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Help to find the right item — Parallax Forums

Help to find the right item

MoskogMoskog Posts: 554
edited 2013-07-01 11:14 in General Discussion
Hey, what do you call this thin, usually red plexiglass-alike screen found in front of led-displays on radios and alarm-clocks?
I'am looking for sheets of those on eBay but I don't know the right keyword so its pretty hard to find them.
I guess they are sold in different sizes, or you can cut them to fit your own projects.

Comments

  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2013-06-30 10:16
    Well, I think it is actually plexiglass that exploits the ability of the red LED to shine through. The LED is very high in IR, so it works well with Red or Smoke colored plexiglass... you tend to just see the light and not the physical LED.

    Of course, if you choose a color other than red for your LED, the results may vary. It might be easier to drop by a plastics supplier, talk with the sales people, and get some samples that you think will work with your project. Bring along an LED and the battery to power it.

    Actual covers are indeed made in a huge variety of sizes for different things. But I doubt you can buy them. Each device may have a custom-made LED cover and nothing every reaches the public for off-the-shelf purchases. I have salvaged one piece from somewhere. But that is just about the only way I have ever gotten anything... salvage the cover off an existing device.

    You may just have better luck at the plastics store with a nice sales person.
  • MoskogMoskog Posts: 554
    edited 2013-06-30 10:36
    Yes, a friend of mine also salvaged a cover from a device of a kind and I was so happy to get a piece of it. I think the thickness was about one mm and it fit so perfect for my red displays. Now I found something here on ebay but not sure if this will be the right thing. Any suggestions?
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-06-30 10:57
    Search red acrylic sheet:

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-8-2423-Transparent-Red-Cell-Cast-Acrylic-Sheet-12-x-12-/290871314332?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43b948079c

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-Acrylic-sheet-200x100x2mm-Transparent-Red-/130412490108?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e5d30ad7c
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2013-06-30 11:02
    Look for LED filter material.
  • MoskogMoskog Posts: 554
    edited 2013-07-01 07:13
    OK, thank you so much for the help here. I placed an order based on erco's second link, that item seems to be what I was looking for. And not too expensive in case it ends up in the trash. The first link's seller doesnt even ship outside the US, I can't understand why that should be so difficult. Another thing when shipping from the States, the shipping itself is almost always much more expensive then the item itself. So I prefer sellers from Hong Kong, Taiwan or other asian countries, cheap items, cheap shipping, 5-stars, recommended sellers that always ships to Europe!
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2013-07-01 08:43
    I am a bit worried about your purchase without testing as many of the red plastic covers were specifically for IR remote controls and the LED was purposely set up to eliminate all visible light.

    Did you want a visible LED display in Red plastic?
    Or did you want to cover an IR emitting LED.

    I suppose that you might have a wide choice of LED intensities and colors to select from if you want to get a good display with behind the red plastic. But it still comes down to doing some actual testing, not just shopping EBay.

    I actually live in Kaohsiung, Taiwan and about 1/3rd of the world's plastic is produced locally. So you should get good value buying from Taiwan.
  • MoskogMoskog Posts: 554
    edited 2013-07-01 11:14
    Loopy Byteloose wrote: »
    I am a bit worried about your purchase without testing as many of the red plastic covers were specifically for IR remote controls and the LED was purposely set up to eliminate all visible light.
    No need to worry, if I can't use them I trash them or find another use of them, like make some kind of art out of them. I have to trust the seller who say they are good for LED displays. And while they look red I suppose they will be nice for my red ones. And its not that easy to test them either, I dont know about anyone nearby who I could visit with my leds.
    Did you want a visible LED display in Red plastic?
    Or did you want to cover an IR emitting LED.
    Yes, visible LED display in red plastic.
    I suppose that you might have a wide choice of LED intensities and colors to select from if you want to get a good display with behind the red plastic. But it still comes down to doing some actual testing, not just shopping EBay.
    No, I don't have many different displays, I only use the ones similar to those here, single or double, connected to a driverchip. And I am an eBayer, you know, I get all my stuff through eBay, can't live without eBay! Never testing, always happy, except when I've got those MAX7219's with abnormal pin-spacing.
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