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...
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 metal pins used to plug a module into a breadboard or connect it with jumper wires. Pre-soldered headers make the module easier to use straight away without needing to solder the pins yourself.
- LED
- A light-emitting diode is a small electronic component that lights up when current flows through it in the correct direction. In this kit, LEDs create the flashing effect, so polarity and correct soldering matter for the project to work.
- PCB
- A printed circuit board is a rigid board with copper tracks that connect electronic parts without loose wires. For this kit, the PCBs also form the airplane shape, so they are both the circuit base and part of the finished model.
- 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.
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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