🌟 [ 5 ]   Hack your solar lights into Uranus and other planets [ @bigclivedotcom ]

Hacking new LEDs into solar lights and ruggedizing them against the elements has always been a thing on this channel, and as summer is approaching it seems a good time to buy a couple and see if they ve changed much inside. Nothing much has changed, so that makes popping in a new LED (or two in series) quite an easy project. It lets you customise your lights and experiment with different colours and LED styles. I like the idea of a planetary theme with these translucent globes, since some planets have vivid colours, like Neptune, Uranus and Mars. If you live in a part of the world with lots of sunshine then you can swap in a lower value inductor for a brighter LED, and if desired, the NiMH cell can be upgraded too. Conversely, if you live in a darker part of the world you can extend the run time of lights at the cost of intensity, by changing the inductor to a higher value, up to around 470uH. As always with solar lights, placement is important. They should be a clear view of the sun directly for as much of the day as possible. The difference between direct sun exposure as opposed to just seeing a bit of the sky is massive. Sometimes it pays to shuffle the location of lights. Waterproofing the PCB and trying to prevent water creeping down the sides of the solar panel is important. Electrolytic corrosion can destroy lights very quickly. It s sometimes useful to drill a drainage/breather hole in plastic lights too, to reduce the amount of internal condensation. That also lets bugs in, but it s a small price to pay for the increased longevity of the light. Vaseline, silicone grease, nail varnish, spray lacquer, and other protective coatings can be used to shield the PCB and cell in your light from water. If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:- [ 🔗 Click ‼️ ] This also keeps the channel independent of YouTube s algorithm quirks, allowing it .

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🌈 🔎 HackyoursolarlightsintoUranusandotherplanets 🌈