Showing posts with label Light. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Light. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Helping Hand from old Black and Decker Snake Light

Hi fellow instructables.  First time poster long time loiterer ;).

I needed a new set of helping hands for a long term project I've been working on.  Lots of soldering and fiddly bits and my old helping hands have been falling apart. All that's left is one alligator clip and the cast iron base.

I found two Black and Decker Snake Lights at a junk shop for $2 each.  These were from the 90's with good ol' incandescent torch globes.  I'd been looking for something similar to make my helping hands and thought these would do perfectly. I'm keeping one for an LED conversion later.

One of these snake lights should be able to make 2 to 3 helping hands.

The only tools you'll need for this are:

- Thermoplastic (http://www.plastimake.com)
- 2 x Large Pliers or Pliers and a Vice
- Scissors or a box citter/exacto knife
- Star shaped security screw driver (optional - you could crack/smash/destroy the case open)
- Alligator Clip/s
- Kettle for boilding water
- Oven (Optional for molding)


View the original article here

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Rechargeable Helmet Light (electronics)

I was tired of having clip-on bike lights stolen and decided to build a set of head and tail lights into my helmet.  The final helmet has bright white LED headlights, flashing LED taillights and runs off a rechargeable Li-Po battery.   For an extra challenge I decided to do the switching and flashing entirely with analog components and use SMD electronics where possible for a smaller form factor.

I'll describe the process by which I designed and built the electronics.  The plastic enclosure I built wasn't anything special and I would redesign it if I repeated the project.  Schematics, layout and SPICE simulation are in the attached ZIP file.

Parts are detailed in the schematic in the next step.

Tools & Supplies:
- Laser cutter (at the TechShop)
- Soldering iron
- Tweezers
- Helping hands
- Toaster oven
- Spackle knife
- Painters tape
- Fine (<#70) drill bits, chuck and drill
- Dremel (or other tool capable of cutting PCB)
- Wire snips
- Needle nosed pliers
- Black spray paint
- PCB etchant
- Solder paste
- Electronics solder
- Li-Po charger


View the original article here

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Tea Light Chandelier

I like the double tea light chandelier from http://www.lightsfortents.co.uk/, but I didn't like the shipping charge they were asking. What's a maker to do? Well, make one obviously!

Materials:
21 Tea light holders (I'm using IKEA Sommarmys)
Plywood (I used 18mm thickness, because that's what I had lying around)
Chain link 3 meters.
6 screws with a large head.
6 pieces of felt for use under chair legs.
1 Carabiner

Tools:
Router (or jigsaw if you don't have one)
Drill press or hand drill
Circle cutting bit
Sander or sanding paper
Compass
Calipers
Rulers
Screw driver

If you have access to a laser cutter, that could be used instead of the router, drill press and circle cutting bit.

My plan is to take the chandelier with me when we're going camping and hang it in a bell tent. As it packs nice and flat it should be relatively easy to transport.


View the original article here

Friday, November 29, 2013

Mount a Light to your Bike with a Clothespin

Mount a Light to your Bike with a Clothespin

If you're riding your bike at night, a good light is an absolute must. We've shown you a couple ways to make your own, but if you already have one, a clothespin works great as a mount.

Granted, most of these lights come with a mount, but if yours breaks, or just doesn't work well with part of your bike, this is a great alternative to going out and buying a new light. All you have to do is attach the light to a wooden clothespin with two zip ties, and clip it to your bike. Bike Hacks demoes the process by sticking it on a luggage rack on the back of a bike, but the placement will obviously vary from model to model. The upshot of this hack is that you can transfer the light easily between multiple bikes as necessary, making this great for sharing. Be sure to check out the source link for the walkthrough.

Clothespin Bike Light Hack | Bike Hacks

Friday, October 18, 2013

DIY Outdoor Light

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View the original article here

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Traffic Light Cufflinks

I do not wear much jewellery, apart from a wedding ring and some cufflinks. At lot of my cufflinks are Traffic Light themed. However I wanted something unique.

So I decided to build some real Traffic Light cufflinks. I would not be able to design, prototype and build this in previous years - without a BIG development budget . However with 3D printing available in metal - it is not possible for a hobby development like myself.

All the hardware and associated software is open sourced.

The cufflinks - do:-
- Normal UK Sequence. (Red, Red-Amber, Green, Amber, Red)
- Normal Pelican Sequence. (Red, Flashing Amber, Green, Amber, Red)
- Report the time  (Series of encoded flashes)
- Report the date (Series of encoded flashes)
- Current Temperature in Celsius (..flashes)
- Stored number of up to 20 digits. (..flashes)

The case act as a touch sensor. Every four seconds the ATtiny wakes up to see if the case is being touched. This ensures that the coin cell isn’t drained by constantly driving the LEDs. Then displays one of the above based upon the number of touches.


View the original article here

Monday, July 22, 2013

Turn an NES Controller into a Night Light

When you need to get up at night, it helps to have a little light so you don't stumble through the dark. If any light will do, why not make an awesome one out of an old NES controller?

Instructables user lonesoulsurfer decided to do just that with some lights, AAA rechargeable batteries, a solar panel, casting resin, and a few other materials. While not the simplest of ways to turn a controller into a night light, you definitely get a pretty awesome product in the end. Check out the video above for a demonstration of all the different features of the light and the Instructables post for the full how-to.

NES Controller Night Light in Resin


View the original article here

Monday, July 8, 2013

camping light up slippers hack

(1) a pair of thick fuzzy slippers

(2)  two  led car key lights

(3) Thin  wire for led wire extensions from a diode bought from Radio Shack

(4) needle and thread

Step 1~ disassemble the led key lights from the key ring.

step 2~ set aside the key rings you wont be needing them

Step 3~Save all parts from the led assembly .


View the original article here

Thursday, June 27, 2013

NES Controller Night Light in Resin

Materials

1.  NES Controller. 
The one that I used didn't work anymore.  You can purchase these from Ebay

2.  3 AAA rechargeable batteries

3.  5.5v solar panel -  Ebay

4.  Clear 5mm LED lights -  Ebay

5.  Mercury switch - Ebay

6.  Rear bike light. 
I found this one on the ground!  You can buy them though from Ebay for dirt cheap.  The one that I have linked to is a 9 LED, the one I used had 7.

7.  Computer wire.  Pulled from an old PC

8.  Casting Resin.  purchased from my local hardware store

9.  Mould.  - Ebay

10. Diode

Tools

1.  Soldering Iron

2.  Solder

3.  Pliers

4.  Hot Glue

6.  Drill

7.  Stanlley knife.

8.  Dremmel


View the original article here

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Book Light

Here is all you will need.

Book (make sure it is quite thick to handle depth of the socket)
6' extension cord
light switch
light socket
electrical tape
razor
light bulb
glue (I actually never used it)
drill

The Forstner bit set was $20 at Lowes.  It is very important to use this type of drill bit as traditional bits, paddle bits, and routers will make a very rough edge and will not look good.  The two bits I used were the 1 3/8" and 1/2".

I have seen some people use a watered down Elmer's Glue solution on the page edges to keep them in place but I didnt want to take the chance it would ruin the gold look that is on my specific book.  
Also, some people have used dry wall screws to hold the pages together.  I have personally not tried this but I would consider it as long as you dont place them close to the page edges.


View the original article here