ok, so I am working on some mods that I want to light through the GI.
My circuit that I have been using is:
GI Voltage Source--->1n4006 diode--->current limiting resistor----->LED (or 2 in parallel)
Here's my quandary -- what I have above is basically a half-wave rectifier circuit. There are obviously 3 voltage drops, the 1n4006, the CLR, and the LEDs. I have some flicker LEDS that are Vfwd 2.0V with 30ma of forward current. In that. The 1n4006 measures 1.7v Vfwd with my meter.
The LED calculators all presume DC voltage at the source. Using one, I get about a 100 ohm current-limiting resistor. Problem is that the flicker LED's don't flicker.
I get that I'm only getting basically a 30Hz pulsed DC.
So here's where I need some confirmation. According to the formulas for a half-wave rectifier:
Vrms=Vpeak/2
Vdc=Vpeak/π
so, substituting, you get Vdc=(Vrms*2)/π.
**(note that is NOT "N", it's PI above in both equations)**
that's 12.6 (6.3VAC*2)/π or 4.01V. That is my actual DC voltage in the half-wave rectifier circuit, right?
If that's correct then my VFwd is about the same as the source DC voltage. I know diodes need a current-limiting resistor but you can't put one in without dropping the source voltage down.
Anyone have anything they can chime in on this?