All About LED's

[CorbettTrailers]

How about a thread that deals with LED's, like wiring, mounting details, resistors and where to find them. I'm thinking about lighting my truck up but have no idea where to start. I do have the tlu-01 installed and I ordered some LED's for the cab lights, but I'd like to ad some more. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[CorbettTrailers]

So out of the 25 people that have visited this thread, noone has anything to offer as to info that I need to get some LED's on my truck?
Just something, Anything?

[ihbuilder]

OK you asked for it :D duh I don't know hehe I'm in the same boat just be patient grasshopper :rolleyes: some nice fellow will come along and help also google may help :p

[CorbettTrailers]

I tried google, there's too many darn links. I like reading Novels, not endless Bull****. Lol.

[SonoranWraith]

A place I like to buy because they have great variety of sizes:

http://led-switch.com/
I can also obtain them locally at Fry's Electronics so check electrical supply places for those that don't like waiting. :D

A wizard to help you design your layout:

http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz

The basics are that LED's are lower voltage around 1.5-3.3V. This means they need a resistor to lower the voltage and keep them from blowing out. You cannot hook them direct to your RC battery voltage.

Wire in series is hooking a string of diodes like building a battery pack, positive to negative with 1 positive lead and 1 negative lead out of the array. It is the least amount of wires but the voltage drops across each diode (LED) so it limits how many you can hook together. Wire in parallel is separate wire leads to each diode from the source voltage which would need a resistor for every diode. This might be the simplest but it makes for a lot of wires and the resistors essentially waste your energy stepping the voltage down. The best design is one that keeps the resistors to a minimum and means arrays of diodes in series hooked up in parallel.

Plug some numbers in the wizard link earlier in this post. Source voltage of 7.2V (std 6 cell) 3.0v diode forward, 20 diode forward current, and however many lights you want. Choose wiring diagram because it is pretty well illustrated for non-tech folks. Your array will be displayed. :)

The same concepts apply whether you are hooking up chicken lights, headlights, blinkers, tail lights, etc. You CAN wire more lights to your MFU. I don't have one, but I have seen it done. Hopefully someone with experience at that will chime in.

[Blender]

I'm no pro, but I'll tell you what i know. I've never used a tlu-01, but I build my own helicopter blades with LEDs on them to fly at night.

Leds require a specific forward voltage (Vf) to light up. It's usually 2-5 V, but there are some that run on higher voltage. If connected backwards the LEDs won't light up, but they won't be damaged. The current draw is generally around 20mA, but it can vary by color/size/make. Check the datasheet provided by the vendor. There are lots of different size/shapes of LEDs. I usually work with surface mount (SMD) which come in 4 digit size codes (ex. 0603 which is 0.063" x0.031"). Other sizes are 3mm and 5mm round like what's usually at radioshack. Visible angle is another important feature. Some LEDs have very narrow light beams like 20 degrees. That might me fine for headlights, but if you want lights along the side of your trailer something with 130 degree or more would be better.

How i build an array is first select LEDs with a Vf lower than my battery i'm going to use. I use off-the-charger pack voltage instead of the nominal voltage that's printed on the battery pack. A trick i use is to connect various LEDs in series until the sum of the Vfs is about equal or a little higher than the battery voltage. This will let me run the LEDs with no resistor. There is a little risk to this as if my wiring shorts out there will be no resistor to reduce the current. I killed one of my 160mAh lipos when my blade mounted LED/wiring came loose and shorted out the battery pack. The standard/safer method is to use a LED calculator (http://led.linear1.org/1led.wiz) where you type in the Vf, current and battery voltage then it'll tell you what resistor you need. There's also a version that handles multiple LEDs by the same people.

If i want to add a ton of LEDs with all kinds of colors and sizes i break the work into small pieces. Say i'm using a 3S lipo thats 11.1V nominal, 12.4V fully charged. If i wanted eight amber LEDs and the each had a Vf of 3.1 V, I'd make a string of 4 LEDs in series. Then make another string of 4 amber LEDs and connect the two strings in parallel to the battery.

Key features:
Vf Forward Voltage
Size/ mount type
viewable angle
brightness measured in mcd (milli-candela). I like 100-200 mcd

The cheapest LEDs i've found are from china :rolleyes: Ive never ordered from SatisTronics (http://www.satistronics.com/Wholesale-led-lamp-lightings-smdsmt-leds_c804) personally, but a few of the heli guys have. They are considerably cheaper than Digi Key, Superbrightleds or Allied Electronics. I'd encourage you to order a few and just play around with a soldering iron and a battery. You'll smoke a few LEDs, but they're only a few cents each ;). I use conductive copper tape and solder to connect SMDs and small wire with headsrink to connect the round LEDs.

[Thorsteenster]

It's been awhile since I've bought or researched into LED's. I know I posted links somewhere, I'll see if I can dig them up. I had found a great domestic seller for LED's, cheap, bulk and multi packs and fast shipping, and a few good How To:'s for LED wiring.

