LED's

[PaulC]

Steve I know that on your web site you showed at one point doing some testing with LED's, but did you try the ones that looked like the MR16 halogen lamps they are supposed to put out at least 300 lumens. Was thinking that they might work in place of the MR16 halogens and keep the heat down on the inside of the housing.

[bigbellydude]

Hi Paul,

I am by no means an expert, but I have been toying with the idea of using those Super Bright LED's, the clear ones that are way larger than most normal LED's. If I remember correctly, they burn about 1100 mA. They don't give off any heat, that I know of, and are available at Radio Shack.

Josh

[sthone]

I haven't tried any of the newer super bright LED's like those yet, (most of my tests were done well over a year ago) but LED technology (like everything else) is getting better and cheaper every year so hopefully this spring I will be able to get out and get some more tests going. They do sound ideal especially if they don't put off heat and use less draw.

I did have a friend test out some super Bright LED flashlights and they were wicked bright (say in a garage with no light) but as soon as they where in the water the light just doesn't project enough. Light does some funny things in water.....testing is half the fun though.

-Steve

[bigbellydude]

LED's would also be pretty easy to waterproof - all you would need to do is seal it in clear potting epoxy. I would attach the leads to regular wires before adding the epoxy, though. Other wise you would have to deal with tubing and electrical tape and stuff like that.

Your right, it does make for a good project. I will have to do some tests myself, with different colors and things.

[PaulC]

Yeah Steve I remember the testing that you did a while back with the LED's, I just may stick with good ol halogen, but I just don't know. These are the bulbs I was thinking about, but with highest lumen output I can find.

[sthone]

I like those, I wouldn't even have to change housings to give those a try. I'm going to look into finding a few of those to test out.

-Steve

[PaulC]

Hey Steve I don't know if you have a store near you called Meijer, but at any rate I can tell that I pick one of those bulbs up from them for ten bucks. It is 1.5 watt, but puts out 20 lumen.

[OCE Student]

Hey guys,
The LED MR 16 style bulbs from allelectronics.com seem really good, 175 lumens for .4 amps (1/4 of the draw of a halogen MR 16 means less voltage drop) for 8 dollars.
http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-st ... .NW/1.html
Another good option seems to be the 10mm led from electronics goldmine. If it really is 265,000mcd it converts to 100 lumens for .1 amps but this seems way to bright for that style led. I envision on of these in each corner of the frame for a seafox style rov giving 400 lumens for .4 amps.
http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/p ... ber=G16642
There are many options here but these seem like the most light for the least current

[PaulC]

Thanks for the input for where to get the good LED's.

[Forest]

how many volts does it run off.