r/led

I tried my 8x8 LED matrix behind a 200×200 mm black acrylic sheet, and the result looks fantastic — the dark acrylic diffuses the pixels beautifully with a smooth, soft glow and no hotspots. Even this quick test made the panel look surprisingly “finished”.

With that working, I’m moving forward on a small kitchen under‑cabinet smart light powered by SmaLiC ( Smart Light Controller).

Planned features:

• adjustable lighting
• animated transition when switching the light ON/OFF
• RTC clock
• cooking timer
• simple weather icons
• motion detector
• Home Assistant status icons
• 8 touch‑sensor buttons for direct control
• local web GUI + optional remote control

Now that the matrix + black acrylic combo looks so good, I’m curious what else people would want a small diffused 16x8 LED panel to show in a kitchen. Any ideas or suggestions are welcome.

I’d like to install a rectangle of led on my garden room ceiling. It will be surface mount channel and I’d like to have it dimmable on a mains dimmer. I will have a dedicated lighting way on the consumer unit to feed a light switch dimmer and a dimmable driver + cob led strip in channel.

The dimmer light switch will be to the right of the door with surface mount conduit to the consumer unit and a feed to the led driver.

Any tips on what to buy, look for, installation advice (I’m getting a sparky for the mains side of it) and generally anything I may not have thought about?

Would a diffuser be sufficient on the Alumiium channel or will it be like staring into the sun?

by NTS 3D Printing

My modular 3D printed LED grid system is finally finished
The setup is run by GLEDOPTO WLED controller running latest 16.0.1 version of WLED!
#3dprinting #wled #led

These three strips are obviously connected in parallel but touching the power leads to the ends of each strip in different combinations causes the strips to power on either one at a time or the left and right one , but all three will not light.

So like the post says, I bought a spool of these LEDs for a project. Anybody have ideas on how to remove the yellow silicone(?) coating so they are easier to bend?

I tried taking it off with a razor blade but it kills many of the LEDs whenever the blade contacts them

https://www.amazon.com/TOPAI-COB-Cuttable-Flexible-Lighting/dp/B0CWVBKXYY

So I'm trying to make a light up steering wheel for car meets like in the pic (unfortunately I can't find the actual one) by taking a clear resin steering wheel and laying LED filament in the back.

Can I wire it up in series, and connected to a USB plug that's wired to a car battery or is my very basic thinking going to have an issue? I've used USB ports wired directly to the battery before without issue, but I've never used LED filament.

Each 300mm section of filament requires 3v, so 12v total.

This is just a general question of theory

I'm installing a new LED bathroom light, and instead of a normal screw-down connector for the live and neutral wires as I expected you're meant to stick the wire in and then press down on the plastic clip to hold the wire in place.

First time I pressed down, and it broke. Absolutely stupid design.

This is the light: https://www.wickes.co.uk/Eglo-Fueva-6-LED-Ceiling-Light---Chrome/p/316040

I can still stick the wire in, and bend down the metal contacts. But to secure it so that the wires don't pull out, is standard hot glue safe to use here? Will the wires ever get hot enough to melt/smoke the glue?

I'm in the UK, so it's 230V ±10, and lighting circuits are 5-6 amps.

Thanks!

I am currently working on a 2D LED matrix project and am in the final stages. I went to a local plastic supplier and purchased some 1/8” frosted plastic for $90 (14”x40”).

The first time I purchased it, I took it home and found a corner was cracked from when they cut it. I took it back and had them re-cut a new one, and have found that there are some mild scratches across the surface… This time I had peeled the protective layer off of the plastic’s edges to make sure there were no cracks again, but I did not check the center!

Not familiar with the plastic business, is it expected to have imperfections like this or should this be an understandable reason to recut? I need a sanity check because part of me wonders if it is just because I noticed it that it is an issue?

I tried to build it with a minimal setup.

Hardware
STM32C011F4P6
4 resistors
13 LEDs

Programming setup
7-year-old, barely surviving MacBook Air
AuduinoIDE
ST-LINK V3-MINIE

Coding
ChatGPT

My outdoor lights are failing and my wife isn't happy. A couple of years ago, I replaced the driver in another one of these fixtures. That didn't fix this one.

The driver is a 350mA constant current with 18-33V. The bulb has no part number and I can't find a bulb to match this driver. I'm comfortable soldering but I could use some help finding the right replacement. Any ideas?

The driver (Amazon link).

I have a strip of 24V high density LED that I want to make some DIY aquarium lights from.

Obviously I can order some variable voltage USB single color drivers and set them up on a timer but these are LED'S!

Let's be futuristic!

Is there an existing driver I can use (or misuse) to either program at the computer or even on-integrated-screen, a fade in and out period in addition to programming a 24hr schedule?

I have an old aquarium light that had this feature (well the fade in/out was set at 15 minutes) and I may tear it open to see what it has inside- there's a good chance it's all potted though.

I would be willing to design and have produced a custom PCB to complete this project, and I am asking here to get advice instead of going to AI.

Even if you can just give me a basic rundown of parts I'd need I can probably put it all together on my own with a breadboard first.

LED Strip:

https://www.btf-lighting.com/collections/dim-fcob-5v-12v-24v/products/fcob-ultral-super-bright-high-luminance-dc24v?\_pos=3&\_fid=b3ef970fd&\_ss=c&variant=47266103984354

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice/thoughts on my new project. I’ve bought 3 new shelves for my daughter’s bedroom. I’d love to add some LED lighting but I’m somewhat put off by the task ahead, and would like advice.

The design (via ChatGPT) and the shelves are shown.

In an ideal world, I’d like to have 3 LED strips that can be controlled via a remote (and best case scenario are smart LEDs). There would be no cables on show.

The problem I have is I know this won’t be simple. I’ve tried to find battery powered LEDs but all roads keep leading to COB LED Lights.

The issue I have is I did want it to be minimal mess, but it looks like some chasing of the wall is going to be required. The wall is plasterboard by the way. I also don’t know if my shelves are fit for purpose.

On the current shelves I’m not sure if I could get away with putting the lights in option 1 or I’m best to go option 2? Also, can I get away with no diffuser on COB lights?

Would I need to router the channel for the LED?

What LEDs are best to use?

Basically. I need advice from the experts on what you’d recommend, and how you would go about it if you’re project.

My daughter is 4 but I feel the shelves/lights will grow with her so it’s worth putting in the extra effort

The lamp has 12 strips of 18 LEDs in series, each strip in a circular pattern around an old filament spool. The diffusor and other structural parts are 3D printed. It’s all held together by a 8mm threaded rod. The LEDs are controlled by a Gledopto controller. The 30W PSU and the controller sit in the bottom of the lamp.