{THE LED LIGHTBULB}

Step 4 [PREPARING THE BASE]

What makes this a normal bulb is its base; it can fit into any existing fixture. You do have slight freedom with the base, however, since all fixtures are not created equally. The purpose of the PVC channel is to house the excess wire and give a bit of extra length if the fixture requires it. The one shown is made to be quite long for a specific fixture. The procedure for making the base is as follows:

1. Drill Holes - Make two small diagonal holes on each side of the base plug, in between the prongs. Make sure the hole starts at the outer edge and ends slightly inward, in order to ensure that these mounting holes do not interfere with the functionality.
2. Strip and Tin - Strip the wires and twist the strands together. Apply solder to the ends. (what we call "tinning")
3. Insert - Insert the wires into the holes and secure them with bits of plastic. If you want, you can also solder them in place with a very fine tip, which I do not posses.
4. Check - Set your multimeter to the diode check mode. Touch each multimeter probe to each wire end; nothing should happen. If your multimeter beeps, then there is a short somewhere, so you should check your work. Now, keep one of the probes on a wire end and touch the other to a contact on the base. There should be conductivity indicated on one and not the other. Repeat this for the other wire.
5. PVC - Cut your desired length of PVC pipe and drill holes in it. Attach the base plug to one end with cable ties. We will later mount the circuit board to the other.