[CorbettTrailers]

I'd encourage you to order a few and just play around with a soldering iron and a battery. You'll smoke a few LEDs, but they're only a few cents each.

This is a very good idea. Thanks.
And thanks to everyone else for all the info. This is going to be very useful, exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks Again,
John

[CorbettTrailers]

It's been awhile since I've bought or researched into LED's. I know I posted links somewhere, I'll see if I can dig them up. I had found a great domestic seller for LED's, cheap, bulk and multi packs and fast shipping, and a few good How To:'s for LED wiring.

Thanks, I'll be waiting to see if you find the links an post them.

[Thorsteenster]

Okay, I guess the pressure's on now.....
:D

[CorbettTrailers]

Ready, Set. . . . . . . .GO!!!!

No hurry really. I was hoping to have some lights for Brookville but it's ok if I don't. I do have the TLU-01 in it now. Figured I'd better start slow and figure out what I'm doing first before I go gung ho. To be honest, it was Rod's White Stretch that did me in. That truck looks awesome. So I figured some lights on my rig would look cool, if I do it right. Now I'm trying to think of an easy way to hook up the trailer lights to what I have.

[Thorsteenster]

Okay, here's what I've found so far. I have probably a couple hundred favorite links from older computers I'll try to look through this weekend if I have more. I think this at Instrctables was the best I found for wiring though.
http://www.instructables.com/id/LEDs-for-Beginners/
And the past few times I've bought LED's I got them here:
http://c-leds.com
This place is great, they have LED drivers, and as well know quite a bit about LED's. They've answered several questions for me via email and as well put together variety packs for me.

Another thought for some of you truckers handy with fine soldering, is SMC LED's. Those are the surface mount ones you find on circuit boards and what not, very small, about the size of a match head. Seems they might be great for running board lights, marker lights, cab lights, all sorts of things that might be lit but not room for a 3mm LED.
Not RC, but here you can get an idea of size and tips for soldering.

[CorbettTrailers]

Thanks Thor. I'll have to read more this weekend.

[Espeefan]

Give me a little time and I'll see if I can draw up some actual wiring schematics for you to check out. I'll make a couple different versions. One of a truck without an MFU, one with an MFU, for those wanting to add extra lighting, and one for a trailer.

[CorbettTrailers]

Nathan, That sounds great. And I will repay you by keeping the knowledge I learn and passing it on to the next newbie that needs the info. Someday, somewhere someone will be in need.

[IDontKnow]

Hmmm, somewhere back in this thread it was stated that each LED requires a resistor!
Not True! I have two flatbed trailers each with 10 clearance lights (5 each side) and only 1 resistor.
I have the infrared lighting system from SS-Tronix and the whole thing is powered by a 7.2v pack mounted between the rails. Power comes up from underneath feeds to a 1/2 watt resistor then loops in and out of each led in parralel down the left side and back up the right. Works beutifully using 3mm high brightness orange LED's in chrome bezels.
If I get a chance I will show some pictures of the setup.

[roadranger]

IDontKnow, you also gotta tell us where you got the LED's, and especially where to get the chrome bezels. I can only find black bezels...

[Espeefan]

Nathan, That sounds great. And I will repay you by keeping the knowledge I learn and passing it on to the next newbie that needs the info. Someday, somewhere someone will be in need.

Corbett, no problem at all. I'll try and get something up by the weekend.

Hmmm, somewhere back in this thread it was stated that each LED requires a resistor!
Not True! I have two flatbed trailers each with 10 clearance lights (5 each side) and only 1 resistor.
I have the infrared lighting system from SS-Tronix and the whole thing is powered by a 7.2v pack mounted between the rails. Power comes up from underneath feeds to a 1/2 watt resistor then loops in and out of each led in parralel down the left side and back up the right. Works beutifully using 3mm high brightness orange LED's in chrome bezels.
If I get a chance I will show some pictures of the setup.

There are a couple ways to wire LEDs. If you wire them in parallel, then each LED definitely needs it's own resistor. If you wire them in series, then you can get away with using one resistor for each set of LEDs in series.

Out of the two methods, I wire LEDs in series. The reason being that it is a more efficient circuit and the total current draw will be less then a parallel circuit. I'll go more into depth with this explaination as soon as I get some drawings whipped up!

