Ideally, you'd want a power supply that requires minimal voltage dropping if you want to maximize your energy efficiency. A 9V battery will be about right as it turns out. I just tried an 18" strip with a new 9V battery, and it draws 30ma.
Originally Posted by gunrunnerjohn:
Ideally, you'd want a power supply that requires minimal voltage dropping if you want to maximize your energy efficiency. A 9V battery will be about right as it turns out. I just tried an 18" strip with a new 9V battery, and it draws 30ma.
Thanks John. Is that with or without a resistor? Should I pop one in and bring it down to 20 or 15ma?
You can add a small value resistor to adjust the light level if it's too bright. I'd say one in the 100-200 ohm range would be a good place to start. A 1/4W resistor is plenty for this task, you won't be dropping much power across it.