Print PDF
Favorite
Email
I first came up with the idea for the Girlfriend Nightlight when my significant other
revealed that she was afraid of the dark and couldn't sleep without the television on.
Being easily distracted, I can't sleep when the television is on. After several disagreements, she proposed that we purchase some kind of a nightlight. I inquired what kind of a nightlight she had in mind, to which she replied that it would be extremely cool if I could find a blue one.
Find? Possibly. Invent? Oh yes. Several days later, I showed up with the prototype Girlfriend Nightlight, and she absolutely loved it. It does an excellent job of permeating a room with just the right amount of atmospheric blue light, draws plenty of interest at parties, and ended all disagreements about sleeping with the television on.
My girlfriend also thereafter swore that I was some kind of genius. The truth is that after selecting all of the electronics and materials, assembling the Girlfriend Nightlight is pretty straightforward. I built the first one in a few nights' worth of spare time... and so can you.
revealed that she was afraid of the dark and couldn't sleep without the television on.
Being easily distracted, I can't sleep when the television is on. After several disagreements, she proposed that we purchase some kind of a nightlight. I inquired what kind of a nightlight she had in mind, to which she replied that it would be extremely cool if I could find a blue one.
Find? Possibly. Invent? Oh yes. Several days later, I showed up with the prototype Girlfriend Nightlight, and she absolutely loved it. It does an excellent job of permeating a room with just the right amount of atmospheric blue light, draws plenty of interest at parties, and ended all disagreements about sleeping with the television on.
My girlfriend also thereafter swore that I was some kind of genius. The truth is that after selecting all of the electronics and materials, assembling the Girlfriend Nightlight is pretty straightforward. I built the first one in a few nights' worth of spare time... and so can you.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1A few things before getting started...
Let's begin by listing a few things you want to do before getting started.
1.) I'll assume that you know how to solder, and that you have a basic understanding of electrical circuits as well as a basic understanding of electronic components. You shouldn't need to thoroughly understand the physics going on inside a resistor or a capacitor or be able to recite the mathematical formulae that govern their use, but you should have a concept of what these things are and what they do. If you're starting with electronics for the very first time, this is a great project for you to try to build, but may I suggest you begin by first reading Sparkfun Electronics' excellent “Beginning Embedded Electronics” tutorial at:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/tutorial_info.php?tutorials_id=57
2.) You'll want to make sure that you have a clean, well-lit space to spread out and build your nightlight.
3.) You'll need some basic tools - a pair of wire strippers, a pair of pliers, a small philips screwdriver, an electric drill, a simple multimeter, and a good soldering iron. I've built this nightlight using a cheap nine-dollar hobbyist soldering iron as well as a spectacular variable-temperature soldering iron. Trust me, it makes a massive difference.
4.) While this project could very easily be built using one single spool of wire, I'd strongly recommend using two different colors of wire. I used red wire for anything having a positive charge, and black wire for anything connected to ground. It is massively helpful to be able to look at all of the wires in your circuitry and be able to tell at a glance which wires are ground and which wires are not. Getting into this habit now will serve you well when you advance to more elaborate and complex electronics projects.
1.) I'll assume that you know how to solder, and that you have a basic understanding of electrical circuits as well as a basic understanding of electronic components. You shouldn't need to thoroughly understand the physics going on inside a resistor or a capacitor or be able to recite the mathematical formulae that govern their use, but you should have a concept of what these things are and what they do. If you're starting with electronics for the very first time, this is a great project for you to try to build, but may I suggest you begin by first reading Sparkfun Electronics' excellent “Beginning Embedded Electronics” tutorial at:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/tutorial_info.php?tutorials_id=57
2.) You'll want to make sure that you have a clean, well-lit space to spread out and build your nightlight.
3.) You'll need some basic tools - a pair of wire strippers, a pair of pliers, a small philips screwdriver, an electric drill, a simple multimeter, and a good soldering iron. I've built this nightlight using a cheap nine-dollar hobbyist soldering iron as well as a spectacular variable-temperature soldering iron. Trust me, it makes a massive difference.
4.) While this project could very easily be built using one single spool of wire, I'd strongly recommend using two different colors of wire. I used red wire for anything having a positive charge, and black wire for anything connected to ground. It is massively helpful to be able to look at all of the wires in your circuitry and be able to tell at a glance which wires are ground and which wires are not. Getting into this habit now will serve you well when you advance to more elaborate and complex electronics projects.
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
wish i had a third arm to give you three thumbs up.
Connecting 2 holes together by means of solder may dramatically shorten the life of the components, as they will get extremely hot.
A wire link would be better, soldered in place at the same time as the original component. Apart from that, it looks good.
A few methods borrowed from 1980's DIY laser light show projects come to mind.
1. Use the kindergarten "put a record in the oven and watch it melt a little bit" method.
2. Clear model cement applied to a CD in strips or dot patterns.
3. Heat gun.
4. Reflective foil tape bits here and there.
5. Find the old gold coated write-once CDs and pull some of the coating off with tape to make patterns.
Please kindly ignore the fact that CDs were not available in the early 1980's and these ideas are updated for the current day. :)
Let's see, i got a moderlety bright blue led on my laptop, a brighter blue led on my dvd player / sound system combo, one sorta dim neon glow lamp on my 10 gallon fish tank's heater (tank has lot of guppys & 3 apple snails), another dim neon glow lamp on my 30 gallon tank 's heater (tank has more guppies & one, 7 inch long feeder goldfish named rudof (1.5 years old), and a realy brite neon glow lamp on the heater for 1 gallon "kritter Keeper" tank (as my guppy fry tank)
and to top is off, i listen to an air pump, an air stone, a air powered box filter, and 2 hang on the back filters on my 30 gallon trickleing water from about 3 to 7 inches to the waters surface, and since i'm used to the noise, I have a hard time sleeping without it.
Although the tank sounds might be nice. I use cat /dev/urandom > /dev/dsp & for white noise.
Here's a link www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/avoid-breast-cancer-sleep-in-the-dark-404522.html
Nonetheless, hope you keep the projects coming!
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1cGCmi/www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/
Great job!
BTW - this could also be used to make a pretty realistic looking Iron Man ARC reactor prop., or any other light for under counter cabinets, or even a bike light (if you lose the big cap, or make it switchable.
VERY VERY nice job!
You know, that was one of the most straightforward structables I have read in a long time, simple, well thought out and also well documented. 5 stars.
1) Gives clear explanation (not just what and how, but also why) in instructable, with lots of clear pictures.
2) Takes constructive criticism and updates/corrects article.
3) Gives good answers in comments.
4 stars and subscribed.
Keep writing!
Anyway, what a great instructable! What I'm most impressed by is your ability to creatively problem solve a relationship issue. Most people would have responded with anger and "Shaddup, woman. Whatchu need that dang television fer, anyway!" Five stars.
are you sure that there should be a 7805 inserted here?
geosword, great project. I was suppose to get a night light for my daughter this weekend but I think I'm just going to make something like you did. Good job.
Star Trek episode: Dagger of the Mind
It's Ironic that those words are actually never said in any movie, show, etc.
:]