Re: "by the dashboard light..."

[Wallace White <wallace@remdesign.com>]

Robert Houk - WorkGroup Server Firmware wrote:
> One thing to bear in mind with LEDs is that they are VERY directional --
> they are "spotlights" rather than "floodlights" (like regular little dinky
> incandescent bulbs). Unless you have some sort of light pipes/diffusors,
> you could well end up with several little round red spots of illumination
> in an otherwise dark dash.

The Radio Shack ones often only come in the super-concentrated and
ultra-diffuse varieties, but a good LED supplier will have everything
in-between. There are two key factors: the beam angle and where or not
there is a diffusant in the LED (diffused ones are usually tinted as
well, non-diffused are usually not). You can get even non-diffused ones
with 45 or 75 degree spreads, maybe even wider. So the right LED would
work fine with no added parts.

- Wallace
  '87 5kcstq 149k, no LED's that I know of