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[on:]

I want to build a 8x8x8 cube! cubes fascinate me

so where is the cheapest place for this European man to get some LED's?

cheers

[Reply #1 on:]

I don't know if they deliver to Europe (may do) but at the moment Dick Smith in Australia has knocked down almost all of their hobbyist electronics to just cents per component. I got 200 Red, 200 Green and 200 Yellow LEDs for only a couple of cents each. Check out http://dicksmith.com.au/home-security/tools-hobbyist/hobbyist

They don't have RGB ones though which would make the cube useful.

Cheers
ajfisher

[Reply #2 on:]

Ebay has lots like that costing 10-20 euro for single color leds/ 60+ euro for 4 legged RGB-leds....

http://cgi.ebay.nl/500-PCS-5mm-Red-LEDs-Lamp-Lights-3000mcd-Bright-Bulb-/290562219632?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a6db9e70

http://cgi.ebay.nl/500-pcs-5mm-RGB-LED-4000mcd-Common-Cathode-Free-R-/150592175948?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item230ffe3f4c

[Reply #3 on:]

I would be wary with eBay tho, I ordered 200 white LEDs from China over a month ago and still don't have them. In fairness the seller did deliver some LEDs within about a week of the order but they were red instead of white. He said he'd send them again, but a month later they still hadn't arrived, so he's sent them again and I'm still waiting. Fortunately other distractions have slowed my work on my current project so it hasn't been too much of an annoyance.

[Reply #4 on:]

I also got some RGB LEDs from China and while they arrived and most of them did work, I think they are from the reject bin. The red colour was much much fainter than the other two and also varied a bit over the batch of 200. In fact one LED had a good brightness but I had to replace it to match the others.
You tend to get what you pay for.

[Reply #5 on:]

I would buy them from eBay - I am also building an LED cube (although mine is a 5X5X5, not 8X8X8). I bought the LEDs from eBay, and they came in a couple of days. I have soldered them all together, but I did not check if any do not work. I am just hoping...

Onions.

[Reply #6 on:]

It's probably more useful to know what seller(s) on eBay you've had success/problems with. I'm guessing there's probably even more than one in China. :-)

[Reply #7 on:]

True, but I wouldn't write my seller off altogether since he did actually ship the product pretty quickly, he just sent me clear red LEDs instead of clear white LEDs because of misinformation for his supplier. I've just been unlucky with stuff getting lost in the post or whatever.

[Reply #8 on:]

How about ledshoppe.com? They seem to have good deals on 500 - 1000 5mm single-color leds. http://www.ledshoppe.com/led5mm.htm

[Reply #9 on:]

Led cubes look much better when using diffused leds so that their light is evenly spread over a wide viewing angle. I think you will be disappointed if you happen to go with clear or 'high brightness' leds.

Lefty

[Reply #10 on:]

LEDshoppe is based out of china... I think their LED's are somewhat better in quality than the ones you get from ebay.  I bought a 100-pack of blue and so far no rejects out of 40 or so tested .... .whereas the ones I got from an ebay seller had at least a couple rejects.   The main problem is that since they are out of china you will have to wait 2-4 weeks for delivery. That is really annoying for me and so I am looking for a good/cheap USA distributor for next time.   Any ideas? 

[Reply #11 on:]

Led cubes look much better when using diffused leds so that their light is evenly spread over a wide viewing angle. I think you will be disappointed if you happen to go with clear or 'high brightness' leds.

There ought to be a cheap way to turn a clear LED into a diffuse one?  Dip in the right kind of glue and then into icing sugar perhaps? 

[Reply #12 on:]

There ought to be a cheap way to turn a clear LED into a diffuse one?  Dip in the right kind of glue and then into icing sugar perhaps? 

Several ways I'm sure. Emery cloth, sandpaper, etc. However with 125 leds it would become a real chore and trying to make them identical might be a challenge. Diffused leds don't cost more, and they are best choise for led cubes in my opinion and experiance having built a 5x5x5 blue led cube.

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313&_nkw=leds+diffused&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Lefty

[Reply #13 on:]

Ive  gone through roughly 1500 or so LEDs from taydaelectronics and have only had 20 or so baddies. 

They're around $2.00 US per hundred and ship to EU. 
http://www.taydaelectronics.com/servlet/the-LEDs/Categories

While you're there, avoid the caps but stock up on headers and dc jacks