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How to change LED light on LD MK III?

post #1 of 12
4/25/09 at 9:38pm
Thread Starter 
How hard would it be for a completely DIY-challenged person to change the LED light on an LD MK III?

Reason I ask is, I've got an LD II++ already, and one of the things I love about it is the warm orange/amber light that matches the glowing colour of the tubes.

However, I've got an LD MK III on its way in the mail, and I'm expecting it to have the bright blue light on the front, which I don't know if I'll like as much.

How hard would it be to find, purchase, and install an orange/amber one on the MK III?
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post #2 of 12
4/27/09 at 1:00am
Hey TubeStack,

You will need to know the specs on the LED you plan to replace. If you take a look here Superbright LEDs you'll notice that there are many to choose from, and this is just one vendor. You need to know these things for starters:
forward current
forward voltage
operating voltage
Also, you should know what resistance is needed before the LED to ensure the proper voltage. This is probably on the board somewhere, and may or may not need to be changed for the replacement.

So there's some calculations and fiddling, and unfortunately it's not the easiest thing to do. I'm also fairly certain this would void a warrantee! If you are DIY-challenged, I would politely say...just enjoy the blue.
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post #3 of 12
4/27/09 at 11:31pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, bro. Much appreciated!

Yeah, guess I'll just get used to the blue...
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post #4 of 12
4/28/09 at 8:29am
Thread Starter 
The LD MK III arrived yesterday.

Love the amp, but the light is crazy. It actually projects a 4-foot circle of light onto the bedroom wall, lighting up half the room. A bit much, really.

I wonder what a little drop of paint would do?
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post #5 of 12
4/28/09 at 9:03am
If you could find the resistor for the LED, you could increase the value of it which would dim the LED.
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post #6 of 12
4/28/09 at 10:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TubeStack View Post
The LD MK III arrived yesterday.

Love the amp, but the light is crazy. It actually projects a 4-foot circle of light onto the bedroom wall, lighting up half the room. A bit much, really.

I wonder what a little drop of paint would do?
Yeah, blue LEDs tend to do that! Paint might help. Watch out it doesn't get inside. I'm trying to think up a better filtering mechanism that would be permanent and simple to implement. Tape ??? Gotta be something!
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post #7 of 12
4/28/09 at 11:29am
Sandpaper to make the LED more diffused?
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post #8 of 12
4/28/09 at 11:35am
I wouldn't throw out all hope. Why not contact Little Dot and ask them the specs of the LED on the amp? That might make it much easier.
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post #9 of 12
4/30/09 at 5:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bhjazz View Post
Yeah, blue LEDs tend to do that! Paint might help. Watch out it doesn't get inside. I'm trying to think up a better filtering mechanism that would be permanent and simple to implement. Tape ??? Gotta be something!
Yeah, when I said 4 feet, I was a bit off, it's more like 6-7 feet - a big blue/grey circle that spans the entire floor-to-ceiling height of a door in our bedroom.

Feels like you're walking out into a stage spotlight in a Broadway musical, every time you return from the bathroom... LOL
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post #10 of 12
5/26/09 at 1:51pm
You can buy vinyl electrician's tape in multiple colors now, not just black. Get some white tape and put one or more layers of it on the LED. It's a bit translucent, not totally opaque. I found one piece of white tape on my Benchmark DAC1 muted the intensity of the blue LEDs just the right amount.

- Eric
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post #11 of 12
6/26/09 at 9:12am
Thread Starter 
Cool, thanks for the tip - will try that out.

Quote:
Originally Posted by eweitzman View Post
You can buy vinyl electrician's tape in multiple colors now, not just black. Get some white tape and put one or more layers of it on the LED. It's a bit translucent, not totally opaque. I found one piece of white tape on my Benchmark DAC1 muted the intensity of the blue LEDs just the right amount.

- Eric
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post #12 of 12
5/30/10 at 6:36pm

permanent marker over the top ?

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