[IDontKnow]

I am sorry, but you are incorrect there. If wiring in parallel you can do it with only one resistor as long as the wattage is high enough as in 1/2 to 1watt resistors.
10 LED's on my flatbeds both wired in parallel with 1 resistor and been working perfectly for the last 6 months! No overheating of anything all LED's are bright and uniform in light output. Current draw? Minimal Charge the 7.2 volt 4000mAH battery about once every two to three months. The resistor size is 330ohm 1/2 watt
Will post details on the Bezels and LED's when I find it again

[IDontKnow]

As requested, this is the place where I got the Chrome bezels from and also the LED's.
http://stores.ebay.com/Asia-Engineer

As to the Bezels I used on my flatbeds, these ones:
http://cgi.ebay.com/50-pcs-5mm-Chrome-Metal-LED-Bezel-Holder-Panel-Display-/370431382561?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item563f6e5421

[Espeefan]

I am sorry, but you are incorrect there. If wiring in parallel you can do it with only one resistor as long as the wattage is high enough as in 1/2 to 1watt resistors.
10 LED's on my flatbeds both wired in parallel with 1 resistor and been working perfectly for the last 6 months! No overheating of anything all LED's are bright and uniform in light output. Current draw? Minimal Charge the 7.2 volt 4000mAH battery about once every two to three months. The resistor size is 330ohm 1/2 watt
Will post details on the Bezels and LED's when I find it again

The big reason I suggest running a resistor on each LED in parallel is simple. No two LEDs are identical in their construction, which basically means the resistance of each LED, even from the same production batch, varies. Why is this a problem? Because in a parallel circuit the current will always take the path of least resistance. Or in other words, the LED that happens to have the least resistance. What happens is that LED will be subject to higher current flow then it is rated for. The more LEDs you have in your parallel circuit, the worse this problem becomes. Remember in parallel circuits that voltage stays the same to all loads. Current, however divides across them. This is also why I suggest a series circuit. In series circuits, current remains the same across all loads, regardless of each component's resistance measurement. The voltage divides.

To safely run multiple LEDs in parallel, each really should have it's own resistor, or your weakest LED will be have the most current flowing through it. Yes, you can get away with one resistor for multiple LEDs in parallel, but is not optimum for the life or performance of the LEDs.

In regards to current draw, parallel circuits are additive. It may not sound like a huge deal when you are running ten LEDs and each only draws .020 amps, but if you have 100 LEDs on a truck and trailer combo, that is suddenly a 2 amp draw! That will start to be a noticable draw on your battery. A 4000 mili amp pack will be dead in two hours with 100 LEDs, wired in parallel, alone. That does not account for any current draw from the motor, while driving. If you are one of the guys who likes to run more then 100 LEDs, it is definitely something to consider.

[IDontKnow]

Okay, never had a problem up to now so we will just have to agree to disagree

[Thorsteenster]

How about we all agree there's different ways to do things?

Either way, it would be nice if this were cleaned up in favor of a definitive guide, with both schools of thought. Kinda sucks though when you have to search through the thread for the tech.

[Espeefan]

Thor, I agree that LEDs can be wired in parallel or in series. There is no arguement there. I just want guys to know that there can be a potential problem if they only use one resistor to drop the current for multiple LEDs in parallel. The last thing you want to do is tear apart a model to replace and LED that has burned out, after it is completed. When you have a lot of multiple LEDs to power, wiring them in series is by far the most efficient way to do it.

[Espeefan]

Okay fellas, I just got done uploading some schematics that I spent a good deal of time drawing up this weekend. I know I hoped to get them uploaded last weekend, but I just ran out of time. My apologies.

First of all, a link to my favorite online calculator, for figuring out the proper resistance value required for your LEDs.

http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz

When you punch in your LED's specs, look to the packaging or information card to get the voltages and current draws correct. If none are available, check online, from the dealer you purchased the LEDs from. Often times they have data sheets that give you everything you need.

Let's start by doing a simple LED circuit for a model.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/OnebasiconoffLEDexample.png

Now I often use terminal blocks when I need to take a voltage source and split it up into multiple circuits. They are quite handy and help keep wiring clean. You do not have to use them at all, if you don't want. It's just a nice option to have. Never know when you might want to add a circuit, might need to make some repairs, or expand the electrical system of your truck. It's also handy for maintenace, should you need to remove the body. You can also use micro plugs so the LEDs stay with the body or cab of the truck, when you remove it. It helps to keep things tidy.

This basic circuit above is one that you can build completely from scratch, as a stand alone system. There are options out there for turning the LEDs on and off. Toggle switches are cheap and effective. Hands free operation can be done with battle switches, which plug into your radio receiver. My choice are the battle switches from these guys. Other places offer their own switches too.

http://www.dimensionengineering.com/BattleSwitch.htm

One thing to know about LEDs is that they are polarity sensitive. If you hook them up backwards, they will not light up. You will not damage them in doing so, unless the voltage is to high, but if you manage to mix up the polarity of one, while wiring it, any other LEDs wired in series with it will not light either. So if in doubt, check that your LED polarity is correct. There are testers you can buy to do this, or you can make your own tester using a couple batteries. It's also good to test the LEDs you are going to use, to be sure they work. I've never run across a dud myself, but no one likes to be forced to do rework. I'd hate to tear apart a circuit to replace a bad one.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/LEDanodecathode.gif

The easiest way to identify the polarity of an LED is by looking at the leads. The longest one is always going to be your positive lead. If the leads are trimmed the same length, there are other things to look for. Inside the lense, the portion of the LED that has a little 'flag' is going to be your negitive - the cathode.

