LED with three leads?

dedalus5550 · Post by **dedalus5550** » Fri May 21, 2010 11:09 pm

I got this LED at Radio Shack that says it's a "7-Color Blinking LED" and it sounded so cool. Now, it's got three leads, so how does this work? The part number is 276-0016, if that helps.
Thanks,
Mike Todd

Ziz · Post by **Ziz** » Fri May 21, 2010 11:42 pm

Wasn't there some kind of data on the back of the card it was packaged on?

It's got red, green and blue LED elements in it, so depending on what combination of leads and voltage you apply, you get different colors/combinations.

Ziz · Post by **Ziz** » Fri May 21, 2010 11:42 pm

double post

Ziz · Post by **Ziz** » Fri May 21, 2010 11:42 pm

Triple post!

tetsujin · Post by **tetsujin** » Sat May 22, 2010 1:46 am

The user-submitted reviews for the item on Radio Shack's website seem to provide a few useful descriptions of how the LED is used - along with numerous complaints about the fact that Radio Shack didn't provide that information themselves. :)

It seems like kind of a gimmick to me. I mean, it can fade through different colors but it doesn't give you much control over the colors or sequence. What use is that? Better to get a regular RGB LED, I think, and then use a microcontroller to drive it.

davidlgreen · Post by **davidlgreen** » Sat May 22, 2010 1:03 pm

found something very similar on ebay with the chip batteries and everything
check my post under sargons' balls

dedalus5550 · Post by **dedalus5550** » Sat May 22, 2010 1:57 pm

tetsujin wrote:The user-submitted reviews for the item on Radio Shack's website seem to provide a few useful descriptions of how the LED is used - along with numerous complaints about the fact that Radio Shack didn't provide that information themselves.

It seems like kind of a gimmick to me. I mean, it can fade through different colors but it doesn't give you much control over the colors or sequence. What use is that? Better to get a regular RGB LED, I think, and then use a microcontroller to drive it.

What I was thinking was that I'd use it for inside the "gun well" of my Millennium Falcon build for little blinking lights and buttons on the various walls. I bought one of these and figured I'd play around with it. If I like what I get, I'll run 3-4 of these to get the effect of several things blinking with several solid lights, too, using fiber optics. This would also be in the cockpit. However, as this is my first foray into lights and fiber optics, I am just experimenting for now. I actually was an electronics tech in the military, so I figure I can handle this. But we'll see since it's been almost 20 years since I soldered in a resister.
Mike Todd

BTW, I did read some of those reviews at Radio Shack's website, and to answer Ziz--nope, nothing on the package except voltage info.

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Tue May 25, 2010 1:51 pm

OMG I just had a round with those LEDs!!!!

Here's how it works, it is completely undocumented form rat shack:

One leg is common power I think can't remember now:
One leg will activate a blinking tri color sequence, that lasts about 30 seconds.
ONLY after the 30 seconds has passed and if the other leg is hooked up will an always on Red LED illuminate.

So like this:
Flashing sequence runs and enables the always on LED
Always on LED will come on if its leg is hooked up and the flashing sequence leg was hooked up and played through its sequence, it will not illuminate if you never hooked up the flashing leg's power.

dedalus5550 · Post by **dedalus5550** » Tue May 25, 2010 9:22 pm

As near as I can tell, I burned that LED out. I used what I think was the appropriate amount of resistance, but it stopped working after 4-5 rounds of me messing around with it, so I chucked it. (I did of course try all kinds of connections, but it clearly didn't want to do anything else for me.) But thanks for the help.

Stu Pidasso · Post by **Stu Pidasso** » Tue May 25, 2010 9:54 pm

davidlgreen wrote:check my post under sargons' balls

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Wed May 26, 2010 1:04 am

don't use resistors to fix mis matched power supply needs for multi color flashers, it won't work. Resistors work for devices which turn on and run constant, no changing current usages. Multi color flashers draw varying amounts of current as the colors vary in which colors are on and at what brightness each is putting out.

dedalus5550 · Post by **dedalus5550** » Wed May 26, 2010 8:00 am

Sparky wrote:don't use resistors to fix mis matched power supply needs for multi color flashers, it won't work. Resistors work for devices which turn on and run constant, no changing current usages. Multi color flashers draw varying amounts of current as the colors vary in which colors are on and at what brightness each is putting out.

Hmmm. Again, as has been said, thanks Radio Shack for not including much in the way of special instructions. (Might be made by someone else, but they could still include this info when I buy it from the store.)

bigh827 · Post by **bigh827** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 10:42 pm

I have a couple of these, and the blink then turn red and stay red is not real usefull. But if you do hook up all three leads, mine blinks then turns off. They sound great but aren't very good in my book. Unless you have them on a time to shut the power off about every 20 seconds or so, it's red all the time or no light at all.

Richard Baker · Post by **Richard Baker** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 8:07 am

I had a pen with the color changing LED illumination- it is a cheap gimmick built into some toys and gadgets. I would suggest you find some of those and tear them apart for a prewired effects module- much simplier and self contained.

.

Sparky · Post by **Sparky** » Sun Jun 13, 2010 2:49 pm

Electronics gold mine and jameco to mention a few already listing in the sticky have tri color blinking/flashing LEDs, that always flash. You will need a 3 volt power supply with varying max current, this means you need a voltage regulator and not a current regulator.