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How to Build an LED Board

If you ever wanted to have your name in flashing lights, now's your chance. An LED board can serve any number of purpose, from lighting up your remote control to displaying your twitter tweets. Creating the board for such purposes is a long process in itself that involves a tired list of essentials and an even more tiring sort of patience and proficiency.

Things You'll Need

Photoshop
Printer
Gloss photo paper
Scissors
Adhesive tape
Perfboard made of copper
Respiratory mask
Steel wool
Hot iron
Pocket knife
Water
Small container
Rubber gloves
Ferric chlorine
Rag
Acetone
Drill press
0.035 drill bit
Soldering iron
Solder
Wire
2 pieces of 1 kilo-ohm resistor
110 ohm resistors
555 timers
LED lights
9-volt battery
9-volt battery clip

Instructions

- 1
  Create your LED board diagram on your computer using a program such as Photoshop. Design the diagram with the locations for the LED output, lights, ohm resistors, battery, clip and 555 timer.
- 2
  Print out the schematic using gloss photo paper. Tape the photo to the perfboard and cut the board to match the size of the photo diagram.
- 3
  Scrub the perfboard using steel wool to even the edges of the board.
- 4
  Iron the design to the perfboard. Run cool water on the paper to remove it from the perfboard.
- 5
  Carve the printed design into the perfboard using a pocket knife or something similar.
- 6
  Submerge the perfboard in a container of ferric chlorine so it covers the board completely. Allow it to sit for 20 minutes or until the copper is completely removed. Wipe the perfboard using acetone.
- 7
  Drill holes in the perfboard using a drill press and 0.0350 etch carbide drill bit to match the LED light locations on your particular design.
- 8
  Solder the parts and connect the negative and positive LED wires according to your diagram. Attach a 9-volt battery to the battery clip.

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