Sega Genesis Led Light

[alec006]

Alright my led light is dead (could'nt get it out) and i need to get a new one. Any color would be fine,i just need to know how to get it out of a 1989 Genesis, and what size led i need.

[SuperShark]

I am guessing that you are talking about a Genny model 1 due to the 1989 date.

I myself have wondered about changing the LED lights in my Gennys just to make them look cooler and diffrent. While I have never checked the voltage to see what the voltage of a Genny 1 or 2 is (if someone knows the exact correct voltage for wither of both, please tell me) I did notice that changing a model 1 LED is not a very good looking thing to do.

I noticed that after opening the case of a Genesis model 1 and unkooking the LED wires, thisng get tricky. Apparently that ring on the case of Genesis 1s that sometimes say stuff like '16 -bit' and 'high-definition graphics' appears to be cliped and wedged into an indent in the rest of the case for it, and then it appears to be melted on on the inside of the system!!!! This was on all the Genny 1s ive ever opened, quite a few, with and without expansion ports, so I am guessing that all Genny 1s are like this. If I am wrong, please tell me how to tell the diffrent ones apart! So, unless someone knows a good, easy, safe, great looking way to get this ring off and back on once done, I do not think it is commonly wise to attempt a change of LED lights. IF ANYONE KNOWS A GOOD METHOD OF DOING THIS, PLEASE POST, I TOO WISH TO KNOW!

Sorry for the bad news man.

SuperShark

P.S.
Hope someone can help you and me to finding a solution for a great looking and easy way to get that ring off and back on so that the LEDs may be changed!

[Logicdustbin]

I believe that they are 3mm LED's

I use a 5mm, 3.6v

a model 1 gennesis is fairly easy:

remove the 6 screws holding the top of the genesis, turn the unit over and lift the top off of the base. The only thing attached to the top, is the LED.

You will have to bend the contacts down to allow the connector to slide off.

after doing this, the top of the unit will be completely detached from the rest of the system.

there are a couple different variations to the model 1, some of them, like this one:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...n/125_2539.jpg

the whole 'high definition ghraphics ring' needs to be remove to gain access to the LED.

from under neath the lid, you will notice 4 'melted' points of plastic, shave the tips off with a handy dremel, or soldering iron, now you can remove the ring and remove the LED.

some units, like this one (which is hard to see in this photo):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...n/125_2537.jpg

you will only need to remove the red section of the ring, which has standard tab like things that need to be pushed in to be removed.

now you have the LED out, time to install the new one.

If you found the 3mm type, you should just be able to 'reverse' these instructions, and you are done. If you could only find the 5mm, then some modification has to be done:

5mm LED.

I found that my soldering iron is pretty much the size of the LED, therefor, I poked the hot iron through the plastic, then stuck the LED in the hole while the plasic was still 'melted' when it cooled down, the LED stays in place.

Be sure not to stick the LED too far into the lid, or you will have to shave down part of the underside of the 'ring' for it to sit flush with the top of the system.

when hooking the LED back up, you will notice that one of the contacts is longer then the other, this is the side you mate up with the red wire. Bend the LED contacts up.

Place the lid back ontop of the system, taking care to line up the volume slider and the on/off swiitch.

install the 6 screws, then you are done.



If it is a model 2 genesis, you will need to de-solder the LED from the PCB, then re solder another one.

[Logicdustbin]

woo-hoo, triple post

[Logicdustbin]

woo-hoo, triple posts

[chaoticjelly]

Sorry if im sidetracking, but if you change the colour of the LED, dont you need to solder in an appropriate resistor depending on the colour, as different colour resistors have a different resistance from the original green LED?

If so, does anyone know these values?

[SuperShark]

I am not sure what all you are talking about but a couple of things rell fast.

1. The origional LED in a Genesis is RED not GREEN

and

2. JUst switching out the Red LED with a LED light of desired color should be all that you have got to do to change the color of the LED light on your system, or paininta thin layer on a white LED and installing that.

Ive never heared anything about soldering in special resistors in a Genesis or any other game system to change the LED color, and that sounds about inpossible to me as the red LED are basicly little white lights in a red translucent case so as to make only the red wavelenghts of light come through, and the translucent case is just diffrent for diffrent LED cases as to cange the wavelenghts of colors of light that are alowed through.

[SkiDragon]

I am not sure what all you are talking about but a couple of things rell fast.

1. The origional LED in a Genesis is RED not GREEN

and

2. JUst switching out the Red LED with a LED light of desired color should be all that you have got to do to change the color of the LED light on your system, or paininta thin layer on a white LED and installing that.

Ive never heared anything about soldering in special resistors in a Genesis or any other game system to change the LED color, and that sounds about inpossible to me as the red LED are basicly little white lights in a red translucent case so as to make only the red wavelenghts of light come through, and the translucent case is just diffrent for diffrent LED cases as to cange the wavelenghts of colors of light that are alowed through.

1. It might be different on a Mega Drive, I dont know.

2.Switching out the color should be all that is required. However, you are wrong about how an LED works. I dont know all the specifics myself, but colored LEDs come in clear plastic all the time. The light itself is the only thing that is colored. I suspect that the red plastic coloring is only used for identification. Actual white LEDs are a recent development I think.

