# Another LED Deal



## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Walmart Xmas LED replacements are 10 cents for four regularly 75 cents. I got 18 packages colored and white.

The second picture is blue to the right and white to the left.


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

2.5c a led thats not bad at all. inverted cone can be filed flat if needed
neat idea to display them though , lol


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

I had to go check,they do have an inverted cone! :laugh:
The tag said 18 cents but at the checkout it rung up 10 cents.

Now, I have to file them flat to see what the beam looks like.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*Golf Tee*

These type of LEDs are now common Xmas Lights. Today I bought a package of 12 from Lowes for just over 2 bucks. I got white. Now, Ialso have a bag of wood golf tees and I want to see what I can do with them. SO the first idea is to use one as a shade for an LED. These bulbs are 3/16ths so I drilled into the tee and drilled two I/16th holes for the leads. No that easy to do. I set the tee into a hole in my drilling block and held if fast with a set of pliers. I used a 1/4 drill to enlarge the hole to give me an edge on placement. SO I solderd them up and placed a straw over the leads. I was careless and should of worked the connection to a thin splice but I didn't. Perhaps If I cut the tee short I coild have gone with a narrower tube. This is how it came out.



















An earlier version I used a square edge wood wheel. These are not easy to find and the round corner wheels are much more common.


















The bulb is a round yellow T-5 and I placed the wheel upside down in the picture. oops


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## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

T-Man said:


> These type of LEDs are now common Xmas Lights. Today I bought a package of 12 from Lowes for just over 2 bucks.


I got the same deal the other day at Lowes. I got both color and white. I'm not sure the color LEDs are really color LEDs or white LEDs with colored plastic over them but they really look good. I want a lot of blue ones because I might make an aircraft runway on my layout ... more to come.


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

I was at Wal*Mart the other day and found 180 cool white LEDs for like $20, which works out to about $.10 per LED. These LEDs are going to eventually find their way into my buildings.

Massey


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

I found a ten dollar string of Xmas Lights for a buck or so, at a yard sale. I was also thinking of keeping the plugs from old lights as a sort of quick disconnect, if needed.


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

I was thinking the same thing with the plugs. Helps make life easier when it comes to soldering and when bulbs burn out the change is quick and easy.

Massey


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Since I routinely buy bare LED's for 20 cents or less, I can't see spending too much time trying to salvage them from old stuff.

FWIW, Lionel uses those Christmas light plugs in a bunch of their stuff, so I did salvage a bunch of those to put bulbs into.


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## Coastie (Oct 24, 2011)

I'm going to Lowes today, I'll have to check this out. Never really thought of using Christmas lights for lighting; that's why I have you guys!


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

With all the different types of bulbs out, after visiting a Target, Lowes,and HD, you certainly could make some unique lamp posts. I also check out 5 and below for inexpensive LED gadgets. In defense of Radio Shack, I have noticed a broad range of LEDs with mutil colored and different sized ones available. Shapes too! Jumbo and rectangular. 

My bulb box is not as big as John's. but it is getting there.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

T-Man, that's only one box, I have a bunch of bulbs that I bought in an assortment as well, I should picture those too.  

When I order LED's, I always order more than I'm going to use, sometimes a lot more. First off, it's cheaper per unit, and also there's only one shipping charge to pay. Finally, when I'm doing something new, I usually have what I need on hand, no need to order anything.


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## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

I got a string of white LEDs today at Hobby Lobby on sale for about $3. I cut them all out for use on my layout.

It's really a wonder that they still even sell the old strings of lights using bulbs anymore. Surely they will be history in a few years.


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

Now that the LEDs are getting cheaper I agree that the old school lights will be gone soon. I dont think we will see the end of the jumbo outdoor ones but the little ones sure.

Massey


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I got a couple of strings of 100 of the real lights for free, they were heading for my daughter's trash. Not sure what I'll use them for, but I figure I'll add them to the junk collection "just in case".


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> T-Man, that's only one box, I have a bunch of bulbs that I bought in an assortment as well, I should picture those too.
> 
> When I order LED's, I always order more than I'm going to use, sometimes a lot more. First off, it's cheaper per unit, and also there's only one shipping charge to pay. Finally, when I'm doing something new, I usually have what I need on hand, no need to order anything.


I didn't even think of there being more. It doesn't surprise me.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Here's some of the parts storage here, don't get me started on the closet!


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## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

Has anyone ever used the little Tea Light LEDs for anything? They flash randomly at different light levels. I got some the other day hoping to use the LEDs for a simulated fire maybe. 

