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Step 3Prepare the LED for attachment to the USB cable
In this step, you will prepare the LED for attachment to the USB cable.
1. Look closely at the LED. You will notice that the wires (leads) coming out are of two different lengths. The longer lead is called the "anode". The shorter lead is called the "cathode".
2. Cut off about two thirds of the anode and about two thirds of one of the leads on the resistor. It doesn't matter which lead of the resistor you use.
3. Solder the anode to the short lead on the resistor as shown in the second image for this step. The soldering can be a little tricky at first and may take you a couple of times to do it. What I do is slightly bend the leads so that they lay flat on a surface. I melt some solder on the tip of the soldering iron and then gently touch it to the leads and lift the tip way. The wires will then be attached as shown in the image.
4. Next you need to cut a small piece of wire and strip off the end. You can use uninsulated wire if you want since you will be adding insulation in a later step. In a similar fashion to the previous step, cut of two thirds off the cathode and solder the wire to it as shown in the third image.
5. Cut the newly soldered wire to make it the same length as the anode/resistor and strip the end as shown in the last image in this step.
1. Look closely at the LED. You will notice that the wires (leads) coming out are of two different lengths. The longer lead is called the "anode". The shorter lead is called the "cathode".
2. Cut off about two thirds of the anode and about two thirds of one of the leads on the resistor. It doesn't matter which lead of the resistor you use.
3. Solder the anode to the short lead on the resistor as shown in the second image for this step. The soldering can be a little tricky at first and may take you a couple of times to do it. What I do is slightly bend the leads so that they lay flat on a surface. I melt some solder on the tip of the soldering iron and then gently touch it to the leads and lift the tip way. The wires will then be attached as shown in the image.
4. Next you need to cut a small piece of wire and strip off the end. You can use uninsulated wire if you want since you will be adding insulation in a later step. In a similar fashion to the previous step, cut of two thirds off the cathode and solder the wire to it as shown in the third image.
5. Cut the newly soldered wire to make it the same length as the anode/resistor and strip the end as shown in the last image in this step.
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