I was perusing some LEDs on our favorite online auction site, and found that there are a plethora of automotive type LED replacement lamps available -- cheap. Dirt cheap, in fact. And to make it more interesting, they're available in several colors including red and green.
I decided to risk the princely sum of $5 -- including shipping from the Far East -- on a pair of 1156 replacements, one red and one green, each with 18 good sized SMD LEDs. These are the 5mm square LEDs with three emitters each. I figure if they don't work out, I'm only out five bucks.
They arrived this afternoon, and tonight I jumpered them across the motorcycle's battery to see how bright they are. The red one was plenty bright, no problem with that. The green was sear-your-retinas BRIGHT. Ridiculously bright.
I'll have to do some testing with a light meter to see just HOW bright they are, but I will say they will light up the garage pretty well. They've got LEDs facing all directions, so no problem with a highly directional pattern.
The real fun will be when the white one I ordered shows up. 120 white LEDs! I want to see if it will do as a strobe. Maybe, maybe not. Probably not. But for another $5, how could I not try it? Worst case I can make a darn nice emergency light for the house or something.
Anyone tried these as nav lights?
Linear Mode
