I want to create a customized Settlers of Catan board. For the purposes of this question, it could also be a custom Monopoly board. I want the pieces ( cities / hotels ) to light up when they are placed on the board. I know I would put LED's in each piece, but besides that, I am not sure if or how I could power up the LED's. I am not an electrical engineer, but magnets, watch batteries or inductive charging sound good to me. Help me make an awesome electronic board game!
posted by jasondigitized on Sep 4, 2009 - 8 answers

Old sun-damaged skin all over my body--is it tilting at windmills to consider light therapy? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Aug 24, 2009 - 7 answers

Table Hockey in the dark? [more inside]
posted by DrAlbin on Aug 5, 2009 - 5 answers

Help me turn a blindingly bright LED tube into a functional and decorative floor lamp! [more inside]
posted by pemberkins on Jul 5, 2009 - 9 answers

Why are LED signs so often seen broken, at least in part?
posted by LSK on Jul 1, 2009 - 11 answers

Please help me find replacement light bulbs for my gadget. [more inside]
posted by SquidLips on Jun 13, 2009 - 7 answers

ScotFilter. Or LedZepFilter. Why did Glasgow need it? [more inside]
posted by Joe Beese on Jun 7, 2009 - 1 answer

What is the best auto racing simulation? I currently have no gaming equipment. [more inside]
posted by Antidisestablishmentarianist on Jun 5, 2009 - 18 answers

Your suggestions for lighting the top of a 50 ft. sculpture being displayed at our state fair? [more inside]
posted by siclik on May 20, 2009 - 11 answers

Who did the big band version of Black Dog and where can I find it? [more inside]
posted by crazylegs on Apr 13, 2009 - 1 answer

A couple of friends and I are organising a site-specific installation for the Smart Light Festival (flash w/ sound) to be held in Sydney from May 26 to June 14 this year. While I would appreciate any advice on bringing an installation like this to fruition, I was hoping specifically to get feedback on our plans to pre-fabricate the components (basically if they seem feasible, and if there are cheaper more efficient ways of going about it, how to use less energy, and especially how we could reuse or recycle the materials). [more inside]
posted by carnival of animals on Mar 18, 2009 - 3 answers

I'm looking to buy a projector off a classifieds site but the only issue is it requires a new bulb upon purchase. Besides the obvious problems that could come of this like having no way to proove that it works. I was wondering how difficult it would be to replace the lamp with some High powered LED's. [more inside]
posted by Chamunks on Mar 9, 2009 - 14 answers

Help me get started with basic electrical engineering! [more inside]
posted by gchucky on Mar 1, 2009 - 12 answers

I'd like to hang a small screw-in type grow light (not a giant florescent tube) above my plants to help them out. Possible? [more inside]
posted by washburn on Feb 16, 2009 - 10 answers

Where in Los Angeles (or within an hour's driving distance) can I get a whooooooooooole bunch of LR41 batteries on last-minute notice? [more inside]
posted by mykescipark on Dec 30, 2008 - 8 answers

Moderate to large quantities of blinking LED novelties, retail, in Manhattan? [more inside]
posted by ellanea on Dec 19, 2008 - 1 answer

Electronics/LED Folks: I bought a few cheap, poorly-assembled LED color-changing orb-things and I'm pretty sure they're the coolest objects I have ever owned. I cracked 'em open, and damned if I know what is going on in there, but it looks simple/cheap as all hell. Help me figure it out, I'll post a build-log/parts list somewhere, and in short-order we can all be ass-deep in home-made, disarmingly sublime mood-lighting. [more inside]
posted by jjjjjjjijjjjjjj on Nov 18, 2008 - 28 answers

I want to make an unobtrusive, light-based alarm to help me remember to take my pills. What do I need to do? [more inside]
posted by ocherdraco on Nov 11, 2008 - 7 answers

Powerbook G4 (hardware?) woes, followed by death of battery LEDs. [more inside]
posted by Monstrous Moonshine on Nov 4, 2008 - 4 answers

Should we buy CFL or LED bulbs? [more inside]
posted by drstein on Oct 26, 2008 - 12 answers

LongshotFilter: Does anyone know if any 15.4" WSXGA+ panels with LED backlights are coming to market soon? [more inside]
posted by knave on Oct 24, 2008 - 3 answers

How can I use the iPhone 3G's headphone jack to power an LED? [more inside]
posted by buzzbash on Oct 19, 2008 - 8 answers

Using a AA battery, two pieces of speaker wire and an LED, I am trying to make a simple circuit. I am meeting with complete failure. Help! [more inside]
posted by puckish on Aug 11, 2008 - 15 answers

Where to buy electronic scrolling LED message sign ... in person? [more inside]
posted by msacheson on Jul 22, 2008 - 4 answers

I have a GE remote temperature sensor that uses an LED screen for a readout (black numerals against a grey background). REcently, the lines making up the numbers began to disappear. I replaced the batteries, but they still kept disappearing to the point that nothing is visible on the screen at all. Is there a solution to the problem or is this the end of the unit? For some reason, I thought these kind of readouts lasted forever.
posted by quintno on Jul 19, 2008 - 3 answers

