4kq Instrument lighting - LED Question

[Ameer Antar]

This won't work, the lens is thick and you'll damage the LED before making 
any improvements...if you need wide-angle, use wide angle LED's, if not use 
the regulars. BTW, Radio Shack has wide-angle types but are lower output. 
But really Digikey is better price, selection, and quality. Also LED's can 
be used as light source as you describe. On many electronics I've seen, 
LED's are frequently mounted away from the viewable panel, but are 
connected to the panel thru a light pipe. The LED sits directly on one end 
of the pipe and the other end is mounted in the display. The pipes can be 
90 degrees too. The digikey catalog has a few of these to see what I'm 
talking about.

=ameer


At 11:05 PM 2/12/2001 , you wrote:
> > So far it's been a pita getting light where it needs to be since these
>LED's are
> >
> > spotlight/pinpoint LED's, not diffusing light all around. I.E. Hard to
>aim.
> > Dennis
>
>Hmm, perhaps you could take a rag, moisten it with acetone, then wipe the
>LED all around, making the surface of the LED all rough and no longer smooth
>and shiny looking. A fine sand paper might work too. This might disperse the
>light enough to make it a little more usefull.
>
>-Nate