modified controller

I modified Geoff's Vixen DD-1 dual-axis controller.

For some reason, Vixen decided to use the green colour of the two-colour LED for normal operation. The stock 3mm diffused bi-colour LED will change to red only when power is low. My SD-1 unit does not use green. Geoff found the colour very annoying. He had considered painting the dome. In the meantime, he had covered it with black tape. I offered to swap the LED for him.

Thus began efforts to source a bi-colour version without green, 3mm diameter, with three leads. I tried a number of local electronics vendors but could not find a suitable option. RASC member Ken offered a spare. Unfortunately, it wouldn't have worked.

So, I surfed around and finally settled on www.Unique-LEDs.com. They had amber/red 3mm three-pole LEDs. Cheap. I ordered some blue flashing LEDs and large dome wide-angle deep red LEDs as well. My first online electronics purchase!

Fortunately, the new LED had the same polarity as the old... If they had been different, I would have installed alternately a simple two-pin red...

When I installed the new LED, I made a point of reversing the configuration, so the red burns under normal conditions. The amber will show when the batteries are low.

While it works well, the package is water-clear, not diffused. It might be too bright now!