Halloween How-To's

Simple LED Coin Battery Circuit with Switch

by Thomas Ojeda

click on images to see larger ones

Tools

Soldering Iron

Wire Strippers

Small Screwdriver

Ceramic Tile (or other heat-resistant surface)

Materials

 

Solder

Cyanoacrylate Glue (Super Glue or Krazy Glue

3 volt LED

3 volt coin lithium battery

22 gauge insulated wire

Coin battery case

Slide switch

The battery case I have is oxidized. Oxidation or corrosion won't let you make a good solder connection.

It needs a good cleaning, either with sandpaper or by scraping with a small flat head screwdriver. Be sure to scrape the leads and contacts where they touch the battery.

Scrape the bottom of the battery case and one side of the switch to give them some "tooth" for the glue.

Carefully glue the switch to the battery case as shown. Make sure that the switch doesn't touch either of the battery case leads. Let set for 10 minutes.

This is how it should look.

Cut a 3/4" piece of the 22 ga wire. Strip off about 3/16" off of both ends of the wire.

Solder one end to the negative lead of the battery case. Solder the other end to

the closest switch lead

On an LED, the longer lead (wire) is positive. On the base of the LED, there will be a flat side; this means that the lead next to it is negative. It's important to know which lead is which before soldering.

It's easiest to solder the LED

in this order:

Bend the end of the positive lead of the LED and hook under the positive lead of the battery case. Solder in place.

Bend the negative lead of the LED to reach

the 2nd switch lead. Solder. Make sure the connections are solid.

Put the battery in the case and

switch on!

See? You can do it.

With a little planning, you can add more!

All parts were bought at Industrial Liquidators in San Diego or

at Swap Meets. The LED's were part of a group buy with the CalHaunts

group. (thanks guys!) Radio Shack should carry most of it, if not all.

You can make many of these little guys cheaply.

We used a white LED here, but we plan to use alcohol dyes

to make many different colors.