The Dreaded LED

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Before i tried the e-cig I thought I'd hate the LED.
Then I got it and I loved the red LED because I needed any trick I could get to make my brain think I was smoking a real cigarette.
Now though I wish I had a blue LED light so it was obvious that I wasn't smoking a real cigarette at bars.
I end up just holding the tip while I vape so no one notices.
I know, I know, it's not illegal, but I've had bartenders tell me they don't care if it's not smoke, it gives the other people the impression it's ok to smoke in the bar and starts problems... so I hide it...
 

hxj

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Jul 24, 2009
406
2
Arlington, MA
I like the LED on mine because it flashes when the battery's low, so I know to swap it out with a fresh one from the PCC. And also, the other night I got home late with one arm full of groceries and keys in my other hand, but couldn't see the keyhole in the dark-- but I had my e-cig in my mouth, so one quick inhale and everything was bathed in a nice, blue, hands-free glow. ;-)
 

Generic

Full Member
Jul 16, 2009
58
1
61
Not a cool LED mod but here's how my 510 recovered from a nasty drop nose-down onto the concrete:





http://i792.photobucket.com/albums/yy205/generic1964/Photo9.jpg


The LED cover chipped and popped off and looked awful. The paint also got dinged up pretty good so I sanded down the battery and polished. Sanded donw and atty to match (not in pic). Used low-temp hot-glue to stick this little nylon bushing on the tip. Looks okay...

I've got some color-changing LEDs that do a slow fade thru 7 colors. I also have fast-strobing color-changers and combo flash/fade changers but....

They are WAY too big to fit inside :-( The LED in the tip of an e-cig is about the size of two pinheads. About .5mm x 1mm. Surface mount (SMT) . REALLY tough to change using a soldering iron. I've pulled it off but wouldn't want to do it too often!

You can rest assured that the minute color changing LEDs are available in SMP package I'll be modifying some batteries!

Th-th-that's all folks!


-Generic
generic1964
generic1964
 

chad

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jul 6, 2009
512
101
NY, USA
cybervapor.com
Not a cool LED mod but here's how my 510 recovered from a nasty drop nose-down onto the concrete:





http://i792.photobucket.com/albums/yy205/generic1964/Photo9.jpg


The LED cover chipped and popped off and looked awful. The paint also got dinged up pretty good so I sanded down the battery and polished. Sanded donw and atty to match (not in pic). Used low-temp hot-glue to stick this little nylon bushing on the tip. Looks okay...

I've got some color-changing LEDs that do a slow fade thru 7 colors. I also have fast-strobing color-changers and combo flash/fade changers but....

They are WAY too big to fit inside :-( The LED in the tip of an e-cig is about the size of two pinheads. About .5mm x 1mm. Surface mount (SMT) . REALLY tough to change using a soldering iron. I've pulled it off but wouldn't want to do it too often!

You can rest assured that the minute color changing LEDs are available in SMP package I'll be modifying some batteries!

Th-th-that's all folks!


-Generic
generic1964
generic1964

Very nice - this should be posted in the modder's forum. I thought bi-color SMP LEDs were already available...? Maybe they're still too big?
 

Generic

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Jul 16, 2009
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Very nice - this should be posted in the modder's forum. I thought bi-color SMP LEDs were already available...? Maybe they're still too big?

Yes I believe bi-colors are indeed available in surface mount. With a bi-color you can light one, the other, or both for a third color. The color-changers I have are actually 3 LEDs in one standard leaded 5mm package with an on-board controller chip that varies the intensity of the three LEDS thereby giving us 7 colors. Same way an artist mixes just a few colors to get many colors. all that is required to light 'em up is B+ and Gnd. A bi-color requires external switching whereas the color-changers are a stand-alone unit.

RE: Modders forum: I'd hardly call this a mod! More like a desperate repair! Folks were talking about different end caps, colors, etc, so I threw this up there. Anyone with a glue gun and some imagination could do all sorts of neat things to the LED end of their PVs.

