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With those LED strip lights, you can just solder the leads directly to the exposed wires from the 12V DC end of the power supply. If you need to cut the strip then it's trickier but I'm sure there are guides out there. If it were me, I wouldn't connect them to a supply which can deliver 24V just...

I'm not the one you asked, but in my own DIY LED cabinet setup, I previously noticed that the leaves closest to the blue diodes looked less healthy. They may have been a bit close, but the distance was okay for all the other diodes. I replaced them with cool whites, and I no longer get an...

Ventilation: Assuming there are no convenient large holes in the back or base of the cabinet, you're probably going to have to cut some. You can use a drill with a boring bit to make a rough circle, or you could do it properly if you have the patience and tools. You probably want one large-ish...

Just saw the post at the bottom of this page from caretak3r, maybe it isn't okay to significantly reduce the number of LEDs in the string after all: https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/654254-inexpensive-custom-1w-panel-observations-2.html

If it's a switching regulator (which it should be), it should be able to run a constant current at low voltages without any problem. If it were a linear regulator, it would have to drop the voltage as heat internally, so every LED you remove from the string could result in an extra watt of heat...

One caution when using reclaimed timber in the garden: make sure it isn't CCA-treated. That blue-green tint you see on treated pine is Copper, Chromium and Arsenic. The copper might not be so bad, but you really don't want the other two! In my country (Oz) the hardwood pallets seem to be mostly...

It helps with heat by filling air gaps with thermally conductive material. :) Air is a good insulator, so you don't want any of it obstructing the thermal connection to the heatsink. Thermal grease is necessary for proper operation of the LED and heatsink together. Without it or some equivalent...

It really depends on what you're attaching to what, as noted already. Thermal grease is great if it's easy to screw or clamp the parts together. Good heat dissipation and you can undo it easily. I'm planning to use adhesive for my next set of lights (for attaching the stars to the heatsinks)...

Yes, if that's the only thing that goes wrong then the plant can recover well from minor damage.

Your plant. It's duct taped to something. Why? Growing plants is fun, and I understand that you're not expecting a huge yield off this. If you're really intent on using these christmas lights (and trust me, they might look bright in a tiny space but they're not delivering much PAR to the...

DIY constant current drivers: http://bit.ly/pBJz04 You can drive LEDs at 1+ amps from a laptop power supply with these. If you've already bought the components (50+ of each) and are good with a soldering station, it costs about $1.20 plus 45 minutes work per driver. Don't be fooled into...

Some seeds "expect" to be buried a little deeper, and if they're not, they end up top-heavy and leaning sideways. As others have noted, it's not always a bad thing, you can end up with a great plant. You can also just add a bit of soil to support it, especially if it's very young, and then it...

I wish my tolerance was low enough right now to be able to judge by the fan leaves! Some claim that it's best to tap the pollen applicator above the bud to send a little puff of pollen drifting down, rather than wiping it on directly, because the pistils are delicate and can be killed rather...

I'm running my all my 3w, 5w and 10w diodes at a bit less than 1w (expensive 24w all-CREE DIY lamp). Going by the datasheets, they all get more efficient as their potential power increases. I like PetFlora's point, though, which might be paraphrased like so: LEDs drawing 1w can be kept closer...

The driver looks good to me (but I don't have experience with these, so I'm just going by what it says). It says you need a heatsink for anything over 15W. I couldn't see where you'd install this heatsink or what sort to get, so I'd want to get details on that, or plan on running well below...

Yes, BUT if you're building your own linear regulator CC drivers from components, then this is what you want instead: http://www.instructables.com/id/Circuits-for-using-High-Power-LED-s/step6/The-new-stuff-Constant-Current-Source-1/ Those LM317s are neat, and I'd be using them myself if their...

Yes, I wasn't very clear. What I mean is that I would be quite happy running a chip capable of 10W on resistors, only if it were at a tiny fraction of its rated current. If it's rated for 3 Amps (like the Cree XM-L) I would see no problem setting the resistors for a current of 60 to 100 mA and...

Cree XTE @700mA: Cool white R3 : 217 lm Cool white R5 : 247 lm Warm white Q3: 167 lm Warm white Q5: 191 lm

I'll be interested to see the results. Multi-generation fem breeding is a much more interesting idea than the simple production of all-female seeds.

Noob question: what is a C3 plant? Why is 660nm bad for them? Lovely looking plant.