toneburst Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Just wondering what kind of LEDs people are using. I bought a load of blue ultrabright ones with a 'water clear' lens, but I'm now thinking that less bright ones, with a blue lens, might look nicer. So, I'm interested to know what others are using.Cheers,a|x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sakodak Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 You're going to be looking down on a metric shit-ton of them -- ultra bright probably isn't the best choice unless you're the type that always wears welding glasses. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futureman Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Yep, It's hard to try and read the text on something when 50 blue lasers are aimed straight at your eyes...RegardsMike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneburst Posted February 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Thanks guys, I will try and track down some less intense ones, in that case.Thanks for the advice!a|x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilba Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Do not use blue LEDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futureman Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Do not use blue LEDs.Or purple... unless you want to see 50 purple halo rings in your retina's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sakodak Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 You should probably avoid IR too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futureman Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 You should probably avoid IR too.haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryd_one Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 No, really. Non/partially visible or short spectra LEDs (blue, purple, UV, IR, etc) are dangerous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasha Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Even I`ve always wanted to use white LEDs, now when I did it I can say using them isn`t best way to go. They looks great to me but they are in most cases blue LEDs with some kind of film to make it looks white. If you shoot it with camera it will disguise it and show they re actually blue. So, as blue LEDs are not pleasant to look at same goes to white LEDs. I`ve always wondered why the hell people chose water clear package if LEDs wan`t be used for illumination. ??? You can see it often in a kits like x0xb0x. Never use water clear LEDs for any midibox project unless you are making MIDI driven light show! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneburst Posted February 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Hmm.. that's a fairly clear 'NO' on the water-clear ultrabright blue LEDs then... lolI bought them basically because they were cheap on eBay, and I didn't really know what I was doing ;)Is there a consensus that any kind of blue LED is bad? I'd really like to use blue ones, because I have a blue display (white on blue, actually), a blue-lit fan, and even blue divider lines on the panel!How about diffuse blue ones, in a blue-tinted casing? I can always put in stronger resistors to choke the brightness a little...a|x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasha Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Man, it is how human eye reacts on blue light. It is already much said about it on MB forum and a lot of other places. Sure, diffused blue LEDs are bit lighter on your eyes, but it is still blue, isn`t it? It is proven that blue light lowers some sleep hormone in your body so sleap disorders can be expected.Forget about blue if you want to use your gear comfortably. If you are making something commercially, and don`t care about your customers, it is highly advisable to have at least one blue LED. People are just crazy about blue light. ??? You get a friendly advise. Decide yourself. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneburst Posted February 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 They looks great to me but they are in most cases blue LEDs with some kind of film to make it looks white. If you shoot it with camera it will disguise it and show they re actually blue.That's probably because the white light has a large UV component, that is invisible to the human eye. The CCDs used in digital cameras are very sensitive to UV though. They have filters to try and reduce this sensitivity, but point light sources that emit lots of UV can still look strange when photographed.a|x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasha Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 That is true. But regardless, white light emitted from LED is not same as white light emitted from neon tubes, not for the eyes and not for the camera.Bit offtopic... I find camera very useful for testing if IR LED is working. It helped me few times to troubleshoot those IR LEDs. