kramttocs Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 I can't change the LEDs. They are inside the switch and the switch is sealed. And I didn't buy these switches because they are bright. In fact, I didn't have a clue how bright they are. Plus, the brightness varies by switch/color, which surprises me. So I have $100 worth of sealed switches with LEDs and I'm going to make them work. The first way I thought of to do that is to drop the voltage to the LED, but since I can get to the tip of the LED I'm wondering about placing a piece of tape over it to drop the intensity. However, that doesn't seem nearly as flexible as changing the voltage, and I would like to have them all about the same intensity. Along the tape idea maybe some tint film? Wouldn't help making them uniform though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 Along the tape idea maybe some tint film? Wouldn't help making them uniform though... That might work, Scott. If I had several different samples of window tint I might be able to find one, or maybe two layered, to do it? I'll look and see what the possibilities are. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machspeed Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 That might work, Scott. If I had several different samples of window tint I might be able to find one, or maybe two layered, to do it? I'll look and see what the possibilities are. Thanks! You can get that cheap tint at AZ but I'm thinking you're going to cheapen the look. Do they really need to illuminate and can you wire them so they don't? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 I can't change the LEDs. They are inside the switch and the switch is sealed. And I didn't buy these switches because they are bright. In fact, I didn't have a clue how bright they are. Plus, the brightness varies by switch/color, which surprises me. So I have $100 worth of sealed switches with LEDs and I'm going to make them work. The first way I thought of to do that is to drop the voltage to the LED, but since I can get to the tip of the LED I'm wondering about placing a piece of tape over it to drop the intensity. However, that doesn't seem nearly as flexible as changing the voltage, and I would like to have them all about the same intensity. You very much discussed brightness, and how they wouldn't (or couldn't) be too bright... But I'm not here to argue. I doubt tint is any way to keep colors true, and polarizing filters may cause some crazy effects too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramttocs Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 You can get that cheap tint at AZ but I'm thinking you're going to cheapen the look. Do they really need to illuminate and can you wire them so they don't? I was reading it that he could put it (tape, tint) over the led but behind the colored lens. I may have misunderstood though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 I was reading it that he could put it (tape, tint) over the led but behind the colored lens. I may have misunderstood though. Probably so. But you almost want a halftone screen rather than a tint. You want to decrease intensity, not change the colour of the LED Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramttocs Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Probably so. But you almost want a halftone screen rather than a tint. You want to decrease intensity, not change the colour of the LED Hadn't thought of it changing the color. I do see that Amazon sells LightDims (?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Hadn't thought of it changing the color. I do see that Amazon sells LightDims (?) I don't know much about car window tint, but I do know about lighting gels, and about the spectrum of most LED's It is not very wide. So if you use a tint you may kill most (or all) of the light emitted by the diode. If you use two overlapping polarizing filters you can rotate them to get almost any degree of dimming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 I don't know much about car window tint, but I do know about lighting gels, and about the spectrum of most LED's It is not very wide. So if you use a tint you may kill most (or all) of the light emitted by the diode. If you use two overlapping polarizing filters you can rotate them to get almost any degree of dimming. John - I want them illuminated so I can find them in the dark. With 6 switches side by side it would be easy to get the wrong one. But I don't want them so bright that they hurt my night vision, and some of them do at present. Scott - LightDims! I like that idea and will order some, although which ones I'm not sure. Jim - By "tint" I don't mean a color. I'm thinking window tint, with different levels of light blocking. All - I'm going to order some LightDims and see how/if they work. Having an adhesive on them suggests I can stack them. And at the price I can't go wrong. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramttocs Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 John - I want them illuminated so I can find them in the dark. With 6 switches side by side it would be easy to get the wrong one. But I don't want them so bright that they hurt my night vision, and some of them do at present. Scott - LightDims! I like that idea and will order some, although which ones I'm not sure. Jim - By "tint" I don't mean a color. I'm thinking window tint, with different levels of light blocking. All - I'm going to order some LightDims and see how/if they work. Having an adhesive on them suggests I can stack them. And at the price I can't go wrong. Thanks! Really looking forward to your review. I was planning to use window tint to tone down the green of my aux buttons - also between the cover and led- but may try those if they work for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts