Make LED lighting that is powered directly from the AC mains (120-Volt AC), due to the lack of having any inexpensive AND safe enclosures for the circuitry. While I was gathering some old failed CFLs one day with the intention to recycle them, I realized that the body of CFLs (aka the ballast cases) would be about the right size for holding the circuitry needed to make some compact 120-Volt LED
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lamps. In addition, the CFL bodies are designed to be both fire-retardant and safe for use with AC mains power; thus making them a safer alternative to cheap "project" boxes. Though, the best attribute of reusing a CFL ballast case is that you get the standard edison screw base connector for easy interfacing to most existing light fixtures. In order to reuse the CFL`s ballast case, the case needs to be separated from the fluorescent tube (which is usually a spiral shape. Most CFLs are constructed with a joint line between the bottom of the fluorescent tube and the top of the ballast case. This joint between the two plastic parts of the case is usually epoxied together, so the best way to separate it is to cut through the seam. I`ve found that the best way to open this joint is to use a hacksaw to cut all the way around the CFL until the plastic seam is completely cut open*. Once the seam is open, the fluorescent tube will only be connected to the ballast case by 2 or 4 very thin, uninsulated wires. These wires can easily be cut with a knife or wire cutters*. See My TCP EDO-9 CFL teardown page for more photos of the teardown process. * USE CAUTION WHEN HANDLING THE CFL to ensure that you don`t shatter or crack the fluorescent tube. Most fluorescent tubes contain trace amounts of mercury and must be recycled or otherwise disposed of properly! After you`ve separated the ballast case from the fluorescent tube, you can usually...
This project fits more for custom made battery casing that can have more space to hide things inside. This switch with few alterations can be used for any other project as well but is designed based on e-bike needs! This project use a clever functionality of....
The circuit described here uses ultrasonic oscillations and operates based on the propagation velocity of these oscillations in the air. Thus, we can easily determine the distance of two points if the time within which the wave travels this distance is....
Sometimes the precious metals are hidden too deep and are not detected except with complicated devices. In many cases, however, small pieces of precious metal buried near the surface can be detected by relatively simple means. Everyone is very attractive to....
Many times for various reasons we forget or can not water the plants that we have in our homes. And many humidity sensors units just notify us with a beeping sound or with a flashing light, that the pot needs watering. But what if we are away from home? This....
The principle behind a metal detector is really very simple. Proof of this is the circuit that follows, in which it proves that the construction of a metal detector can be done in the minute, with few components that we find very easily everywhere. With the....
The sub-harmonic bass generator is a sound producing unit for guitars. The sound it produces looks very much like that of the bass guitar. The octave generator is sometimes quite unusual since it does not produce any of the usual ways of coloring the sound,....
In the past the sounding (sea bottom measurement) was done with the "bullet", that is, with a heavy lead object that the seamen plucked into the sea hung from a calibrated rope. As soon as the "bullet" reached the bottom, the depth appeared directly from the....
This Amplifier was designed to have the following specifications: Distortion less than 0.1% at full power of 100W even at 20KHz. Power has to be attributed to an extended bandwidth. The output transistors must be protected against short circuits. The power....
A series of LEDs serve to alert the gardener when plants need water. Using two conventional digital integrated LEDs and a series of LEDs, we make a very useful device for gardening. The device detects the amount of water in the pot and alerts the grower.....
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