Pet LED Peeve of the day

[KC2IXE]

Blue LEDs - why does every electronics designer seem to thing they need a BLUE LED status bar drive to levels that we don't need a nightlight? The area around my computers USB port - BLUE, my NAS Box, BLUE flickering status bar with a RED power led too

How about something simple please - the nice small round or rectangular LEDS - RED for off/fault, amber for standby, green for on - and dim enough so they don't light up the whole room at night - PLEASE

 

[ninemm]

I couldn't agree with you more. My HP Mini had power buttons on the front of the body under the track pad. Well, when resting the netbook on your chest the blue and white leds would shine right in your eyes. So annoying.

 

[JohnR66]

Reminds me of the toaster my parants have. It has buttons on the side to select what you are toasting. Each button has a blue led that lights up the kitchen like a night light at night.

Same thing with these cheap closeout Ipod speakers I got from Walmart. Blue LED is like a bright keychain light!.

Perhaps the indicator circuit was designed for the standard indicator LED and someone in marketing says, "Hey. Lets use blue LEDs!". The dropping resistor wasn't changed to compensate for the high brightness of the blue LED and you get the bleeding bright blue light.

 

[blasterman]

A few years ago a friend of a friend asked me to mod out the front indicator lights of his PC with the brightest LEDs that would work. I ended up using the brightest 100mA LEDs I could find (more concerned about the MB being able to push the current). After all, it wasn't my computer and I didn't have to look at it.

I noted that I could see if he had HD activity out in the parking lot via the room lights of his apartment flickering. I think this lasted a month before his GF painted nail polish over the front panel of his computer case. I've seen some older HP models nearly as bad.

 

[Canuke]

Perhaps the indicator circuit was designed for the standard indicator LED and someone in marketing says, "Hey. Lets use blue LEDs!". The dropping resistor wasn't changed to compensate for the high brightness of the blue LED and you get the bleeding bright blue light.

Ironically, the higher Vf of blue diodes would result in a very *dim* light in such a case, wouldn't it? Seem to me that we ought to wish they did this.

 

[JohnR66]

Ironically, the higher Vf of blue diodes would result in a very *dim* light in such a case, wouldn't it? Seem to me that we ought to wish they did this.

Indeed the current would drop and the amount of reduction would depend on the supply voltage to the resistor and LED, however the super bright blue LEDs can be many times brighter than the standard lime green indicator LED that much more makes up for lower current.

 

[Fallingwater]

I can definitely understand the reason for this mini-rant, but whenever I turn on my external hard drive I always surprise myself staring at the high-intensity blue status light shining from the underside of it. I just love blue light. <3

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I have figured out how to stomp out bright blue and green LEDs on stuff. I have a dvr with a bright blue light that comes on when it records I took the plastic film label off a set of sunglasses that was a white label and stuck it over the rectangular LED and it cut it down to a nice level. I have bright blue power and drive lights on my computer I used poster putty to block them easily removable with no mess. I put a thin layer of poster putty on the blue LED on my duracell mobile charger too and some on the green "tuned" led on my stereo too. I use the blue poster putty. The flexible plastic peel offs on stuff are good to block light on shiny plastic surfaces I wish I had some that was like window film that uses static to stay on no adhesive.

 

[gswitter]

Ten years back, I was working on souped-up network interface card, and marketing insisted that we use blue LEDs for the external status indicators. Something about our target customers willingness to pay more for an item with blue status lights than other colors. I'm sure that line of thinking had nothing to do with the company failing before the NIC hit the market.

Blue status lights that I still need to see usually get covered with enough layers of masking take to make them barely visible. Others get blocked out altogether with electrical tape.

 

[IMSabbel]

Reasons for this effect:

a) for most people, still, blue LEDS "look cool".
b) because of the differences in night and day vision sensitivity, if you make them nicely visible at day they are brutally bright at night with "rod" vision active.

