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What kind of LEDs do I need for the LED-Wiz/Happ translucent buttons?

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RandyT:

--- Quote from: DaddyLongLegs on July 15, 2008, 01:48:10 pm ---I found 5mm, 5v LEDs with the resistor integrated. Does that mean I will not need a resistor then? Like it's built in?

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If it says that it's integrated, yes, that means someone already made it so that you hook up 5v and you are golden.


--- Quote ---Also, looking through the catalog, I see a lot of LEDs I can get "diffused". That would be best for this situation?

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If the normal view cone is very narrow, yes, diffused is better.  However, don't expect the diffusion at the LED to equal diffusion at the button surface.  It's helpful to think about a clear window with a light bulb behind it.  It's a little better if the bulb is "soft" or diffused so that you don't see the harsh, pinpoint light of the filament, but it does little to evenly light the window.  Sandblast the surface of the window, and now it lights up as desired.


--- Quote ---The reason I am so confused by all of this is because so many LEDs in this catalog don't have 5v for them. Hell, a lot of them don't mention the voltage at all. The ones that do (under "forward voltage type") are all numbers like 2 or 1.8 or 2.2. Or some are even more confusing and say: Vf @ If V, mA: 2.0(<3.0)@20 and basically my brain just explodes.

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This just means that you need to solder a resistor in-line with one of the legs of the LED.  The proper value and power rating depends on the voltage and current requirements of the LED.  Again, there are calculators all over the web for figuring this out.  Many suppliers do as we do and supply proper resistors with the bulk LEDs they sell, already selected specifically for a target voltage and the LED being supplied.

RandyT

TOK:

--- Quote from: RandyT on July 15, 2008, 01:38:20 pm ---
--- Quote from: TOK on July 15, 2008, 12:07:41 pm ---You might get a lot of different suggestions, because there seems to be a lot of different ways to attain the same effect.

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There are a lot of different ways, but one shouldn't expect the "same effect".  I purchased some of those "automotive" LEDs to test and they are very "run of the mill" superbrights with narrow view cones.  They are costly and, IMHO, a poor lighting solution for buttons.

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Don't play my games in a well lit room, but I'll attach a pic of the cab in ambient light. They're bright enough to reflect on the speaker panel below the marquee. You think the goofballs in tarted up Honda Civics are going to settle for dim LED's?  ;)

I'll admit its not the solution for someone looking to light joysticks or have buttons light differently for various games, but you're looking at about 15 bucks for my Stargate panel (with spares) running directly off the same PC power supply that runs the computer.

RandyT:

--- Quote from: TOK on July 15, 2008, 02:49:39 pm ---You think the goofballs in tarted up Honda Civics are going to settle for dim LED's?  ;)

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Heh, with those narrow view cones, they would be pretty dim, center dash, from the angle of the driver.  But they do a heck of a job putting a spot onto the ceiling of a dark car from 3 feet away. ;)

RandyT

DaddyLongLegs:
Thank you very much for all the helpful replies. Just to be sure, what exact specs should I look for in a resistor when getting one to work with my LEDs? Anything that drops it down to 5v?

And extremely off topic (maybe good for another thread) but is there any way to get scratches out of my 25" standard res arcade monitor? I really wish I noticed them before buying the thing.  I tried several scratch removers but they didn't work :\

DaddyLongLegs:
I must say, RandyT, you are a good salesman because you got me to order the LED-Wiz (the 32 port onee) and some NovaGEMs. Everything looks great but I am a bit new to this, and the directions are very confusing. Simply put, where do I put each wire from each NovaGEM button to the LED-Wiz? I know everything is numbered but I don't know which of the two wires for each button goes where? This will all be powered via the USB port. I got the thing working, I put the yellow solid wires into the numbered ports, and the stranded orange wires into the x15v port and it works fine, but surely there's no way I can fit 32 wires into that one x15v port is there?

Also I don't see how to get this working in MaLa (the sole purpose I bought it for).

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