Hi all. I'm new here and a bit of noob when it comes to putting a circuit together. This should be pretty simple for the experts!
I've built a clock out of a laptop hard drive. I want to add some LED's but I have some issues I need help with:
1. The clock mechanism is powered by a single AA battery, is 1.5 volts enough to also power up to 12 red 3mm LED's?
2. I do have the option of using two AA batteries to power the LED's though, is 3 volts too many for the 3mm LED's?
3. I read somewhere that 3 volts would burn coloured LED's out sooner than if they were white. I also read that including a 3.3Ohm resistor would solve this problem. If I were to use 3 volts to power the LED's where would I position the 3.3Ohm resistor in the circuit?
4. I have a momentary switch, I'd like to be able to press it to light up the LED's for 10 seconds and then it automatically turn off again. How do I do this? What additional component do I need for this timer to function?
I'm positioning the LED's behind one of the hard disk platters (clock face), one for each hour (maybe, or just several). I'm mounting a momentary switch to the front so when I want to check the time in the dark I just press it and the LED's light up for 10 seconds and go off again, while the clock is still powered by the single AA battery. I've got the LED's, 3.3Ohm resistors, momentary switch, wires and heat shrink.
I've built a clock out of a laptop hard drive. I want to add some LED's but I have some issues I need help with:
1. The clock mechanism is powered by a single AA battery, is 1.5 volts enough to also power up to 12 red 3mm LED's?
2. I do have the option of using two AA batteries to power the LED's though, is 3 volts too many for the 3mm LED's?
3. I read somewhere that 3 volts would burn coloured LED's out sooner than if they were white. I also read that including a 3.3Ohm resistor would solve this problem. If I were to use 3 volts to power the LED's where would I position the 3.3Ohm resistor in the circuit?
4. I have a momentary switch, I'd like to be able to press it to light up the LED's for 10 seconds and then it automatically turn off again. How do I do this? What additional component do I need for this timer to function?
I'm positioning the LED's behind one of the hard disk platters (clock face), one for each hour (maybe, or just several). I'm mounting a momentary switch to the front so when I want to check the time in the dark I just press it and the LED's light up for 10 seconds and go off again, while the clock is still powered by the single AA battery. I've got the LED's, 3.3Ohm resistors, momentary switch, wires and heat shrink.