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Post by ab5ni on Oct 6, 2014 16:09:12 GMT -5
I'm not really sure where I should post a message like this, but I guess this is as good a place as any. Please feel free to move this to a more appropriate area, if necessary. Okay. Here's what I have in mind. Many years ago, I really used to enjoy the way my old tube TV sets and radios lit up the room to the point where I really didn't even have to turn on a light to see things around my bedroom or radio shack. I miss that overall ambient lighting, so I began thinking about ways to get it back in my life. What I'm thinking about doing is drawing some ventilation "vents" on a cardboard box and backlighting the thing with a bunch of parallel, bright-orange LED's. I'm talking about using bright LED's here. I thought about just getting a bunch of tubes and a 6.3V supply and just hooking up the filaments, but with the current cost of electricity, that might get to be a tad expensive, especially if you wanted to "night light" a room for any extended period of time. For a power supply, I'm thinking why not use one of those damn wall-warts we all collect? . So, what do you guys think. This idea worth any of us pursuing, or should I put my cap back on and "try" thinking again? 73, Randy AB5NI
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Sandbagger
Administrator/The Boss
Posts: 6,245
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Post by Sandbagger on Oct 7, 2014 8:20:31 GMT -5
I'm not really sure where I should post a message like this, but I guess this is as good a place as any. Please feel free to move this to a more appropriate area, if necessary. Okay. Here's what I have in mind. Many years ago, I really used to enjoy the way my old tube TV sets and radios lit up the room to the point where I really didn't even have to turn on a light to see things around my bedroom or radio shack. I miss that overall ambient lighting, so I began thinking about ways to get it back in my life. What I'm thinking about doing is drawing some ventilation "vents" on a cardboard box and backlighting the thing with a bunch of parallel, bright-orange LED's. I'm talking about using bright LED's here. I thought about just getting a bunch of tubes and a 6.3V supply and just hooking up the filaments, but with the current cost of electricity, that might get to be a tad expensive, especially if you wanted to "night light" a room for any extended period of time. For a power supply, I'm thinking why not use one of those damn wall-warts we all collect? . So, what do you guys think. This idea worth any of us pursuing, or should I put my cap back on and "try" thinking again? 73, Randy AB5NI Sounds like a job for Sparky and his strips of LED's. I have a Lafayette Comstat 25 that fills that bill nicely.
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Post by cbrown on Oct 7, 2014 8:39:20 GMT -5
It's your radio room, just do it and see if you like it.
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Post by ab5ni on Oct 7, 2014 10:17:47 GMT -5
I'm not really sure where I should post a message like this, but I guess this is as good a place as any. Please feel free to move this to a more appropriate area, if necessary. Okay. Here's what I have in mind. Many years ago, I really used to enjoy the way my old tube TV sets and radios lit up the room to the point where I really didn't even have to turn on a light to see things around my bedroom or radio shack. I miss that overall ambient lighting, so I began thinking about ways to get it back in my life. What I'm thinking about doing is drawing some ventilation "vents" on a cardboard box and backlighting the thing with a bunch of parallel, bright-orange LED's. I'm talking about using bright LED's here. I thought about just getting a bunch of tubes and a 6.3V supply and just hooking up the filaments, but with the current cost of electricity, that might get to be a tad expensive, especially if you wanted to "night light" a room for any extended period of time. For a power supply, I'm thinking why not use one of those damn wall-warts we all collect? . So, what do you guys think. This idea worth any of us pursuing, or should I put my cap back on and "try" thinking again? 73, Randy AB5NI Sounds like a job for Sparky and his strips of LED's. I have a Lafayette Comstat 25 that fills that bill nicely. Should u have an old, vented rig hanging around that you plan on stripping for parts, by all means use it for this kind of setup. I guess you could put in a small, transistorized rig in there as well and actually use the thing to boot . 73, Randy AB5NI
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Post by ab5ni on Oct 7, 2014 10:27:02 GMT -5
It's your radio room, just do it and see if you like it. Going to try it next time I get some bright LED's. Have an old stereo from the 70's that has TONS of vents. Going to put a transistorized AM/FM radio in the thing and give that a shot . 73, Randy
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Sandbagger
Administrator/The Boss
Posts: 6,245
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Post by Sandbagger on Oct 7, 2014 11:57:10 GMT -5
Sounds like a job for Sparky and his strips of LED's. I have a Lafayette Comstat 25 that fills that bill nicely. Should u have an old, vented rig hanging around that you plan on stripping for parts, by all means use it for this kind of setup. I guess you could put in a small, transistorized rig in there as well and actually use the thing to boot . 73, Randy AB5NI No, my Comstat is fully functional, has the warm glow of tubes as well as the unmistakable glow of small incandescent bulbs which project those patterns of slats onto the ceiling, exactly as it did 40 years ago.
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Post by ab5ni on Oct 7, 2014 15:40:20 GMT -5
Should u have an old, vented rig hanging around that you plan on stripping for parts, by all means use it for this kind of setup. I guess you could put in a small, transistorized rig in there as well and actually use the thing to boot . 73, Randy AB5NI No, my Comstat is fully functional, has the warm glow of tubes as well as the unmistakable glow of small incandescent bulbs which project those patterns of slats onto the ceiling, exactly as it did 40 years ago. Ah, okay. Well, I don't have a rig like that just yet, unfortunately :/. I was also thinking along the lines of placing the thing in other rooms besides the shack, such as a den, living room, or bedroom. 73, Randy AB5NI
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Sandbagger
Administrator/The Boss
Posts: 6,245
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Post by Sandbagger on Oct 7, 2014 20:07:06 GMT -5
No, my Comstat is fully functional, has the warm glow of tubes as well as the unmistakable glow of small incandescent bulbs which project those patterns of slats onto the ceiling, exactly as it did 40 years ago. Ah, okay. Well, I don't have a rig like that just yet, unfortunately :/. I was also thinking along the lines of placing the thing in other rooms besides the shack, such as a den, living room, or bedroom. I'm sure you could find an old Disco ball at someone's nostalgic garage sale....
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Post by ab5ni on Oct 7, 2014 20:33:13 GMT -5
Ah, okay. Well, I don't have a rig like that just yet, unfortunately :/. I was also thinking along the lines of placing the thing in other rooms besides the shack, such as a den, living room, or bedroom. I'm sure you could find an old Disco ball at someone's nostalgic garage sale.... Disco? NO WAY! . I'm more of a classic rock and blues guy, enjoying bands like Pink Floyd, the Beatles, Clapton, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, the Rolling Stones, etc. OTOH, I guess I could always add an arduino board and sensor to flash the LED's in the rig to the beat of the music. 73, Randy AB5NI
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Post by BBB on Oct 8, 2014 9:07:35 GMT -5
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Post by ab5ni on Oct 8, 2014 9:12:36 GMT -5
Yeah, that new album is going to be awesome! If you search YouTube, you can hear a small clip of one of the instrumentals. 73, Randy AB5NI
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