FreeTrack Forum

Hi all. I am starting to build my first 3point cap and have a question about the LED Wizard.

I am using 3.6V recharagable battery, three 1.2 foward volt IR LED's from RadioShack and put in 50mA for the foward current (the LED's are rated at 100mA max). I have been looking high and low on the site and got some great ideas here, but am confused at what the LED Wizard is telling me.  

It says the folowing:

SETUP MODEL 3 LEDS clip on headset or 3 LEDS cap
(6 DOF - all rotations and translations)
POWER SUPPLY Power supply (V) 3.6 V
LED Led forward voltage (V - manufacturer info) 1.2 V
Led forward current (mA - manufacturer info) 50 mA
LED ASSEMBLY P : parallel assembly
RESISTOR COUNT 3 resistor(s) needed for the complete kit
RESISTOR THEORICAL VALUE 48 Ohms
RESISTOR CHOICE E24 SERIES Resistor value 51 Ohms 5%

Current 47.1 mA
Dissipated power 0.11 Watts
Total current in assembly 141.3 mA

Now, does this mean that I need THREE 51 Ohm resistors (one for each LED) or THREE 16 Ohm resistors (totaling the 48 Oms theoretical value) for each one?

Thanks for the assist and I am really looking foward to completing this project!!

You will need three 51 ohm resistors

for the parallel setup.

Perfect! I can add the resistors in series to add to about 51, then wire the whole thing in paralell! Thanks for your help!