circuit help

[saltynay]

Admins this isn't really computer related so place where you see fit I just want the attention of people that have circuit knowledge.

BACKGROUND Story:
Had a drunk night out last night and woke up with a photo sensitive traffic cone lamp in my room like this
Monolamp Torches and Lamps Directa

I was about to throw it away when I came up with a wild idea to turn it into a powerful LED lamp for parties as its photo sensitive it could be a leave outside and forget thing for a few days

just to clear up I have no real electronic knowledge just school stuff and GCSE DT

SPECIFICS:
So I am going to add a simple switch from battery to main circuitboard is there any issue with this? its a 6V battery (defiance 4R25)
I am thinking of using about 50 LEDS in a dome shape of this one battery....
I am unsure how to mount the batteries atm possibly use a plastic bowl with lots of holes in then solder the leds in a linear fashion

Any potential hazards or straight up flaws with this plan???

 

[El_Roberto]

Sounds like a good plan to me, how many Amps is the battery though? the only flaw i can see is battery life 50 led's would draw quite a bit of current, if they are 30mA x50 =1.5Amps so depending on your battery it might only last an hour or 2 tops.

 

[saltynay]

I don't know I will be using the battery from the original traffic cone light which I believe is designed to power 2 LEDS for several days I have also changed the plan so the LEDS are no longer mounted on a plastic bowl but instead
Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen Craft Stainless Steel Collapsible Steaming Basket 23cm: Kitchen & Home
It opens like flower with the LEDS on the central section

 

[S0ULphIRE]

I'd like to see a pic of the actual cct board, but so far it seems to be a good idea. Mebbe you could post one on photobucket/imageshack?

If you had enough know-how, you could just build a transformer and plug it straight into the mains. I mean, it's unlikely you'll be partying too far away from a power socket anyway.

 

[El_Roberto]

Or you could buy one of those cheap wall plug transformer things, just make sure you get the right voltage and power, you could then ditch the battery and put the switch in series with the wall adapter/transformer thingie. Completely safe.

 

[saltynay]

Sounds way to complicated and expensive for me the idea is to keep this as cheap and easy as possible plus most parties will be outside not inside hence the need for a battery powered solution could i not just strap a load of AA batteries together using some wire and solder to get the current running to the Leds

 

[El_Roberto]

I guess you could use AA's but it is not advisable to solder (sp?) batteries due to risk of explosion, (btw i tried anyway and the solder just doesnt stick properly, allways falls off.) you could get a decent battery holder cheap at your local electronics store anyway ($3 tops) that way you could also re-use it and use rechargables (if you have enough).

 

[S0ULphIRE]

btw i tried anyway and the solder just doesnt stick properly, allways falls off.

That's because either you didn't clean the surface you were soldering onto, or the solder you were using was dirty. If you can, always clean whatever you're soldering with a little alcohol, or just get a pen eraser and clean it with that.

 

[saltynay]

photos of circuit

the large black things with springs are the switches for on/off/blinking slow/blinking fast seems like quite a simple circuit to me. the clear led on the board appears to be the photosensitive element which determines whether it is dark enough for the light to be effective. sorry about poor quality phone camera

 

[El_Roberto]

That's because either you didn't clean the surface you were soldering onto, or the solder you were using was dirty.

It was most likely the surface it probably needed sanding first its way too smooth, BTW i tried it when i was about 8 so...

Looking at that picture i dont know if the controller chip will be able to handle the extra current from the LED's. You might have to use a high current transistor to turn the LED's on. Someone corect me if im wrong but he could attach the base to the LED's original output with say a 10k resistor, the collector to the LED array (on the negative side), and the emmitter to ground. This is only assuming the controller chip cant handle the current of 50 LED's