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
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. 
Yep, It’s hard to try and read the text on something when 50 blue lasers are aimed straight at your eyes…
Regards
Mike
Thanks guys, I will try and track down some less intense ones, in that case.
Thanks for the advice!
a|x
Do not use blue LEDs.
Do not use blue LEDs.
Or purple… unless you want to see 50 purple halo rings in your retina’s.
You should probably avoid IR too.
You should probably avoid IR too.
haha!
No, really. Non/partially visible or short spectra LEDs (blue, purple, UV, IR, etc) are dangerous.
Even Ive always wanted to use white LEDs, now when I did it I can say using them isnt 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.
Ive always wondered why the hell people chose water clear package if LEDs want 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!
Hmm.. that’s a fairly clear ‘NO’ on the water-clear ultrabright blue LEDs then… lol
I 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
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.
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
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.
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 ones
Or even better these
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260351822695&_trksid=p2759.l1259
if 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
I’m actually wondering if these ones
could 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
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 ones
Ultra-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.
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
No, you can use it… but, why waste energy… you can stick it directly into your eyes. :o Let`s save our planet. 
How about these?
http://cart.rkeducation.co.uk/index.php?p=product&id=387&parent=54
They’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