leds as bias resistors

pro_crip · 1501

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Offline pro_crip

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on: September 04, 2010, 12:00:11 PM
I have read here and there people talking about using hlmp-6000 leds instead of resistors, especially as a bias resistor. What are the guidelines for making such a swap, aside from: pull out resistor, swap in led? Or is it all as simple as that? Thanks.


Rich

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Offline JC

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Reply #1 on: September 04, 2010, 01:57:06 PM
It will depend a lot on just what Voltage you are looking for.  IIRC, a forward-biased LED will drop in the neighborhood of 1.4-1.6 Volts.  If you need more, you will need to add resistance in series, or another diode or LED.  If you need less, you will need to make other arrangements.

You will also need to keep in mind how much current you expect to be traveling through the LED and avoid exceeding its forward current limit.

So, if you know the Voltage you are looking for and you know the current in the circuit you can figure it out.  It may be as simple as swapping the LED for the resistor or it may be a little more involved.

Of course, it is also necessary to keep in mind that the LED will need to be installed in the correct direction; a resistor is bi-directional, but an LED is not.


Jim C.


Offline 2wo

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Reply #2 on: September 04, 2010, 02:00:18 PM
Well. It can be as simple as that But you need to check a few things. If you are looking to replace the cathode resistor in a simple gain stage. Measure the voltage across the resistor. Red LED

John S.