SparkFun
LED Brightness Adjuster Kit
· MPN: SPX-21226
This handy kit gives you a simple way to compare and tune the brightness of your own LEDs, helping you avoid a project full of mismatched indicator lights. I...
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This handy kit gives you a simple way to compare and tune the brightness of your own LEDs, helping you avoid a project full of mismatched indicator lights. It was originally designed for side-by-side LED testing and is especially useful when choosing resistor values or learning how brightness changes with resistance.
The PCB slots into the power rails of a breadboard, and you can stack up to 10 boards next to each other for comparing multiple LEDs. Each board provides five LED footprints for different SMD and through-hole sizes, although only one LED should be fitted to each board.
Brightness is adjusted with a 10k linear potentiometer, with a 100 Ohm resistor in series to help protect the LED from burning out. Silkscreen markings around the potentiometer show approximate resistance, and the R+ and R- test points let you measure the exact resistance with a DMM.
The kit includes the PCB, potentiometer, 100 Ohm resistor and breadboard headers. LEDs are not included, and the kit is not pre-assembled, so it is a good soldering practice project and a practical introduction to Ohm’s Law. This is a SparkX experimental product: it has been tested, but is supplied with no guarantees and live technical support is not available.
Features:
- Breadboard-friendly: Designed to slot into the power rails of a breadboard.
- Stackable testing: Stack up to 10 boards next to each other for side-by-side LED comparison.
- Multiple LED footprints: Includes five footprints for different sizes of LEDs, including SMD and through-hole.
- Adjustable brightness: Uses a 10k linear potentiometer to adjust LED brightness.
- LED protection: Includes a 100 Ohm resistor in series to help protect the LED from burning out.
- Resistance markings: Silkscreen labels around the potentiometer indicate approximate resistance.
- DMM test points: R+ and R- test points allow measurement of exact resistance with a DMM.
- Kit format: Includes parts for assembly and is suitable for soldering practice.
- Bring your own LED: LEDs are not included so you can test your own parts.
Specifications:
- Board mounting: Designed to slot into the power rails of a breadboard.
- Board stacking: Stack up to 10 boards next to each other.
- LED footprints: 5 different footprints for different sizes of LEDs (SMD and through-hole).
- LED population: Only one LED should be added to each board.
- Potentiometer: 10k linear potentiometer.
- Series resistor: 100 Ohm resistor.
- Test points: R+ and R-.
- Resistance measurement: Measure the exact resistance with a DMM.
- Included: PCB.
- Included: Potentiometer.
- Included: 100 Ohm resistor.
- Included: Headers for connecting into a breadboard.
- LEDs: NOT included with this kit.
- Assembly: The kit does not come pre-assembled.
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- Headers
- Rows of connector contacts on a fixed pitch (commonly 2.54 mm) used to link a board to a breadboard, jumper wires, or another board. They come as male pin headers and female socket headers; when a module ships with pre-soldered headers it can be used straight away, whereas bare pads require soldering the pins yourself.
- LED
- A light-emitting diode (LED) is a small electronic component that emits light when current flows through it in the correct direction. Because it only conducts one way, its polarity matters, and a through-hole LED must be soldered the correct way around to light up.
- PCB
- A printed circuit board (PCB) is a board, usually rigid, with etched copper tracks that connect electronic components together without loose wiring. Components are mounted on the board and signals route between them through the copper layout.
- potentiometer
- A variable resistor usually turned with a knob or shaft to create an adjustable electrical signal. It is often used for inputs such as volume, brightness or position, so it helps beginners learn how a microcontroller reads changing values.
- SMD
- SMD means surface-mount device, a component style designed to be soldered directly onto the surface of a circuit board rather than through holes. SMD parts are compact and mounted flat on the board, which suits smaller and mass-produced designs.
- through-hole
- A mounting style where the component leads pass through holes in a circuit board and are soldered on the other side. Through-hole parts are often easier to handle and solder by hand, which is useful for classroom and hobby projects.
LED Brightness Adjuster Schematic
Schematic · 66.8 KB · Click any page to view full size
Supplier page — sparkfun.com
Supplier Description · 431.6 KB · Click any page to view full size
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