[Espeefan]

One thing you are bound to come across when designing and wiring up multiple LEDs is this. Your supply voltage will only be able to power so many LEDs in series. If you have a 7.2 volt battery pack, and your LEDs require 3 volts to light up, the max you can run in series is two LEDs. If you have 12 volts to work with, then you will be able to 3 LEDs in series.

What do we do when we want to run more then that?

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/Seriesparallelcircuit.png

Enter the series-parallel circuit. Basically we are unlimited to the number of parallel circuits we can run off of our battery, even if we can only drive 2 or 3 LEDs wired in series. So what you do is make multiple series circuits and parallel them off the power supply (battery). Each set of LEDs wired in parallel all receive the full battery voltage. Within each additional parallel LED circuit we have, the voltage divides across the LEDs wired in series. By wiring in series-parallel, there is no limit to the number of LEDs we can run.

If you want an odd number of LEDs, you can just as easily run a group of 2 or 3 in series, and in a parallel circuit off your supply voltage, run 1, or 2 in series. The resistance of your resistor will need to change because of the fewer LEDs in that circuit, but it's all accounted for, in the LED array calculator I provided a link to above.

[Espeefan]

So how about a real world example?

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/LEDschematicfortruck.png

I drew up this schematic to show how you could wire up a truck with LEDs. Just to give you some ideas. This would be a complete stand alone circuit. No MFU or other lighting kit necessary.

[Espeefan]

And, how about a trailer? :D We need lights on them too.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/TrailerLEDwiringschematic.png

[Espeefan]

A couple more things I wanted to point out - Your negitive wires become your 'common'. What I mean when I say that is this. All the negitive wires are of the same polarity, potential, and tied together. If you like, you can tap any negitive wire, from any circuit, into another, and your circuit will be complete. Multiple, seperate circuits can share the negitive wires without a problem. As long as one negitive wire makes a connection back to the battery pack or terminal block, you can solder any other negitive wire to it. The wires share the common link to the negitive terminal. One thing to consider if you decide to tie multiple negitive wires to just one negitive wire, is to be keep in mind the size of the wire. Don't tie all negitive wires from multiple circuits to one common wire alone. You could be asking to much of the single wire, to handle all the current flow of the other circuits. Best to use a heavier wire for the one common, or to simply tie the negitives together where it is convenient, for the sake of simplicity or neatness of the wiring, but for other circuits, run the negitive back to the main terminal.

Also, your switching control should be done with the 'hot' wires. The positive wires. This way the power is off, when the switch is off. If you control the switching with the negitive wires, the circuit works the same way, however the potential voltage is there and waiting in the circuit, where your loads are. In industery or residential wiring this is a bad thing. A circuit has the potential to be 'live', even if the switch is off. The voltages are not going to hurt you here, but it's good habbit to let your switch kill the power to anything down stream of it.

The last thing I would like to add is this. It's a good idea to have some short circuit or over current protection in your wiring, in the form of a fuse, or re-settable circuit breaker. Should anything short out, your wiring will be safe and nothing will melt. Size your fuses just slightly over the max current draw of your circuit. To do that you will need to calculate the max current draw. It is not absolutely necessary to have some circuit protection, but it is something to consider.

I hope this information will be helpful to those of you who are trying to figure things out. I may draw up some other circuits a bit later, but the principals of these applies to any you may design on your own.

[Thorsteenster]

Holy smokes, nice work! Worthy of it's own thread even. Nice to have some actual diagrams in situations for RC use.

[Espeefan]

Thanks Thor. As time allows I can explain things a little more in depth, but that should get you guys going.

[CorbettTrailers]

Wow, That is more then I expected. But that really makes sense though. Thanks for all the time you put into it. I do have some lights, but just the ones I hooked inot my TLU-01. I ordered a bunch of LED's and some resistor and I'm going to try to hook a bunch up. I need some running light's on my truck and want some onm my Trailer. Not as many as in you diagram but enough to make it noticable.
Thanks Again!!
John

[CorbettTrailers]

I got all my LED's and resistors now. And a little wiring. I've been working sun-up to sun-down all week and will prolly continue through til next week sometime. But I should get a chance to get some wired up next week and as soon as I do, I'll post and let you know how it went. I can't wait to see how it goes. I got some of the black LED holders but not sure if I wanna use them or not.
So that lead's to another question. What do you guys suggest I use as holders to hold them in place? How does everyone else mount their LED's?
Thanks a ton,
John

[Espeefan]

Hey John, glad this helped you out a little. So far I haven't gotten to the point of adding LEDs to my semi truck. Lots of other things to do first! But I have added LEDs to some of my other RC models, or have some in process. Non-semi truck models, so I just stick the LEDs in the light buckets, as they are intended to be.

