Model LED Lighting
 

Hi guys,

I am wanting to run some LED lights in a small scale model police car, has any one got any suggestions on what sort of battery, circuit, switches, suitable LED lights to use?

I don't have much room to play with so a 9V battery would be too big, maybe a couple of watch batteries would to the job,

The LED's would need to be two toned flashing blue and red, what could i use to make them flash ?

Any advice, has anyone done a project like this before ?

Cheers

If you want to do a flashing light bar, I highly recommend this: http://www.hobbypartz.com/41p-police...ight-Bar-2.jpg

It does run on 9v though, but you might be able to hook it up to a 2S lipo if that's what the model uses. If your model is really small, this light bar could be too big. It's for a 1/10 scale.

My other thought is you can buy pre-wired flashing LEDs that come in multiple colors on eBay, none that change colors from what I've found. You'll have to solder your own harness together and find a way to mount the lights as you desire, but with the right designs and figuring, you should be able to accomplish it going that route. I don't think watch batteries are going to be a very easy route or last very long at that. I think you'll have to find a more powerful power source such as the main battery or a 9v/(4) AA to get any kind of decent battery lifetime.

I'm assuming it's not an RC car?

if it's not an RC car, I'd recomend looking at the shops for something that can be adapted...
Things like
Flashing birthday cards.
Cheap toys
Party/hens flashers
Police for a push bike
flashing Christmas decorations

Yeah, what is the size of the model you're talking about? Besides the Police Lights that DieHarder linked, there are other pre-wired LED kits out there. Google is your friend. You could use the main battery to power the lights most likely. That Police light bar can be powered by 5V to 12V. A 2S Lipo is right in the middle of that range.

If you HAD to build one from scratch, the LEDs and wiring wouldn't be too hard, but making them flash the way you want, that would take more ingenuity. You'd need to design and build a much more complex system, probably using something like a 555 Timer IC. Do-able, but unless you're a real electronics geek willing to put in the research and time, you might be better off buying a setup like that Police Light kit, and disassembling it to make the lights fit your application.

You can buy colored LEDs that flash. Just two wires, red and black that you power up and they flash. No circuit boards, extras, etc. nothin.

No kidding? Never heard of those before. That would make things a LOT easier. Got a link?
Ah, found a few. Here's a place that has both the red and the blue LEDs you'd need. (Although the blue one is 3mm)
http://www.goldmine-elec-products.co....asp?dept=1245