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Xringer · 12-19-10, 12:14 PM

Modernized our reading lamp with the LEDs.

That old lamp was running at 40 watts and could burn your fingers,
when you reached back to adjust it, or turn it off.

I ran about 12' of old speaker wire down to the battery area in the Ham shack.
Put a 2A fuse in the line. Used one of those insulated inline 3AG types.

This lamp is used 2 to 3 hours almost every night. It was starting to get really old. (over 30).
When I removed the old socket, I found the diode, that I had installed
many years ago (to get half power) had burned in half, but the molten
halfs were still touching under the insulation. No wonder it seemed so bight.
Not a safe lamp IMHO..

Anyways, this will be our first DIY Solar powered lamp. I think it will be pretty useful too.

At 2.7 watts, it should be perfect for those really long power-failures..

Note:
The installed picture seems to show some pearls floating up out of the little
heat vents on the socket end of the lamp housing.
They aren't phantom pearls, it's an aberration caused by shaking hands.. I think..
Humm, maybe the ghost of ancient technology?

12-19-10, 12:14 PM	#13
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Modernized Antique reading lamp Modernized our reading lamp with the LEDs. That old lamp was running at 40 watts and could burn your fingers, when you reached back to adjust it, or turn it off. I ran about 12' of old speaker wire down to the battery area in the Ham shack. Put a 2A fuse in the line. Used one of those insulated inline 3AG types. This lamp is used 2 to 3 hours almost every night. It was starting to get really old. (over 30). When I removed the old socket, I found the diode, that I had installed many years ago (to get half power) had burned in half, but the molten halfs were still touching under the insulation. No wonder it seemed so bight. Not a safe lamp IMHO.. Anyways, this will be our first DIY Solar powered lamp. I think it will be pretty useful too. At 2.7 watts, it should be perfect for those really long power-failures.. Note: The installed picture seems to show some pearls floating up out of the little heat vents on the socket end of the lamp housing. They aren't phantom pearls, it's an aberration caused by shaking hands.. I think.. Humm, maybe the ghost of ancient technology? Last edited by Xringer; 12-19-10 at 02:19 PM..