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Of course, it is not a fluorescent -- after all, we're supposed to be talking about LEDs here! By fitting a piece of white drinking straw between two LEDs, it sure can fool some people! With 150mA draw from an AA, it's bright too! The photo below was taken at 1/60sec f/3.4.|
Here's what is needed: | FJN965 NPN 1-amp transistor. (2) 25mA LED - I used 4.8mm wide-angle ones from eBay. They fit inside the narrow straws better; and they have a smoother light pattern. 390-ohm to 1K resistor. 470pF capacitor. Coil, 60 turns of AWG30 wire, center-tapped. 5uF capacitor. 1.5v or 1.2v battery 1 Piece of drinking straw. Paper and glue for battery holder. Lots of sticky tape. Start by making a holder for the battery: cut a 11" strip of paper as wide as the length of the battery. We need a bit of thickness here to isolate the coil somewhat from the metal casing of the battery, which will "short" out the impedence. As you roll the paper around the battery, apply stick glue (or white glue), which will strengthen the body. I also applied a layer of clear acrylic over the finished tube.
| The center-tap of the coil is brought up under the rest of the coil and is soldered to the wire from the 15uF capacitor. This forms the "switch" which also allows easy replacement of the battery. |
With a minimum of parts, placement is quite simple. Assembly should not take more than 1/2 hour. ENJOY! | | |||
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