47
« Last post by trondl on Today at 08:18:51 am »
Hei from Norway!
I'm posting it here in this section as I'm a n00b in the technical sense when it comes to LEDs and current limiting.
I have an older (2011?) Mytek USB-DAC with seven blue 7 segment displays that after the years have gotten dimmer on the most used segments (48 kHz...), making it look like "burn in".
Is this evidence of early blue LEDs wearing out faster?
The unit has seen 24/7 on highest brightness.
It is dimmable, and on the lowest setting, the LEDs are somewhat similar.
I have gotten access to the front panel parts and layout document from the company, but not the schematics.
The unit is seeing too much usage to give it downtime for poking around yet.
What I can see is that the thru-hole 7 segment LEDs are Lite-On LTS-2801AB (3.8Vf @ 20mA If, common anode).
They seem to be controlled by a 74HC595A per segment and have a 220ohm current limiter per line.
Since the Vf is 3.8, I believe the 595 is running at 5Vcc.
Could this also be a symptom of failing Shift Registers? Doesn't quite seem logic to me (pun?).
I've heard rumours that a 74HC595 isn't ideal for driving LEDs, and can wear/burn out.
Also, how does dimming work on a 595?
PWM?
LTS-2801AB is obsolete, and I'd wish to replace them with the red LTS-2801AP (2.1Vf @ 20mA If) which is still somewhat available, or an equivalent.
I have a hunch that red LEDs last longer, and I prefer them for not being so intruding on the eyes (who doesn't?)
I've tried to find other alternatives, but the physical size seems to be a limiting factor: (h)10mm x (w)7.4mm x (d)6.1mm.
Is there a "standard" size for 7 segment displays?
Now, the main question of course, can red LEDs with ~2Vf last longer than 2 seconds in this circuit?
3.3V seems to be available on the PCB for driving an IR receiver.
Run the 595 on 3.3Vcc instead?
Thanks in advance for your time and input!
Mvh
Trond