 

[McGizmo]

Reasons for this effect:

a) for most people, still, blue LEDS "look cool".
b) because of the differences in night and day vision sensitivity, if you make them nicely visible at day they are brutally bright at night with "rod" vision active.

If there is a real need to see indicator lights then obviously they need to be seen. If they need to be seen comfortably both in high levels of ambient light as well as low levels of ambient light then an additional light sensitive dimming circuit would certainly help but is the additional cost acceptable?

 

[BentHeadTX]

My 2003 MiniMag with BB400 sandwich performs a function while sitting on my desk.

I have it in front of the blinding blue power light on my computer power switch--a bit ironic though. An LED flashlight to block the light of an LED.

 

[GarageBoy]

I hate it even more on portable electronics. I don't need a giant blue ring on my mp3 player or my video camera. The indicators probably use more power than the player does

 

[Lynx_Arc]

actually the race has been to make white LEDs more efficient than other colors and blue is pre-white. I would bet a blue LED ran at the same current as a red or green (not same voltage) would be brighter due to being more efficient. It is quite possible factories that make non blue (and white) LEDs are now producing such a smaller amount the individual cost of the non blue (white) LEDs is probably less than other colors. In other words the blue power LEDs may be a "cool" way for companies to make another few pennies off folks over the price of green or red.

 

[TorchBoy]

actually the race has been to make white LEDs more efficient than other colors and blue is pre-white. I would bet a blue LED ran at the same current as a red or green (not same voltage) would be brighter due to being more efficient.

You might be forgetting our eyes are less sensitive to blue light than they are to green light. Even with phosphor inefficiencies white LEDs are brighter than blue LEDs and green LEDs because they make more light in our more sensitive spectral areas. However, if by "efficient" you mean the light power out, not the lumens produced, then sure.

 

[bshanahan14rulz]

I can definitely understand the reason for this mini-rant, but whenever I turn on my external hard drive I always surprise myself staring at the high-intensity blue status light shining from the underside of it. I just love blue light. <3

Sounds like one of my LaCie drives... the black box? heheh. You can use that blue light to read the code that quality color printers print on stuff. I think they're called microdots?

We also had a lcd monitor come through, and just googling it turned up many results for a popular LED mod: putting tape over the blindingly blue power indicator LED.

 

[tebore]

Ten years back, I was working on souped-up network interface card, and marketing insisted that we use blue LEDs for the external status indicators. Something about our target customers willingness to pay more for an item with blue status lights than other colors. I'm sure that line of thinking had nothing to do with the company failing before the NIC hit the market.

Blue status lights that I still need to see usually get covered with enough layers of masking take to make them barely visible. Others get blocked out altogether with electrical tape.

Oh oh I remember that card it was basically over marketed QoS and server level logic so it can offload more of the ip stack. It costs as much as a high end video card and gave 1-2 fps in performance. Overall it was considered a huge rip off

 

[^Gurthang]

BBB syndrome.... "Blinding Blue Bulb"

It looks "cool" so make it brighter....

It looks like those "cool blue" HID / Bi-Xenon headlights, so make it bluer!

Does it cause cancer? IF not.... MAKE IT BLUEST!!!!!!

BTW, don't get me started on those &*#%@$ HID headlamps.....

 

[tay]

Agreed.

I bought an amplifier that has this obnoxious blue power LED. Where I originally had it on my shelf, it pointed right at my eyes when I was trying to watch TV. I put several layers of scotch tape on it and it was bearable. Now, I have it on a higher shelf above eye level.

 

[Ken_McE]

Blue LEDs - why does every electronics designer seem to thing they need a BLUE LED status bar drive to levels that we don't need ...

My impression is that when blue LEDs first came out they were used as indicators on high end stereo equipment. Not sure if this was because it was thought men of high-end stereo buying age could see them well or what. This usage of blue = top shelf kit seems to have spread out into marketing in general. It may no longer be true, but *you* try explaining that to marketing.