Status LEDs

RoYaL KiD · 26-06-2009, 09:03 PM

maybe here i may get a bit more respect...
Does anyone know the voltage required to power the LEDs at the front of the receiver to indicate the receivers status? I am thinkin of changing the colour of the lights to blue and red.

PaphosAL · 27-06-2009, 09:40 AM

At a guess- 5vDC, Sadiq (LOL!)

Cheers- AL

Satsearching · 27-06-2009, 10:22 AM

At 5v, a typical LED would need a current limiting resistor of around 250 ohms else it will destroy the LED.

Loosely, you could say a typical LED is 2V, but the correct way is rating them by current. A typical LED is rated around 20ma (I normally go by 15ma when designing a circuit to be safe) but this actually varies acording to the colour of the LED! As blue is futher along the colour spectrum then a higher current is required!

But it could be more if it is a high intensity LED or lower if it is a low current LED.

Also, LED's are available with an integral current limiting resistor for automotive uses so you can buy 12v, 24v etc rated LED's.

To answer your question and to be safe, you need to measure the voltage across the LED in the box to see if it is a standard LED (approx 2v), if so you should be safe changing it with a standard LED, but as blue technically needs a higher current the correct way would be to go futher up the circuit and find the current limiting resistor and change it. TBH I wouldn't bother, it just means the blue LED wouldn't be running as bright as it is rated, but you probablly wouldn't notice the difference.

As they are "Light Emmiting Diodes" then polarity connection must be correct, on a new LED one leg should be longer that the other.

Long leg = Anode = +
Short leg = Cathode = -

Personally, I wouldn't bother risking damaging the box, if you don't fully understand what you are doing then just poking around in the box you could introduce ESD and damage/weaken a component. This may not result in instant damage to a chip in the box, but can weaken one causing it to fail prematurely in the future....

SS

RoYaL KiD · 27-06-2009, 10:23 AM

Whats the lol about?

Coz I sussed your name-change, ha ha!!

26-06-2009, 09:03 PM	#1 (permalink)
RoYaL KiD Respected Member UkCvs Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 317 iTrader: (0) Casino cash: $102398 Thanks: 131 Thanked 108 Times in 70 Posts Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0 Groans: 1 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Status LEDs maybe here i may get a bit more respect... Does anyone know the voltage required to power the LEDs at the front of the receiver to indicate the receivers status? I am thinkin of changing the colour of the lights to blue and red.

27-06-2009, 10:22 AM	#3 (permalink)
Satsearching Yorkshire Git Admin Team-UkCvs Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Here Posts: 1,520 iTrader: (0) Casino cash: $510232 Thanks: 649 Thanked 1,415 Times in 706 Posts Nominated 11 Times in 4 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 4 Groans: 2 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts	At 5v, a typical LED would need a current limiting resistor of around 250 ohms else it will destroy the LED. Loosely, you could say a typical LED is 2V, but the correct way is rating them by current. A typical LED is rated around 20ma (I normally go by 15ma when designing a circuit to be safe) but this actually varies acording to the colour of the LED! As blue is futher along the colour spectrum then a higher current is required! But it could be more if it is a high intensity LED or lower if it is a low current LED. Also, LED's are available with an integral current limiting resistor for automotive uses so you can buy 12v, 24v etc rated LED's. To answer your question and to be safe, you need to measure the voltage across the LED in the box to see if it is a standard LED (approx 2v), if so you should be safe changing it with a standard LED, but as blue technically needs a higher current the correct way would be to go futher up the circuit and find the current limiting resistor and change it. TBH I wouldn't bother, it just means the blue LED wouldn't be running as bright as it is rated, but you probablly wouldn't notice the difference. As they are "Light Emmiting Diodes" then polarity connection must be correct, on a new LED one leg should be longer that the other. Long leg = Anode = + Short leg = Cathode = - Personally, I wouldn't bother risking damaging the box, if you don't fully understand what you are doing then just poking around in the box you could introduce ESD and damage/weaken a component. This may not result in instant damage to a chip in the box, but can weaken one causing it to fail prematurely in the future.... SS __________________ Download Our Toolbar Now !! DBOX HELPFILE HERE Any information provided on this site is not guaranteed in any way. Some articles may discuss topics that are illegal, so this information is provided for educational purposes only, use at your own risk !! NO TO SKY AND F1, BBC WAKE UP! HELLO RTL!

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27-06-2009, 09:40 AM	#2 (permalink)
PaphosAL Nagging Old Git Team-UkCvs Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: A park bench, near you Age: 75 Posts: 2,975 iTrader: (0) Casino cash: $812960 Thanks: 2,495 Thanked 1,531 Times in 836 Posts Nominated 2 Times in 2 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 2 Groans: 1 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts	At a guess- 5vDC, Sadiq (LOL!) Cheers- AL

27-06-2009, 10:23 AM	#4 (permalink)
RoYaL KiD Respected Member UkCvs Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 317 iTrader: (0) Casino cash: $102398 Thanks: 131 Thanked 108 Times in 70 Posts Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTW/F/M Award(s): 0 Groans: 1 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Whats the lol about? Coz I sussed your name-change, ha ha!!

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