Introduction: Easy Sew Able LED Tester

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This project allows you to quickly test sew able LED's. With this project you can:

Test LED's before sewing

Test LED's that got accidentally mixed up in a group for color

Test LED's to make sure they are the same shade of color

Step 1: Items Needed

You will need the following items:

One 2032 coin cell battery

One 2032 coin cell battery holder

One perf board (bare or solder able)

One red and one black jumper wire (with at least one of the sides male)

Equipment: soldering iron, solder, diagonal cutters, wire strippers, knife, plus a sense of patience and adventure

Optional: hot glue gun and hot glue

Step 2: Cut and Strip the Wires

Cut the jumper wires, leaving each with a male end. Strip the ends, leaving about 1.5 centimeters bare. Make sure to twist the copper wire so that it will easily fit through the holes of the perf board.

Step 3: Cut the Perf Board

Score an outline of the area you want to cut on the perf board with your knife. Carefully flex the board until the scoring breaks. If the break is ragged, you can trim it or sand it smooth. Leave a hole on each side were the terminals on the battery holder goes. To keep the battery holder in place I glued it to the board, or you could bend the leads in the board to pin it.

Step 4: Wrap Then Solder the Wire (check for Polarity!)

Look at your battery holder and match the side to the correct polarity of the battery. The rim of the coin cell is touched by the battery holder which is the + end (red jumper wire). Thread the wire through the nearest hole to the correct terminal. Wrap the bare wire around the terminal and solder in place. Trim any remaining wire.

Step 5: Finish Soldering

The other terminal is the - end (black jumper wire), which is the center of the coin cell battery. Stick the wire through the perf board, wrap it around the terminal and solder in place.

Step 6: Optional Hot Glue Blobs for Strength

The wires can flex and eventually break on the top of the device. I like to add hot glue blobs around the wires to add strength and make them last longer. It the wires were project was in a box it would not matter, but because they move around a lot they can break.

Step 7: Finished Product Ready for Testing!

Insert the coin cell (+ side up) and now you are done. Align the right jumper pin with the right end of the LED and you can test if it works. Now you can test them at will, demonstrating the full power of this battle station! I mean tester, getting ahead of myself again. Sorry.