LED strip technical - buolding and testing current.

D

DWD1961

[H]ard|Gawd
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Nov 30, 2019
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I needed to build my own strip lengths so I bought some 5050SMD strips RGB 12V and cut them up, soldered them, and now I'm int eh testing phase.

I'm current testing them with a multimter and I have 39 SMDs. I'm just running them wide open from a 12V power supply (All diodes in the SMD 100%), no controller between.

I feel them getting pretty warm. Not hot as in you cant touch them, but they are noticeably warm. Is that normal for a 5050 SMD?
 
It's normal for bright LEDs to heat up some, even the small ones on those strips.

If possible for your project, you may want to try backing the strips with a thin piece of aluminum to help dissipate away the heat.
 
BlueLineSwinger said:
It's normal for bright LEDs to heat up some, even the small ones on those strips.

If possible for your project, you may want to try backing the strips with a thin piece of aluminum to help dissipate away the heat.
Click to expand...
I don't want to take a chance on shorting them out.
 
DWD1961 said:
I don't want to take a chance on shorting them out.
Click to expand...

The backside of the strip is electrically isolated (at least all the ones I've seen are). The only place you might have to take any special care is at the solder points where the wires meet the strip, and a small piece of electrical tape will protect that just fine.
 
BlueLineSwinger said:
The backside of the strip is electrically isolated (at least all the ones I've seen are). The only place you might have to take any special care is at the solder points where the wires meet the strip, and a small piece of electrical tape will protect that just fine.
Click to expand...

After cleaning the solder joints with 99.9% iso alcohol, I used heat shrink insulation.
 
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