Super Short LED strip Voltage

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turboflush
 
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Super Short LED strip Voltage

Post by turboflush »

I am trying to make a illuminated Plexi display that is about 8" wide at the base.
So it only uses about 6 LED's on a RGB strip.

Battery packs can be rather large to nestle into the base. So I started looking at smaller packs. But the Voltage drops.
I found a RGB controller that says it will do 5v to 18v, however I have never seen RGB lower than 12v.

My understanding is that if I run lower voltage on the LED strip it will either run dimmer or not at all. thinking not at all with a controller in the mix

https://www.adafruit.com/product/875

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Super Short LED strip Voltage

Post by mikeysklar »

The voltage depends on the strip you are using.

The DotStar and NeoPixel strips Adafruit sells are 5v and can even run reasonably well with only 3v3.

It sounds like you are not using a microcontroller and powering direct. Which Adafruit RGB strips are you using?

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turboflush
 
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Re: Super Short LED strip Voltage

Post by turboflush »

I don't have a specific led in mind yet.
I have some 5050 12v rgb left over. It's all I have seen or delt with. 12v bat pack is just to big.

I thought the DotStar and NeoPixel required a special arduino controller? I don't want to get into that.

Is it a specific led chip that is lower voltage? 2835 I see on 12v also.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Super Short LED strip Voltage

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

The LED chips themselves run at around 3v-4v for the blue channel and less for the red and green. The 12v RGB strips typically put 3 RGB Leds in series along with some current limiting resistors. (That is why the cut-marks are after every 3rd pixel)

I don't know offhand of any analog RGB strips designed for lower voltages. However, I have run 12v analog strips as low as 9v with reasonable results. Overall brightness is a bit lower, and the color balance tilts a bit toward the red side.

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turboflush
 
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Re: Super Short LED strip Voltage

Post by turboflush »

I found this..
I wonder what the deal is?
XYOP Led Strip Lights Battery Powered RGB LED Lights Strip Battery Operated Led Battery Lights with 3 Keys Controller Battery Led Strip Rope Lights 2M 6.56ft https://a.co/d/7H7UNeT

Ultimately I want to order a long strand and be able to cut off the short chunk I need and add a battery pack and controller to it myself.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Super Short LED strip Voltage

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Looks like that one is designed for 4.5v (3xAA). You can see that there is just one LED chip between the cut marks.

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