I think I know what you mean before even trying it... Did you frost any of your LED's? becuase the effect you got on your trip comp is exactly what I want!

nah, no frosting, i used 400 grit sandpaper to get them flat though so it wasnt the clearest finish on the tops, you have to move them away from the screen and set up reflectors like i did if you want the same effect as i have

ok, i'll use aluminum foil as reflectors like you have. Does the reflectors ensure that all the light is focused on the screen?

If you file too much off you'll get a ring as you're describing.

I've done plenty of messing around with LEDs and after grinding about 4mm off the top of a 10mm "bullet" shaped LED I found the light was worse than either frosted or untouched - duller all over with brighter patches here and there.

It depends on the viewing angle of the LEDs to start with - I've been playing with some that are 15 degrees so they throw a very tight spot are are hard to get diffuse light out of. Just give them a rub until they're translucent and you should be right.

I know one thing, I wouldn't bother stuffing around for ages with different grits of sandpaper trying to make a frosted LED clear again!!!

PS: If you have one, I find the wire brush attachment for a dremel (or drill) is the shizzle for frosting LEDs

I'm glad someone knows about this ring I am talking about!. I only just filed the dome off the top of the LED, so I don't think I have taken too much off, defiantly not more then 4mm. I think the ring is caused by the top being very a*** frosted by the rough sand paper I used, and the sides being perfectly clear and unfrosted.

I have NFI what the angle of these LED's are but judging by the way they light up the LCD screen before having the dome filed off I would say it’s very narrow!

I should add these were rather large LEDs I was taking a few mm off - shown here next to a normal 5mm led.



I wouldnt take any off height wise at all, just give it good overall frosting (note, frosting, not gouging with a*** sandpaper )

hmm, yes. I am a bit guilty of that . Would you recommend a light frosting on the sides of the LED as well?

I haven't found side frosting makes THAT much difference on fairly narrow angle LEDs, but it wouldnt hurt seeing as you're pretty close to what you're trying to illuminate. You could also try playing with a diffuser of some sort - maybe a bit of grease proof paper over the end of the LED (easily removed if it's too dense)

As I said before it pays to check the viewing angle of the LEDs upfront when buying them to suit your application. Those 10mm ones I showed above are 15 degrees, 80,000mcd and will throw a 6" spot of light from nearly a metre away. They're great for highlighting specific items like a spotlight, but they're no good for the sort of diffuse lighting you'd get from a normal incandescent globe