LED Throwies

Developed by the Graffiti Research Lab a division of the Eyebeam R&D OpenLab, LED Throwies are an inexpensive way to add color to any ferromagnetic surface in your neighborhood. A Throwie consists of a lithium battery, a 10mm diffused LED and a rare-earth magnet taped together. Throw it up high and in quantity to impress your friends and city officials.

Click on this link to see the LED Throwies in action in NYC thanks to resitor and fi5e!

Step 1 Materials List

LED throwies consist of only a few inexpensive parts and can be made for ~$1.00 per Throwie. You can reference the parts list below or download the attached spreadsheet for more info on parts, part's numbers, vendors and application notes.

Part: 10mm Diffused LED
Vendor: HB Electronic Components
Average cost: $0.20 avg per LED
Notes: Cost reductions for larger quantities. Comes in red, blue, amber, white in both diffused and clear. Diffused works better than water clear for the Throwie application. HB has even created a Throwies packs page with deals on 10mm LEDs and lithium batteries!

Part: CR2032 3V Lithium Batteries
Vendor: CheapBatteries.com
Cost: $0.25 per battery
Notes: Cost reductions for larger quantities. With the 2032 Lithium batter, depending on the weather and the LED color, your Throwie should last around 1 -2 weeks.

Part: 1-inch wide Strapping Tape
Vendor: Your local hardware store
Cost: $2.00 for one roll
Notes: One roll will make many throwies

Part: 1/2" Dia x 1/8" Thick NdFeB Disc Magnet, Ni-Cu-Ni plated
Vendor:Amazing Magnets
Cost: $13.00 per 25 magnets
Notes: Cost reductions for larger quantities

Part: Conductive Epoxy
Vendor: Newark In One
Cost: $32.00
Notes: The epoxy is optional.

Comments

[everythingdigital]

I have posted a how-to on making throwies with removable tabs where you can pull it out to turn the LED on and slide it back in to turn it bad off. It's not very hard to implement, and is quite useful for conserving battery power.

Here's the link: http://flickr.com/photos/everythingdigital/sets/72057594069888500/

I'm also working on throwies that automatically turn on upon sticking to something and off when they are removed (as suggested above), and I have a few prototypes working but there are still some bugs to work out.

[Q-Branch]

I have included your how-to on the G.R.L. Throwies site and in the upgrade section of the throwies instructables post. Thanks so much for the mods and looking forward to the next rev!

[sensoryhouse]

fun with LED throwies

[Kirbsome!]

INTRODUCING:

Throwies on steroids -
The LED ULTRIE!

7 LEDs arranged in a ring

[frenzy]

I have great news, you are today's winner of the "I Made It" Challenge for the month of june. Thank you so much for being a part of the instructables community and encouraging authors to post more projects!

For winning you are receiving a 3 month pro-membership.

http://www.instructables.com/community/June-is-I-Made-It-Challenge-Month-Win-a-Pro-Mem/

[thecrazymagnetman]

that is very cool!

[Archeraramis]

Thank you for sharing such great information with us. I really appreciate everything that you've done here and am glad to know that you really care about the world that we live in
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[Okawards]

heard of this great and famous Eyebeam R&D OpenLab. invented so many great things to human being, this instruct is so simple, but very nice, thanks!! crystal awards

[mohtaprashantrocks]

some one must make automatic catapults and then throwie war

[orsd]

IT would be fun to place these in Jell-o

[Shiply_Spain]

I should use those lights for my Christmas tree..xD

[kilves76]

If you pulse the led for example 60 times per second instead of continuous current, the battery will last many times longer yet the light stream will appear continuous to humans... there was a schematic about making a miniature led torch that works on this principle somewhere.

[epsilakis]

Hi, I'm trying to create these for lighting at my wedding reception. I plan on inserting them into paper lanterns. The reception is going to be held outside, and I'd love for the lanterns to light up as the sun starts to set. Is there a way to have them start to light up when it's getting dark?

And if not, what do you think would be the best battery to use to keep the LED throwies lit for over 12hrs?