Thanks for your thoughts!

-Generic
 

Generic

Full Member
Jul 16, 2009
58
1
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Color changing LED? Hit at raves I guess. Not really practical. Not to be too critical, but what was the point?

What's a rave? Brother to a rant???

Not practical? Not possible. Read, comprehend, read again to increase comprehension. Repeat as needed.

What WAS the point? Yours, that is?

Hint: Some folks like pretty shiny blinky objects. Do you? I do. Sometimes.

Why did Mallory climb Everest? Because it was there. Why would I like to put a color-changing LED into an e-cig? Because it is there.

Care to add anything to this thread or are you just posting because it is here?

*shrugs*


NEXT!

-Generic
 

miketr

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Aug 10, 2009
283
1
Southern Illinois (rural area)
I'm still purty new to vaping, but here is my two cents.
I understand and appreciate the various positions of people who have fully made the transition over from analogs to vaping.
But it really helps me psychologically to have the glowing ember-like tip. While I like the current setup, going in the opposite direction from what many have said, I'd also like the option of an end-cap that looked just like a longer ash with a big ember in the middle, and an orange light that stayed lit slightly the whole time you vape (it could turn on automatically after your first puff and turn off after 20 seconds of not vaping) and light up brighter when you take a puff, even more analog-like in appearance than the current models.
I do also like many of the other ideas on here, like a bright crystal endcap. And I just hold the eCig so my hand covers the light if I don't want it to be seen, it seems natural and easy enough to me. I also add VG to increase the vapor so when I blow out it looks more like an analog, for that matter. But to each their own. :)
 

SquirrilahFish

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ECF Veteran
Aug 5, 2009
328
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Honolulu
I like the LED's. I have a blue and a purple coming from IV. I really hope they start getting in the new green ones that have been popping up online.

you can get dif colors for 510 at rockymountainvapor.com and electronicstixs.com

I really like the leds lets me know its working, lol,

It helps having a cool color (blue/green) so its obviously not a cigarette
I used to have a 306 that looked just like a cig, wasn't good in public places
 

Kasimir

Full Member
Jun 20, 2009
8
0
47
Meh... as been said before, i like the led on my manual 510 in part because it blinks when the battery is dead. So then i *know* that's the reason the PV isn't working when it isn't working.

But there's other reasons to like the having an led. My first manual battery didn't have an led and the button was almost flush with battery's body. A couple of times the edge of the button would get stuck under the case leaving the battery on until it was drained, or i noticed... having an led lets you know the thing is on. I like having that visual feedback.

As for it being bright or distracting, I usually use mine with the tip in the palm of my hand, thumb on button and index and middle fingers curled around the battery... just a lot more comfortable than trying to hold it like a cigarette. Plus, since the tip is in my palm, no one can see the light if i don't want it to be seen. Though now people tell me it looks like i'm smoking a pipe. Wonder if they think i've got my hand closed over a bowl of burning tobacco... seems like that would hurt. :p
 

baby driver

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ECF Veteran
Aug 26, 2009
212
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Sunny CA
www.myspace.com
It would be real nice to have an LED that u can change, maybe one that u can spin the cap to change it from red to blue, then to green or something. Id go for that in a flash!

I would like to be able to change the colors or block them with a cap if wanted. Also the Red/Orange colors are just looking for trouble. The ash cap doesn't bother me, but a smooth end might look nice.
 

p03t

Full Member
Jan 24, 2010
20
0
I hate the LED's... The LAST thing an e-smoker needs on his device in 2009 is a BRIGHT flashlight on the end of his device. I mean come on, we are trying to attract less attention not more at this point in time... Why do we need the flashlight tip?!

on the contrary i believe we need to attract attention, these products are amazing, ive never gone 2 days without wanting an analog since i was 11 yrs old, these are a healthier alternative and the more press we get the better IMO BRING ON THE LEDS
 
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