PSOne screen LED opinions

Steve-o · Post by **Steve-o** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:43 am

If you need a resistor calculator go to http://metku.net/?sect=view&n=1&path=mo ... /index_eng

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:07 am

Last night I got these LEDs. I hope they will work.

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 8:41 am

I kind of worded that post bad. What I ment was that I bought the LEDs last night, so it'll take at least a week for them to arrive from Hong Kong. I'll tell you what I think of them when they get here.

Weebl · Post by **Weebl** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:18 pm

Here's a great source for LED's. They're cheap, and they work great. Just a note, if you decide to get these, the voltage required to run them bright is about 3.2, not 2.5 as the data on the site says.

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:09 am

It could be that their info is wrong. I think the extra voltage makes them heat up, and I thing thats what does the most damage.

G-force · Post by **G-force** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:20 am

anotherperson wrote:I'm preparing to do the LED mod on my PSone screen. I have to ask:

1) Who has used what brightness ratings and viewing angles, and how successful have those LED's been in terms of visual appeal? I've seen some mods where you can see the 'cone' of light from the LED's - not very attractive IMHO.

2) What do you think of these LED's? They come with built in diffusion! No dodgy sandpaper techniques necessary!

That's about all I've got to ask. By the way all the old links to that Hong Kong LED resistor calculator are dead. Here's a different one.

1) I used the T-1 LED's at digi-key (P# CMD204UWC-ND) following bens LEd mod guide. They did have that 'cone' look at the edge, so the screen was brighter in the outside than in the middle. And the LED's made for a slightly dim screen. Adjusting the brightness using the screen buttons only made the colors wash out. It was a bit of a disapointment. I would rather have a really good looking screen and a better (but slightly shorter) experience than a bad looking one and more battery life.

Here is a slightly blurry picture I took before I dismantled it. It actually looked slightly worse in real life. The colors looked a bit faded and weak. I have a video of goldeneye playing and it really shows up on there.
(click for bigger pic)

You can see that the brightness problem shows up on the left bottom corner, then both right corners, but not the top left corner. That was annoying. If the lighting is gonna be uneven, then it should be even!

You can't really get away from this problem though, no matter what LED's you use it will still be there.

I will probably try it with some brighter LED's to see if that makes a difference. And maybe some aluminum foil for even more added brightness.

(BTW, I was able to reuse the LEDs for a hip gear screen and they worked great on that.)

2) I don't think that the LED's need to be diffused. Thats what the diffusing plastic is for. I don't think it would hurt though...

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:48 am

anotherperson wrote:Weebl, wont that voltage burn them out/decrease TBF significantly if they're only rated at 2.5V?

you could just stick 3 in series to get a total forward voltage of 7.5v.

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:53 am

Or for a more constant voltage, couldn't you have 2 LEDs running in series off the 7805 with another LED in parallel with one of the LEDs in series?

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:03 am

that would result in uneven brightness. youre much better off adding a 4th led and doing a 2/2 series/parallel arrangement.

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 2:34 pm

my LED mod is nearly as bright as before i did it and the light is perfectly even and the colors aren't washed out or anything. what i did was use 6 10,000mcd 35 degree angle LEDs and aluminum foil and brightness mod. i put 1 LED in each of the left corners and 2 in each of the right ones. it probably uses a bit more power than a normal LED mod but is definitely worth it. actually i might be saving power from powering the LEDs straight from the battery source (with resistors of course) so i don't loose power with a 7805

Post by **Skyone** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 2:44 pm

The best way to go is very bright and highly diffused (wide-angle).

I recommend 45+ degree viewing angle.

Weebl · Post by **Weebl** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 3:45 pm

The info on the site I had was wrong. I tried running 2.5v through them and they were incredibly dim. Just playing around with it, I decided to up the voltage a bit, and lo and behold, 3.2v is what is required. I'm pretty sure the site info is just wrong, since there have been no ill effects from increasing the voltage across the LED's. They haven't burned out, nor do they get hot.

As skyone says, the viewing angle does a lot for LED mods. The LED's I posted have a 40 degree viewing angle, and so they spread the light out much more evenly. In fact, I barely notice much of a difference between the CCFL tube and the LED mod with my 40 degree viewing angle LEDs.

G-force · Post by **G-force** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 4:18 pm

Weebl wrote:The info on the site I had was wrong. I tried running 2.5v through them and they were incredibly dim. Just playing around with it, I decided to up the voltage a bit, and lo and behold, 3.2v is what is required. I'm pretty sure the site info is just wrong, since there have been no ill effects from increasing the voltage across the LED's. They haven't burned out, nor do they get hot.

You might not notice anything right away, but if you put more voltage than it says it needs the LED's will be brighter of course, but you will cut down the life of the LED's and they will die prematurely. I doubt the site is wrong, they likely just are not very bright LED's and you are overdriving them.

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 4:25 pm

Ya, but if the LED is supposed to last, lets say, 100,000 hrs, does it really matter if you only get 50,000 hrs out of it?

usbcd36 · Post by **usbcd36** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 4:46 pm

http://benheck.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=75844#75844

Using 6 LEDs worked great for me, but I suggest you order from this place instead of the automotive site I got mine from. Shipping takes longer, but they are cheaper and brighter. You might want to put in a pot to make the backlight brightness adjustable too, just in case the extra brightness of these LEDs is too much. I got the 10 frosted ones, but more might be better (since these LEDs are VERY nice). I used a few to upgrade my mini-Maglites to LED flashlights, and although not running at full brightness, they are pretty bright still.

Edit: LED placement for the visual learners

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PSOne screen LED opinions

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