Greetings All:
I would like to thank D. J. EE and/or Admin. for allowing me to join this outstanding forum, and I promise not to abuse my privileges. I did not receive the validation Email, Nonetheless; I was able to Logon. Someone, somewhere is wearing the thinking cap. I am a Vietnam Era, former USAF SSGT with experience in Russian Language, Cryptology, Radio, Radar, Telemetry and (do not laugh) Morse Code and Vacuum Tube Technology. Remember the R390A. I studied the Russian Language at Skytop (for 9 months) on top of the mountain at the University Of Syracuse (Go Orange). I have worked for NSA, DOD, and have been stationed at Amarillo AFB, Goodfellow AFB (San Angelo TX, Ole), Tuslog Det. 3-2 (Samsun, Turkey, where Michael Franks advanced all the way to the European Finals in the 1968 Olympic Hammer Throw.) and FT. George G. Meade (in Maryland where Eisenhower and Patton nearly killed themselves mishandling a 50 Cal.). My immediate ancestry is British, German and touch of Native American. Potawatomi/Cherokee for me and Seminole/Cherokee for my brother (half brother, Go FSU).
Potawatomi
After seeing Dave's extremely interesting (and enthusiastic) Blog on LEDs, Heatsinks, and Thermal Calculations, I have decided to add more light to my bench. I am adding to my 22W Circulate (1100 lumen) 3 Diopter (I.E. X1.75 magnification) Desk Clamped Magnifying Lamp (Hong Kong 50$ Special), an approximate 1800 lumens, by using 6 Cree XPGs (1 A, 3.3 V), a 1 amp wired Buckpuck (with PWM, Pot. control, for dimming), powered by a 2.5 Amp 12 V Wallwart SMPS from Jameco. The Crees will be in two strings of three.
Heatsinks are made from 3/4" long 5/8" diameter copper water pipe with soldered end cap, slotted (by hacksaw), and screwed to the interior vertical flange. The Crees will be epoxied to end caps using Arctic Silver. Will the heatsinks be adequate? Only Bodgineering will tell. With careful assembly, the heatsinks should still allow removal and replacement of 22W Circline lamp, at will, as well as obscuring only a tiny fraction (+/- 2%) of the viewing area at the extreme edge of the lens.
l should explain that; When my brother was doing roof repair, he hit the mains with a shovel, bricking nearly every appliance in the house. I have, accordingly, had to replace, in addition to the down legs, weather cap and weather head for the house mains (never mind the Building Permit, Courthouse visit, and Body Scanners) , the Circline transformer, which was in the little box at the base of the light. I was unable to find a replacement transformer. I did, however, find a 22W used ballast on Ebay (from a women's bathroom somewhere in a Bayonne, NJ industrial warehouse). It was to large to fit into the box at the base, so I screwed it onto the arm near the lamp head. Therefore, the box at the base, now being empty, except for the 120V 3 prong receptacle can now contain the 2.5 Amp SMPS, minus the plastic housing and plug prongs. The SMPS can then be soldered into the mains. Using the the mains for grounding, one need only run one well insulated wire to the Buckpuck (less than 3/4" cubed), which is then concealed in the Circline lamp housing.
The end result is that I will have added to my 22W, 1100 lumens, Hong Kong 50$ Special Circline Mag. Lamp, an additional 1800 lumens (switchable and dimmable), providing a 160 percent increase in illumination, for an additional toll of less than 22 watts. The Crees can be switched off or PWM throttled from 0 to 100 percent, allowing me to turn off the circline and use the Crees as an adjustable nightlight. My lab is in my bedroom. And as you might have already guessed, for the nonce, I am a bachelor.
The Bill of Materials for this project ranges between 60 to 120 Dollars U.S., depending on your junk drawer, and scrounging abilities. And, if you are wondering why one would go to all this bother, and expense; please note that bifocal wearing, balding greybeards need a lot of illumination and magnification (not to mention hearing aids). I am presently searching for a good deal on a 5 Diopter Mag Lamp (please Email me any suggestions). Additionally, and most importantly, to my way of thinking, is the pleasure of making things do exactly what you wish, instead of what some Jelly Bean Counter estimates you will be willing to accept at a given Price Point, with Marketing touting all the drawbacks as Features.
