spoke about them but i think i got the wrong one.
Why don't you twist the wires and resistor leads together for soldering? It would save you the whole tin-tin-flux-flow thing and make a stronger connection (solder is not to be relied on under mechanical load).
I just love my solder feed iron for this sort of stuff - it's like a hot glue gun for solder.
Another beautiful video.
How do you decide between MOSFET, the resistor you mention in this video or a schottky diode when making this?
Usb batteries do not have signal lines hooked up at all, they are by CE and UL standards null, No connection. I have used them to connect smd LEDS in the past and had to cross them over to +&- upstream.
Great videos sir, do you think you cab make a simple led sign instructional? Please and thank you.
On your explanation of 1 resistor vs 2 (6:54) you show that the voltage drop across 1 resistor is 5volts, but if it is, arene't we dropping ALL the voltage for that 1 resistor? Across 2 resistors, you say the voltage drop is the 3 volts to drop. Why are we dropping all 5 volts using 1 resistor? I love your videos. Keep it up.
oh, I just studied voltage dividers. Sorry for the question. No, this is not.
Do you have calluses on your fingertips? I've never been able to do the claw-soldering technique that you do, not for a lack of dexterity, but because I end up burning my fingers when the components get hot.
You'll get a feel for where and how long to hold components, or whether they need to be held in a grip. It's a technique that will just come naturally as you solder. That said, my skin is a bit firmer at the tips due to years of work.
I did this with some of my poundland fairy lights except w/ out the connectors cos I havent got any I did green ones and orange ones and I think the green ones look the same but the orange ones are brighter than before but thats good cos they were a bit dull
Another question. I have read to NEVER to use a resistor like what you have shown on a parallel circuit, must use individual resistors on each LED. Do these LEDs have an internal resistor do you suppose? I think the fairy lights have SMDs that have a resistor buried in there with each one. Is this resistor a "voltage divider"? Plz excuse, I am a newbie.
It's common to use a single resistor with the Xmas light string because they are using accurately matched LEDs so they share the current fairly evenly. If you try it with random LEDs there will be significant current imbalance.
I like your wire strippers that you are using around minute 24. What are they called??