#1

Taking advantage of the pre-tour monome sale, I ordered a grid kit without LEDs.

Next step: buy LEDs.

I’d be interested in your opinions and experiences, particularly regarding the most obvious choice: yellow/orange LEDs from the 2013/14 edition grids & euro modules, vs greyscale monome LEDs (‘super bright’).

#2

Those greyscale whites are super bright! Great for outdoors and blinding audiences…

#3

The docs explain how to swap resistors to change brightness - so that’s probably OK.

Mostly I’m trying to figure out which color I’ll enjoy spending time with, and color is hard to judge on screen. Do you know which LEDs we’re seeing here - in the video for example, or photo at the bottom? Do the latest grids use the greyscale whites?

Thanks!

#4

In for a kit as well and also curious about this.

#5

(edited title of thread to make my question more explicit)

#6

If i was building one again i’d be really tempted to go full on rainbow. I built my mk64 with orangey/white ones and while it looked nice with a wood case, I kinda hankered after something different. Pink and blue might look nice :slight_smile:

#7

i have the grayscale series and like the white led. I will most likely to get the white ones to go with the kit. Only thing unknown as of now is how the vari brightness will go with the white led.

imo, with the wood enclosure, the yellow/orange leds kind of accentuate the overall look of the device. For the grayscale series, while the white leds are really bright, i really like the uniformed minimalistic look of it. Infact, i think the white led will go well with the aluminium series too

if available in smd version, pink, purple or aqua blue led can make the kit stands out. Oh yeah, having green leds also not a bad idea too, kinda paying homage to the 40H series

#8

I’m hoping that it’s okay to discuss some other LED characteristics in this thread. I’m trying to source LEDs locally, but offering is somewhat limited.

I found white 850mcd LEDs in 1206 case, however, Vf is specified to 3.2V in datasheet, while build doc at http://monome.org/docs/grid-kit/ says:

forward voltage (Vf): less than 3.2v. higher may work but is untested

And 3.2 is not less than 3.2, but rather is equal :slight_smile:

As for some other available LEDs, there is a lot of some russian LEDs of different collors that seems to match all recommendations from build doc, except millicandela rating. They usually rated at 250mcd, however some yellow go as low as 18mcd.

Does anyone have some recommendations? Should I go for 3.2V ones or will lower millicandela rating be bright enough?

#9

i loved the classic orange LEDs from the 2011 edition, but the current grid LEDs are soooo nice. if i were building one i’d go for those.

#10

For what it’s worth, last December I built a grid kit. I wanted consistent brightness and something that would light up evenly, so I went for some good yellow indicator LEDs: Kingbright
APT3216SYCK/J3-PRV (Digikey PN: 754-1798-1-ND)

Certainly not the cheapest, but easy on the eyes. They’re only rated 320 mcd at 20 mA, 120 degree viewing angle. Also seem to be very consistent.