Millenium 1 bypass with ultra-bright leds.

[Samy]

I always use ultra or superbright LEDs in my builds, they are visible anywhere even in a sunny day ....
I have a small problem ( not a big problem ) with the millennium 1 bypass and these LEDs, to turn off the LEDs completely i must use J201´s but they loose their brightness ! I have decreased the limiting current resistor from 4,7k to 1k and i don't see any significant changes. If i use other jfets they get brighter but i can't shut them off completely, that's why I'm using j201´s .
I don't know why but i don't have any luck using the millennium 2, never works like it should be... I'll try in a couple of weeks the millennium C.

Any tip to solve this problem ?
Thanks.

[R.G.]

a. use a different LED
b. use a different JFET
c. use a resistor in parallel with the LED
d. use a diode in series with the LED
e. figure out why the Millenium 2 doesn't work for you; luck is not a factor in circuits
f. go to the Millenium C

[Samy]

I have played a bit with Millennium 1 and changed some values, unfortunately, i didn't have good results ! Works fine with normal LEDs but with ultrabright i just can't get them brighter. I have fooled around with the current resistor without any good results, current isn't high enough.
I will clear my mind a bit and try later...
It's an excellent and simple circuit but i really need to understand what I'm doing wrong...

Never knew why i couldn't get Millennium 2 Working ! I'm not a rookie, not an expert either but today i have messed around with it again with success.
I have checked the BS170 manufacturer's datasheet and found that i was using a different pinout ( one mistake found ) ... that was quite simple! But then, I tried one, two, three mosfets and nothing ... Tried another and worked OK with normal LEDs but not with ultrabright ! I was really pissed off ! Then i have adjusted the resistor to have +/- 15mA and tried again, brighter LEDs but they didn't turned off completely. Tried another mosfet and ... voilá ! Bingo ! Works 100% !
I found three perfect mosfets to use them in Millennium 2 but after tweaking for a while, i burned two ! They are really fragile ...

I'm waiting for some components to give Millennium C a try ...

P.S. Sorry my English ...