change orange LEDs near the tubes on the ESX

gil videla · Post by **gil videla** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:51 pm

Hey all,
I have recently taken the red color off my ESX without losing the white lettering. I now have a silver ESX that matches my microKontrol.

I now want to replace the ugly orange LEDs behind the tubes with some other color. Anyone know how? These aren't your typical LEDs their super duper tiny and square in shape. Anyone have experience working these tiny LED lights? They're super tiny and I have fat fingers - definitely going to be a challenge

also I've never done any LED replacing ever - tips "do's don'ts" I'm not a super experienced solderer.

thanks

Tech Star · Post by **Tech Star** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:54 am

Hi, I dont know about the LED's but how did you remove the red leaving only the writing? Im keen to modify my own.

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:40 am

unlike lightbulbs, LEDs will only ever work one way around.

so if you get it the wrong way around then expect to have to change it.
This is because of the D in LED (Light Emitting Diode). Diodes are those things that only let current flow one way.

you would have to desolder it using a soldering iron. then solder the new ones in.

don't know what kind they are as I don't have an electribe.

gil videla · Post by **gil videla** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 5:13 pm

[quote="Tech Star"]Hi, I dont know about the LED's but how did you remove the red leaving only the writing? Im keen to modify my own.[/quote]

I'll post pics tonight after I return from work.

Tech Star · Post by **Tech Star** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 7:52 am

gil videla wrote:
Tech Star wrote:Hi, I dont know about the LED's but how did you remove the red leaving only the writing? Im keen to modify my own.
I'll post pics tonight after I return from work.

Excellent, I cant wait to see them.

gil videla · Post by **gil videla** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 4:04 pm

hope this works

gil videla · Post by **gil videla** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 4:05 pm

gil videla wrote:

hope this works

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37897871@N03/3485628025/

jonatancano · Post by **jonatancano** » Thu May 07, 2009 6:36 am

so how did u get the red off??? thats might cool. and perplexing ..

tim from texas · Post by **tim from texas** » Thu May 07, 2009 3:01 pm

when i was in highschool doods use to paint their headlights and fog lights to make them glow a different shade of color than normal... ghetto but it worked .... sorta.. i have no clue what paint they used though.. plus the leds are those red orange colors so you would have to mix to get something different.. orange and anything else pretty much makes brown..

gil videla · Post by **gil videla** » Thu May 07, 2009 10:58 pm

jonatancano wrote:so how did u get the red off??? thats might cool. and perplexing ..

oven cleaner

rossco1111 · Post by **rossco1111** » Wed May 20, 2009 2:31 pm

you just need some see-through coloured plastic. cut to shape and slot it in. there will be minimal heat coming from those types of diodes so it should be all good

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Wed May 20, 2009 2:55 pm

tim from texas wrote:when i was in highschool doods use to paint their headlights and fog lights to make them glow a different shade of color than normal... ghetto but it worked .... sorta.. i have no clue what paint they used though.. plus the leds are those red orange colors so you would have to mix to get something different.. orange and anything else pretty much makes brown..

light doesn't quite work like paint.
you can't mix colours. its more like filters (like on a synth

- think bandpass).

white light has every colour in it (think of it as white noise - the name 'white' is not a coincidence here!), so if you put a piece of yellow plastic, or a bit of clear yellow paint over it, only the yellow wavelengths will show through.
if you then put blue on top of that, no light would come through (in a perfect world. more likely you'll just get a very dark glow, because the paint or plastic isn't perfect). because you're trying to bandpass the blue from yellow - there is no blue in yellow!

so if you had white LEDs, you can filter them using paint or acrylic in order to get whatever colour you want, but ones that are coloured, you won't get much else out of them other than their base colour...

KlaatuNinja · Post by **KlaatuNinja** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 7:30 am

gil videla wrote:
jonatancano wrote:so how did u get the red off??? thats might cool. and perplexing ..
oven cleaner

So the board must have been painted with the text first, then annodised after. So the oven cleaner just removes the annodising??

nemmo · Post by **nemmo** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 2:45 am

Whoa. I like my red ESX, remember me not to get it near Oven Cleaner nevah !

plosive · Post by **plosive** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 3:58 am

there's a huge thread about removing the dye from the anodized metal just a few below this one, here: http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=43141

my question/wonder is if I remove the dye to get it to it's silver base, if i can re-dye the machine with a different color without staining the silkscreening..