retrofit compass light

[bikedaft]

is there an off the shelf red light I could buy to eg araldite to our compass, or am I better getting stuff from maplins?

its needs to be not very bright at all, tho can shield it etc if necessary

thanks

 

[sailorman]

a 12v green LED from maplins is what i have

 

[nigelmercier]

Just to clarify, there is no such thing as a 12V LED. What you have there is an 8p LED and 1p resistor. I bet Maplin (spit) charged more than 9p.

 

[sailorman]

Just to clarify, there is no such thing as a 12V LED. What you have there is an 8p LED and 1p resistor. I bet Maplin (spit) charged more than 9p.

I have a LED with 2 connections to it

i see the resistors are integral but not obvious, i asked for 12v & thats what i got

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/5mm-green-led-ck49d

 

[prv]

I have a LED with 2 connections to it & no resistor

The "12v LEDs" I've bought were normal (3v?) LEDs with a small resistor soldered to one leg and then covered with heatshrink. One might easily miss the small bump on one of the legs. I assume this is what Nigel's getting at.

Still, they're pretty cheap and the packaging's convenient, so why not? Saves me soldering the resistors on myself.

Pete

 

[bikedaft]

Just to clarify, there is no such thing as a 12V LED. What you have there is an 8p LED and 1p resistor. I bet Maplin (spit) charged more than 9p.

Fair point. I possibly still have the LED's and resistors from when i used to fit them to car dashboards to look like the car was alarmed. Mind you the flashing ones may be a bit distracting at 0300 at sea...

 

[oldsaltoz]

Don't forget to wind the wires together to avoid them creating their own magnetic field.

Good luck and fair winds.

 

[oldbilbo]

Don't forget to wind the wires together to avoid them creating their own magnetic field.

Good luck and fair winds.

And a hairy old navigator Shackleton who used to lecture on 'Compasses and Magnetism' on the Nimrod OCU was adamant that the direction of the 'twist' imparted to the pair of wires mattered, and that it should be clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere - and vice versa.