I'm really new at these things, so the best terms to use, would be the basics. I'd appreciate it if you could even point me in the best place to buy what I would need to make them light up at dusk.

Thanks!

[RainbowBright]

Here ya go: http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/nightlight

[RainbowBright]

sorry... here ya go with the link: http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/nightlight

[ncunico]

What I need to know is, can a tiny wireless switch be made to turn this on or off. I am making a terminator appliance and need to be able to turn it on or off. It needs to be tiny to also fit under the appliance..

[sharpesharpe]

Does anyone know if i can do this LED thing with a larger battery so that i can run at least 20 lights for 4 weeks? can i use any battery?I have an art show that will up for a month and i want to light something up that does not have a power source nearby.

[slullin]

if your leds are 3volts and 0.02 amp,

0.02 x 20leds = 0.4amp per hour

0.4x24 hour per day = 9.6 amp on 3v for one day,

if you have a battery pack, 4AA batteries, 6volts, and the best amp possible (actually 2.7) , you can hold around 13hours,

with a car battery(12v 60Amp) , with 5x4 leds, you can hold 25,71 days

(12*60)/(9.6*3)

hope that it's right, and that it helps you ;-)

[genericanonymity]

"Note that the positive terminal on the battery has a larger contact surface than the negative terminal. The positive terminal extends around the sides of the battery. Don't let the cathode lead of the LED accidentally touch the positive terminal of the battery. This will create a short and cause the LED to function improperly."

Is this particularly common? I'm hoping to let people choose their own colors for an LED project, so I'm not intending to attach all LEDs to a battery in advance of the project.
If you know any good tricks to avoid letting the cathode lead from contacting the positive side of the battery, what are they?

[enemigo]

coat the battery with silicone or tape to only expose the actual front and back sides and not the wrap-around edge.

[Linkster999]

i think u have ur info wrong Cathode is positive and Anode is negative

[humming]

No cathode is definitely negative and anode is positive.

[tegan44]

It actually depends on who teaches you - Physics in high school and college taught me cathode is negative, anode is positive, whereas engineering classes in college taught me the opposite.

In the end it doesn't matter as long as you keep your conventions consistent and know how to correctly wire up circuits in practice.

[shilpi97]

you r correct.......

[snow2801]

how can they be a temporary alteration? They will still be there even when the battery has run out as the magnet will hold them in place, they could be too high to be removed.

[ilpug]

big deal.

[scottz29]

If I was a landlord, I certainly wouldn't want to clean them off my building, but hey, no big deal to you...

[Cv220]

I love this! i found this after i watched Step it up 3d. The main character did this, but instead of using magnets he used electrical tape. i wanted to learn how to make one and this was wonderful!

[bginnetti]

I'm doing a science project on LED throwies but my supplies haven't arrived yet, so i was wondering if someone can tell me the mass of one complete led throwie?

[JKPieGuy]

The only problem I see with this is having broken material and ruining a perfectly good """"Rare"""" Earth magnet. Other than that it seems like a pretty cool concept.

[schumi23]

Rare earth magnet is just the name. It is also called Neodymium magnets (might have mispelled that :))
They arent rares, which you can see from the price (though they arent free)

[christopher7]

I like your Ideas any way :)

[Azareraaj]

For some reason only part of the post is being viewed, is it my net browser or the site?


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[Liana123]

I love it.Excellent article.I am definitely going to put this into use one of these days.
I will be sure to let you know if I do.Great work! Dropshipping

[ms10]

cool keep up the good work

[DELETED_ichaljhe]

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[DELETED_coupon015]

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[alvaromanuel]

What's the "life time" of 1 of these?

[facilitator476]

Throwies can last a few days.

It depends on the LED (+++Brightness=+++Power used) and the battery used. LEDs can last quite a long time before burning out so the problem is the battery. Using a higher capacity or adding a resistor (bigger batteries will make the Throwie bigger and heavier and resistors will lower the brightness. This is why people want to make them with solar cells and photoresistors. Solar cells gather the energy and photoresistors will tell when it is dark enough.

[clinde]

How can I make these to where they have solar cells, then turn on when it is dark enough?? I'm brand new to this...