The coolest little vehicle I never knew existed

chaosx · **Posted:** Sun Jan 08, 2012 2:10 pm

Asphalt, would you go by forward voltage? I hooked one of these LED lights to a 9v and blew it up, i used the resistor and it glows great..if I hook up 2 minus the resistor, would that work?

Asphalt · **Posted:** Sun Jan 08, 2012 4:39 pm

Without resistors a 9V will probably always blow them, not sure why. I don't know much about wiring circuits. Just trial and error. I usually use a 2 or 4 pack of AA's or AAA's.

chaosx · **Posted:** Sun Jan 08, 2012 6:10 pm

parallel conection? (AA side by side) or in a line (neg to positive)

Asphalt · **Posted:** Sun Jan 08, 2012 7:39 pm

In a 2 or 4 battery holder. SO I guess negative to positive.

Chief · **Joined:** Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:19 am

Anyone who wants to play around with LEDs and circuits would do well to pick up a couple of these:

http://www.radioshack.com/search/index. ... ebook&sr=1

- I've been using them and their predecessors for almost 30 years -- Radio Shack was producing "Electronics for Dummies" long before anyone else - they've got great tips & project ideas as well.

LEDs are usually rated for 2.5 volts or so - so naturally you're going to fry them with a 9V battery - that's where the resisters come in. But you need to understand circuitry and Ohm's Law and some other little goodies before you are successful with setting them up - the books help with that.

Or, like Asphalt said - use two AA/AAA to power your LEDs. And be wary of polarity - sometimes, even at low voltage, running the current "backwards" (LEDs are diodes- and therefore, "one-way" paths) will fry the LED. You can sometimes get it to light "backwards" with higher voltage, but it'll still fry the LED sooner rather than later.

pluv · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 3:25 pm

HypnoHustler wrote:

I've been using candy toy LEDs. I haven't completed anything yet, but TRU sells light up lollipops and such, and those use button cell batteries, so they're a lot more compact. Still probably too big to fit them completely inside a figure (at least at 3 3/4th size while maintaining articulation) but easier to conceal. No clue what kind of life the led has though. Still, I think if I can get it to work the way I envision, it's going to be pretty badass.

With the candy lights, the problem isn't the bulb, it is the batteries. They won't last that long and most of the candy set ups aren't made for easy removal.

My choice of leds are balloon lights. They are shaped like little bullets and turn on with a twist. They are small and easy to insert if you have the space. https://www.lightsforalloccasions.com/c ... 4AodqiWoAw

Asphalt · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 3:37 pm

Yeah I need to get some LEDS. I found a little novelty finger light and stuck it inside the chamber. Now to do it for real.

Asphalt · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 3:51 pm

Or maybe green, I think I like blue better.

nova · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 4:21 pm

Depending on your use, some flashing LEDs could look cool too..

SteamPunk Michael · **Joined:** Mon May 05, 2008 6:48 pm

That thing standing up looks like a SNAKE holder, maybe a SNAKE Drop pod or something. Those Balloon lights linked above are very cool looking. They come with batteries already installed?

roguetiger · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 5:11 pm

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12X-Colorful-Fl ... 085wt_1396 ones with more colors other than white..... http://www.ebay.com/itm/24-LED-Submersi ... 067wt_1398 24 pk
and yes the batteries are installed in them already...

evilchuk1 · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2012 6:52 pm

I had that vehicle as a kid. It was a meditation chamber, healing chamber, escape craft, mecha, gun station, etc. all in one. Such fond memories. :-D

diosoth · **Joined:** Sat Aug 23, 2008 8:20 pm

Mysterious Stranger wrote:

Asphalt wrote:

When I have used LEDS I have just worked enough into the project to utilize the battery I have. If I have a 4 "AA" battery pack I included 6V worth of LEDS. That way I didn't need to use resistors. I will probabaly swing down to radioshack later today and see if they have any disk battery holders, then see what the nerd herd there tells me I need to put in between it and the light. I am thinking either traditional blue or maybe green for the lighting.

Good luck with the Radio Shack people. Last time I was in there the staff seemed more interested in selling cell phones than transistors.

This is too true, unfortunately. Many RS stores are actually ditching components and such, though my local one recently expanded their parts drawers again after going almost 2 years with bare minimum stuff. But even so, their prices are so high that unless you need it right then, you'd be better off ordering online.

captain tomorrow · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:09 am

This could easily become the start of a new SNAKE with some bigass robot limbs and a white paint job.
Or red if you're Dark Horse.

The coolest little vehicle I never knew existed

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