I hope to have my website up and running by the end of this year. In the meantime please feel free to Email me with any questions or suggestions. I would particularly welcome any pointers on my calculations, grammar, punctuation and spelling. My aim is to communicate cogently. My design philosophy is Dodger when possible, Bodger when necessary and Boffin when absolutely unavoidable. Wham Bam, Could I buy you lunch, Your eyes are like limped pools. Bob's your Uncle.
I have a couple of upcoming projects:
(1) For a Biologist friend of mine: Refit a standard 55 Gallon Aquarium Hood with two 1 Amp Buckpucks and two strings of 6 each 1 Amp 3 V Cree XPGs. XPGs to be Arctic Silver Epoxied to a single or if necessary two 5/16" or so thick (width is whatever) aluminum bar(s). Power supply will probably be two 12 V 2.5 Amp SMPS Wallwarts (Jameco), but a bodgered linear is possible, (suggestions please). Power Supply and Buckpucks to be contained within a waterproof (I.E. Grad. Student Proof) container, Maxwell, Sadi, and Carnot allowing. Certainly at least the Buckpucks (given enough silicone) can be easily made waterproof. Lenses are to be siliconed to Crees thereby allowing both downreach and waterproofness. All uninsulated connections to be siliconed after careful cleaning, hopefully making the entire hood grad..., Uh, I mean waterproof. At first glance this seems like an easily attainable Bill Of Particulars. Please let me know if you see any pitfalls. You Reef Specialists out there: Please let me know if I an committing any piddly diddlies.
The Prof. (who will remain nameless, bless her heart) is doing an OTB project at an undisclosed location, to study some of Florida's most beloved (at least by children , biologists, fishermen and fisherwomen) species. Namely the Florida (Gulf Coast) Grass Shrimp - Palaemonetes Pugio, and the Mosquito Fish (Hetrandria Formosa); a very small, golden fish, with brown or green speckles, (1/2", at most, long) live bearer (relative of the guppy), a beautiful fish, and an absolute master of cover and concealment. When pressed this little golden one is able to untremblingly hold to cover with a serenity and faith that few of us could muster with all the chips riding. Holding deathly still it looks a lot like this coma, It can imitate the smallest piece of debris, flotsam, or even slightly murky water. If you do not believe me; just try to net one. You cannot catch one by looking for it, but only by netting up some surface material where it likely to be, and sorting it out later. I would send D. J. a few except that OZSAS would probably be ordered to terminate both of us with extreme prejudice.
With both Pices and Cancer represented, also included will be the lowly freshwater clam, with no zodiacal sign to clap it's bivalves around. The Florida Shiny Spike (Elliptio Buckleyi) and/or the Paper Pondshell (Utterbackia imbecillis), no relation, will be batting cleanup. Apparently all of these animals at one point or another in their lives compete for the same planktonic food sources (as well as being planktonic food sources themselves). Although for the most part a top to bottom pecking order prevails; The Mosquito Fish on top, the Grass Shrimp mid-water and the Clams on the bottom. All the other, smaller, flora and fauna in the tank, will be whatever obtains by accident, like the rest of Florida.
For now the Grads will, in a suitably gradual manner, twiddle the sunrises and sunsets on and off, at the approximately correct times. They will vary, within reason, the PH, Salinity, Hardness and Turbulence (seasonal, seasonal-random and random-non-seasonal. Duly recording all on charts. Data is to renormalized (via the Monte Carlo Method) to account for modular amplitude and frequency stretching, and foreshortening of the data envelope inevitably caused by unavoidable introduced errors engendered by the lunar influence on the hominid estrus cycle, and the availability of 241 at the local. A quick and dirty (Wham Bam) method to mitigate the seasonal variation in the solar polarization angle has yet to be devised and for now is being neglected. If anyone has any ideas on this, other than moving the light source in relation to the aquarium, please let me know.
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