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#31
08-17-2016, 06:56 AM
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Quote:
I wish I still had my infrared thermometer, it would make my answer much more reliable. For the 5630s, after running them at full power for 2 hours, I can still hold my finger on the aluminum strip for a full count of ten. The heat on the inside of the arch is probably about the same as it was when I was using a 2 swing arm lamps with 28 watt CFL 'daylight bulbs' (equivalent to a 100 watt incandescent). Again though, YMMV based on the heating/cooling and the type and power of the LEDs. I've got some pictures that I'll post here once I get them moved to my PC from my phone. Jim 
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#32
08-17-2016, 09:54 AM
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Pics, part 1
Okay, I took some shots of the arch I made with the 5630 LEDs, which I call 'Arc Mark II'. I apologize in advance for the not so great pictures, all I currently have is my cell phone.
Picture 1 is the unlit arch on my miniatures painting table. There is another identical table to the right for model building that I plan to put one on as well. Picture 2 is the arch lit at 100% power. Picture 3 is the arch lit at 50% power. There isn't much difference in the pictures, but it's very noticeable in person. Picture 4 is the mounting. The angle bracket is a 90 degree bracket designed for use with screen doors. I drilled two holes through the aluminum strip and attached it to the bracket with #10 machine screws and nuts (probably overkill mechanically, but it's what I had). You can also see my oh-so-clever way of folding the strip over for another pass. You could also cut and solder wire across the strips, if you want to make them look neater.
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#33
08-17-2016, 10:01 AM
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Pics, part 2
Here are the rest of the pictures I took.
Picture 5 is a close up of the original 2835 LEDs I got in the kit. Picture 6 is a close up of the new, more powerful 5630s on Arc Mark II. Picture 7 is a side by side comparison of the two. The 2835s are on the left, the new 5630s on the right. Picture 8 is a bonus shot of the remote control I got in the kit. It's an RF control, so you don't need line of sight. Makes it very convenient to turn on and off and adjust the brightness of the strip. I also threw these photos into an album, for reference. Jim
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#34
08-17-2016, 11:19 AM
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3528 dang it!
In my posts above, I consistently referred to '2835s'. That's not right... the original LEDs are 3528s, which are older and not as powerful as the 2835s.
Dang dyslexia! Jim
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#36
08-30-2016, 11:12 PM
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OK........ put mine together (temporarily) tonight. I'll take pictures of what I've got tomorrow (after I clean up my work area!)
I used an 8' section of 1/16" x 3/4" aluminum to attach my LEDs to........ two rows wide with about 11" cut off the 3 meter strip. The 3/4" wide bar only allows a 2 wide strip assemble.......IF you want more than 2 rows go wider! First observation....... they are bright and white.......... but not as bright as I expected. They will not be enough light by themselves, but make a very good addition to what I WAS using. Maybe if I made up another one it would be good enough to use without the lights I had been using. My total cost was less than $20.00 USD........not including the 12 v power supply......... which I already had. Add another 5-10 dollars for that and a remote if you want one.......... I'll just unplug mine from the adapter. I thought I had enough light before I added this "Light Arch", but after turning it on and seeing the difference with it, I am very happy to have spent the 20 bucks..............Lots of light with very little shadow on the desk..... Now just gotta afix the end angles permanently and attach it permanently to the desk. I'll post up some pics tomorrow, but really it looks almost exactly as Tolomere's............ Oh and it is a high enough arch so that I don't bump my noggin on it!!! As a former convict says.........."It's a good thing!"
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#37
08-31-2016, 06:12 AM
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Cool!
Very cool!
It probably depends on how much other ambient light you have in the room, as to whether they're enough to light everything. I still find myself turning on one of the swing arm lamps to provide a little more general light around the desk. I agree on the shadows too... it's really nice, all over lighting that doesn't leave many shadows around. One thing I've seen other miniature painters do is mount two strips in a 'X' from corner to corner on the desk, which gives massive amounts of light. Not sure I'm ready for that much. My son (16 years old) came up with a great suggestion... instead of mounting the strip permanently using the angle brackets, he suggested using a small aluminum channel, and screwing that to the desk. Then, mount the strip to the brackets and feed those into the channel, making the whole strip able to slide back and forth on the desk. This would allow you to position it exactly where it gives the best light for the project. I'm planning on a Mk. III here in the near future, and I'll post some pictures when I do it. Jim
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#38
08-31-2016, 07:33 AM
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Yeah I thought about doing that myself........ but my desk is not very deep so making it moveable would be a bit of overkill.
Like you I will probably upgrade to the brighter 5630s the 3528s are just not bright enough by themselves. Also mine were the waterproof versions and I think that is not really necessary for this application, and may have made them dimmer because of the waterproof coating.
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#39
08-31-2016, 08:22 AM
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Quote:
If you look in a couple of the pictures I posted, you might note some screw holes a few inches behind where the arch is mounted now. The problem I had was that on the miniatures painting table, I need the arch to be closer to me as I hold the miniature to paint, but for modelling, I'd prefer it to be farther away, over the cutting mat, to direct the light down. With it in the 'old' position, over the mat, I had to lean too far forward to get the light to 'fall' properly on the miniature. Hence, the kid's suggestion of a movable mounting. He's pretty clever... must get it from his mom 
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#40
08-31-2016, 09:18 AM
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Any comments about the heat generated by the lights?
__________________
This is a great hobby for the retiree - interesting, time-consuming, rewarding - and about as inexpensive a hobby as you can find. Shamelessly stolen from a post by rockpaperscissor 
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