Attempting tri-purple

[Obese Wan Kenobese]

Ok, so I thought I could get a deep red and 2 royal blue to be predominantly blue, such that filters could shift among pinks and deeper purples while being brighter than regular DVA. But, I underestimated the dimness of royal blue and the power it takes to run them over the red LED. So, it's a very reddish pink mix that no amount of filtering seems to defeat the red and allow the blue to show.

How much resistance on the red LED do I need? Will it work, as these are wired parallel? Will the resistor mess with the buck puck set up?

[scifidude79]

I can answer a couple of your questions. Yes, it will work with a resistor, as the LEDs are in parallel. If they were in series, it wouldn't work. The resist only on one of the wires for the reds will resist only that red. That's how Ultrasabers does their mixed colors, and I've done it myself in a build or two. No, it won't bother the buck puck, it will still work fine. Again, this is how Ultrasabers does it.

As for which resistor to use? I certainly don't know. I've tried doing purple before, and fuly intend to do try purple in the future. I actually thought 2x Rb and 1x Dr would bee a good mix for a deeper purple. The red is indeed very powerful, so it's not surprsiing you need to add more resistance to it. Let us know if you figure anything out, this is a subject I'm very interested in.

[Infinit01]

This is what I did on my custom purple color.

I attached a .5 ohm resistor to the negative red LED side, 2.7 ohm to the positive red and positive side of the blue LED. Yes, you can share resistors, it’s a really nice shade of purple and takes away from the red so it won’t be pink

[tx_tuff]

This is what I did on my custom purple color.

I attached a .5 ohm resistor to the negative red LED side, 2.7 ohm to the positive red and positive side of the blue LED. Yes, you can share resistors, it’s a really nice shade of purple and takes away from the red so it won’t be pink

If you are not using the same companies LEDs then the resistors he needs could be totally different.

[Infinit01]

If you are not using the same companies LEDs then the resistors he needs could be totally different.

I use TCSS' XP-E2s just like US.

[scifidude79]

Naw, it's more fun to get cheapo RGBW Crees from China. You never know what you're going to get when you mix colors.

[Infinit01]

Naw, it's more fun to get cheapo RGBW Crees from China. You never know what you're going to get when you mix colors.

So true though and when you blow the LEDs out, you're not as upset if you have any emotions towards it

[scifidude79]

So true though and when you blow the LEDs out, you're not as upset if you have any emotions towards it

I bought a five pack last year, all five are working great and are in sabers.

[imgumby001dammit]

My ratio isn’t as good on generic leds, but they didn’t cost anything serious, so who gives a schnit. Also, I made a sweet purple with red, blue, and just a touch of free. Definitely not a traditional purple, but it was cool. I’ll try to do it again to show.

[scifidude79]

I never said generic, I said Crees.

[Obese Wan Kenobese]

If I'm understanding, and I don't have a lot of knowledge here, then the deep red is not giving much resistance, and all the power is running that way instead of to the royal blues. It really isn't giving much blue at all. I'm totally lost as to what ohm watt level of resistor I need for this. I need more blue!! I suppose I'll buy a 1 ohm, 3 ohm and 5 ohm. Test each one with alligator clips and solder the one that looks best. This will be a week before I have what I need.

[scifidude79]

Use as little resistance on the blue as you can without blowing out the LEDs. For the red, you're just going to have to experiment with different levels of resistors until you find the right one. It's a process of trial and error, there's no easy answer. I've never been able to make a purple that's not too pink to me, but that's using standard red and blue, not deep red and royal blue.

[Obese Wan Kenobese]

Same here. That's why I was hoping double deep blues and purer red would get me what I'm wanting. It's got a buckpuck in the saber, so I thought I don't need to resistor the blues. Just the red, cuz it's suckin' all the juice.

[scifidude79]

Oh yeah, buck puck. Yeah, the blue is fine.

[Obese Wan Kenobese]

Alright, so I bought different Ohm options from TCSS. The photos on their site didn't clue me in what physical size these resistors would have, so I'm glad the 1 ohm fit and puts the royal blues on level playing field with the deep red. Essentially, all three run at full power. This doesn't achieve the deep color I wanted, but filters from Lee will tone the red down until I get what I want. The fun is that I can use this as a hot pink with all three running, and then tone down to any shade of purple that R+B can make. And, some of my emitters fit with enough space that the filter rattles around making a random changing Bane's Heart-Deep Violet Amethyst when I spin.

For those interested in repeating this, 2.6 Ohm on the deep red gave a good DVA. I went for the 10Watt rating, which made it too big to fit in the saber. I should have varied my selections or at least asked them about size first. This is my first attempt soldering resistors. The 1 Ohm 5Watt fits and runs them each close to equal.

Side by side pictures to follow, when my eyes unfog from melting tiny things together with dangerous heat.