Source For Ultra High Quality LEDs???

[Thomas E. Johnson]

I've been buying the prewired for 12v LEDs from Oznium.com now for many years, I've now had about 15-20 of them fail in the last several projects I've used them in, MONTHS after being tested, installed, and working fine, ruining my projects. I know I'm not over volting them as they are designed for 12v and I always run everything on 9v. This tells me that they are now sourcing their LEDs from a substandard supplier and are getting many bad batches of them. I will not purchase from them anymore.

Can anyone recommend a source to purchase LEDs that are of EXTREME high quality, that DO NOT source and sell product from any manufacturer that puts out potentially defective LEDs?

[Ant]

You will probably have to buy the LEDs yourself from a proper component supplier (not ebay) who specify what they sell, and them wire them yourself. Otherwise you're going to be at the mercy of the bottom line...

[Richard Baker]

Mouser Electronics-
MOUSER.COM

They are a hard core electronic supplier- their catalog is larger than a phone book and they stock high quality, high performance parts.
They might be more expensive that some places, but then again they are aimed towards the professional engineer, not the casual hobbyist.

[Kylwell]

Or if you insist on pre-wired try http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/

[EVApodman]

I have heard stories about LEDs used in commercial applications failing after a few months. Particularly the bright white ones. I've heard of ones failing after a few hours of continous use. I believe it has to do with the mixture of rare earths needed to achieve the white light as opposed to the more common red, green or yellow LEDs.

[Ant]

White LEDs are just blue LEDs shining on a phosphorous that emits white - there's no reason they should be any less reliable providing they are run within spec...

[Richard Baker]

Some of the ones we used were R-G-B all lit at the same time. These were professional units designed as a substitute for neon and fluorescent lighting in signs.

[Kylwell]

And make sure you are placing them in such a way that they're not overheating as that is death to LEDs. It'll kill a diode faster than overpower it.

[Thomas E. Johnson]

And make sure you are placing them in such a way that they're not overheating as that is death to LEDs. It'll kill a diode faster than overpower it.

And how does one achieve that, the way in which the LEDs get placed is pretty much dictated by the model itself?

What about securing them in place? I usually use either CA or hot glue.

[Thomas E. Johnson]

I've begun ordering my LEDs from HDA Modelworks now, as I've been given good references about the quality and sourcing of his LEDs.

I'll probably get some from that model railroad supplier linked above also.

[EVApodman]

And make sure you are placing them in such a way that they're not overheating as that is death to LEDs. It'll kill a diode faster than overpower it.

And how does one achieve that, the way in which the LEDs get placed is pretty much dictated by the model itself?

What about securing them in place? I usually use either CA or hot glue.

The only way to over heat an LED is to use excessive current. The amount of heat an LED emits is miniscule, so I would look at the resistor value and voltage to see how much current is passing through the LED. Most LEDs typically want no more than 25 MA or .025 amps maximum current. You may have some that are rated at 20ma. I would try increasing the resistor value to decrease the forward current.

[Thomas E. Johnson]

And make sure you are placing them in such a way that they're not overheating as that is death to LEDs. It'll kill a diode faster than overpower it.

And how does one achieve that, the way in which the LEDs get placed is pretty much dictated by the model itself?

What about securing them in place? I usually use either CA or hot glue.

The only way to over heat an LED is to use excessive current. The amount of heat an LED emits is miniscule, so I would look at the resistor value and voltage to see how much current is passing through the LED. Most LEDs typically want no more than 25 MA or .025 amps maximum current. You may have some that are rated at 20ma. I would try increasing the resistor value to decrease the forward current.

My LEDs are resistored for 9v-12v. I usually use a 1.5 amp power supply for my models....

[Kylwell]

And make sure you are placing them in such a way that they're not overheating as that is death to LEDs. It'll kill a diode faster than overpower it.

And how does one achieve that, the way in which the LEDs get placed is pretty much dictated by the model itself?

What about securing them in place? I usually use either CA or hot glue.

The only way to over heat an LED is to use excessive current. The amount of heat an LED emits is miniscule, so I would look at the resistor value and voltage to see how much current is passing through the LED. Most LEDs typically want no more than 25 MA or .025 amps maximum current. You may have some that are rated at 20ma. I would try increasing the resistor value to decrease the forward current.

Depends on the LED. The usual run of the mill microwatt LEDs aren't an issue but the brighter they are the more heat they'll produce.

[southwestforests]

Something I haven't seen mentioned as a factor here, and do not know enough different LED to know if it is a universal truth, is that different colors of LED take different values of resistor even running off the very same voltage and current source. I learned that from model railroad signal kits.

[mophius]

Yes, I have red and green LED's of the same size and same forward voltage but the current usage is different. I can't remember which way they are but one is 20mA and one is 25mA.