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This is driving me crazy, but all I need is a small battery powered LED kit that can change intensity (like a slow transition from bright to dim, over and over).

Ive seen them, I know they exist. Basically like the little tea candles people put in pumpkins or lanterns, not a flickering light but a slow pulsing light. The brighter at the peak, the better. I dont need a special color, regular white light is perfect.

I know this should be easy to google but I cant seem to find what I need, any help is appreciated.

I know what you're talking about but can't remember the name either. Take a look at this site. Hope it helps.

http://www.bakatronics.com/shop/

Apparently some people call it a "breathing led", at least, if I assume I know what you're referring to.

http://sean.voisen.org/blog/2011/10/breathing-led-with-arduino/

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LM358-Breathing-Lamp-Parts-Kit-Interesting-Product-Suite-Led-5MM-Light-Blue/371218915808?epid=502278028&hash=item566e5f21e0:g:tyoAAOSwbwlXCH-2

There's a somewhat greasier way to sort out a pulsing LED... well to make it flash.. and give you some control over that rate.

You can wire two nifty pieces of circuit into your LED's loop to make it pulse and adjust the frequency.

The first part is a capacitor - they'll charge to capacity then pulse before charging again. You might need to look up the voltage you want so you don't wind up overloading the LED.

The second part is where you get the adjustible frequency, and that's a Variable Resistor. What it does is allow you to scale the resistance it puts on the circuit. You put it between the Battery/Switch (if you have a switch) and the Capacitor, with the LED at the end of the chain.

Most VR's have a dial on them, they're the mechanic behind a dimmer switch. But if you put resistance on the lead to the Capacitor, you slow how fast the capacitor charges between pulses, allowing you to adjust the frequency of the strobing effect.


THAT is, really, if you want to get a little further down the rabbit hole and wire it yourself.

Gundor2 wrote:I know what you're talking about but can't remember the name either. Take a look at this site. Hope it helps.

http://www.bakatronics.com/shop/

Solid, thats a great place to start.

daedalus wrote:Apparently some people call it a "breathing led", at least, if I assume I know what you're referring to.

http://sean.voisen.org/blog/2011/10/breathing-led-with-arduino/

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LM358-Breathing-Lamp-Parts-Kit-Interesting-Product-Suite-Led-5MM-Light-Blue/371218915808?epid=502278028&hash=item566e5f21e0:g:tyoAAOSwbwlXCH-2

Very cool. I should have known breathing was the right term, my mouse does it, after all. I was also told that:

"The key phrases in the LED industry for this are variable pulse and slow fade."

Its so much easier to find what I need now that Im not a dork googling with all the wrong terms.

Sauragnmon wrote:There's a somewhat greasier way to sort out a pulsing LED... well to make it flash.. and give you some control over that rate.

You can wire two nifty pieces of circuit into your LED's loop to make it pulse and adjust the frequency.

The first part is a capacitor - they'll charge to capacity then pulse before charging again. You might need to look up the voltage you want so you don't wind up overloading the LED.

The second part is where you get the adjustible frequency, and that's a Variable Resistor. What it does is allow you to scale the resistance it puts on the circuit. You put it between the Battery/Switch (if you have a switch) and the Capacitor, with the LED at the end of the chain.

Most VR's have a dial on them, they're the mechanic behind a dimmer switch. But if you put resistance on the lead to the Capacitor, you slow how fast the capacitor charges between pulses, allowing you to adjust the frequency of the strobing effect.


THAT is, really, if you want to get a little further down the rabbit hole and wire it yourself.

Unfortunately (embarrassingly) thats something over my head for now, but Ive been meaning for years to get with it and learn more.