With the big rigs, it seems you'd be just fine mounting the LEDs through a properly sized hole. 3mm or 5mm. Most LEDs are tappered, so they get tight as you insert them. A little dab of shoe goo, rubber cement, or something you can remove later is a good way to hold them sercure. Otherwise, you can try some small O-rings, which can sometimes be passed off as a rubber gasket, but I prefer the cleaner look of no O-rings. Been looking for some bezels to use, but it's hard to find something that looks the part. If you insert the LEDs into some thicker metal (cab skirts, for example) then they really don't need much support. For something thin, like styrene, or sheet metal, you can always make a backer plate with styrene, glue it to the location you need the support, and drill a hole through both pieces. My favorite method is to just rely on the tight fit of the LED, sized to the hole. It's the easiest and cleanest way to go. Sometimes, if you need the LED to seat deeper into the hole, you might need to sand the bottom of the LED's base, because some are tappered and get wider there.

[Thorsteenster]

I've found PVC caps to work well for buckets/enclosures for some applications, 1/2" I think, the smallest size.
I generally use hot glue or Shoe Goo. A great way to apply Shoe Goo is, not sure what it's called but the pharmacist gives them out, baby medicine shooter or something. Kinda like a syringe but no needle. Pull the plunger out and squeeze the Shoe Goo in. Works great, I'm actually only getting it where I want it now!
Also, here's a set of tail lights I made with some red plexi and styrene. The reverse lens I drilled out and filed square and used a piece of lexan.
http://www.varcoffroaders.com/forum/download/file.php?id=2338
http://www.varcoffroaders.com/forum/download/file.php?id=2337

[Espeefan]

Boy, that's a sweet looking tail light, Thor!

[Thorsteenster]

I'll be making V2 here at some point. I sold that body (HPI Bronco) in favor of a ProLine Bronco with full hard top.
I have an MFC02 for it, so it'll get the works.
I think I'll try X-Acto-scribing some lines in it too.

[Espeefan]

Actually, I think your finger print on the lense makes it look perfect! :D

[Thorsteenster]

Doh! A little too close a close up lol. It was inside too......

[Stuff]

wow thats some impressive charts!

[CorbettTrailers]

We have Light! I'll post up some pics in a bit. Gotta run some errands real quick.

[CorbettTrailers]

This is what I have so far. Gonna try real hard to put the lights in the front bumper. I have the Aluminum one from Ric. So I'll have 5 in there and then Gotta find some place to put the rest.
I really appreciate all the input and information that has been posted to this thread. I'm really happy with the way it's going so far. Once I readd everything it made me realize how simple it really is.
Special thanks to Nathan, (Espeefan). You've been a real big help. All the lights on my truck are gonna to be there because of you.
Thank You,
John


http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv221/corbettj454/003-800-13.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv221/corbettj454/002-800-15.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv221/corbettj454/001-800-17.jpg

[Espeefan]

Looks good John! Nothing like some working lights to add to the realism of a model.

[CorbettTrailers]

And this morning I was able to hook up some LED's to the bumper.

http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv221/corbettj454/002-800-16.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv221/corbettj454/003-800-14.jpg

Thanks for looking!
John

[CorbettTrailers]

Got my trailer wired up and finished as far as building. Now I just gotta figure out if I wanna paint it. Might ad some more lights later on but I wanna enjoy what I have for now. Thanks again Nathan!

http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv221/corbettj454/002-800-18.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv221/corbettj454/003-800-16.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv221/corbettj454/004-800-13.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv221/corbettj454/006-800-12.jpg

Thanks for looking!!
John Corbett out!

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

Not sure if anyone else has used them, but I found this place:
http://www.oznium.com/ Prices seamed good, so I placed a small order and got them pretty quickly, but haven't messed around with the LED's yet (soon now that fall is hear and I can do some work on this sort of project).

[D8R]

Hi, nice schematics about the LED´s, thanks.
Did buy RC to my D8R build today, ask about this battle switch but they didn´t have one. Where can I find one? Radio (don´t think it matters) is a Multiplex 9ch.
Another question, back up warning summer, where to find?
Dan

[Espeefan]

D8R, battle switches can be found here.

http://www.dimensionengineering.com/battleswitch.htm

A lot of different hobbiest electronic suppliers have similar devices, that go by different names, but they are all basically a miniature relay, designed to be activated 'on' by a low current signal, and used to supply higher current draws to bigger loads.

As for back-up beepers or alarms, I don't know of anyone who offers a stand along back-up beeper, but many ESC, combination sound units have this feature built right in. Servonaut comes to mind.

[Dreamweaver]

Wow Nate thanks. I really need these...:cool::cool:

-Mike

[D8R]

Thanks SP, will order one. Have seen alarms built in in lamps, that maybee can be used.
Dan

[JAMMER]

Nathan very nice I am not into electrics my knowledge is red positive black negative so this is very helpful to me thank you very much. Ed

[doodlebug]

Hi everybody:D Have you considered piezo buzzer's for back up alarm's?
I use a Radio shack 206-2399 in my Mack dumptruck for low oil, air pressure, power divider lockout warning. 3-28volt dc. It does pulse like a back up alarm, higher pitch. If it's too loud, just cover the opening with a bandaid, they make great muffler's for them.

