Bi LED's with straight legs

[collectors]

Hi, i am trying to use some 3mm Bi LED's red/green on a panel i have made up, but the legs on the led's dogleg out & stop them going into the panel mounts. Has anyone seen a 3mm Bi LED with straight legs. "The more i read this the stranger it reads" lol

[Ron S]

I have never seen bi-colour 3 legged LEDs with straight legs, they are all like the one you show.
The Bi-colour 2 legged LEDs do use straight legs but require reversal of polarity to change colour - a bit more complex to wire up compared to the 3 leg versions.

You may have to cut a slot each side of the mount to allow the legs to sit in.

[collectors]

They would fit in a 5mm holder, but would mean drilling the holes again & it wouldn't look right a 3mm led in a 5mm hole. & even if i used 5mm Bi led's i think i wold have the same problem, but 2mm larger.
I might try a 5mm holder with a 3mm led with a band of heat shrink around the led.

[Brian]

Won't they fit into the Kingbright RTC-31 panel LED clip? https://www.rapidonline.com/kingbright- ... ip-55-0160

Depending on the panels thickness you could just push the 3mm LED into a pre drilled hole from the rear. Bezels aren't always necessary.

I don't think I've seen straight leg three lead LEDs in 3mm? Particularly as there really isn't that much room on the LED package to have three straight legs.

[RAF96]

Slot the mount with a hacksaw blade.

[collectors]

I have gone with 5 mm holders & they dont look as bad as i thought. A bit of heat shrink on each led will take up any space & look ok. A bit of black or blue tack to hold the led in place from behind.

[Rog (RJ)]

What I normally do with all LEDs is to drill the hole in the panel so that the LED is a close fit and use a dab of Evo Stik or araldite to hold it secure. Avoids having to use holders.