USB Laptop Lamp (COMPLETED)
Yay! I did it! Well not really. I did managed to successfully make a USB power lamp, but what I didnt succeed at is keeping the cost down. Here is the breakdown of the things I had to spend money on.
Cost:
White LEDs = RM5
Variable Resistor = RM1
Variable Resistor knob =RM1
Total RM7.00
Here's How It's Done:
Things you need:
1. Unwanted USB mouse (or a USB connector)
2. Mini DV tape cover
3. Aluminum foil
4. clothes hanger
5. White LEDs
6. Trimmer pot (variable resistor)
7. Audio Jack sleeve
Tools:
1. Pliers
2. Soldering iron and solder
3. Scissors (cutting and stripping wire)
1.
Opening up the mouse we can see that there are four cables (pic). Now how do we know which one is the voltage output and which one is the ground cable? Use a LED to test each point. It’s quite troublesome but I managed to get it after about four tries. I found:
White= anode (5V)
Blue = cathode (GND)
This may vary with devices so I suggest that you test the points yourself.
2.
Use pliers to undo the clothes hanger and twist the wire around the USB connector (pic). Make sure that you wrap it such that the USB trident logo is facing upwards so you don’t have your lamp pointing downwards when connected.
3.
Use a soldering iron to burn two holes in the DV tape cover. Then thread the hanger wire and the USB cable through the hole (pic). Then make two other holes only for the coat hanger and thread it through (pic). This will make sure that your lamp head doesn’t go flopping around all over the place. Also gives you the option of having a little hook and the end of the lamp head.
4.
Burn another hole on the top so you can put your variable resistor through (pic). Now you can use the aluminum foil to wrap the back of the lamp head so the light is directed downwards. When done with the above, it should look like this (pic).
5.
Connect the two LEDs with solder in parallel (pic). They work well connected in serial too, but somehow the dimmer effects with the variable resistor weren’t as obvious.
6.
When soldered down, anode to the variable resistor and the cathode to the blue wire, it should look like this (pic). Close the cover and keep your fingers crossed.
FINITO!!
FINAL PRODUCT:
Dim mode.
Bright mode.
Conclusion:
Though I didnt make the below RM5 cost target that I set just to spike Danny, I think my product compensated by having a dimmer. It's pretty necessary because lets say you're in an airplane and your lamp is too bright. Then you can dim it!
Overall I'm pretty satisfied with the results. The clothes hanger wire is quite stiff but it's still flexible and it holds well. A smaller lamp head would be great too cos the MiniDV tape head is a little big. But the cool thing about the tape cover is that you can open it easily just in case you want to change the LEDs.
Cost:
White LEDs = RM5
Variable Resistor = RM1
Variable Resistor knob =RM1
Total RM7.00
Here's How It's Done:
Things you need:
1. Unwanted USB mouse (or a USB connector)
2. Mini DV tape cover
3. Aluminum foil
4. clothes hanger
5. White LEDs
6. Trimmer pot (variable resistor)
7. Audio Jack sleeve
Tools:
1. Pliers
2. Soldering iron and solder
3. Scissors (cutting and stripping wire)
1.
Opening up the mouse we can see that there are four cables (pic). Now how do we know which one is the voltage output and which one is the ground cable? Use a LED to test each point. It’s quite troublesome but I managed to get it after about four tries. I found:
White= anode (5V)
Blue = cathode (GND)
This may vary with devices so I suggest that you test the points yourself.
2.
Use pliers to undo the clothes hanger and twist the wire around the USB connector (pic). Make sure that you wrap it such that the USB trident logo is facing upwards so you don’t have your lamp pointing downwards when connected.
3.
Use a soldering iron to burn two holes in the DV tape cover. Then thread the hanger wire and the USB cable through the hole (pic). Then make two other holes only for the coat hanger and thread it through (pic). This will make sure that your lamp head doesn’t go flopping around all over the place. Also gives you the option of having a little hook and the end of the lamp head.
4.
Burn another hole on the top so you can put your variable resistor through (pic). Now you can use the aluminum foil to wrap the back of the lamp head so the light is directed downwards. When done with the above, it should look like this (pic).
5.
Connect the two LEDs with solder in parallel (pic). They work well connected in serial too, but somehow the dimmer effects with the variable resistor weren’t as obvious.
6.
When soldered down, anode to the variable resistor and the cathode to the blue wire, it should look like this (pic). Close the cover and keep your fingers crossed.
FINITO!!
FINAL PRODUCT:
Dim mode.
Bright mode.
Conclusion:
Though I didnt make the below RM5 cost target that I set just to spike Danny, I think my product compensated by having a dimmer. It's pretty necessary because lets say you're in an airplane and your lamp is too bright. Then you can dim it!
Overall I'm pretty satisfied with the results. The clothes hanger wire is quite stiff but it's still flexible and it holds well. A smaller lamp head would be great too cos the MiniDV tape head is a little big. But the cool thing about the tape cover is that you can open it easily just in case you want to change the LEDs.
posted by Mike Ng at 4:45 AM
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