Panel indicator stays away from its source

For safety, ergonomic, or enclosure-routing-path reasons, you sometimes need to locate a panel-indicator LED at a distance from the pc board's LED itself. Lumex targets these needs with its LPI-C011701CS series of remotely lit LEDs (Picture). It uses an optical fiber that clips onto the source LED; you terminate it at the far, indicating end in a 7-mm-round lens that mounts through any 1.8- to 4.8-mm-thick panel. The vendor, using the traditional "3-dB-down" power-attenuation point, notes that you can locate the indicator as far as 250m away from the LED; in practice, most applications place the indicator less than 1m from the source. The panel-indicator lens is available in a variety of colors. Prices start at $1.80 (1000), depending on color, fiber length, and lens options.

Lumex Inc, 1-800-278-5666, www.lumex.com.