MOONSTONE LED PAVING STONE


Moonstone LED Paving Stone, retail $29.99 (www.starstones.com...)
Manufactured by Starstones, Inc. (www.starstones.com/)
Last updated 10-14-09




This is the largest, and by far, the heaviest product I have evaluated here at The LED Museum to date. I do not own a scale, but I'd estimate it weighs at least 30 pounds (approximately the weight of two men's bowling balls).

The Moonstone is a concrete paving stone, featuring an LED (very easily replaceable should you wish to change colors) and a fiber optic matrix built in to collect the light from the LED and show up to 18 points of light on the upper surface of the stone.

The Moonstones are designed to be used in multiples; not in single units. But you can use them singly if you prefer.

They operate on 9-12 volts DC (NOT AC) from a transformer you may already have or that you can purchase from Starstones. And each unit uses less than 20 milliamps, so you do not need a huge power supply even if you have ten or twenty units.


SIZE
Because of its size and the fact it was intended to be stepped on, I used my foot (size 10 1/2) in this photograph to help show the product's size instead of my hand as I usually use.

SIZE
And here's a photograph of it with my hand, just so nobody feels left out.



The installation instructions are pretty long, so I'll direct you toward the following URL (a .PDF file) to explain it for you: Installation instructions .PDF


This shows you how you might use multiple Moonstones as a path.


And this shows you how you would change LED colors - just pull the old LED assembly straight out and insert a new LED assembly straight in until it does not go in any farther.



The unit is designed to connect directly to the secondary of a 9 volts to 12 volts DC power supply. It is NOT intended to be connected to AC, regardless of the voltage.

Check the transformer secondary (low voltage) connections with a meter set to read low DC volts (on the meter sitting right here, the 40 volts DC setting would be appropriate) to determine polarity (positive and negative), so you can connect the LED wires correctly. LEDs are polarity-sensitive devices, and will not light if the connections are backward; and MAY even become damaged as a result.



This is a paving stone, not a flashlight designed to be carried around, thrashed, and abused; so I won't try to break it on the corner of a concrete stair, smack it with a steel rod, or try to drown it in the toilet (it would probably break the bowl anyway ), so this section of the web page will be considerably more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight.

The Moonstone is very beautiful to look at; the pinpoints of light are not at all blinding. They are definitely visible, but like I just said, not blindingly bright. So you need not be at all concerned at having too bright a light wherever you install these.

Durability should not be an issue. This product is meant to be walked on, and the fiber optic light guides tend to become eroded at the same rate as the surrounding material, so loss of light output would be negligible at worst. If I see things correctly, you can just wash these pavers off with the garden hose when they become dirty or soiled, and no harm should befall them.


Here is one of the LED assemblies.
To install it in the Moonstone or other Starstone product, just push it into the opening on the stone's side. Push it in until it stops, and you're done - with that part anyway. Connect the LED's wire leads to the wire from the power supply unit's secondary (the low-voltage side), with the correct polarity of course, and there, now you're done.



Photograph of unit with red LED, oblique view.



Photograph of unit with red LED, near-overhead view.



Photograph of unit with blue LED, oblique view.



Photograph of unit with blue LED, near-overhead view.

The stone (not the camera) moved in this photograph; the light
spots are point-like as you see with the red LED photographs above.
I used a Tablepod, supplied by Heliotek, to mount the camera for these four photographs.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the red LED for the Moonstone.
USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.


Quicktime movie (.mov extension) showing the RGB LED in the Moonstone.
This clip is ~3.4 megabytes (3,585,332 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than fifteen minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.




TEST NOTES:
Test unit plus switched mode PSU (with white and preprogrammed RGB LEDs already connected), prewired blue LED with 9 volt battery snap, prewired red LED with 9 volt battery snap, and 9 volt alkaline transistor radio battery (for testing purposes) were sent by Starstones and were received late on the morning of 05-27-05.

The power supply that was furnished outputs 12 volts DC at 3 amps (36 watts). According to the packaging on the PSU, it is suitable for outdoor use, and it is advised that you keep it 12" or more off the ground. And according to the Starstones website, up to 50 of the Moonstone units can be fed from this power supply.


UPDATE: 09-19-05
I forgot to mention this, but I think it's important, so like the old saying goes, "better late than never". The Moonstones and all other Starstones products operate from low voltage, so even if the power wire were to become severed (such as if a shovel or a rat cuts the cable), you won't get zapped by the bare wires at the end even if you pick it up with wet hands.


UPDATE: 11-27-05
I was furnished with the warranty information this morning: 1 year for the stone & power supply unit, and 6 months for the LED lamp assembly.


UPDATE: 07-24-08
I was forced to leave the Moonstone behind for a move to take place in a few days.





PROS:
Low voltage operation
Very unique product
Pleasant to look at
Durable
Heavy - won't just slide away on its own


CONS:
LED opening not water-resistant, but the typical user will not change LED colors in the rain or snow anyway - will not affect rating


    MANUFACTURER: Starstones, Inc.
    PRODUCT TYPE: Paving stone with LEDs
    LAMP TYPE: 5mm LED (Replaceable for additional colors)
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: N/A
    SWITCH TYPE: N/A
    BEZEL: N/A
    BATTERY: N/A
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 15.7mA (red), 16.1mA (blue)
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes
    SUBMERSIBLE: Unknown
    ACCESSORIES: One white LED assembly
    WARRANTY: 1 year for stone & PSU, 6 months for LED assembly

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Moonstone LED Paving Stone * www.starstones.com...






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