replaced case LEDs w/ blue ones - BLIND.

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nortexoid

Diamond Member
May 1, 2000
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uh, i replaced my 5mm case LEDs w/ blue ones - and man, they are excessively bright...

is it possible i bought lower voltage ones that are running at a higher voltage and are thus super-bright?...it looks kinda cool, but almost blinding if u look right into it.

does the case LED use 5v - and could these be 3v ones?

if u over-volt an LED, what's its life-span reduced to?..(i.e a 2v over-volt)...how long are LEDs supposed to last anyway?...a damn long time it seems.
 
J

Jerboy

Banned
Oct 27, 2001
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<< uh, i replaced my 5mm case LEDs w/ blue ones - and man, they are excessively bright...

is it possible i bought lower voltage ones that are running at a higher voltage and are thus super-bright?...it looks kinda cool, but almost blinding if u look right into it.

does the case LED use 5v - and could these be 3v ones?


if u over-volt an LED, what's its life-span reduced to?..(i.e a 2v over-volt)...how long are LEDs supposed to last anyway?...a damn long time it seems. >>



Blue LED needs relatively high voltage and they need to be current limited. Try adding a 100ohm resistor in series. Parallel up two 100ohm resistors together if you need more brightness.
 
jamesbond007

jamesbond007

Diamond Member
Dec 21, 2000
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Hey, may I ask where you got those bright blue LEDs? I'm a fan of blue and I'd like to pick a few of these up. My room lights up with green when I sleep because of all the computers, NICs, switch lights, etc. No nightlight needed anymore. ;) Green is nice, but I'd like to replace the lights in my case with blue ones. The brighter, the better.

Lemme know! :)
 
F

FlowerMan

Golden Member
Aug 19, 2001
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Check the specs of your LEDs. Those might be the ~3,000 mcd ones, which are quite bright. I know Radio Shack sells two types, one that's around 2,600mcd and another that's like 800mcd. The 800 might be better for you ;) Most LEDs drop about 3-5V, but I wouldnt know which you have.

I get my LED's from RS, www.mpja.com and www.allelectronics.com
 
zephyrprime

zephyrprime

Diamond Member
Feb 18, 2001
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Flowerman, you're probably dead on with your analysis.

It's unlikely that he's over powering them becuase my experience is that overpowering LED's yields brighter led's but with diminishing returns.

Also, it's not really possible to overpower an led on a computer since the voltages that are supplied to led's are low.
 
M

Mark R

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
8,513
16
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The new Gallium Nitride based blue LEDs are stupidly bright.

What's more is that when connected to a PC as replacement for a red/yellow/green one, is that they are underpowered. (The new LED probably has a forward voltage of 3.6 V, whereas the old one probably was 1.6 V.

When powered correctly, my 3000 mcd LEDs are so bright that it is painful to look along the beam. This is the other problem with these LEDs is that they tend to be highly focused - a typical LED uswed in PC cases has a viewing angle of about 120 degrees, whereas a 3000 mcd blue LED has a 15 degree view angle.

You have several options:

1) reduce the current to the LED, you may find that you need to limit the current to 1 mA or less (instead of the rated 30 mA) - try several resistors up to 1000 Ohms, until you find a satisfactory result.

2) Try a silicon blue LED - these are much dimmer but produce a deeper blue colour (these are identifiable by their peak wavelength of 435 nm - GaN have a peak wavelength of 475 nm).

3) Try an LED with a diffused package instead of 'water clear'.
 
F

FlowerMan

Golden Member
Aug 19, 2001
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well, I power all my LED's from the PS itself, and I havent bothered to replace the HD or Power ones :) with 12V, it's easy to blow up an LED :D
 
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GrYfInNdOr

Junior Member
Dec 3, 2001
3
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hi,

I got here two kinds of blue leds, one that have an transparent capsule, another that have a difused capsule(this one is the better :D ), and i´m fascinated !! :)

Anyway does anyone knows where i can buy some purple leds, cuz those are more beautifull :)
 
C

CStroman

Golden Member
Sep 18, 2001
1,568
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I have some green LEDs at home, and when I run too high a voltage through them, they change color. It's kinda cool to hook it up to a variable transformer, and watch it change from green to yellow, orange, then red as I gradually raise the voltage.
 
