Why do LED flashlights need a solid state chip board to operate?

Grahamione
Grahamione Posts: 1
edited April 2011 in The Clubhouse
In regular flashlights it is just a contact from the bulb to the bateries. what dose the solid state do to the light to make the bulb brighter?
Rei coupon
Post edited by Grahamione on
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  • Sherardp
    Sherardp Posts: 8,038
    edited April 2011
    Why don't you ask Google? I did, and it came back with this

    http://www.mbworld.org/forums/off-topic/394917-why-do-led-flashlights-need-solid-state-chip-board-operate.html

    http://www.plumbingzone.com/f10/why-do-led-flashlights-need-solid-state-chip-board-operate-13213/

    http://scubasg.com/index.php?topic=2245.0

    Now my question is how many more forums are you going to spam with this?
    Shoot the jumper.....................BALLIN.............!!!!!

    Home Theater Pics in the Showcase :cool:

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showcase/view.php?userid=73580
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  • maximillian
    maximillian Posts: 2,144
    edited April 2011
    I'm an EE so I will answer... the chips are regulators that regulate power to the LED. Without the regulators the LED could go into a runaway condition. You see, LED's were originally developed using technology from the Roswell crash. As such they are not fully understood and if they overload they can open a gateway to an invading world. Either that or simply stop functioning. NOBODY wants to find out though so all LED flashlights by international law must carry these regulators.
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  • BeefJerky
    BeefJerky Posts: 1,320
    edited April 2011
    maximillian wrote: »
    i'm an ee so i will answer... The chips are regulators that regulate power to the led. Without the regulators the led could go into a runaway condition. You see, led's were originally developed using technology from the roswell crash. As such they are not fully understood and if they overload they can open a gateway to an invading world. Either that or simply stop functioning. Nobody wants to find out though so all led flashlights by international law must carry these regulators.
    Winning!
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  • disneyjoe7
    disneyjoe7 Posts: 11,435
    edited April 2011
    ^^ HeHe :smile:

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  • JustinHEMI
    JustinHEMI Posts: 198
    edited April 2011
    More than winning, bi-winning.
    Fronts: Polk RTi A9's
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  • Joe08867
    Joe08867 Posts: 3,919
    edited April 2011
    Alien Winning!!!

    Awesome answer Maximillian!!!!
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  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,809
    edited April 2011
    Grahamione wrote: »
    In regular flashlights it is just a contact from the bulb to the batteries. what does the solid state do to the light to make the bulb brighter?

    It doesn't make the bulb brighter. LED are semi-conductors, Light Emitting Diodes. They don't operate the same way as incandescent light bulbs.

    Also, LEDs usually require, like maximillian said, a power regulator and a switching diode or relay. Regular flashlights use the voltage output of the battery as a finite regulator since the battery cannot discharge at greater rate than it's peak and it continually drops the rate as the battery discharges. LEDs typically use a fraction of the voltage coming out of the battery and therefore need a regulator to step things down to their level. Regular flashlights also have a switch, your thumb moves it and it's typically just two sliding pieces of copper with wires soldered on to the ends.

    An LED though, since it uses such a low power level, won't work the same with a switch. The leads needed to endure the abuse your thumb causes on a flashlight switch would not be able to be fully energized with the current being used by the LED illumination circuit. The little LED would not have enough juice to even turn on. So, to alleviate that, they will use a switching diode or a relay which allows the switching circuit to use a higher voltage that then flips the relay on the lower voltage and operates the light.

    That and they do it just to piss you off.

    Oh, BTW, fixed your speeling in the quote.
    Expert Moron Extraordinaire

    You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
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  • bobman1235
    bobman1235 Posts: 10,822
    edited April 2011
    I liked the aliens explanation better.
    If you will it, dude, it is no dream.
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited April 2011
    LED's are alien technology we gleened from Roswell in the 50's...........
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • Airplay355
    Airplay355 Posts: 4,298
    edited April 2011
    Jstas wrote: »
    Oh, BTW, fixed your speeling in the quote.

    Irony at it's best.
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  • JustinHEMI
    JustinHEMI Posts: 198
    edited April 2011
    lol-cats_i-love-this-thread-so-much.jpg
    Fronts: Polk RTi A9's
    Center: Polk CSi A6
    Surrounds: Polk FXi A6
    Sub: Epik Empire
    Receiver: Onkyo TX-NR809
    Amp: Emotiva XPA-3
    Blu Ray: Panasonic DMP-BD210
    Power: Monster HDP 2500
    Monitor: Panasonic TC-P60ST30
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited April 2011
    Airplay355 wrote: »
    Irony at it's best.

    Yea...you need to calibrate your sarcasm meter again.
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • ryanjoachim
    ryanjoachim Posts: 2,046
    edited April 2011
    Airplay355 wrote: »
    Irony at it's best.

    Fail.
    MrNightly wrote: »
    "Dr Dunn admitted that his research could also be interpreted as evidence that women are shallower than men. He said: "Let's face it - there's evidence to support it."
    mystik610 wrote: »
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    My System:


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  • Airplay355
    Airplay355 Posts: 4,298
    edited April 2011
    Whoops. Guess I get to be captain of this ship for a while. failboat.jpg
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  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,809
    edited April 2011
    Airplay355 wrote: »
    Irony at it's best.

    It was intentional just to grasp the irony with both handys!
    Expert Moron Extraordinaire

    You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
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  • maximillian
    maximillian Posts: 2,144
    edited April 2011
    For the skeptics out there... I know what I am talking about. I design specialized LED lighting for a living. Check out this baby I recently did. There's like 3 LED's on this board and the main one (off-camera - wires at top lead to it) consumes LOTS of power. All this stuff is needed. Some of the parts have to come from government approved warehouses too. Yes, that big chip in the center is a mini computer. It is there to make sure nothing goes wrong. If it does, then it shuts everything down. This board was a pain because of all the redundancy and backup I had to add. But I guess knowing how to navigate the myriad of regulations out there is what keeps me employed. This job is not for the faint of heart.
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  • nadams
    nadams Posts: 5,877
    edited April 2011
    "There's like 3 LED's on this board..."

    You designed it, and you can't state exactly how many LEDs are on the board?

    :p
    Ludicrous gibs!
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  • strider
    strider Posts: 2,568
    edited April 2011
    Worst

    Spam

    Ever.
    Wristwatch--->Crisco
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  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,809
    edited April 2011
    strider wrote: »
    Worst

    Spam

    Ever.

    Oh, c'mon! Sometimes it's fun playing with spammers!

    Isn't it ironic? Like rain...on your wedding day? :tongue:
    Expert Moron Extraordinaire

    You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
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  • Airplay355
    Airplay355 Posts: 4,298
    edited April 2011
    Or likes 10,000 spoons when all you need is a crane to turn your boat ride side up?
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  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,809
    edited April 2011
    Airplay355 wrote: »
    Or likes 10,000 spoons when all you need is a crane to turn your boat ride side up?

    Or a free ride, when you've already paid.
    Expert Moron Extraordinaire

    You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
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