New Bed Light
2019-08-01 22:24 - Making
After I built the bedsofa, I rearranged the bed and sleeping area around it. It had to go up against a wall to avoid tipping over when I lean on it. But the head of the bed was previously in open space. When I turned the bed, this made the light there, hanging from the wall, end up at the foot. Not a great way to illuminate the area, like for reading.
For a while, I pointed it at the ceiling and lived with the indirect light. The existing fixture won't work well in the new space that I've got. I've looked for fixtures that would work better, and found nothing pleasing. But I also have this strip of LED lights, which I intended to install in my 3D printer. (And, of course, never quite got around to doing.) It puts out a ton of efficient light, even just a small part of the reel I've got. The picture above is the "prototype", just taped to the wall. It's intended to run from 12V (and I picked that because the 3D printer has ample 12V power available).
In bed, I actually want very subdued lighting. A half meter of that LED strip running at 12V is really brighter than I want. I've got plenty of spare AC adapters lying about, but they're all too high or too low. But I also have some spare DC/DC buck converters! So now I've got a 12V AC adapter, into a buck converter that's infinitely variable, with its output powering the lights. I can tune it to the exact brightness I want. Perfect.
I recently found this ultra-cheap extruded aluminum channel. Pop an LED strip into it and instant light fixture. I got this V shaped version which mounts at a 45 degree angle. I intend to point it towards the ceiling for primarily indirect light.
