Introduction: Usb Led
i was messing with some leds the other day when i found that it would be brilliant to not worry about wasting the batteries using a led so i made this
Step 1: Things You Will Need
scissoirs
pliers
soldering iron
knife
solder
e-tape
820 ohm resistor(grey,red,brown)
LED
usb lead(male)
Step 2: Cut Em Short
cut the led and resistor legs short. make sure you know which is positive and negative on the led!
Step 3: Solder
solder the resistor to the positive leg of the led.
Step 4: Kill the Usbted
cut and slice and get frustrated with the usb until it comes open then strip the black and red wires and cut the others off.
Step 5: Solder 2f the Led
solder the resistor to the red and the negative of the led to the black.
Step 6: Wrappin'
wrap the whole thing in tape apart from part of the usb and the led
Step 7: All Done
plug in and bing! zap! pretty light
15 Comments
8 years ago on Introduction
Quite ugly but working.
I also would rather make a "snake" and for this good powersource more than one LED in parallel.
8 years ago on Introduction
You don't need to slice open the plug, just attach the LED and resistor to the Red/Black (or whatever colours the maker of said cable had that week) wires, and you have a "snake" light! But otherwise, nice 'ible, dude!
13 years ago on Introduction
You realize a usb led is almost completely pointless. If you were to use it to test potentially broken usb ports it would have a small amount of (Insert clever synonym for usefulness here).
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
Pointless? No. My desk is covered with small hand tools and parts that can be played with via 5V ~500mA. Great way to build stuff without having to worry about the weight batteries introduce.
But while we're talking USB this page: pinouts.ru/Slots/USB_pinout.shtml
"... short the 2 data lines together. The device will then not attempt to transmit or receive data. but can draw up to 1.8A if the supply can provide it."
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
USB port are 5V 100 mA only!!
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Why, good sir, one could use 12V cigarlighter->5V usb-converter when testing simple gadgets not requiring computer thus avoiding those grievious accidents.
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
nifty for a guide light for plugging things into the back of a desktop =)
13 years ago on Introduction
what is e-tape?
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
E-tape (electrical tape) is usually black, but you can get it in a rainbow of colors. You can buy it at Wal-Mart, Radio Shack or even a dollar store.
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
ohhhh, you mean the black electrical tape, usually made of PVC?
13 years ago on Step 7
Wow, this was actually a neat simple instruct.
Good job. I needed a flashlight attachment for my laptop when the power goes out and I think this should work.
13 years ago on Introduction
its my first instructable so its not the best ever but at least you can see whats happening in the photos. im making soon a soldering workstation out of a old school desk you know the ones that you open up and put stuff in
13 years ago on Introduction
Good concept, decent execution, but...
https://www.instructables.com/id/Macro-Photography-An-Essential-Skill-for-Good-Ins/
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
Agreed
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
I post that link a lot...it should be required reading at the 'please title your new instructable' screen.