LEDs for the Clueless Beginnner

In this tutorial, we'll learn all about using LEDs in electronics projects. Don't worry if you don't know what that means! You'll learn. You'll learn what an LED is, what a resistor is, how to choose a resistor for your LED, how to read the color code on a resistor, and the correct way to plug an LED in so that it will light up.

Ready to make some lights? Let's get started!

"Wait a second!" You cry, "What in the world is an LED and what is this resistor thingy?!" Don't worry, I'll show you right here.

LEDs: LED stands for Light Emitting Diode, which basically means it does the same thing as a lightbulb. LEDs are somewhat different from lightbulbs, though. First, they work differently and are much smaller. Second, power can only pass through them one way- Like a one way street, and if you try going backwards, you don't get any light and no power passes through. That's what a Diode is, and the LED is just a special type of diode that also makes light. Pretty nifty, eh?

Resistors: Think of resistors like a dam on a river. Instead of letting all the water flow through, it 'resists' the water, holding part of it back. In electricity, there are two different aspects you'll be looking at: Amperage and Voltage. Amperage is like how fast the river is flowing, Voltage is how wide the river is. Resistors slow the current (Amperage) down. Resistors can be of different values, so some resistors will resist more than others.

You'd probably like to get started on using the LED right away, but there's a few more things.

Ohms Law: This is a formula for calculating resistance, current, or voltage, based on the other of the two. It's often represented as the triangles in the picture. The picture explains how to use it based on what you want to find out. V is Voltage, I is Current, and R is resistance (In Ohms). Resistors are measured in ohms, so this will be useful.

Color Codes: You've probably noticed by now that resistors have bands of color on them. This is how the value (In Ohms) of the resistor is marked. Some resistors are called "4 Band", and some are "5 Band". They're read the same, but the 5 band version has one more band for extra precision. The notes on the pictures explain how to read them.

Now that we know these things, we can calculate the value of the resistor to use with our specific LED.

There are two formulas we need to use.

Formula 1:

First, what's you supply voltage? If you're using an Arduino, a USB power supply, or a 3xAA battery holder, it'll be 5V. If you're using a 2xAA battery holder, then it's 3V. A breadboard power supply can output either 3.3V or 5V. Check the jumper on the pins to see which it's set to.

Second, what's your LED's voltage drop? We can usually use standard values here, since most LEDs are pretty similar. If it's red, use 1.8V. Orange/Yellow/Green is 2V, and Blue/White is 3.3V.

Finally, plug those numbers into the equation. For example, if you had a 5V supply voltage and a Blue LED, the formula looks like this: 3 - 1.8 = 1.2. So the voltage to use in the next equation is 1.2.

Formula 2:

This one is pretty easy to do. We can use standard value for everything but the value we just figured out. The formula looks like this: R = V / I. Replacing those letters with out values, R = 1.2 / 0.015, or 80 = 1.2 / 0.015. The V (Voltage) in the equation is replaced with the number we found in our earlier equation, and the I (Current) is replaced with 0.015, or 15 mAh, which is a good generalization for most LEDs. So, in this case we'd use an 80 Ohm resistor (Or whatever we can find closest to it).

Ready to go? Excellent! Here's what you'll need:

• A solderless breadboard
• Some low value resistors
• Some jumper wires
• A power source. I'm using a 2xAA battery holder, but you could also use a 4xAA battery holder, an Arduino, or a breadboard power supply.

Step 2 will help you figure out specific values, but if you've got an
Arduino kit, then just use the lowest value resistor that comes with the kit. Don't worry if it's 220 or even 330 Ohms, LEDs will work with those resistors. If you've gotten an Arduino kit, these will likely all be included.

Now that you've got everything, let's take a quick look at the breadboard. This is what we'll prototype our circuit on.

It's pretty easy to understand. The picture shows yellow lines along some of the holes, and red and blue lines. The lines indicate where the breadboard is connected underneath. The yellow lines are the workspace, where we'll build the circuit, and the Red/Blue lines are the power and ground buses. Red is power, Blue is ground. The bottom half is the same as the top half.

That's it!

One of the first things you'll need to power an LED is the power.

I'm using a 2xAA battery holder to power my breadboard, but some of you may be using an Arduino or a breadboard power supply, so I'll go over each of those.

2xAA Battery Holder: Take the red wire (Positive, Power), and plug it into the power bus on one side of the breadboard. Take the black wire and plug it into the ground bus on the same side.

Arduino: Take two jumper wires, preferably a combo of Blue/Red, or Black/Red. You can use any color wire, but it's good practice to have the power and ground wires follow these colors. Find the pins on the Arduino labeled "GND" and "5V". Those are your 5 volts output and ground. The red wire goes into 5V, the Black/Blue/Grey wire goes into GND. Then, the red wire goes to your breadboard power bus, the black/grey/blue wire to the ground bus on the same side.

Breadboard Power Supply: These things are pretty easy to use. Just take it and stick it in the end of your breadboard. Note! Make sure the "+" pin is plugged into the power bus, and that the "-" pin is plugged into the ground bus! Otherwise, if you plug anything into power that's damaged by reversing the power, it'll blow!

Ready to actually do stuff? Let's go!

Take your chosen resistor, and plug it into the breadboard as shown in the pictures. One lead (Wire) needs to be in the power bus, and the other lead in one of the yellow buses. (In the work area).

Plug the LED into the breadboard, with the Anode (Longer wire, this indicates the positive side) into the same bus as the resistor is plugged into. The cathode (Shorter wire, negative, ground side) can plug into the next bus over.

Take your jumper wire, plug one end into the bus that the cathode of the LED is connected to (The one that the resistor is not connected to), and plug the other end into the ground bus.

If all goes well, you should have an LED lighting up! If not, here's a few things to try: Make sure your LED is plugged in the right way around, if not, it won't work. Check your power connections too, make sure they're plugged in correctly. If you're using batteries, check to see if they're any good.

Hopefully now you've gotten an LED lit up on your breadboard, and you also know how to read resistors, calculate resistor values for LEDs, and how a breadboard works.

If you have any problems, suggestions, or found any errors, please inform me in the comments!