# Fuuuuck LEDs on electronics **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 6, 2013, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279 "2013-06-06T11:06:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/41 "2013-06-07T16:35:17Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > And **Dag Otto** , twelve beeps! Every time you turn off the car? How do they even come up with these things? It must be German. We’ve had two Bosch dishwashers, one of which I was sorry to leave behind with the house we sold, and a newer one about 95% that good. The one thing that drives us crazy about them is that they beep when the load is done. Four long, loud beeps. Five seconds apart. Which will not stop repeating at 15-minute intervals until the door is opened. Are the Germans really that fucking anal about emptying the dishwasher? Are they afraid the plates will wrinkle, or the Housenperfectordercheckin Polizei will come stomping by and give them a ticket? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/42 "2013-06-07T16:41:21Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Which will not stop repeating at 15-minute intervals until the door is opened. Fuck… I run my dishwasher overnight, this would be absolute hell. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/43 "2013-06-07T17:46:06Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > And **Dag Otto** , twelve beeps! Every time you turn off the car? How do they even come up with these things? Sony head units have done that for a long time. its purpose is to “remind” you to take the faceplate off as you get out. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/44 "2013-06-07T18:38:30Z")
When I have to spend the night in a hotel room. I always unplug the tv. I can’t remember the last time that I watched tv in a hotel room anyway. I wonder how long it goes before anyone gives a shit. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/45 "2013-06-07T19:42:42Z")
[Potential Health Risks](http://texyt.com/bright+blue+leds+annoyance+health+risks) [of Blue l.e.d.'s](http://www.mdsupport.org/library/hazard.html) :dubious: I routinely use a black Sharpie or small bits of black Gaffer tape to cover offending l.e.d. lights. When in a hotel room, I’ve got a handful that are my fault. Cell phone charger, charger for spare cell battery, headset charger, MacBook Pro charger ( the charge magnetic plug against the laptop glows green, then there’s the slow " hey I’m a Mac and I’m asleep- cool right? " glow from the leading edge of the machine ), and a random other charger or two. In a hotel room that has very little to no ambient light spilling in from around the curtains, the collective glow of the various l.e.d. lights is maddening. I like to sleep in the dark dammit !! A few distributed dirty socks and such cover the l.e.d. lights, but it’s a pain in the arse to have to take the time to arrange such every single night. The big offender is the intense blue l.e.d. embedded in the buttons of my C.P.A.P. machine. It sits quite near my head off the side of the bed because it kinda has to. I’ve taped over a piece of thick black duvateen to block the light out. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/46 "2013-06-07T20:03:00Z")
The mouse on my PC at work came with a blindingly-lit illuminated blue LED scroll wheel. I opened it up and snapped the LED off the circuit board (I did wonder if this would stop it working - an LED is just a diode, after all - it could conceivably have been a necessary component, but it wasn’t). ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/47 "2013-06-07T20:03:11Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Black electrical tape is your friend. It doesn’t always work. One time we tried to use a Dell desktop (tower) PC in our lab. We were troubleshooting a very sensitive spectrometer with its cover off, which meant we had to have the lab completely dark. The PC had 3 very bright blue LEDs _inside_ the case, along the front air intake. Which meant the only way to block the light was to cover up the whole air intake, which may have overheated the PC. I tried to disconnect the cable to the LEDs, but discovered that it was a large cable bundle which also carried USB and other signals to the front panel. I think I had to physically break the front air intake to get at and cover the LEDs. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/48 "2013-06-07T23:06:54Z")
You can never, never have enough light emitting diodes! God is in the machine!!! As I fall asleep, I am given comfort and solace by all the winky blinky diodes. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/49 "2013-06-07T23:37:29Z")
There, there Doc. We love you. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/50 "2013-06-08T00:41:20Z")
My TV has a power status light: it’s blue when the TV is on, and red when it’s off, and _I don’t need either!_ If it’s on, there are things moving on screen and it’s making noises. If it’s off, it doesn’t do that. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/51 "2013-06-08T00:52:37Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > My TV has a power status light: it’s blue when the TV is on, and red when it’s off, and _I don’t need either!_ If it’s on, there are things moving on screen and it’s making noises. If it’s off, it doesn’t do that. Fallacy of the excluded middle. If it’s unplugged, there is _no_ light. So the red light tells you it’s plugged in, but turned off (actually on standby). ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/52 "2013-06-08T04:40:20Z")
