LEDs on a flag

Community Projects
1

A student in my STEM class wants to essentially set up a chain of LEDs to make a flower on the flag she uses for flagline (and also to perform in our school’s talent show). I assume coin batteries to power ~60 LEDs is not the best way, nor are alligator clips, so I need your help. What would you suggest for “chaining” and powering lots, of a few different colors, LEDs on a flag?

2

Hello doyler83.

It depends on your circuit, but generally you can run about 10 Lilypad LEDs per coin cell battery, per hour OR 15 Lilypad LEDs per coin cell battery per about 40 minutes. To connect everything the easiest thing to do would be to sew the LEDs together in parallel with conductive thread in groups of 10-15 per battery. Keeping the batteries close to the LEDs will help them be a bit brighter and make the batteries last a little bit longer.

Here’s a list of some suggested items:

  • - [[Conductive thread](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10867)
  • - [[Sewing needle](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10405)
  • - [[CR2032 batteries](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/338)
  • - [[Lilypad battery holders](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13883)
  • - Lilypad LEDs in [[red](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14013), [[blue](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14012), [[green](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14011), [[yellow](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14014), and [[white](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13902)
    • [/list] - *Keep in mind that white and blue LEDs need slightly more voltage than the other colors so try to keep those close to your batteries for best results.*

    The link below shows how you would connect the LEDs to a battery. For more than one LED, you would connect the remaining LEDs in parallel with the first. Make sure that your positive and negative threads don’t touch each other anywhere or they will short circuit causing the LEDs not to light and the batteries to run down rapidly.

  • - [[Experiment 1: Lighting Up a Basic Circuit](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/ldk-experiment-1-lighting-up-a-basic-circuit)
  • - [[Experiment 2: Multiple LED Circuits](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/ldk-experiment-2-multiple-led-circuits)
    • [/list]

    You may find you need to experiment with the number and color of LEDs and how they are connected together to get the best results.

    Hope this helps, and we wish you luck with your project!](LDK Experiment 2: Multiple LED Circuits - SparkFun Learn)](LDK Experiment 1: Lighting Up a Basic Circuit - SparkFun Learn)](LilyPad LED White (5pcs) - DEV-13902 - SparkFun Electronics)](LilyPad LED Yellow (5pcs) - DEV-14014 - SparkFun Electronics)](LilyPad LED Green (5pcs) - DEV-14011 - SparkFun Electronics)](LilyPad LED Blue (5pcs) - DEV-14012 - SparkFun Electronics)](LilyPad LED Red (5pcs) - DEV-14013 - SparkFun Electronics)](LilyPad Coin Cell Battery Holder - Switched - 20mm - DEV-13883 - SparkFun Electronics)](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/338)](Needle Set - TOL-10405 - SparkFun Electronics)](Conductive Thread Bobbin - 30ft (Stainless Steel) - DEV-10867 - SparkFun Electronics)