Wireless LED Light Less Then $1 With 2 Component
An LED and a diode make a wireless light without a battery, powered by 2.4 GHz WiFi waves from a router.
First you need a 1SS106 diode, but this diode MUST have a lower case “H” for Hitachi. I bought a bunch of these little Schottky diodes that the eBay and Amazon listeners said were made by Hitachi.
I bought the “boutique” diode for $5 from the UK. None of them had the little white “H” on them and so none of them worked for this project.
Wireless LED Light
Eventually I got fed up and started filing complaints about customer fraud and a single guy on eBay (in China) said he had some “H” marked diodes and was sending them. After 2.5 months I finally received a bag of these “H” diodes that actually worked.
If you want to order a wireless LED light on eBay or Amazon use the messaging feature and let the seller know you need to have “1SS106 Hitachi Diode with the white H on them” as nothing else will work. All other 1SS106 diodes do not work!
There are surface mount versions of similar diodes that work, but they are literally smaller than the exclamation point at the end of this sentence and are super hard to pick up with tweezers is almost impossible!
What is a Lectenna?
“Lectenna” is a term that appears to be a combination of “lecture” and “antenna.” While there is no widely recognized or established concept or technology specifically referred to as “lectenna,” we can speculate on its potential meaning based on the combination of these two terms.
In a hypothetical scenario, a “lectenna” could refer to a device or system that combines lecture-based learning with wireless communication capabilities. It could involve the integration of an antenna or wireless receiver/transmitter into educational settings to facilitate interactive lectures or enhance communication between instructors and students.
By incorporating wireless technology, such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, into a lecture environment, the lectenna could enable various features. For instance, it might allow students to ask questions or participate in discussions using their mobile devices, interact with multimedia content, or provide real-time feedback to instructors.
However, it’s important to note that this is purely speculative, and without more specific information or context, it’s challenging to provide an accurate explanation of what a “lectenna” might entail. If you have any further details or clarification about the term, I’ll be happy to assist you further.
How to Build a Lectenna?
The other half of the circuit you will need is a low CURRENT wireless LED light lamp. Just head over to Digikey and grab some Avago HLMP-D150 bulbs.
What now?
Bend the legs of the red LED flat. This is your dipole antenna. It’s good at detecting leaks in microwave ovens and 2.45 GHz WiFi waves.
Would you like to see invisible electromagnetic waves?
It’s easy to create your own LEctenna in minutes so you can do just that! Elias Wilcoski from NRL shows you how to do it.
Parts used in this video:
- One RF through hole Schottky diode (1N5711)
- A through hole LED
- A plastic test tube
Next, add these two diodes (1SS106 & HLMP-D150) together so that the leg of the LEctenna LED with the flat side connects to the side of the Schottky diode that has no mark. The wireless LED light has one leg near one flattened side.
The Schottky diode has one leg near a banded end. You do NOT want these two legs touching each other.
Diodes have a thick black or white stripe on one end. The other end will have nothing. The end with the strip is the NEGATIVE cathode wire.
LEctenna LEDs have a flat spot at the base of the lightbulb, or a shorter leg wire, which means it’s the NEGATIVE cathode wire.
FOR THIS EXPERIMENT WE WOULD LIKE TO CONNECT ANODE WITH CATHODE !!!!! So we want the flat side of the LED to be connected to the NON-banded side of the diode.
You twist the two legs together on one side. Then the other. Put it near a working 2.45 GHz router (as opposed to just 5 GHz) and it will light up. I was using an old Net Gear router that wasn’t connected to the internet.
Lectenna Rectenna Energy Harvesting
I simply connected the router to the mains socket, switched it on and then held the WPS button on the padlock for a few seconds until the router switched to WPS Easy Connect mode.
Which only then made the wireless LED light flash. When you touch the metal wire legs of this energy harvester, you are actually touching the antenna.
This will cause the light to go out. So you can try holding it by the lightbulb, or just sticking a small plastic tube or bag, or better yet, just sticking it to a piece of paper or a wooden stick, and then sticking it all around various devices: routers, older pinhole camera, cell phones, leaky microwave oven doors, etc.
On my Xfinity Arris “Gateway”, which is a modem and a wireless router combined, it flashed and glowed, but not as strongly.
You’ll need to put it right on the bridge, near the back of the box. Somebody threw away a ton of WiFi routers and gave me about a dozen of these little black detachable, 90-degree bendable WiFi antennas.
I’m going to connect one of these antennas to this wireless LED light device to see if I can get further away and the lightbulb is still on.
Right now it has to touch one of the routers for it to light up, and it has to be in the right place on the router too!
Hitachi Schottky Diode
There are many ways to make a directional antenna (rectenna). Most involve the intricate cutting of tiny, flat copper plates into square, cut-out, maze-like shapes. A Hitachi Schottky diode is easier: just make sure it has the “H” on it.
There are many ways to prove your rectenna is working. Most include satellite dishes and frequency analyzers and loads of fancy equipment. That way, only one wireless LED light will blink so you can see it is working.
I bought Hifiic from eBay Chinese user and initially got Schottky diodes without the “H” and they didn’t work. I left feedback (negative, my first negative) about fakes.
The Diode (?)
Sent me a bag of real ones with the “H” and those were the only ones that worked. When you order from them, in the message to the seller on the order page, make sure you ARE “H” ON THE DIODE OR ELSE IT WILL NOT WORK !!!! “and they will hopefully connect you.
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British seller Little Diode sent me something that didn’t work, even for a lot more money. To be fair, this is a curiosity in the diode market: it’s the correct package and product number, but only the older “H” diodes will work.
I also bought some smaller Wireless LED Light MD diodes that should theoretically work, but they’re so, so tiny, I can barely see them.
- 1 Wireless LED Light Less Then $1 With 2 Component.