LED Position Markers

www.simscustom.com

Slug

 

http://www.fretfx.com/

 

I have a ritter with leds and it ran a grand to do. not cheap but very very bright!

I own the patend on and am developing phosphorescent fret markers. It uses "glow powder" to charge and glow after the lights go out, they charge fast and stay bright for quite a while.
they also last in excess of 7 years. they are plastic infused and inlay just like regular fret marking dots.
the poor mans LED!
anybody interested the first batch will be out by summer Namm next year. any other questions PM me.
Todd

 

How about tritium vial markers (like used for gun sights) ... if you are paying $1000 for LEDs, then this should be a bargain. A dozen markers (enought for one neck) @ $5 each, or $60 for a neck. Not bad.

I'm not sure if they are legal in the States (the tritium comes from an Israeli nuclear wepons reactor that doesn't exist). China probably has it for less ... I should check.

 

I use a set of the fretfx leds on my Modulus Q4. I wear bifocals and the leds really help.

Jim

 

www.fretlord.com, you dont have to pay hundreds of dollars for leds, there glow in the dark markers that will stick on your existing ones for only 7 dollars, for 14 dollars you get this led light thing you add on your bass, pretty cool stuff

 

I have a full set of Simms LEDs on my 55-94 Standard Lakland. They do help in dark beer bars, especially if you also do vocals, but I really wish only the side dots were LEDs.

I already got rid of all my "coffee top" exotic basses for more conservative, everyday kind of guy basses, and when I turn on the LEDs I get a lot of attention I'm not looking for, heck if I wanted that, I'd play guitar.

That said, I love the side LEDs, and wish I could put them on all my basses ($500 a pop for side LEDs is fine, but I play at least 3 basses during a gig), but the glowpowder dots will work just fine when Todd gets 'em done. I've done my own on a bass or two, but it's a pain to get them professional looking.

 

they make tritium in Oak Ridge, Tn.

 

Yeah...prob illegal. haha. I just find that funny. It is a great idea though

 

I have leds sidemarkers on my Alembic and my Status and I love them. I'm currently having a Knuckle Quake bass made with them as well. At one time there was a thread here about how to DIY led sidemarkers. See if you can get it using the Search.

 

I have LED side markers on my Alembic (free upgrade that month) and they are great - bright enough to see in full daylight. Though I do wish all my basses had them I can't spring for that kind of cash so I have an alternate method.
I have a '62 Jazz and the side markers are so tiny they're virtually invisible in anything other than bright light. I take either masking tape or that cheap thin white plastic tape, cut little triangles (around 1/4" high-YMMV) and stick them on the side of the neck. They don't mar the finish in any way and are very easy to see. They last a few gigs, more or less, are easily replaced and don't damage the bass.
I've found it to be a simple and inexpensive way that works. You can make them as big as you need to (and nobody can see them except you).

 

I doubt the tritium will give you cancer. I often have three vials of the stuff a lot closer to my package than the vials in the bass neck will ever be to your body.

However, I do remember seeing that you have to send the sights back to Trijicon or whoever made them to replace them if the vials fall out... they won't just send the vial to you.

 

FYI, the tritium vials are available for gunsite use in the US from a number of companies, and are totally legal.

- Tim

 

For 60 bucks, the fretfx LEDs are bright, easy to install, and you get a choice of colors. I am sorry I didn't have them years ago!

Larry

 

The problem with tritium isn't going to be in the radiation emitted by the beta decay (it emits an electron and an antineutrino) from one of the dots. It won't give you cancer in this manner because the activity of the source is very low, plus the high speed electrons (beta particles) are blocked pretty well by clothes. The real danger of tritium is from either ingestion or inhalation. Since the dots are a glass vial with a phosphor coating with a tritium gas inside, you'd have to crush them. Even if you did, there wouldn't be enough to do any serious damage to you unless you crushed a lot of them at the same time (probably a few hundred or thousand of them).

Another thing to think about is that since tritium has a half-life of 12.3 years, these dots may only perform as you want them to for about 5 years (based on how often gun sight manufacturers recommend replacing them). In 5 years you'll have to replace them or just live with them not being very bright anymore.

 

Appears is the key.

Tritium is something I have to deal with in my research so I have to know a bit about it.