It would make a nice backup alarm for rc model's. I'll have to double check the part # tommorrow. Hope this help's! Later, Neil#2 aka doodlebug.

[Espeefan]

Your welcome guys. Always happy to share the knowledge. :D I'm glad it was / will be helpful to you.

[D8R]

Thanks Neil, did find the same buzzer here localy, will get one tomorrow. Guess level should be adapted with all noice from running machine.
Dan

[doodlebug]

Hey Dan, I hope it's not too high pitched for your liking, but it's off the shelf and loud!
It does sound impatient, so it will attract attention. Hope it work's for you, let us know what you think of it. Later, Neil#2 aka doodlebug.

[D8R]

Hi Neil, got the buzzer today, tested it with 6v battery Will only have this on model for servo/lightning and so.
It sounds ok, tested it inside the batterybox (made of 1mm steel), will see how much you can hear with engine running.
Got a electric switch to, not same as in us but same functions.
Thanks again for the help.
Dan

[doodlebug]

Hey Dan, Yer Welcome! Later, Neil#2 aka doodlebug.

[BRICKNICK]

Wow this thread is so useful, since my wiring/ electrical current understandings are sub-par....

[Zimms Customs]

I run all of my leds with their own resistor. I have the leds on a seperate battery from everything else. Wiring is straight forward. I get all my leds pre-wired from hong kong with resistors on them already. Sure makes things easier. I make my own lenses and drill a 1/8" whole for the 3mm and 3/16 I think for the 5mm. I then use clear silicone to hold them in place. Hasn't failed me yet.

[bedfordtm]

For people in the uk who don't want massive shipping costs try these guys.
http://www.newmodellersshop.co.uk/electronic-lights.htm
Theres everything for electrics. Battery packs, switches, Lights & LED's :D:D

[Pippoe]

Hi there!

interesting thread so far. I must admit, I am a very lazy bum, so I usually opt for constant current drivers instead of resistors.

Constant current drivers are quite expensive, but somehow "fire and forget".. ;) ..just add it and forget about power settings (and -a nice side effect- also forget about power surge or fading leds when the motor is pulling to many amps etc.)

Here's my source (of both leds and drivers):

Constant Current Driver (http://www.led-tech.de/en/LED-Controlling/Constant-Current-Power-Supply/Mini-Constant-Current-Power-Supply--20mA,-up-to-37V--LT-1213_118_119.html)


Btw. I recently bought both the lightning starter kit and a pico switch from Dimension Engineering. Absolutely fantastic stuff!!!

I will be using the starter kit for a light bar (http://www.dimensionengineering.com/DeLightStarterKit.html)

..and the Pico Switch (no need for the battle switch) (http://www.dimensionengineering.com/PicoSwitch.htm) to switch a siren.

Cheers

Pip

[Mjr woodie460]

Very nice thread. I have one question tho. Had anyone use the under sleeper cab light for the king hauler from gardentrucking. I am curious to know how I need to hook them up with the mfu if it's possible. I spoke to Ric from gardentrucking and he was unsure how they needed to be wire in, all he said was that they require 7.2v to light up, each side has 8 LEDs total. If someone could shed some light on these will be great. Thank you

[Espeefan]

I don't have any experience with MFUs but what I would do is find a relay switch and trigger it to close by wiring it to one of the outputs that the MFU uses to turn on it's own LEDs. Then whenever you turn on the lights controlled by the MFU, the relay will close and send power to the step lights. You could easily wire any extra LEDs to the same relay and their would be no limit to the number of LEDs you could add. The only limit would be the current capacity of the relay itself. Another option would be to control the relay switch with a free channel, if you have one.

[JDH429]

Im way late on this as the last post is from 2 years ago, but i dont care..just wanted to thank Espeefan for spending so much time with the diagrams. Whats a great resource for someone who is planning to light up a model like myself. THANKS!

[SmallHaul]

Nathan, great info! How you found any nice tiny terminal blocks?

[Espeefan]

Jason and Scott, thanks. Glad this little write up is still useful. Once I start wiring up my Kenworth, I'll update this thread with some photos of how I did it.

Scott, I've been digging around the web, looking for smaller terminal strips, and I've found a few varieties, but I'm still on the search for something smaller. Here is a terminal strip I bought from www.allelectronics.com. I used this on my Tamiya F-350.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/Ford%20F350%20High%20Lift/HighLiftwiringbegins.jpg

They are small-ish, and space isn't so tight on Tamiya trucks, but I'd still like to find something smaller for the really tight spots. Maybe half this size. I'm going to be running 36 gage wire, so I can afford a smaller terminal strip. As long as I can find one!

[Smiley]

Mr. Ric sells some. Don't know if you've seen his

Keith

[Espeefan]

Thanks for the suggestion, Keith. Looking at what Ric offers just gave me an idea!

