How do I hook up a simple LED strip?

[Tactical Ex]

I have a modded versa wing that I want to install white LED lights on. I want to run it off of the 3C battery I already use to power the motor and I want to be able to turn it on and off with a switch on my Tx.

I know I will need a to use a Y connector (XT60) to run power from the battery to the motor and LED strip and that I will need to plug the LED strip into the receiver on an AUX channel or a channel I don't use.

Other than that what else do I have to do? Programming the Tx? In line Voltage control? Any insight is appreciated.

 

[rcspaceflight]

I think the only real way to make a switch is to cut apart a servo.

This is how the three wires work. The positive wire is always hot. The negative wire is always grounded. And the signal wire pulsates power through it. I've tried hooking up an alarm straight to the signal wire and it sounds like static. It flickers on and off very fast and literally has a signal through it.

So you can't simply wire an LED strip unless you want it on all of the time.

If you have an old servo that has a stripped out gear or you don't want anymore, then take that apart and all you want from it is the chip. Simply wire the strip to where the motor for the servo was hooked up. I believe you can cut off the potentiometer, you don't need it if you're just using the servo as a switch.

 

[rcspaceflight]

Well, you probably want to keep the potentiometer attached to the chip. When I used a servo as a switch it was to activate a signal loss alarm that I made.

So keep the potentiometer, play with the settings on your Tx so a switch is hooked up to the channel you're using. And then play with the potentiometer until the switch works to turn on and off the LED strip. (I'm assuming that the LED strip is 5V because that's how much is run through the Rx and servos.) Once it's all working the way you want, and then glue the potentiometer in place so it doesn't accidentally get turned.

 

[Flynn]

I used this on my gear channel, http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...ver_Controlled_Switch.html?strSearch=receiver controlled

It's on backorder

 

[Tactical Ex]

Would something like this http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__40044__Turnigy_TX_Controlled_Relay_Switch.html or this http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__40044__Turnigy_TX_Controlled_Relay_Switch.html work?

 

[Scratch]

Couldn't you use an ESC as a receiver controlled switch?

 

[Tritium]

http://www.pololu.com/category/142/rc-switches

Thurmond

 

[jeffbuck]

i just plug mine into the balancing port on my battery so they stay on as long as its plugged into the battery. It was the easiest solution for me since id didnt feel the need to turn them on and off during flight

 

[rcspaceflight]

Would something like this http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__40044__Turnigy_TX_Controlled_Relay_Switch.html or this http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__40044__Turnigy_TX_Controlled_Relay_Switch.html work?

I think those would work. But if you don't mind doing the work, servos are cheaper and hopefully you have one laying around that you could use instead of having to wait for an order to show up. ... and pay shipping for one small item.

I promise you it's not that hard to take apart a servo and solder the motor wires to your LED strip. I know there are some videos on YouTube and I think a Flite Test forum thread and a Flite Test article on how to use a servo as a switch.

 

[Craftydan]

Keep in mind the servo hack is for LED's biased for 5V. If that LED strip is biased for 12V (which they typically are) the LED's won't light up.

 

[lonewolf7717]

I used this on my gear channel, http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...ver_Controlled_Switch.html?strSearch=receiver controlled

It's on backorder

I have couple of these and they are great! Really like the fact they have preset functions to chose from if radio signal is lost....the on/off alternately function has helped me find a plane before.

 

[Tritium]

Well you could always use the servo arm to actuate a micro switch the absolutely simple mechanical non servo hack the existing hardware way. No voltage issues then!

Thurmond

 

[DDSFlyer]

Keep in mind the servo hack is for LED's biased for 5V. If that LED strip is biased for 12V (which they typically are) the LED's won't light up.

Would the LEDs just be dimmer if hooked up to the 5v vs the 12v? I've heard of them being made for 5v and plugging them into 12v and being good but wouldn't last long? Can a servo hack be plugged directly to a 12v power source?

 

[Tactical Ex]

I want to use the 12v LEDs because there will be quite a few and I want them to be fairly bright. That being said, it has to be a solution that uses a 3C lipo. The switch Flynn mentioned is exactly what I was hoping would be available. Hooking power up isn't really the issues its more of a question of how do I enable the switching with the Tx. Will flipping the switch on the Tx from 0 to 1 be enough to trigger the receiver switch?

 

[Craftydan]

For that switch module, yes, and looks like the jumpers on the end allow you to pick what happens when you flip that switch on your TX.

 

[bitogre]

Couldn't you use an ESC as a receiver controlled switch?

If you are talking about an ESC for a Brushed Motor, that should work but an ESC for a brush-less motor will not work. The advantage of using an ESC for a Brushed Motor is it will give you dimming capability.

 

[Flynn]

I have couple of these and they are great! Really like the fact they have preset functions to chose from if radio signal is lost....the on/off alternately function has helped me find a plane before.

That's a great idea!

 

[Craftydan]

If you are talking about an ESC for a Brushed Motor, that should work but an ESC for a brush-less motor will not work. The advantage of using an ESC for a Brushed Motor is it will give you dimming capability.

This is *mostly* true . . . If you can flash simonK, there are versions that will turn the brushless ESC into a muli-output controller. downside is it will take a flashing and some recoding to get it working as you like it, but theoretically you could run up to 6 independent strings (three pairs of opposing diodes with PWM switching between them).

I've also run single 12v biased LEDs pigtailed off a pair of motor leads for boom end lights. They work horidly with the motor disconnected but with the nice inductive load the motor provides, the LED lights up above 15% throttle and is at full brightness around 30%. I'd be leary of running a long LED strip, but the motor/ESC shrugs off the extra load from a single LED.

 

[rcspaceflight]

I've used a servo to make a switch to power something over 5V by adding a relay into the mix. But then it becomes the same price as a part from hobby king and a lot more work.

http://www.flitetest.com/articles/black-box-alarm-system

If you went that route, you'd probably want to keep the potentiometer attached to the servo so you can have it activated by a switch. I just used the servo as a signal loss alarm.


The sad thing is that I spent all that time making a great signal loss alarm and then I never used it.

 

[lonewolf7717]

Something about RC Hobbyists drives us to look at a $4 Chinese made device and say to ourselves "shoot I can make that!!". We then spend 3 times as much money and endless hours building a far more complicated approach that only works 50% of the time if we hold our mouth right. I spent 4 hours last night building a simple gimbal with a couple servos and rate gyros....put a bobble head on it and now have no clue why in the world I spent all that time on it.....but loved every second.