[Logicdustbin]

I suppose you would need an appropriate resistor if you did not have the correct (voltage) LED for the job.



and almost all of the LEDs I buy now are clear, but of coarse, come in multiple colours. I think the above poster was correct in the fact that the LEDs that have the coloured plastic are just to show what colour the LED actually are.

I guess you could just 'paint' a white LED, but it is probably cheaper just to buy the colour you like.

[phreak97]

it is true different leds need different resistors, but colour is irrelevant. also, game console leds will almost never use a resistor which gives too little resistance for a replacement led. the worst case scenario is that the led wont be bright enough (as i found putting a blue led in a dreamcast.. all fixed now though) you wont be killing anything, so forget about the resistors. if the led isnt bright enough, the best thing to try is putting a piece of wire accross the resistor which is connected to the led. this doesnt work in the dreamcast though.. you need to do more extensive crap for that.

fancy coloured high intensity leds are generally 3.5V, red ones are less, and some game consoles use other colours at a slightly lower voltage too (gamecube)

[Avatard]

IMO you need to save every bit of batter power possible if you want to play it on the road. A broken light sounds good.

[chaoticjelly]

Yeah sorry I meant red, not green...

Oh, I thought that the different resistors depended on the LED colour.. as someone said.. the wavelengths are different.

Oh well, must be mistaken.. :-)

[SkiDragon]

I should make a slight clarification. You should make sure that the new LED is rated for at least a similar voltage before you install it. If you dont know, at least make sure it is the same size. I was trying to install a cool LED bank that cycled colors into an N64, but since I dont have a working meter at the moment, I think I messed up the chip that made it cycle. The "bank" came from a free pen that I picked up and ran on 3 1.5V(?) watch batteries. Anyway, I then tried to install the 3 LEDs individually. I must have burnt out the blue LED because it stopped working, although I couldnt see any visible damage. The red LED I totally destroyed by being overly zealous with my soldering iron. I finally installed the green LED, strangle without a resistor, and it worked. Perhaps green does work at higher voltages? I dont know. Anyway, at least the green LED looks kinda spiffy. It complements the blue LED N64 I made earlier.

[Logicdustbin]

I should make a slight clarification. You should make sure that the new LED is rated for at least a similar voltage before you install it. If you dont know, at least make sure it is the same size. I was trying to install a cool LED bank that cycled colors into an N64, but since I dont have a working meter at the moment, I think I messed up the chip that made it cycle. The "bank" came from a free pen that I picked up and ran on 3 1.5V(?) watch batteries. Anyway, I then tried to install the 3 LEDs individually. I must have burnt out the blue LED because it stopped working, although I couldnt see any visible damage. The red LED I totally destroyed by being overly zealous with my soldering iron. I finally installed the green LED, strangle without a resistor, and it worked. Perhaps green does work at higher voltages? I dont know. Anyway, at least the green LED looks kinda spiffy. It complements the blue LED N64 I made earlier.

off topic, but pics please

[FABombjoy]

Just wanted to chuck a few facts into this topic:

LEDs are current-driven devices. While they require a specific range of voltage to work, they need to have their current consumption regulated by a resistor. LED calculators like this are handy.

Different color LEDs are different colors because of characteristics of the semiconductor materials used, not because the color of the casing. You can't put a red diffuser on a white LED and expect to get much light at all out of it.

There is a sort of relationship between LED color & resistance required, but unless you have hard facts on the LEDs you're using or replacing, the factory resistance on a console will probably be adequate for whatever LED you use. If it's too dim, you'll have to wire your LED up directly to a switched voltage sorce with a new resistor (like in the Dreamcast example above).

This site a tad old, but still very informative: http://www.marktechopto.com/engineering/history.cfm

[Blue60]

Just wanted to chuck a few facts into this topic:

LEDs are current-driven devices. While they require a specific range of voltage to work, they need to have their current consumption regulated by a resistor. LED calculators like this are handy.

Different color LEDs are different colors because of characteristics of the semiconductor materials used, not because the color of the casing. You can't put a red diffuser on a white LED and expect to get much light at all out of it.

There is a sort of relationship between LED color & resistance required, but unless you have hard facts on the LEDs you're using or replacing, the factory resistance on a console will probably be adequate for whatever LED you use. If it's too dim, you'll have to wire your LED up directly to a switched voltage sorce with a new resistor (like in the Dreamcast example above).

This site a tad old, but still very informative: http://www.marktechopto.com/engineering/history.cfm

I was just going to say that :/

[alec006]

Why cant LED lights be simple as changeing a light bulb? Thanks for all the help guys.

[SkiDragon]

By the way, Im not sure if anyone has mentioned it, but LEDs have a polarity (i.e. they only work in one direction).

[SuperShark]

Well there's just something that I kinda hoped everybody knew. And BTW, thanks for correcting some of the stuff that I said, looked at some things and thought some stuff over and i proably looked stupid with my false first thoughts eh?