Newbie all around Re: an LED

Thread Starter

rogervan

Joined Jul 19, 2012
1
Hello,

I'm working with 5 mm square, four-prong HF5 R5590 10 lumen LEDs.

I don't understand the four-pin layout. Which are the cathodes and which are the anodes? On the illustration, there is one tiny bit of corner missing. I wish it were that plain in the LEDs they sent me. But I can just barely see it.

When I orient the diode as best as I can figure, and push down about 1/8 inch where it stops, it springs back up. It does not engage the connections under the top of my board.

The pins each have a 'bump" about halfway up, making them look like miniature swords and that stops the pins from sliding into the holes on my breadboard. I "Pressed" one LED into the board with about 50 pounds of pressure ands it snapped in. I had to pry it back out. I didn't look at the breadboard to find any damage that might have done.

If I had a 20-power binocular microscope, I could have closely examined that LED for cracks, etc.

Do I need to solder short pieces of 20 gauge copper wire to the prongs to make them work in my breadboard?

Rogervan
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
Yes, or 22 gauge. That's a lot better than wallowing out the internal connections with a bumpy pin.
 

KJ6EAD

Joined Apr 30, 2011
1,581
For components that have lead lengths, spacing or thickness problems fitting into a breadboard, I mount them on a dip socket, component carrier or header to create a breadboard-friendly module. Sometimes I have to cut down a longer than needed dip socket and depopulate some pins. This works best with solid-body milled-pin sockets.

You can enhance the pin 1 marking on a P4 style LED with a touch from a paint marker. If you use the same color as the LED, this also identifies the LED color on untinted housings.
 
Last edited:

Audioguru

Joined Dec 20, 2007
11,248
The 4-pins LED is a Luxeon SuperFlux or a cheap Chinese copy. It relies on the copper of as pcb for cooling because its max current rating of 70mA can create a lot of heat.
It is not designed to use a breadboard.
 

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KJ6EAD

Joined Apr 30, 2011
1,581
The 4-pins LED is a Luxeon SuperFlux or a cheap Chinese copy. It relies on the copper of as pcb for cooling because its max current rating of 70mA can create a lot of heat.
It is not designed to use a breadboard.
That's a good point and it reminds me of another. The extended tie bar tabs on the leads that prevent the LED from seating on a breadboard are intended to stand the LED off of the surface of a PCB to allow space for cooling air flow underneath.
 
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