elegant way to make an 50 LED array?

I have gone to the trouble to hand-manufacture a circuit board.

I've also purchased a bit of circuit board with holes on 0.1" centers with a small pad of copper around each hole. I've soldered thin copper wire along the top surface of the board, connecting to one side of each led in the row and again along the bottom surface of the board connecting to the other side of each led.

Those are about equally dependable and time consuming to do. This was for 128 or 256 leds, with row and column control over individual leds but it would work equally well if you just wanted to wire them all together.

If I were to do this again I might consider paying one of the discount circuit board houses to make the board and deliver it to me for assembly.

If each LED is somehow controlled separately, then it is a big mess no matter what you do. Using veroboard to hold the LEDs in place, you can wire them using wire-wrap techniques, or design a PCB and have it fabbed by some internet place (PCB123, futurlec, etc, etc)

If they are controlled collectively, then you can use stripboard to good effect. Stripboard is a kind of premade pcb, that has holes drilled every

0.1 inch horizontally and vertically, and the horizontal rows of holes are each connected with a strip of copper on the back.

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Regards,
  Bob Monsen

The greatest mathematicians, as Archimedes, Newton, and Gauss, always united 
theory and applications in equal measure.
- Felix Klein

What type of LEDs?, what's the application? what is your supply voltage? A PCB is the easiest way, and surface mount LEDs are even easier (no holes to drill in the PCB)

The higher your supply voltage the less ressitor you need as you can string multiple LEDs in series.

Dave :)

stripboard looks satisfactory. Little ungainly tho. Wow, I wasn't aware you could get PCBs designed for you. What have I been doing on the internet all these years?

I'm not sure if that is sarcasm or not... I'll ask again - What type of LEDs?, what's the application? what is your supply voltage?, and a new one - what will they be mounted too? A PCB might be the best way, or a stripboard might be the best way, or point-point wiring might be the best way, or surface mount might be best. Give us more information and we can help you some more...

Dave :)

Hah, no, I wasn't being sarcastic. they are just run of the mill 3.2-1.2V 30-20ma LEDs with inch long leads. I'll just stick on the stripboard and clip the excess. I'm making a UV/IR flashlight. That's why it'd be nice to be slick and compact.

radio shack doesn't have stripboard. Where should I go?

buy it online.

(for example. there are lots of others)

--
---
Regards,
  Bob Monsen

What good your beautiful proof on (the transcendence of) PI.  Why 
investigate such problems, given that irrational numbers do not even exist?
- Leopold Kronecker