by Jim_TX 22 Replies latest jw experiences
Was the LED a metaphor in this story?
No no i loved LED's, i used to do loads of things with them including once, wiring the LED's to a Coat Hanger stuck in a piece of wood that i'd untwisted...when you touched the coat hanger with the loop i'd made out of another coat hanger, the light went on it was meant to be more exciting but oh well.
JimTX -- are ya gonna be rich soon?
(Nice pic, btw!)
out
RE: Rich -
Well... probably not. I am not good at marketing myself - or my ideas. But... I'll give it a go - we'll see.
RE: Pic -
Thanks! That's my $10.00 tux I got at Goodwill.
Regards,
Jim TX
An LED that will blind you is probably just about the right solution for a cool running big screen projector. I was thinking of building one as a DIY project but gave up and bought a big screen TV. But, it would be nice to build a HUGE screen TV someday.
Best of luck with the experiments Jim.
check this out. All the 3rd world countries are much more progressive and energy efficient. But we cannot get these things here!
So Jim,
Any news on using OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes)? Just curious if they are cost effective or too new on the market and are cost prohibitive.
..truth.ceeker..
That is really neat!
One of our favorite gadgets is a LED flashlight that doesn't take batteries.
You shake it a few times (there's a magnet, coil, etc. in the handle) and because it uses an LED instead of a regular bulb it will stay lit for a very long time.
It isn't very bright, but is great for emergencies because you don't have to ever worry about batteries.
Our christmas tree lights are also LED. We love them because they don't take much juice and don't even get warm, so we leave them on 24/7 when the tree is up.
jim, does it still only use 500 mv?
I'm enjoying this conversation.
"Any news on using OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes)?"
I believe that OLEDs are a bit too new at this stage, and are just now getting a hold in the LCD backlight market - where they work well.
I think that they need a few years to catch up - regarding brightness - and power.
"One of our favorite gadgets is a LED flashlight that doesn't take batteries."
Yeah... I've seen one of those. They're cute toys - not very practical. Perhaps if they worked on them, they could improve them.
What I like - and recommend - for flashlights that don't require batteries - are the hand-crank flashlights. I have one in my bedroom, and just recently bought another one for the car. The battery lasted about 3 hours in the newest one, and it puts out a pretty decent amount of light. It also has a plug in the back where one can plug in their 12-Volt adapter, and charge their cell phone from the hand-crank generator.
Of course... I also have my High-power LED flashlight that I built about 2 years ago - and it is still using the original battery - although it is getting a bit weak. It lit up the countryside with a bluish glow when the battery was fresh.
"jim, does it still only use 500 mv?"
Huh? Not sure what this refers to. These LEDs use about 2.4 Volts at 350mA up to about 4.0 Volts at 1Amp. I adjusted the current to the LED and read the voltage on the meter of the power supply.
Basically, these are 1-Watt LEDs. You can overdrive them to about 4-Watts - if you've got them heatsinked well.
I hope this answers the questions...
Regards,
Jim TX
wow, that's alot of power. when i went to electronics school. i was taught that all p-n junctions aka diodes, or leds if they emit light only use 500 mv. you must be using a much higher power diode than we used.
I can't wait for them to come up with LED light bulbs that screw into standard sockets like they did with compact fluorescents. That would solve the mercury problem with the fluorescents, and slash energy usage by a third of what the fluorescents currently use. The problems are a harsh white light, that the light is focused in a beam instead of all around the bulb, and they need special fixtures to operate.
Currently, I do have LED Christmas lights. Those burn quite cool, making them the perfect option for Norfolk Island pines that are sensitive to even fairy lights. They are safe for use in all trees, since they cannot realistically get hot enough to start a fire or melt tree material. You can also stick a C7 or C9 LED bulb in a Styrofoam ball for better effect; I do not recommend doing that with standard bulbs since they get very hot and could melt the styrofoam. And they use 90% less electricity than regular bulbs. Less oil wasted. Less $500 light bills. Less heat to worry about. And less worry about blowing a fuse or starting an electrical fire in a remote location from the tree. And, if you are going to have them up most or all of the year, they make for fewer blown bulbs.
