Hello any advice on how to make a very small, very lean and clean components, and very dim strip led? its a light for a flip clock, it doesnt have to be dimmable but needs to be quite dim, maybe just a few lumens or two. components are visible and clock is mcm so computer age look or plastic housings are not preferred.
oh yeah and it has to run of the 110 power cord. transformer must live on board the clock
heres a pic with the batteried up test strip working great and the 110v transformer and test strip that ran too hot/bright.
second pic is an potential candidate for the 110-12v power trans if it were either dim enough, dimmable or constant voltage. i’m ok with soldering up or modding the components (with techincal support).
Any feedback or recommendations are much appreciated!
If you are trying to dim a 12V LED strip, dimming it is an easy and cheap project. The dimmers come in two versions, one you set by pushing on buttons on the unit and the other with a remote control that would allow you to set the intensity from outside the clock. The control unit itself is about an inch and a half long and less than a half inch wide. It wouldn’t take up much room in the clock. Just wire it in series between the power source and the LED strip. Once set, the dimmer retains the setting so you only program it once.
You can buy the dimmers from China but if you want it in a reasonable time, use a US seller on eBay.
LED dimmer w/o remote control
LED dimmer with remote
If you want a small, cheap power source and there are thrift stores near you, look there for a small converter that has a 12V DC output and 300 to 500 mA out. That will be pretty small and way more than enough power to light the LED strip. You can always crack the case on it and wire it in directly to the power coming to the clock.
Thank you much, i had though about this component and i did end up using cv 300ma power supply you mentioned, because it has to live on board the clock housing (and is visible). Will post pic. For the dimmer i cheated by using a small buck converter that seems to give the effect of current dimming. On testing, no heat issues so i an using it, until some or heat or somebody rational tells me otherwise.
Thx vegas! VivaLV! Unless you’re the raiders (oh no!)
IF YOU KNOW THE CURRENT THAT IT DRAWS, you can use a single capacitor and minimal other components to drop the voltage.
Cheepcheepcheep things like on-wall vacuum-cleaners use that to trickle-charge the 2V Pb-acid cells they use. Voltage is immaterial, and you tweak the cap’s value based on the current you want.
It uses reactance instead of resistance to limit current, so doesn’t heat up (as much) as the same-value resistor.
nice! i like this idea, the hackier the better! well, actuall the most minimal the better. i ended up using a cv 300ma transformer and a smallish buck converter that i think is in a way acting as a current limiter, the light dims rather well and on 48 hrs test has not made any noticable heat. im estimating im getting 5-10 lumens. as far as efficiency i may be way off but everything seems kosher so far. next it might get a photoresitor relay to cut light during the day. another kind of clumsy use of an ebay unit that is full of redundancy but is testing ok.
if i had the know how i would build on a blank board with the minimum components necessary…
Lightbringer, I love seeing the (seems like) 8000k skyscraper lights on misty/foggy nights in NYC! they look different than when i was a kid and would visit gpa and grandma!
thx for the feedback y’all. will post pic once finished