I can solve this problem for you. It’s called [lithographer’s tape](http://www.amazon.com/3M-Scotch-616-Lithographers-Tape/dp/B007V5OJ4K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370666004&sr=8-1&keywords=red+lithographers+tape). I’m not sure what its purpose is in reality (I guess lithographers use it?), but it is PERFECT for reducing the glare of offensive LEDs. One strip will turn the bright blue into a more pleasing and soothing (duller) red, and two makes the light barely visible. This tape is on virtually every LED in my house and when you turn off the lights… it’s actually dark in here. You can still see the lights, but not so that they’re distracting. God bless the lithographers, whoever they are! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/53 "2013-06-08T05:03:37Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > My TV has a power status light: it’s blue when the TV is on, and red when it’s off, and _I don’t need either!_ If it’s on, there are things moving on screen and it’s making noises. If it’s off, it doesn’t do that. Same here. I can understand the blue “on” light, perhaps - the TV is on, but there may not be a signal, ergo no picture. I guess that makes sense. What I don’t understand is the logic behind the red “off” light. If the TV is off, why not have the LED turn off as well? And fuck the excluded middle. If I can’t turn the TV on, I can get off my ass and look behind the furniture to see if it’s plugged in. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/54 "2013-06-08T11:50:46Z")
You may all thank me for recently talking my husband _out_ of including a blinking LED on a piece of electronics he’s designing. One that you’d have in your line of sight while watching TV. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/55 "2013-06-08T21:42:05Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Don’t mean to hijack the thread, but those same fuckers at Sony also decided that it would be a good idea to have their car stereos beep twelve fucking times when you turn off the car, with no way of disabling it. Wow, and I thought it was annoying that the PS3 lets out a single blood curdling beep upon turning it on. Makes it really great if you want to play a game/watch a movie (with headphones to keep it quiet) while other people are trying to sleep. > [@Ethilrist](#): > > My TV has a power status light: it’s blue when the TV is on, and red when it’s off, and _I don’t need either!_ If it’s on, there are things moving on screen and it’s making noises. If it’s off, it doesn’t do that. > [@JohnT](#): > > Same here. I can understand the blue “on” light, perhaps - the TV is on, but there may not be a signal, ergo no picture. I guess that makes sense. > > What I don’t understand is the logic behind the red “off” light. If the TV is off, why not have the LED turn off as well? > > And fuck the excluded middle. If I can’t turn the TV on, I can get off my ass and look behind the furniture to see if it’s plugged in. 😛 I had a TV with the lights like that, and I found the ON light to be most annoying and quickly got out the tape. If the TV’s on but not getting a signal, it says “NO SIGNAL” on the screen, no reason for the friggin too bright LED. Oddly, plenty of old CRT’s had LED’s to indicate they were on, and I never found those terribly distracting, but I guess they were much dimmer than today’s UBERLEDS. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/56 "2013-06-08T21:50:13Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > I can solve this problem for you. > > It’s called [lithographer’s tape](http://www.amazon.com/3M-Scotch-616-Lithographers-Tape/dp/B007V5OJ4K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370666004&sr=8-1&keywords=red+lithographers+tape). I’m not sure what its purpose is in reality (I guess lithographers use it?), … > > God bless the lithographers, whoever they are! This is a translucent, red tape used with making plates for offset lithography (which are just printing presses to most). The negatives and plates are sensitive to blue, but not red light. You can cover up a hole or void in the neg with this tape, and humans can still see through it (for alignment or whatever), yet it looks black to the camera. ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/57 "2013-06-09T02:39:14Z")
I was out of town with my aunt. I got the plug between the two beds because her charger has a very bright, quite annoying LED light on it. It had to go off to the bathroom where we wouldn’t be bothered by it. ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/58 "2013-06-09T03:03:24Z")
Ooooo, this is a good rant. I used to have a Nyko charging station for my Nintendo Wiimotes. This is a great use for LED indicator lights, right? One color will tell you charging is complete and another lets you know it is still charging. Most every human who has lived in a place that has cars knows that green is go, red is stop. This is universal now. We are all aware of this simple, normal idea: green=go, red=stop. So what does Nyko do when they designed the charging station? They used a **green** and a **blue** LED! What the fuck? Which one tells me charging is complete, and which one means it is currently charging? I had to use my label maker to denote what each color means. Idiots. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/59 "2013-06-09T10:14:47Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > One of the worst offenders is an electric corkscrew that lights up blue. (The solution there is to just leave it on the counter, where **it’s good for about 50 bottles** , and put it in its charger base in the utility room **once a month**.) _(sorry 'bout the hijack, but..)_ you open 50 bottles of wine every month? [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2013, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279/60 "2013-06-09T13:20:04Z")
> [@toofs](#): > > So what does Nyko do when they designed the charging station? They used a **green** and a **blue** LED! What the fuck? Which one tells me charging is complete, and which one means it is currently charging? I feel your pain – my video camera uses a green dot to mean “stop” (it’s on standby) and a red one to mean “go” (it’s recording). I have to remind myself to watch the counter for few seconds, which is incrementing only if it’s recording, or else I make the mistake of thinking it’s recording when it’s not or vice-versa. I hate icons, beeps, blinks and colors which have ambiguous meanings when text would have been clear. RECORDING or REC would remove the ambiguity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuuuuck-leds-on-electronics/660279.md?page=4)