Are LED's the way modding is headed?

limpport · Post by **limpport** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 7:59 pm

I'd think so. The Wii and it's controllers have made it easy to put LED's into them. I've seen EnterTheHatrix's LED'd NES controller, and Khaag doing the LED mods in his Wii controllers. Even I'm working on an LED mod in a Gamecube controller.

Is this the way modding is headed, and is it a good thing?

Of course it's good, flashy lights are pretty!

khaag · Post by **khaag** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 8:26 pm

I think LED's just add a certain sense of personality to otherwise dull devices. Just my two-cents.

Turbo Tax 1.0 · Post by **Turbo Tax 1.0** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 8:43 pm

leds are cool but the placement really matters
hehe, that tingle avatar makes me laugh every time

Post by **Skyone** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 8:54 pm

What do you mean? LEDs have always played this role in electronics...

Reaperman@home · Post by **Reaperman@home** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 8:59 pm

personally, when it comes to modding for 'zazz,' I think EL-wire is the future. LED technology, while it will be a part of our lives for the forseeable future, will lose a lot of ground in the modding world.

of course I'm talking more about simply 'zazzing' things up, rather than modifying them in a more meaningful way.

Post by **Triton** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:06 pm

i think leds are cool in some uses but basically worthless and usually tacky and stupid looking. if you want to sacrifice (a tiny ammount of) battery life to make it look fancier be my guest, i would rather have a unique and interesting design than blind people with leds so they cant see the portable! lol

G-force · Post by **G-force** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 10:48 pm

They're great for adding that "I modded this, it's the PiZwN" look to things. If you do a PC mod, it's almost necessary that you put an LED on it somewhere. Portables really dont have a reason for them, as they would just waste power, and you want the attention on the screen, not a dot of light.

Personally I love doing LED mods, they're great fun, and people love seeing them. What I really like though, is interactive LED mods, where you do something and it lights up. Thats why on my modded mouse, and Xbox controller, you have to push a button to light up the LED's. Adds a level of fun to it I think, than just having it always on and just "there".

dman762000 · Post by **dman762000** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 10:56 pm

I have to say that el wire is much cooler looking than just plain ol led's. as far as useful modding not gonna be that big a deal as all they really do is add flair and some companies are using them for lcd backlights now so even the led mod will fall by the wayside eventually.

btw: triton, love the new laughing man icon

Electric Rain · Post by **Electric Rain** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 11:58 pm

I personally like the look of LEDs, however, I find LED mods a complete was of time... usually. Sometimes one will really stand out and make an otherwise dull looking device much cooler looking, but more often than not, I'm not a fan of cosmetic mods. "If it doesn't do anything, what's the point?" That's how I've always felt. I feel the same way about jewelry and such. "So what? It's shiny... You're gonna pay $1,000 for "shiny?"" See what I mean?

limpport · Post by **limpport** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:36 pm

It seems really silly to go overboard with LED on portable devices (dur), but what G-force said:

G-force wrote:"I modded this, it's the PiZwN"

really was what it seems like people are trying to strive for.

Turbo Tax 1.0 wrote:leds are cool but the placement really matters
hehe, that tingle avatar makes me laugh every time

The comic is here.

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:56 pm

LEDs are cool for your first few mods, but if you think of yourself as a modding god because of a couple LEDs in a system, thats wrong. Thats not including the LEDs mods to PSP's and DS's, those usually use surface mount LEDs and have almost no space to work with, making them extremely hard.
Truly awesome mods are not done by putting a clear case that you bought onto your xbox, they're taking that case you bought and mutating it into something cool and original. Theres also the useful ones, like Ben's one-handed controllers and the electrical ones that none of your friends understand, but that you feel good about because its something you've done.