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneburst Posted February 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Bit offtopic... I find camera very useful for testing if IR LED is working. It helped me few times to troubleshoot those IR LEDs. :)I've noticed that IR transmitters show up on digital cameras, too :)Despite your friendly warnings, I think I'm going to go for blue ones, anyway. I'm thinking these oneshttp://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380067695990&ssPageName=MERC_VI_RSCC_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=200258902512&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=active_view_item&usedrule1=StoreCatToStoreCat&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget&_trksid=p284.m184&_trkparms=algo%3DDR%26its%3DS%252BI%252BSS%26itu%3DISS%252BUCI%252BSI%26otn%3D4Or even better thesehttp://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260351822695&_trksid=p2759.l1259if the 3mm blue ones actually do come in a blue casing.I'm honestly probably not going to spend too much time staring at the panel, anyway. I anticipate using the MIDI editor for most sound-editing/creation duties, and just using the panel for the occasional realtime tweak.a|x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneburst Posted February 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 I'm actually wondering if these oneshttp://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380067695990&ssPageName=MERC_VI_RSCC_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=200258902512&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=active_view_item&usedrule1=StoreCatToStoreCat&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget&_trksid=p284.m184&_trkparms=algo%3DDR%26its%3DS%252BI%252BSS%26itu%3DISS%252BUCI%252BSI%26otn%3D4could actually be painted blue. If they don't get too hot, maybe they could actually be tinted with some blue transparent ink. I like the idea of them being visibly coloured when not lit, as well as when they're on...a|x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nILS Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 I've noticed that IR transmitters show up on digital cameras, too :)Depends on the sensor type. A lot of recent cameras don't pick up IR light.Despite your friendly warnings, I think I'm going to go for blue ones, anyway. I'm thinking these onesUltra-bright blue - stupid stupid stupid.Not only are you seriously hurting your eyes, you won't be seeing much when more than a couple of the LEDs are on. If you're seriously going through with those LEDs do yourself a favor and at least use huge resistors for them in the 10kish range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneburst Posted February 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 The ones I linked to in my last two posts aren't ultrabright, I don't think.The ones I have currently ARE, but they also have water-clear casings, so I'm not going to use them, anyway.a|x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasha Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 No, you can use it... but, why waste energy... you can stick it directly into your eyes. :o Let`s save our planet. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneburst Posted February 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 How about these?http://cart.rkeducation.co.uk/index.php?p=product&id=387&parent=54They're 2000mcd, which seems a lot less that the ones claiming to be 'ultrabright', and they come in a tinted blue case. Good price, too.a|x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sakodak Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 That says "Ultrabright" right in the item title."Pack of 100 3mm Blue LED Diffused Lens 60 Degrees 2000mcd Ultrabright" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneburst Posted February 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Oops, so it is.The other Ultrabright ones I've seen have quoted 10000+ mcd though, so these are much dimmer. I can stop them down a bit with heavier resistors though, can't I?a|x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sakodak Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Yeah.If you're really going to do blue, you might want to get samples of a few and set up some tests before you buy quantity.If you have a local electronics store they may be able to help you too. I know those are few and far between these days, though. :(I was going to try and help you find a non-bright blue LED, but they're damn near impossible to find. The only thing I can find when searching for dim blue LEDs are people complaining that their super-duper-ultra-bright blue LED is too dim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneburst Posted February 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 If you're really going to do blue, you might want to get samples of a few and set up some tests before you buy quantity.That's a good idea, actually.If you have a local electronics store they may be able to help you too. I know those are few and far between these days, though. :(I know what you mean. I live in London, and you'd think somewhere in this great metropolis, there'd be an electronics-supply shop... sadly not. All there is really is Maplins, who aren't that great anyway, and most of their smaller branches don't stock much in the way of basic electronic components. It's been mail-order all the way for me on this project. I've ended-up getting a lot of stuff from eBay suppliers.I was going to try and help you find a non-bright blue LED, but they're damn near impossible to find. The only thing I can find when searching for dim blue LEDs are people complaining that their super-duper-ultra-bright blue LED is too dim.Yeah- lots of places selling Ultrabright ones, and cheap, too, but the only non-ultrabright ones I've been able to find have been either out-of-stock, or £1+ EACH (which is ridiculous, considering I need 112 of the little buggers).Very annoying. And I only decided to go for a blue theme because of the difficulty of getting hold of red 20x4 character displays, without paying a fortune in transatlantic P&P.a|x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimchim Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 I'm honestly probably not going to spend too much time staring at the panel, anyway. I anticipate using the MIDI editor for most sound-editing/creation duties, and just using the panel for the occasional realtime tweak.a|xYou have to be joking right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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