posted
Okay, I like the little lights back lighting a interior sign or letters. Where do you start? Do you just buy the lights, connect them behind the sign/letter/shape and then hard wire the last wire to a plug in of some kind. Does the wiring have to be done by a qualified electrician? And what does LED stand for? "Little Electrical Dingbats"
-------------------- Signs by Alicia Jennings (Mudflap Girl) Tacoma, WA Since 1987 Have Lipstick, will travel. Posts: 3812 | From: Tacoma, WA. U.S.A. | Registered: Dec 1999
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Some LED's are able to run on 110, and some run on 12 volts DC or 24 volts DC.
I put some on a restaurant, several years ago, that were 110 volt...just attached them to the building, and plugged them into an outlet...no ballast or transformer.
A tanning spa, with LED neon, was 24 volt. They provided an inverter.....wired that in, and just plugged that into an outlet also. 9 years, and it's still going strong.
I didn't get any UL or permits; but it probably depends on how sticky the regs are, in your area. I'd think, if you can get ones that just plug in, maybe you don't need all that BS.
-------------------- Dale Feicke Grafix 714 East St. Mendenhall, MS 39114
"I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." Posts: 2963 | From: Mendenhall, MS | Registered: Apr 1999
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posted
Most LED's I've seen are 12 volt and each brand will have the proper transformer for their lights. In fact they will have several transformers depending on how many LED modules you will be connecting to the power supply. It is very easy. Your supplier will have these as a continuous string with the LED modules already spaced the proper distance from each other depending on the spread angle of each LED. Most come with double stick tape already applied to each module. You just find out what the spacing is and then figure your needed length. Your supplier will have the info as to what size transformer you will need. They should already be UL approved. In my area, if the transformer is going to be wired directly to 120v supply, legally it needs to be done by an electrician and needs to have a shut off switch. You should check your local code.
My very first experience with LED was the sign shown below where I cut the cross out of HDU on my cnc, hollowed out the backside, epoxied some Dibond strips inside the hollowed out area and attached the LED's for a halo effect. We located the transformer inside the sign and had an electrician hook up the power supply. Easy peasy.
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5396 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
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