Holoprojector LEDs

I can't seem to stop playing with dome lights.

This evening I experimented with making an array of bright LEDs remotely controllable for the front holoprojector.

I picked up this 12-LED array from Pep Boys. It runs on 12 volts, which matches my main power supply in the body of the droid. (The dome lights normally run at 9 volts in my droid.)



Of course, this means I need to run a wire from the body to the dome, and yes, I realize that I'd need a slip ring if I wanted to spin the dome very far.

I decided to recycle my connector for the solenoid on the mist can for the purpose of turning on and off the HP light. I picked up a new phono plug from Radio Shack and got to work soldering.



I unplugged the phono plug that's attached to the mist can, and in its place, plugged in the LED array. This is really cool, it means that I can remotely control any 12-volt device with a phono plug attached to it using switch #14 on my KeyKoder.



I powered up the droid and flipped switch #14 on. Here it is with the camera flash off.



Ah yes, blindingly bright, just as it is intended to be. (There's a color calibration issue with the flash off, the front PSI does not really look magenta. Either that, or the shutter caught the transition from blue to red.)

Here it is with the camera flash on. Still very bright.



Once that little experiment was done, I took it all out and restored the original single LED that is powered by the batteries in the dome, and I restored the mist can to working order.