C

ChemMan

Member
May 24, 2001
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<< Try an LED with a diffused package instead of 'water clear'. >>



That gives me an idea. You could try gently sanding the LED with some very fine sandpaper (1000 grit?) or some 0000 steel wool. That might diffuse the light some, assuming it won't damage the LED
 
E

EdipisReks

Platinum Member
Sep 30, 2000
2,722
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0
you could also put some dye on them or even color them with a magic marker. that should help cut some of the brightness. i've seen it done, and it doesn't change the color of the light very much.

--jacob
 
N

nortexoid

Diamond Member
May 1, 2000
4,096
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ah, much informative thread on the LEDs...

i must've simply bought the wrong ones - since i bought them from an electronics store in Toronto, and just asked for "5mm blue LEDs", the guy just handed me them without providing specs of course...i checked radio shack and noticed they do have different blue LEDs...they also cost way more than what i paid, and they're stupidly individually packaged.

well, i've gotten used to it - but it's funny that i did notice hwo concentrated the stream was...it hits my wall at night quite brightly w/ the lights out...it's like a mini light bulb...could use it as a night light actually...i feel so safe w/ my comp on now.

i'll never get one this bright again tho...i won't even bother trying to make the surface "difusable"...such a pain taking off this case bezel...my old case was such a breeze..
 
jamesbond007

jamesbond007

Diamond Member
Dec 21, 2000
5,280
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I would like some 3000 ones. Can anyone link me to a reliable site that sells them?

P p p p p pleeeease? ;)
 
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GonzoDaGr8

Platinum Member
Apr 29, 2001
2,183
1
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Hey all...I got a 3.7v 2600mcd blue led from Radio Shack yesterday and damn, that thing was bright:Q . I took a green scotchbrite pad (the ones you get for cleaning dishes and such) and roughed, or actually, "Diffused" it up a bit and it works awesome..Doesn't look quite as cool as the clear finish but not bad really. Just thought that I would pass along my experiences.
 
Evadman

Evadman

Administrator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Feb 18, 2001
30,990
5
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<< 7000 mcd 10mm WHITE LED >>



Holy crap, it's a light bulb! That would be blinding! New headlights here I come!
 
C

ChefJoe

Platinum Member
Jan 5, 2002
2,506
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Umm, leds aren't light bulbs, they're diodes. intrinsic to the diode itself is a drop in voltage through the diode (it releases as light/heat). if you don't power it with enough to account for that drop, then the led won't light at all. I suggest getting a 5V battery and a multimeter and playing around with it before you start buying things to try to make less bright.

oh, overvolting an LED leads to it running bright and then dying. undervolting won't harm it, but it needs to have enough applied voltage to overcome the diode's voltage drop/use.
 
B

BigEdMustaffa

Junior Member
Jan 17, 2002
13
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18,000 - 36,000 mcd
10mm ORANGE LED
Mfg. - TOSHIBA
Mfg. # TLOH190P
Operates on 2 VDC @ 60mA
10mm InGaAIP Orange
18,000-36,000 mcd luminous intensity
Peak emission wavelength : Ip = 620nm
Colorless, transparent, lights orange


PART # 25-276


What would you use this much brightness for unless you worked for S.E.T.I.?
 
jamesbond007

jamesbond007

Diamond Member
Dec 21, 2000
5,280
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What would you use this much brightness for unless you worked for S.E.T.I.?

Maybe now we know what the sun is REALLY made of! ;)

wakka wakka wakka :D
 
M

Mday

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
18,647
1
81
there are 3v ones... the problem is not the voltage. its the lumens the LED was designed to output. you can lower the voltage, too low and it will not light up. but chances are, it will still be too bright.


1000 mcd is very bright btw... those little dinkly LEDs you replaced are most likely 500 or 200 mcd.

---

you can difuse the light if you use sandpaper and rough up the "plastic" use a very fine grit, since large grit will leave scratch marks, as opposed to actual scuffing. of course blue LEDs cost a lot of money...
 
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