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Fretboard LEDs

#21
I've honestly never heard of anyone ever doing this, but it sounds like it could be great if done well. If you're only using 3 LEDs it may not be an issue, but be careful about overheating. You may need to use a heat sink if you use more though. Parallel is definitely the way to go. You can go series if you want, but you have to add the voltage drop of each LED into your equation to get the resistor value right. Also, if you're in series and you burn out one component, everything dies. It's a little harder to troubleshoot if you don't have experience, but not much.

Keep in mind: when using common resistors in parallel, the total circuit resistance will be equal to the resistor value divided by the number of resistors. So when you add resistors in parallel, you are effectively lowering your total circuit resistance. Lower this too much and you'll not only drain your battery faster, but run hotter.
 
#23
I remember when this town had an Ace Hardware. Heck, there were even two in town for a little while. Now, the only hardware stores in town are Home Depot and Lowe's. And they don't have...well...much of anything that is useful to me.
 
#24
HaMMerHeD said:
I remember when this town had an Ace Hardware. Heck, there were even two in town for a little while. Now, the only hardware stores in town are Home Depot and Lowe's. And they don't have...well...much of anything that is useful to me.
Click to expand...

Is got lucky. In a five mile radius I have 2 useful hardware stores and a great lumberyard.
 
#28
HaMMerHeD said:
I remember when this town had an Ace Hardware. Heck, there were even two in town for a little while. Now, the only hardware stores in town are Home Depot and Lowe's. And they don't have...well...much of anything that is useful to me.
Click to expand...

Home Depot & Lowes aren't really in the 'hardware' business. They are actually more akin to home repair/decor stores. However, they do stock a little bit of hardware, like window & door hardware that the compant I work for supplies them. But if you need nuts & bolts and stuff youre better off finding and Ace or Menards somewhere.
 
#30
dBPete said:
Keep in mind: when using common resistors in parallel, the total circuit resistance will be equal to the resistor value divided by the number of resistors. So when you add resistors in parallel, you are effectively lowering your total circuit resistance. Lower this too much and you'll not only drain your battery faster, but run hotter.
Click to expand...

I solved this by converting both my active basses to wall-wart power on the preamps. If you do that, you can add as many LEDs as you want. I have one on my frankenbass so I can see when the power's on.

I used a TRS cable and a homebrew battery clip shorter. As long as the grounding for the batt is through the ring, this works great. There's another thread on this if you're interested:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f38/tired-buying-9-volt-batteries-719302/
 
#31
Rip Topaz said:
Heat won't be a problem. I'm only using 1 LED, and fiber optics.
I found the bit I need at my local Ace. Go figure.
Click to expand...

That's awesome! You should post some pics when you're done. You've kinda got me interested in maybe doing something with some bi-color LEDs.
 

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