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Return to BlogBlinking Circuit with High Power LED
Posted Feb 08, 2012 at 2:48 pm
Figure 1
The project illustrates high power LED being driven to create a cheap and simple blinking LED.
The idea behind the blinking effect is done by connecting the LED in series with a blinking light bulb which has a bimetallic strip inside. The circuit disconnects until it cools down when the strip gets hot enough. The LED and the light bulb turn ON when the circuit initially turns ON. The strip bends as the light bulb warms up which turns OFF both the LED and the bulb. The strip will snap back when it cools enough thereby repeating the process and causing the power LED to blink.
The blinking bulbs are available in a variety of different sizes if this type is used with high-enough power LED, making the circuit scalable. The blinking bulb can also be taken from a set of Christmas lights which are designed to run around 3V at 100-200mA. This rating can drive 1W LED but a bigger blinking light bulb and large heatsink can turn the LED into full brightness.
The power source can come from 4 AAA batteries to produce 6V pack with a current range between 150-250mA.
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2 years ago: I noticed the shape & size of the heatsink, is it intentionally designed or can I make it larger?