[Goose19]

heres a crude led controller i came up with some parts i had laying around.

http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd408/goose_19/2013-09-03_zps6f5cc673.jpg (http://s1218.photobucket.com/user/goose_19/media/2013-09-03_zps6f5cc673.jpg.html)

instead of terminal blocks i used pcb board and header pins.... then run the regular servo connectors to which ever leds. the center bank is clearance power, and the 4 offset are turn and headlight circuits.

[CorbettTrailers]

Glad to see people are still keeping an eye on this thread. I still use it when I need to refresh my memory. Don't forget the pictures when you get some Nathan. Thanks again for all your helpful info.

[Espeefan]

Goose, nice job on the electro-mechanical switches to run your lights. Way back before I knew anything about other methods of turning lights on and off, I had the same exact idea. A limit switch activated with a servo arm and cam type system. Really a very effective and simple way to do things on a budget!

A couple months ago I picked up a new RC truck. This time an Axial SCX-10 Jeep Rubicon. Just a quick build so I would have something to run again. Happens that a friend of mine is also into the RC rock crawlers, and so am I. We got together in late fall to run our trucks. Anyway, I thought I'd like to dress up my Jeep a little bit with some lights, so I came up with a really simple lighting system of my own.

If anyone is curious to see a real world example, here's how I did it.

First the electrical schematic -

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/Simple%20SCX-10%20Jeep%20JK/LEDlights_zps6e5d6128.png

For clarity's sake, I didn't include the fog lights, but they are wired in with my parking lights. It is very easy to add, change, or modify this print to suit your own project. I used three toggle switches, but you could easily add more, or even replace the toggles with some other means of switching the lights on or off. This was a budget minded build, and I run my Jeep with a 3 channel radio, so I opted to keep it simple, with toggle switches.

My body (and front bumper) can be separated from the chassis with the Deans B4 and B2 micro plugs I used. To keep things neat I used one common (black) wire for all of the LEDs. To turn the LEDs off or on I am only switching the hot (red) wires with the toggles. My toggles are SPDT (single pole double throw) switches. Most of the wires under the body are shrunk wrapped together with heat shrink, to consolidate and keep things neater. I used some hot melt glue to secure the wires to the underside of the body. This is a lexan body, so the hot glue didn't wreck a thing, but I would suggest you be careful if you choose to use this same method on a ABS body. I don't think the glue is hot enough to melt the plastic, but you never know! It does a good job of keeping the wires out of the way, and the wires are very secure.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/Simple%20SCX-10%20Jeep%20JK/Lightsandwiring6_zps784ae6cd.jpg

In this photo, I'm mainly trying to show my LED feeder wires, coming off the terminals of the Deans plug for my ESC. I am using a 3S LiPo to run all of the electronics on my Jeep, including the external BEC. The 4 pin Deans, which connects to the harness inside the body is also there.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/Simple%20SCX-10%20Jeep%20JK/Lightsandwiring5_zpsfcf820b7.jpg

A quick picture of the 2 pin micro Deans plugs that I used to give me the ability to remove the front bumper on the Jeep. If I ever need to pull the chassis apart, I can easily take the bumper off.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/Simple%20SCX-10%20Jeep%20JK/Lightsandwiring4_zps1225b309.jpg

Here's a photo of my toggle switches. They are mounted to the side of my custom electronics box, which happens to be a HiTec servo package. :D It worked perfect to fit all the electronics inside. We run our crawlers in harsher conditions, so I thought it would be a good idea to protect the ESC, BEC, and receiver better. Anyway, the toggles are all wired in parallel, and the juice comes from the positive (hot) feeder wire, straight off my battery pack.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/Simple%20SCX-10%20Jeep%20JK/Lightsandwiring3_zps2df9426d.jpg

Front bumper with lights, and some of the wires.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/Simple%20SCX-10%20Jeep%20JK/Lightsandwiring1_zps4cf060ff.jpg

Headlights, parking, and off road lights can be seen here.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/Simple%20SCX-10%20Jeep%20JK/Lightsandwiring2_zpsa4ca179c.jpg

Tail lights much the same, but simpler because there are only two.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/Lightsandwiring7_zpsdf879618.jpg

Finally, one of the underside of the body, with the wires ran and secured. Pretty simple really. Any model could be wired in a similar fashion. The real test will come with those trucks that have chicken lights everywhere! :D Maybe mine will be one of them.... if I ever get them done.

Yeah, I know, it's not a semi truck, but the principals are all the same. Just thought I'd add some photos to give a better example. Schematics are one thing, but then there is the actual wiring.

