anyone used flat top leds ?

[katarakt]

At the moment i'm thinking about to solder flat top leds instead the standard diffused round ones, does this look better and how do they fit in the panel? Do i need the ledstandoffs for the flat leds?

[Amberwolf]

I've seen a number of threads around here where people have done this, so no reason it wouldn't work.

[mome rath]

At the moment i'm thinking about to solder flat top leds instead the standard diffused round ones, does this look better and how do they fit in the panel? Do i need the ledstandoffs for the flat leds?

it looks pretty cool, and yeah you need standoffs

if i recall, the kits that offered flat LEDs had different standoffs (they were shorter??)

[bcbox]

I can check for you on the height when I get a chance. It depends on whether you want them totally flush or sticking out a little.
I think I have some pictures somewhere. I actually prefer them sticking out a bit. I've got several hundred of the same flat-top ones
Limor was selling in the past. They look great, the lens is a diffuse white-ish color and and LED emits a very red color (hard to explain
but they look better than the other diffuse red flat-tops I tried).

[bcbox]

The box below has flat top LED's that stick out a bit (the blue step LED's are round). Click on the pic for hi-res. If you do a search I remember there's some pictures from a couple years ago from a few that put their LED's perfectly flat.



This pic below is a Bright LED BL-C4237-T on the left and a Kingbright WP483IDT on the right.
The height is 0.378". To make them fush the closest standoff would be 0.16". I think most of the guys who use these set the heights individually either with or without standoffs.

[katarakt]

I've done a search in the forum but can't find the good threads with pictures. I remember i saw some pictures with flat top leds but the search engine can't find them for me

Thanks bcbox! The left led looks somehow better. I've ordered blue flat top leds which i found only in water clear lens color. My wish was blue diffused flat top leds or with diffused lens color like the left one on the pic, i think these do not exist with blue light. If i'll use flat leds they must be totally flush with the panel, otherwise i solder my standart blue diffused round leds.

Thanks for the hint with the standoffs

This is the flat led i've ordered. I hope they look good in real ...maybe i use sandpaper to give them a diffused look like the led on your pic bcbox

Blue 5mm 5000mcd Flat Top LED Lamp Super bright

flat 1.jpg (69.42 KiB) Viewed 3664 times

Blue 5mm 5000mcd Flat Top LED Lamp Super bright

flat 2.jpg (28.46 KiB) Viewed 3660 times

[bcbox]

...here's the thread I was thinking about...
viewtopic.php?t=376

btw, those leds look shorter so standoffs may need to be longer. If you can get the datasheet for them you can do the math by comparing the led height to the PCB standoff height used in the x0xb0x.
LED Standoff height = PCB Standoff Height + Panel Thickness - LED height
so basically the standoff height is 0.531" - LED Height

[katarakt]

Yep, that's exactly the thread i was looking for thx

I'll measure everything exactly and order the right standoffs for them if i'll use these flat ones. The flat leds from this thread are excellent! Problem is i need them in all three colors: blue, green and red. This year i'll try soldering 3 x0xes, first one with blue leds, second green and third red ...first one is finished soon, i want to go as 100% as i can...sometimes i feel like a perfectionist