Where around socal can I meet other aspiring electronic do-it-yourselfers? [backyard imagineering] [more inside]
posted by tarthur on Jul 19, 2008 - 6 answers

Best LED flashlights? [more inside]
posted by Irontom on Jul 9, 2008 - 23 answers

Where can I find some small, cheap flashing lights? It doesn't really matter what kind of light they are as long as they flash, a variety of colors would be nice but not necessary, the ability to turn them on and off is nice but not necessary, they shouldn't require a cumbersome power source but they don't need to last much longer than ten minutes, and I need to be able to obtain them by tomorrow (Saturday) in NYC. [more inside]
posted by doift on Jun 20, 2008 - 15 answers

I have a motherboard in my PC, with 3 extremely bright blue LED lights. I can't disable them, because they show whether or not there is a problem with the CPU, RAM, etc. Would putting something like Blutack over them damage them? [more inside]
posted by Don-da-lah on May 7, 2008 - 14 answers

I am trying to buy a LED headlamp on ebay...they range in brightness from 8 to 30+ and the one I want is 8. Is that goint to be bright enough for pitching a tent in the dark? I tried to look up LED levels on the inter-web but all I found was scientific mumbo jumbo, can someone just tell me which one to buy please!? Thanks
posted by madmamasmith on Mar 29, 2008 - 13 answers

I need to design/buy a visual alarm for use with a PC. [more inside]
posted by edmz on Mar 29, 2008 - 8 answers

I am trying to get the Email Indicator LED on my Acer Aspire laptop working with GMail and/or Outlook 2007. The easiest way seems to be with some sort of POP emulator/pass-through. [more inside]
posted by d7415 on Mar 5, 2008 - 2 answers

How do I light the inside of a box? Cheaply. Efficiently. Blue-LEDly. AC 120ly. [more inside]
posted by notyou on Feb 10, 2008 - 7 answers

Is Al right? Am I really saving the environment by switching to CF bulbs? [more inside]
posted by Pollomacho on Dec 22, 2007 - 46 answers

I need to purchase 30 to 50 orange or red LEDs by this Friday. Where can I get them as cheaply as possible in/around San Francisco? [more inside]
posted by agenais on Dec 5, 2007 - 10 answers

I'm looking for a simple, small and cheap way of measuring acceleration. Basically, I want to make a set of LEDs light up if they are accelerated significantly, becoming brighter the faster the acceleration happens. [more inside]
posted by Zarkonnen on Nov 13, 2007 - 13 answers

I'm looking for a small-ish (under 12") LED/message board sign that I can drive from a computer (RS232) that would allow me to change the messages in real-time. All the ones I've found either run off 12v or are battery powered. Bonus points if it can beep on command, too. [more inside]
posted by prggr on Oct 5, 2007 - 15 answers

LED Shirts! NYC? [more inside]
posted by modernsquid on Aug 15, 2007 - 0 answers

Where can I get a battery-powered LED clock? [more inside]
posted by ManInSuit on Aug 6, 2007 - 14 answers

Need some help designing and building LED light strips for an interactive table -- help me select 880nm IR LEDs, understand the circuitry, and figure out how to deal with power. [more inside]
posted by warhol on Mar 3, 2007 - 23 answers

If I replace halogen bulbs with LED clusters, will my dimmer switches still work? [more inside]
posted by twine42 on Feb 20, 2007 - 8 answers

Help me find a wristwatch with a built-in LED flashlight. [more inside]
posted by ostranenie on Dec 17, 2006 - 4 answers

Does anyone know what this is? I found it on the ground in a casino. It is just under 1" long and .5" in diameter. It is powered by a single G3-A CNB Micro Cell battery. The battery is usually used in laser pointers and probably LED device. This thing does not emit any light, but the battery might be dead. The only moving part is the clip. More photos here, here, and here.
posted by HSWilson on Dec 3, 2006 - 9 answers

It seems that taillights have evolved rather radically from their humble origins, now featuring LED configurations spanning cars' entire back ends. Why hasn't this kind of innovation been seen with headlights? [more inside]
posted by limeonaire on Nov 25, 2006 - 15 answers

Replacing a halogen bike light bulb with LED [more inside]
posted by primer_dimer on Oct 23, 2006 - 8 answers

How could I have LED's on a pane of glass light up with no visible contacts like This amazing table? [more inside]
posted by Ookseer on Sep 2, 2006 - 28 answers

Help! Trying to locate an LED display color light base to light up a hand blown glass globe (to sit on top of the lighted base); attached find a link (http://www.ccl-light.com/docs/indoor/undercab/ledlight/ql-07c/index.html) for EXACTLY what i'm looking for, but they have a $100 minimum order and they won't let me just buy 1, and I can't locate anything similar anyplace else. I do want colored LED lights. Ideas?
posted by america4 on Aug 2, 2006 - 6 answers

Where can I find a large (> 6 ft.) segmented LED display? [more inside]
posted by ostranenie on Jul 26, 2006 - 4 answers

Why can't I find LED shop lights? [more inside]
posted by Steve3 on Jul 1, 2006 - 15 answers

Tell me about the development of green LEDs. [more inside]
posted by Rash on Jun 13, 2006 - 21 answers