I have a flexible led strand that requires 12v 700mA DC. Could I use an adapter that is 12v 2000mA(2A) DC? I'm thinking the LEDs will just pull the mA's they need but I'm not positive.

This post was edited by Guardian_Blade on Dec 17 2011 02:30am

the leds won't pull just the mA they need, but on the strand there are (current limiting) resistors. the leds combined with those resistors take just the mA they need
so, it works!

(tell me if there are no resistors on the strips! that would be strange )

Of course. An led without a resistor is typically nothing but a dead short since they are diodes.

yep

Have you google'd to see if they are compatible?

there are 2 types of electrical sources: voltage and current sources.

if you have a dc dc adapter, it is in 99.999% a voltage source. this means, the voltage must be the required voltage and the current just needs to be enough. if the current is too low, then the voltage drops down. so he does not need to google

if you have a current source (often used in IC's), the current needs to be the same as the required current of the device. the voltage then goes up till the equation is true: U=R*I. i've never seen a current source in the consumer electronics

however, most leds need 20mA, so if you got a current source, you just can apply it to the led and the voltage will go up (till 3v). this works without a resistor in front of the led

now, here's a summary:
voltage source: voltage needs to be the right one, current needs to be enough
current source: current needs to be the right one, maximum possible voltage needs to be enough

yupppp

All you did just then, was take everything I said out of context.