4 ms·

I found myself taping over some blue LEDs because they were so bright at night!

randrews 6y ago
I have a laptop charger with one that I taped over with kapton tape: the orange kapton is almost the exact opposite of the blue LED so you're left with a dim white indicator, no blinding brightness.
boomlinde 6y ago
I hate them with a passion for this reason but on second thought maybe I can't really blame it on the LEDs themselves. People seem to give them too much forward voltage and don't always use diffusing packaging, which would have made them much more pleasant to look at. Then again, I rarely see such problems with products with red or amber LEDs. I have a synthesizer with blue LEDs that's particularly obnoxious. It's probably feeding them 5V and there's of course no diffusion at all. I've taped all of them over with a layer of duck tape and they're still too bright.
bawolff 6y ago
Allegedly blue LEDs are supposed to be really disruptive to sleep (not just due to brightness but due to wavelength. Body interprets blue as daylight and red dusk or something)
- httpsterio 6y ago
  Well, you're right sort off. Blue light is related to the production of melatonin, which is used regulate our sleep cycle. Blue light (aka shorter waveforms) blocks the melatonin production, most likely a genetic factor as the blue wavelength is related to the sun's day cycle.
  - samstave 6y ago
    So as to keep one more alert during daylight hours, and ready to exert energy?
    - michaelcampbell 6y ago
      It's long, but if you're into it this podcast (episodes 2-5) go into some lengthy research and discussion into it: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPNW_gerXa4NjSNbZhpSDLXDHukNcp0JZ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPNW_gerXa4NjSNbZhpSD...
  - michaelcampbell 6y ago
    Yes, it's why SAD therapy lights are blue-ish.
banana_giraffe 6y ago
I actually bought a little sheet of circle neutral density filters sticker things to cover a ton of these LEDs in my world.
bamboozled 6y ago
Still do this all the time
astrange 6y ago
I used to have the all transparent plastic Harmon Cardon speakers (iSub?) but I had to get rid of it because the power lights were so bright. And since it was transparent you couldn't cover them up.
michaelcampbell 6y ago
Yeah, I feel sorry for this man's family and loved ones, but I wish he'd never invented the damn things. Blue light scatters in air more than non-blue, and it's just garish to look at.
- jeffwass 6y ago
  You wouldn’t have white LED lighting or any of the mixed colours that include blue (eg cyan or purple) without his contribution. Don’t blame the inventor for the bad applications of companies. Just like you wouldn’t blame Alexander Graham Bell for telemarketer spam.

I have a laptop charger with one that I taped over with kapton tape: the orange kapton is almost the exact opposite of the blue LED so you're left with a dim white indicator, no blinding brightness.

boomlinde 6y ago

I hate them with a passion for this reason but on second thought maybe I can't really blame it on the LEDs themselves. People seem to give them too much forward voltage and don't always use diffusing packaging, which would have made them much more pleasant to look at. Then again, I rarely see such problems with products with red or amber LEDs. I have a synthesizer with blue LEDs that's particularly obnoxious. It's probably feeding them 5V and there's of course no diffusion at all. I've taped all of them over with a layer of duck tape and they're still too bright.

bawolff 6y ago

Allegedly blue LEDs are supposed to be really disruptive to sleep (not just due to brightness but due to wavelength. Body interprets blue as daylight and red dusk or something)

httpsterio 6y ago
Well, you're right sort off. Blue light is related to the production of melatonin, which is used regulate our sleep cycle. Blue light (aka shorter waveforms) blocks the melatonin production, most likely a genetic factor as the blue wavelength is related to the sun's day cycle.
- samstave 6y ago
  So as to keep one more alert during daylight hours, and ready to exert energy?
  - michaelcampbell 6y ago
    It's long, but if you're into it this podcast (episodes 2-5) go into some lengthy research and discussion into it: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPNW_gerXa4NjSNbZhpSDLXDHukNcp0JZ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPNW_gerXa4NjSNbZhpSD...
- michaelcampbell 6y ago
  Yes, it's why SAD therapy lights are blue-ish.

banana_giraffe 6y ago

I actually bought a little sheet of circle neutral density filters sticker things to cover a ton of these LEDs in my world.

bamboozled 6y ago

Still do this all the time

astrange 6y ago

I used to have the all transparent plastic Harmon Cardon speakers (iSub?) but I had to get rid of it because the power lights were so bright. And since it was transparent you couldn't cover them up.

michaelcampbell 6y ago

Yeah, I feel sorry for this man's family and loved ones, but I wish he'd never invented the damn things. Blue light scatters in air more than non-blue, and it's just garish to look at.

jeffwass 6y ago
You wouldn’t have white LED lighting or any of the mixed colours that include blue (eg cyan or purple) without his contribution. Don’t blame the inventor for the bad applications of companies. Just like you wouldn’t blame Alexander Graham Bell for telemarketer spam.