TS808 Re-Issue LED: How To Make It Brighter?

[Paul Marossy]

Anyone know how to make that LED brighter? You really can only see the thing when you are right on top of the pedal, from the side view I really can't tell if it's on or off. It looks like there is an 8.2K resistor connected to the LED, but what I am wondering about is if you change that resistor value, will it make it brighter or will it mess up the transistor switching (or both).

Anyone mess with this before?

[Nasse]

Some time ago I did put orange superbright led on a tremolo and I gave a gentle bit of sandpaper work on top of that led. Wonder if anyone tried those wide angle leds (some day they were called "straw hat" or somethin)

[Paul Marossy]

Do they make those "wide angle LEDs" in a 5mm round configuration? I've never seen that type of LED I don't think.

[.Mike]

Do they make those "wide angle LEDs" in a 5mm round configuration? I've never seen that type of LED I don't think.

Paul, check out the VCC LED lenses at Mouser. # 593-3000C for 5mm or # 593-2000C for 3mm. Those are the clear lenses, but they have different colors, too.

They work well from all angles. Here are some pics I posted for someone to show what they look like. The pedal w/o knobs is 3mm, and the LED is lit and clearly visible in broad daylight. The rest are 5mm.

The 5mm ones are easy to use, since they use a 1/4" hole.

The LEDs snap right in. They also sell spacers for thinner panels, and clips to hold the LED tight, but you can DIY those with a small piece of plastic tube, I'm sure. If you need item numbers on them, just let me know. They're on the same catalog page at Mouser.

Mike

[Paul Marossy]

Those LEDs are cool .Mike. I never know what to do with these transistor/IC switched status LEDs. I've never had much success messing with them. I surmise this is because different LEDs probably have varying forward voltages, and some replacements will not work in a circuit unless it has exactly the same specs as the original used, which is usually complete guesswork for whoever is trying to replace them. At least this has been my experience on DOD pedals - nothing I tried with those worked, but I also know that DOD pedals use a different method than a transistor (IC chip).

[blooze_man]

I have switched out many LEDs in Boss pedals (always swapping the red for a blue) with no negative effects. Boss and Ibanez use different switching systems, but I would try it anyway. You can always switch back.

[Paul Marossy]

I have switched out many LEDs in Boss pedals (always swapping the red for a blue) with no negative effects. Boss and Ibanez use different switching systems, but I would try it anyway. You can always switch back.

Yes, but you try to also make it brighter? That's the part I am trying to figure out... 

[blooze_man]

I would always switch out the 3mm red for a 5mm blue. It appeared to be brighter, so I never messed with it further

[Electron Tornado]

Paul, just use a smaller resistor. You're not going to hurt the switching system. If there's an 8.2k in there now, try a 3.9k or 3.3k. Of course it might be easier to simply change the LED to a brighter one or one that is diffused vice clear.

[Johan]

just get a regular diffused red led. the clear glass ones look cooler, but as you noticed, they can be useless if you don't hover above them
J

[Paul Marossy]

Thanks guys for the ideas. I'll try a couple of ideas and report back with my results

[kdowqo]

maybe this could help

http://www.instructables.com/id/how-to-defuse-an-LED/

[Johan]

http://www.  xxxxxxxxxxxxx  /how-to-defuse-an-LED/

..diffuse and defuse are two different things...do what seems more appropriate in your situation..
J

[Paul Marossy]

maybe this could help

http://www.instructables.com/id/how-to-defuse-an-LED/

Huh, so sanding it a little bit does the trick, huh? I'm going to change it to a different type, I think.

[Paul Marossy]

OK, well I thought I'd post what I finally ended up doing on this dumb thing.

First, I tried changing that 8.2K resistor to a 3.3K resistor, didn't really help at all. Then I tried "diffusing" the LED, that made it worse. So then I tried changing the resistor to a 1.2K and then a 100 ohm. None of those made it bright enough, so I just put in a bright blue LED and left the 100 ohm resistor. I can finally see it if I'm not right on top of the pedal, but it's very bright if you look at it when you are. 

Oh, and BTW, I tried a regular red LED, and it was so dim that it was not usable. So this all went about how I expected, really annoying. That's why I don't like messing with transistor/IC switched LEDs, it never works like I expect it should.