480 LED desk lamp modding with awesome brightness.

Julian Holtz

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 4, 2005
Messages
343
Location
Germany
Hi Guys!

A couple of days ago, I finally finished my first fixed LED project.

I like my government's decision to drastically reduce the size of Germany's armed forces.
Firstly, this reduces cost for the taxpayers, and secondly, a lot of sparingly used equipment from closed bases with awesome quality is now available on ebay.
This is where it all started. The reputable lamp factory SIS Germany offers a nice desk lamp for around €200.

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I found the same type on Ebay for around €30, coming from old Bundeswehr inventory.

This lamp is made to last. All metal, a sturdy construction, a nice design and easy to work with. Everything is bolted together, no hidden clips, rivets or glue.
Orignially it came with 2 pityful 9W CFL lamps, but the head was stripped of those and their sockets quickly.
What this lamp is missing at it's head is a handle, and a switch, so I installed these first. I also changed the part that connects the head to the arm, as I did not need a sidewards swivel joint. The old part lies in the middle. Then I installed a 670mA LED driver with a range of 35-70V. It refused to work properly at first, until I found out that there is a hidden CFL ballast in the lamp arm. After disconnecting that ballast, the problems were gone.

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The extruded head allows to slide in an aluminium sheet of 203x167x1.5mm, so I ordered some of them from a machine shop. Next I got some cheap LED strips from ebay with 120 Leds/m.
I put them on the aluminium sheet, and used a warm white one in every third position, as I did not want the light to be completely cool. I wired them 5s4p. This way, I have 5 groups connected in series, with each group consisting of 4 strips in parallel, each 200mm long. The result needs 58V and works well on 670mA.

YODpsrh.jpg


I connected this to the driver, and assembled everything. It works like a champ! The output is so much better then the 100W incan I had before. Although I am a tint snob on flashlights, where I prefer neutral white, the tint on the cooler side works really well on this desk lamp. It looks futuristic and encourages activity and productivity. I could not be happier with this light, and considering I paid €30 for it, €15 for the driver and LEDs each and €10 for the switch and handle, it is an awesome bargain. I have 2 more in the basement waiting for LED installation.:thumbsup:

Here are some more pictures:

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Lamp head from behind. The handle is a type also used on a server rack.

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Fixing on the desk.

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The new lamp with the old one behind it.

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Quite bright indeed.

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The old lamp:

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Photo album:

http://imgur.com/a/lPyAo#2

http://imgur.com/a/cfG9T

LED strips I used:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/190648195210...eName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

(120 Leds/meter, "white" and "warm white")

For similar projects with a different number of LEDs or strips, I recommend a cheap 12V/5A laptop power supply instead of the one I used.

Cheers,

Julian
 
Last edited:

Norm

Retired Administrator
Joined
Jun 13, 2006
Messages
9,512
Location
Australia
Your images are oversize, when you post an image please remember Rule #3

Rule #3 If you post an image in your post, please downsize the image to no larger than 800 x 800 pixels.

Please resize and repost. - Thanks Norm
 
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