I'm doing a project using individual 12mm LEDs. I'm cutting one of these strands apart to get single LEDs: Amazon.com. My problem is the leads are not long enough for my application. I want to either add additional 3-wire ribbon (which I have) using some sort of solderless connector, or find LEDs with the same form factor but longer leads (about 6 inches on each end should do). Can anyone help me locate one or the other? Thanks!
Hi,
Why are you cutting them apart?
You are aware they are WS2811, programable LEDs, that is they are even when in the strip, individually programable?
Thanks.. Tom...
You can extend the wires using two chock blocks to lengthen the wires, but the real answer is to learn to solder.
Use the smallest 3A ones. Even then it is a clunky arrangement.
So what exactly do you mean by "on each end"?
Just what are you going to do with them?
Thanks for the feedback and questions, guys. Here’s some additional information and clarification.
The use is in light and music sculptures. Here’s an example:
I design my ceramic forms to use the 12mm lights. The piece in the video uses a 16-light strand. However, the piece I’m currently building is larger (and quite different) - the LEDs will be too far apart to use the strand “as is”. If the strands had 12” between lights I’d be golden, but it’s more like 4”. Hence the need to extend both ends (of wires from each light)
My quest for solderless connectors is not due to ignorance, it’s due to sloth. My current piece has
32 LED’s, and it’s the first of a series. That means 189 wire pairs that need to be stripped, twisted, soldered, heat shrunk. Here’s an example:
I’m an old guy, who has other things to do. Unfortunately, screw terminal blocks would save me no time at all. What I really want is something that would let me place-and-crimp 3 wires at a time, which would speed things up considerably. Wirefy (and probably others) make single wire crimp connectors, but I haven’t been able to find multiple wire connectors of this sort. Any ideas? Thanks!
Not retired then?
Indeed they would not.
OK, you have now explained what it is you want to do. That allows us to make sense of it.
Here's a radical idea: These chains are as you know, individually addressable. The version you cite are very bulky, so clearly you have plenty of space behind the installation. You could just as easily use only every third LED as those not needed can be concealed and will not be coded to be lit so will only draw about 1 mA each.
Your choice of 12 V lights shows you will not be powering by battery, so that 1 mA will be of no concern.
IF you need to guarantee they're dark, buy some suitable diameter black heatshrink, snip in 1" lengths, and slide them on the string, then shrink them over the unwanted LEDs. Simple, tidy. By the way, Amazon has some strings that have the LEDs at 4" intervals, so you may be able to blank every second one.
C
So why would you need to "guarantee" this? What is wrong with coding them off?
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