GUIDE INDEX
All 150 pages
Work through them in order, or jump to whatever you need.
LED Basics
- 001 — What Is an LED?
- 002 — How an LED Produces Light
- 003 — Anode and Cathode Explained
- 004 — The LED Schematic Symbol
- 005 — LED vs Incandescent Bulb
- 006 — LED vs CFL
- 007 — A Short History of LEDs
- 008 — Forward Voltage Basics
- 009 — Forward Current Basics
- 010 — Why LEDs Are Polarised
- 011 — LED Lifespan and L70
- 012 — LED Efficiency and Lumens per Watt
- 013 — Why LEDs Stay Cool but Still Heat Up
- 014 — Reading an LED Datasheet
- 015 — LED Glossary for Beginners
Colours, Sizes & Types
- 016 — Red LEDs
- 017 — Green LEDs
- 018 — Blue LEDs
- 019 — Yellow and Amber LEDs
- 020 — Orange LEDs
- 021 — White LEDs
- 022 — Warm White vs Cool White
- 023 — Infrared LEDs
- 024 — Ultraviolet LEDs
- 025 — 3 mm LEDs
- 026 — 5 mm LEDs
- 027 — 10 mm Jumbo LEDs
- 028 — Surface-Mount LEDs
- 029 — Bi-Colour LEDs
- 030 — Flashing LEDs
Powering LEDs
- 031 — Ohm's Law for LED Circuits
- 032 — Choosing a Current-Limiting Resistor
- 033 — Resistor Value Worked Example
- 034 — Standard Resistor Values
- 035 — Resistor Power Rating
- 036 — Reading Resistor Colour Bands
- 037 — Powering an LED from a 3 V Coin Cell
- 038 — Powering an LED from 5 V USB
- 039 — Powering an LED from 9 V
- 040 — Powering an LED from 12 V
- 041 — Constant-Current Drivers
- 042 — Why Voltage Alone Is Not Enough
- 043 — What Happens Without a Resistor
- 044 — Reverse-Polarity Protection
- 045 — Measuring LED Current with a Multimeter
Wiring LEDs
- 046 — LEDs in Series
- 047 — LEDs in Parallel
- 048 — Series-Parallel Arrays
- 049 — Why Each Parallel LED Needs a Resistor
- 050 — Calculating Series Resistors for Many LEDs
- 051 — Maximum LEDs on a 12 V Supply
- 052 — Matching LEDs in a String
- 053 — LED Strip Basics
- 054 — Cutting and Joining LED Strips
- 055 — Common-Anode vs Common-Cathode
- 056 — Wiring an RGB LED
- 057 — Wiring a Seven-Segment Display
- 058 — Wiring an LED Bar Graph
- 059 — Voltage Drop on Long Wire Runs
- 060 — Choosing Wire Gauge for LED Projects
Driving with Switches & Transistors
- 061 — Switching an LED with a Push Button
- 062 — Slide Switch and Toggle Switch Basics
- 063 — NPN Transistor as an LED Switch
- 064 — PNP Transistor as an LED Switch
- 065 — MOSFET as an LED Switch
- 066 — Base Resistor Calculation
- 067 — Pull-Up and Pull-Down Resistors
- 068 — Driving Many LEDs with One Transistor
- 069 — Relay Basics for Lighting Control
- 070 — Optocoupler Basics
- 071 — Darlington Pairs
- 072 — Shift Register for LED Control
- 073 — Using a Logic Gate to Light an LED
- 074 — Flip-Flop LED Toggle
- 075 — Schmitt Trigger Basics
Timers, Flashers & Dimming
- 076 — The 555 Timer Basics
- 077 — 555 Astable LED Flasher
- 078 — 555 Monostable One-Shot
- 079 — Capacitor Charge and Discharge
- 080 — Two-Transistor Flasher
- 081 — Flashing LED Alternator
- 082 — What Is PWM?
- 083 — PWM Dimming Explained
- 084 — Choosing a PWM Frequency
- 085 — Analog Dimming vs PWM Dimming
- 086 — Potentiometer Dimmer Circuit
- 087 — Fading LEDs with a Microcontroller
- 088 — LED Chaser Circuit
- 089 — Knight-Rider Style Scanner
- 090 — Night Light with a Light Sensor
Displays & Indicators
- 091 — Power Indicator LED
- 092 — Status LED Colour Conventions
- 093 — Seven-Segment Display Basics
- 094 — Multiplexing Displays
- 095 — Dot-Matrix LED Displays
- 096 — Scrolling Text Displays
- 097 — LED Bar Graph Indicator
- 098 — VU Meter with LEDs
- 099 — Battery Level Indicator
- 100 — LED Thermometer Display
- 101 — LED Digital Counter
- 102 — LED Clock Display Basics
- 103 — Large LED Clocks
- 104 — LED Stopwatch Display Basics
- 105 — Queue Number Token Displays
Microcontrollers & LEDs
- 106 — Blinking an LED with a Microcontroller
- 107 — Microcontroller Pin Current Limits
- 108 — Sink vs Source Current
- 109 — Driving LEDs with a Transistor from a Pin
- 110 — Reading a Button to Control an LED
- 111 — Debouncing Explained
- 112 — PWM Output on Microcontrollers
- 113 — Charlieplexing Basics
- 114 — Driving a Seven-Segment with a Microcontroller
- 115 — Driving a Matrix with a Microcontroller
- 116 — Addressable LED Basics
- 117 — Powering Addressable LED Strips
- 118 — Colour Mixing with RGB LEDs
- 119 — Gamma Correction for LED Brightness
- 120 — Simple LED Sequencer Program
Power Supplies & Batteries
- 121 — Choosing a Battery for LED Projects
- 122 — Battery Life Calculation
- 123 — AA and AAA Battery Packs
- 124 — Lithium Coin Cells
- 125 — Rechargeable Li-ion Cells
- 126 — Using a Wall Adapter
- 127 — Linear Voltage Regulators
- 128 — Buck Converters for LEDs
- 129 — Boost Converters for LEDs
- 130 — Constant-Current LED Driver Modules
- 131 — Solar-Powered LED Lights
- 132 — Capacitors for Smoothing Supplies
- 133 — Fuses and Circuit Protection
- 134 — Heat Sinks for Power LEDs
- 135 — Thermal Design Basics
Projects
- 136 — Your First Breadboard LED Circuit
- 137 — Build a Torch with LEDs
- 138 — Build a Bicycle Safety Light
- 139 — Build a Simple Continuity Tester
- 140 — Build a Polarity Tester
- 141 — Build a Mains-Presence Indicator Concept
- 142 — Build a Touch-Activated LED
- 143 — Build a Clap-Activated Light
- 144 — Build a Dark-Activated Lamp
- 145 — Build a Dice with LEDs
- 146 — Build a Traffic Light Model
- 147 — Build an LED Christmas Star Chaser
- 148 — Build a Desk Lamp with White LEDs
- 149 — Build a Sound-Reactive LED Strip
- 150 — Build a Countdown Timer Display