New and (kind of) improved LED mod!!!!

*o* · Post by ***o*** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 1:21 am

DO NOT DO THIS!! the crinkles in the foil destroy the even lighting

atkafighter · Post by **atkafighter** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 8:32 am

Is there any material that is thin but allows either tin foil or mylar to be stretched over it (w/o bending) and can fit in the back of the light box and be a good reflector? Engraving plastic is probably way too thick but "chip dip lid" plastic that Ben tells people to use for Start/Select buttons in his book would probably work, only it would need to be a big enough piece.

You could use plastic off the front of action figure packaging. Its great because its flat and very thin.

Website · Post by **Life of Brian** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 8:49 am

I think just a little piece of double-stick tape should work just fine for holding the mylar on the piece of plastic atkafighter suggests. Both the mylar and the plastic are thin enough that they should fit... I'm going to try it.

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 9:12 am

BINGO

spray silver spray paint on the outside of the back of the screen, that way it keeps in all the light and spreads the light as evenly as before you do it

rawls · Post by **rawls** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 9:21 am

*o* wrote:DO NOT DO THIS!! the crinkles in the foil destroy the even lighting

Not if you're careful. Take your time and get a smooth piece in there. Last time I checked, foil is cheap, so if you mess up, just try again. The nice thing about foil is once you get it to the desired shape it will kind of stay that way. Mylar is a bit more slippery so you will need to find a way to mount it. Maybe use some spray adhesive and attach the mylar to a piece of foil - giving it a bit more stiffness without a lot of depth.

A.J. Franzman · Post by **A.J. Franzman** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 2:16 pm

daguuy wrote:BINGO spray silver spray paint on the outside of the back of the screen, that way it keeps in all the light and spreads the light as evenly as before you do it

You said that already, back on pg. 1 of this thread.

Silver paint is actually not a very good reflector. Most of it is really gray paint with aluminum powder in it. Find a thin translucent white piece of plastic (not from your screen!), mask off half of it, and spray silver paint on the other half. Take off the mask, flip the plastic over, and you will see that the unpainted side is brighter.

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 2:20 pm

A.J. Franzman wrote:
daguuy wrote:BINGO spray silver spray paint on the outside of the back of the screen, that way it keeps in all the light and spreads the light as evenly as before you do it
You said that already, back on pg. 1 of this thread.

no last time i was talking about inside the light box

*o* · Post by ***o*** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 3:38 pm

rawls wrote:
*o* wrote:DO NOT DO THIS!! the crinkles in the foil destroy the even lighting
Not if you're careful. Take your time and get a smooth piece in there. Last time I checked, foil is cheap, so if you mess up, just try again. The nice thing about foil is once you get it to the desired shape it will kind of stay that way. Mylar is a bit more slippery so you will need to find a way to mount it. Maybe use some spray adhesive and attach the mylar to a piece of foil - giving it a bit more stiffness without a lot of depth.

there isnt enough riidity in the lightbox frame so it crinkles just with movement

usbcd36 · Post by **usbcd36** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 4:23 pm

Not if you smash it flat with the diffuser glass!

Turbo Tax 1.0 · Post by **Turbo Tax 1.0** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 7:33 pm

thats wat i did no crinkles at all

usbcd36 · Post by **usbcd36** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 7:45 pm

Besides, it's going to be rigidly set inside a portable, if the portable itself isn't sturdy, you need to go back and rethink it.

eastsider_1 · Post by **eastsider_1** » Thu Aug 18, 2005 2:11 pm

heres my untested strategy- get a small rectangular piece of plastic, thin and hard. Then use some spray adhesive to the BACK of the light box to make it sturdy. Then cut a peice of aluminum foil, and tape it to the inside of the light box-tightly. An option is to heat the aluminum and get all the wrinkles out, then tightly tape the foil. This sounds good and hopefully solves all problems out there. Also, i am using 6-3mm LED's and was wondering what Ohm resistor i should use?? MCD is about 15000

A.J. Franzman · Post by **A.J. Franzman** » Thu Aug 18, 2005 3:09 pm

eastsider_1 wrote:i am using 6-3mm LED's and was wondering what Ohm resistor i should use?? MCD is about 15000

Not enough info. What are the current and forward voltage ratings of your LEDs? What is the voltage you want to run them from? How do you want to wire them?

usbcd36 · Post by **usbcd36** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 7:01 pm

Also, you might just want to stick with 3 of those, 6 might be overpowering. I used 6 7,000mcd (3.6v) ones and it turned out well, but you have over twice the mcd (but did you get them shaved?) so they might be TOO bright.

Turbo Tax 1.0 · Post by **Turbo Tax 1.0** » Sat Aug 27, 2005 8:46 pm

i just did this mod woth 3 leds and some aluminum foil behind the light diffuser and may i say that it looks fantastic

its a good mod and really easy so just slip some back there and it'll help