Here are some finished pictures. Enjoy.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/Simple%20SCX-10%20Jeep%20JK/SCX-10Jeepparkingfog_zpsda398e96.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/Simple%20SCX-10%20Jeep%20JK/SCX-10parkfoghead_zps00bbaaa2.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/Espeefan/Simple%20SCX-10%20Jeep%20JK/SCX-10parkfogheadoffroadlights_zpsd835cec2.jpg

[CorbettTrailers]

Thanks a bunch for the pictures Nathan. Really awesome and Clean job. I'm starting another build for the March 15TH meeting in Brookville, PA. I'm so thankful to have all this info as a reference. I will be visiting this thread a lot with my build. Unfortunately my memory isn't what it used to be. Due to a car accident back in 2003. But with a little reading of your posts I'll be back in the game in no time. Thanks again!!!
:)

[Espeefan]

You're welcome John. I am just glad that you and Cindy are doing well after that accident in December. God Bless!

[Ekimjr]

Hey so being a techy and all as long as you have the channel or receiver setting for the light out put will be able to wire them with the correct resistor or relay inline in series as very similar to your standard house hold Christmas lights I do have few certifications in advanced electronics ima little rusty but can definitely find some answers if need be

[Espeefan]

Not sure I understand your question 100%.

If you want to trigger a relay 'on', from a radio receiver channel, to run a string of LEDs in series, with the correct resistor, then yes, you can do that. The relay allows you to activate the lights, with a low voltage, low current control signal, and to power a load with a separate, higher voltage, or higher current source. If that makes sense, and answers your question?

[dabears]

I use http://www.dimensionengineering.com/products/picoswitch its a pico switch, you could use a battle switch as well, either one would work fine. wire it all up like you would and put this on your power. uses a channel on your receiver and works very good! I love mine

[gauthib12]

Tamiya MFU clear red ...anyone know where to get these, or a substitute..? I need more...

Many Thanks...

[gauthib12]

Anyone? Clear red MFC-01 LED source?

Thanks

[Backlash]

Look here to get the part number http://www.tamiyausa.com/pdf/pl/56511.pdf

Then go here http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=7175096

OR use Google to search for the part number 7175096 for other options..

Cheers

[Espeefan]

Water clear T1 (3mm) LEDs in red.

http://www.lc-led.com/Products/department/2

Seems to be a lot available on E-Bay too, if that's an option for you.

[Hwheeler1973]

Thank you Espeefan! I couldn't have done it without your diagrams!

[Giuseppe]

Soory, i'm a beginner, in wire links, but on ebay, there are, the leds to 12v.But, if you connect, this leds, directly to the battery, they obviously works.I have wired, this leds, on a lego 42030 ,(7,2 volts) and these ,works correctly.Regards.

[frizzen]

I'd like to add a couple of my favorite hacks into this.

If you've got a servo with stripped gears and a soldering iron, you have a remote control light switch! Rip it open, pull the board out, cut motor connections. Leave the radio pigtail alone, the pot can be replaced with a y bridge of 2.2k ohm resistors if you feel like it. Solder your resistor to a motor pad, one leg of the LED to the resistor, the other to the opposite motor pad. Done.

Hook up your new creation to a channel in your rx that gives both throws to a servo, lights should come on in one of the not center positions. tweak the pot to have lights off in center if you didn't make it a y-bridge. Cool, it works. Move it to a single throw channel, see if it still works, if not flip the led circuit at the motor pads.

Maybe i want to have one set of lights on, turn them off and another set turn on. Wire it opposite at the motor pads as the first circuit.

If you are working at normal RC recciever voltage(7.2v stick pack going into an ESC with a BEC for 4-6v output), a 150 ohm or greater LED will safely get your LED working. You won't get peak output, but it gets your unknown lights scavanged off something going without freeing the smoke. Also no math.

If you are running red and white leds together like head & tail lights. Make a red circuit and a white circuit. the red need a bit higher resistance or the whites won't work. So my 150 ohm goes on the whites, red gets something 200-400 ohm to start with.

I like micro servos since they break easy, are cheap, and someone you know has some broken ones. If you're going crazy with lights, use a bigger servo board since they work with more power. If you're going absolutely insane with lights, maybe that battle switch or a cheap esc is the way to go.

[Just_Build_It]

Thanks for posting that information frizzen! I have some extra micro servos laying around so I hooked one up to the clearance lights and I'm going to do the same for the lights in the cabin.

[DrDiff]

Can somebody PLEASE tell me if this is a correct diagram for wiring up two LEDs to a circuit?

(+resistor-...+LED-...+LED-) if not what do I need to change to make it work correctly?

[frizzen]

Yes hooking up series can work. IF you know about what forward voltage the leds need, add them, then find out what resistor you need to make input voltage down to what they need.

I prefer parallel hookups unless you're going absolutely crazy with lights like Smiley, or the Christmas commercial Coca-Cola trucks. It's a few more solder connections, but i think it simplifies things

+ .. Resistor ... + led 1 ... + led 2 ... and so on
- ....................... - led 1 .... - led 2 ... and so on

Actual pic of the layout, scroll down to the car bumper picture.
http://www.rctruckandconstruction.com/showthread.php?t=12930

[DrDiff]

I need a source for brown red brown and red violet brown resistors.

I am new to the learning curve here.