Powering a 5v led strip with batteries

H2T

Oct 1, 2024
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I want to power this LED strip with a small battery pack; preferably AAs, AAAs, or 9v. Do I need a separate boost/buck converter to make this work? LED.png
 

danadak

Feb 19, 2021
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Is the board a boost converter itself ? Set such that LED string requirements
the input at 5V will generate the correct boost ?

If thats the case then eliminate that board, and use a buck/boost to maximize
battery life. Efficiency of the board will also play into losses, hence battery
life.

Regards, Dana.
 

H2T

Oct 1, 2024
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No idea....unless of course you can provide the specs.
Is the board a boost converter itself ? Set such that LED string requirements
the input at 5V will generate the correct boost ?

If thats the case then eliminate that board, and use a buck/boost to maximize
battery life. Efficiency of the board will also play into losses, hence battery
life.

Regards, Dana.
I probably should prefaced my question with some clarification. The supplier didn't provide any specs and my electrical component knowledge is pretty much nill (as you can probably tell). I'm wondering if the + before the 5v on the input has any significance? Such as, it requires more than 5v to operate, then the board will convert it to the proper voltage for the LED?
If it does, indeed, require a 5v input, could i connect AAs to a boost converter or 9v to a buck converter and achieve the 5v input, or is it much more complicated than that? Thanks!
 

danadak

Feb 19, 2021
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Connect your existing board/led and measure the V at output of board to the leds.

I think the +5 is power V to board should be 5V, and thats the + connection to the
board.

Then pick a buck/boost that covers the range of battery voltages you need. Would
also be helpful to measure the LED current with existing board, so disconnect one
lead from board to strip and use an ammeter / dvm to measure that current.
These measurements should help us determine if LEDs in a series string or parallel.
What color are the LEDs ?

Is there a part number on existing chip on existing board ? We should try to establish
if LEDs are being current driven or V driven current.
 
Last edited:

Harald Kapp

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unless of course you can provide the specs.
Looks suspiciously like this LED strip, as usual with very scarce product info details.
The LED strip may (or may not) work directly from 3 × AA batteries (~4.5 V), give it a try.
When using a 9 V battery you will need a step down converter, but 9 V batteries typically have not very much capacity (mAh). A typical 9 V block will not last long in this application.

Alternatively use a USB power bank. It supplies 5 V, is rechargeable and is available in different sizes/capacities.

I'm wondering if the + before the 5v on the input has any significance?
It definitely has: This is where the "+" pole of the battery or power supply goes. The other input is "-" or GND as labeled on the pcb.
Such as, it requires more than 5v to operate,
Definitely not.
 

AnalogKid

Jun 10, 2015
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The board clearly has an inductor, complete with the reference designator "L1". Thus, the board is a boost converter, possibly regulated to provide a constant current rather than a constant voltage. Either way, I vote for three AA's.

ak
 
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