I guess I forgot to post an update to the update of my workbench. Not only did I clean up the gigantic mess that had accumulated on it, I improved the lighting and workspace availability:
Electronic Workbench LED Lighting Upgrade
Prior to this upgrade, I had fluorescent lighting under the blue cabinets over the bench. They extended down about 3 to 4 inches and kinda got in the way. I also didn’t think through the placement, so they were back about half-way under the cabinets. This meant they didn’t put light out on the front edge of the tabletop like I would have hoped. Here’s the old lighting:
Old Fluorescent Lighting
The monitor on the left barely fit behind the light and the light extended down lower than the top of the monitor. Dumb. I might have been drinking bourbon that day. Like, more than a shot or two. No matter. That is history. Today, we have wonderLEDs!
EDITOR’S NOTE: I’ve attached PDF files of the pentagon PCB and the motherboard PCB. If I had time to label them and make them pretty, I would, but this was never designed for mass production or consumption. Use at your own risk and frustration.
For those with a short attention span, I give you a photo of the completed project (my biggest to date):
Completed LED Mood Lamp
If you’re interested in the story of this things, continue reading…
This idea came about randomly as a gift idea for my wife. I’ve built useless machines, clocks, etc. for other people (and myself), but hadn’t built anything for my wife. I’m not sure what she’s going to do with this thing, but it’s the thought that counts.
For those of you with short attention spans, like me, here is a quick and lame video I threw together in iMovie:
I am building this for the new awesome bed I will be building this winter for our bedroom. There will be two of these lamps, one for me and one for my wife on either side of the headboard. The LED head will have a metal (or whatever I end up finding) shroud on it to keep light pollution down to a dull roar for the other person who might be sleeping.
OK, I am not making one of these and I did not make this one, but I consider this to be super-swanky and a must-show-off piece in my collection of strange old things.
I inherited this from my grandmother who passed away around Christmas of 2009. It’s plastic, but my grandparents purchased it for-real in Hong Kong when they lived over there. It’s dirt-old and reminds me of the leg lamp from the movie A Christmas Story. When my parents brought it down to me and my wife saw it, all I could say was, “It’s frah-jee-lay.” It’s awesome is what it is.
This will be the first thing filed under, “Swank-n-Funk.”
It’s been a little while since I updated the site. I’ve had a lot going on. There are a number of new builds I will be posting in the coming weeks. This is about the latest.
Problem: At night, when I read in bed and my wife is trying to sleep, the lamp on the night stand is kinda bright and obnoxious and, even though she says it doesn’t, the light disturbs her. I had been using a little USB-powered LED lamp that I bought for my laptop on long night time airplane rides. However, I can’t charge my iPhone while I’m using that light. Only one USB cable available at the night stand. Also, that light isn’t quite bright enough for my liking. What to do?
Build a reading lamp out of stupidly bright and nearly stupidly tiny LEDs.
Here is the proof print for the light’s PCB which will be mounted on the end of a flexible “gooseneck” that will extend from the night stand or from the headboard of our as yet unbuilt bed:
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