Another tip is that you can get 2 Tea Lights for $1 at the Dollar store, and each comes with a brand new CR2032 cell, so you get 2 of those for a dollar as well. If you wanted to buy a new CR2032 cell at Radio Shack it would cost you $5! Granted they are probably a little better but still, I buy the Tea Lights just for the batteries sometimes when my Car remote or the like needs a new CR2032.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Good tip on the CR2032, I need a couple of those right now!


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## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Good tip on the CR2032, I need a couple of those right now!


I'm playing with a LED out of one of the Tea Lights right now. If you drive it with the Supertex constant current driver it tends to try to compensate for the changing current of the Tea Light, and it damps the flashing, so if you wanted to simulate perhaps a bad light bulb or such you could try that also.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I have discovered one small tip for blinking LED's. If you want multiple LED's to blink in sync, it's not sufficient to simply daisy-chain them with a limiting resistor. You also need to shunt the non-blinking ones with a resistor, I found that a 2.2K resistor worked well in my application. This got three lights blinking properly with one blinking bulb and two standard LED's. Without the resistor, they stay dimly lit during the "off" cycle, something that looked funky. 

I got to get some of those Tea Lights.


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

Speaking of blinking LEDS take a random blinking LED or have an LED hooked up to a driver that will blink the LED at random but quickly and put that in a shop, auto garage, or something like that to simulate welding. Blue or cool white work best for this.

Massey


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I have a Baldwin welding car that has a welder simulated with a randomly blinking LED, looks very cool.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

I would appreciate a picture of the tea lights. I am not sure of what they are.
5 and Below have immitation fire LEDs to replace candles in pumpkins. They may be similiar to the tea lights.

John, Nice Collection! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


If you search hard enough you may find a toy with an irregular blinking to pass off as a welder. I have a few "disc" that blink a few diferent ways. The disc is a black button of micro circuits found in most toys programmed to do different lights and sounds.

NOw, I am looking into the common household electrical box. New Thread.


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## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

T-Man said:


> I would appreciate a picture of the tea lights. I am not sure of what they are.














> LED Tea Light with flickering amber flame tip. Mimics the look of a real candle. Safe, no actual open flame. Use for weddings and other events with a no flame policy. Standard tealight size with an amber glow, just like a fire burning candle. LED tea lights are revolutionizing the candle industry. LED bulb has no smoke or flame so it's safe near decorations, kids and pets. On - Off switch on the bottom. CR2032 lithium battery yields over 100 hours of use.
> 
> Safe no flame or smoke
> CR2032 lithium battery included
> ...


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

WOW, they do flicker and have a flame to boot!!!!!!!! :thumbsup:


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Thought I would add this video.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*Investigative Report*

Lowes has Tea lights too. I bought six at half price for 2.78, These are 5 mm LEDS compared to K marts 3mm.I will have to do a comparison later. The LED replacement are 50% off too. They had clear whites and color in 5mm. DO you see the light?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I see the light!


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*LED three color Christmas Tree*

This season's deal of the day is at Walgreen's. I found a clear and a green acrylic Xmas tree powered by three small batteries and turns different colors. Red, green and blue and is about six inches high. There may be taller ones but I have yet to see one in a store. Pictures to come.


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

For all you folks buying strings of christmas lights to get your LED's, I have to ask -- why pay extra for all the stuff you're throwing away? Check the deals from China on ebay. You can get packs of 100 5mm white LEDs for around $3.50. You can get packs of 100 flashing (steady flash, not random) LED's for around $6. Just add an appropriate resistor for the voltage you are using, and you're done. If the LED is too bright, use a larger resistor. And of course they have all other colors available as well. Granted, because these ship from China you may have to wait up to a month for them to arrive.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I buy all of my LED's in bulk as you describe. The flickering LED's in various colors are only 22 cents or less, and typically for the standard LED's in various colors, I pay a couple of cents each for them.

Since they're so cheap, I just keep a lot of them in stock in various sizes and colors, that way I have them when I need them and don't have to wait for Chinese shipments.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*LEDs in golf tees*



T-Man said:


> These type of LEDs are now common Xmas Lights. Today I bought a package of 12 from Lowes for just over 2 bucks. I got white. Now, Ialso have a bag of wood golf tees and I want to see what I can do with them. SO the first idea is to use one as a shade for an LED. These bulbs are 3/16ths so I drilled into the tee and drilled two I/16th holes for the leads. No that easy to do. I set the tee into a hole in my drilling block and held if fast with a set of pliers. I used a 1/4 drill to enlarge the hole to give me an edge on placement. SO I solderd them up and placed a straw over the leads. I was careless and should of worked the connection to a thin splice but I didn't. Perhaps If I cut the tee short I coild have gone with a narrower tube. This is how it came out.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 You may have an exciting new product here. You can use lighted tees when you play golf at night! 

Traction Fan


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

Now you just need to make a glowing golf ball that gets power generated from hitting it.


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