/diy/ - Do It Yourself

So here are the notes I have so far:
1 - I feel like this would be the best place to place lighting, but I'm not sure how to mount it to the interior of the shell without damaging it. I could probably use Velcro strips for a light enough strand.

2 - I think this would probably be my least favorite of the 3 spots to place lights -- Unless the lights are really bright, they probably wouldn't be able to illuminate the areas below the ridge they sit on. One advantage is that installation wouldn't be as challenging as spot 1.

3 - I feel like this would be the easiest place to install lights because we can use clear tape to attach lights around the metal frame of the window. One great advantage is that I could use super bright LEDs and simply wrap them around so that the light is facing directly outwards from the window, so it wouldn't be directly facing us. I'm a little skeptical about how well it'll light the whole room though.

Also, many of the reviews I've seen for EL light strips have said that there's a high-pitched buzzing sound when they're on, which I REALLY don't want to deal with.

By the way, I'm posting with a name now.

I just use a luci light. Not elegant but it works. They have a frosted version for subdued illumination.

>>1034852
That's not at all what I'm looking for. I want something that I'll never have to hold, AND that will provide a big, soft light. From what I saw in the initial Google search, a Luci light wouldn't accomplish either of those things. Not to mention, it looks like it would be difficult to use without shining it directly into our faces.

And when I say "big soft light", what I mean is that it won't cast very dark shadows. I want lighting that will actually illuminate the whole space rather than using a single small light source that will only be useful when pointed or placed in a certain spot. (pic related) Not to mention, I have no idea where I'd put one of those things. At least with strips, I wouldn't take up any space, which is something we don't have much of.

>>1034849
EL wires won't be bright enough, you are looking at a typical use case of led strip here, put them on the ridge pointing up, perhaps even inside a pvc channel that shields it sideways, so the light is going up to the walls and ceiling while not shining into your eyes.

>>1034849


12v LED strip and hook it up to a car battery. If the battery is fully charged, you'll need to run the LEDs for a long time to run it flat. You'll need to arrange a method of fusing them of course.

Here is a perfect example:

http://www.lightingever.co.uk/12v-led-strip-light-300-3528-5m-ww.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwuJu9BRDP_-HN9eXs1_UBEiQAlfW39pLhZevNC-tioyHScZXJiVtcvhACYVNNut4c9eZG7tgaAlo-8P8HAQ

and dimmer:

http://www.lightingever.co.uk/remote-controller-dimmer-led-strips.html

>>1034862
>EL wires won't be bright enough, you are looking at a typical use case of led strip here
Well, that's a shame. EL lighting seemed to be pretty convenient and easy.

Do you know of any battery-powered LED strips that would be long enough to run a strand along the entire perimeter of the truck bed? I'm not seeing anything.

>>1034863
>12v LED strip and hook it up to a car battery. You'll need to arrange a method of fusing them of course.
Sorry, I'm not savvy at all when it comes to any type of electrical work, which is why I want to try and keep this light battery-powered. Do you think I'll HAVE to do some level of electrical work if I want enough LEDs to run along the perimeter of the bed?


Also, I AM very hellbent on keeping this lighting fairly soft, so in the event that I can't find a good way to install LEDs without having light in my face, would you guys have any suggestions on ways to diffuse the light? Perhaps some light cloth I can lay over it?

>>1034858
fair enough, you're looking for super diffused, even lighting. though luci lights actually cast light really well. i use one to illuminate my entire camper shell, enough to read/cook inside. they're not spot lights at all.

mount them on the ceiling with velcro, quick and easy.

>>1034878
>though luci lights actually cast light really well
The frosted ones can diffuse light the way I'm describing?

I'll definitely look into that if I run into complications with a light strip. I don't love the idea of using something that's cheap-looking, but the simplicity of it alone would be nice.

>>1034876
A fucking monkey could set up an LED light strip.

I mean, giving the suggestion I made being a fucking dead cert easy one, your negativity suggests your probably best paying someone to just do it.

You don't seem engaged. You want the answer without the effort.

>>1034909
>your negativity
...What's wrong with wanting a battery-powered system? We use the bed of the truck for a number of things, so I don't really want a strip that I can't just remove by pulling away some Velcro, tape or staples.

>You don't seem engaged
What does this even mean?

>You want the answer without the effort.
It has nothing to do with effort. I just want to know if there's a reasonable alternative to having to do electrical work. I've never done electrical work, so I'd prefer to avoid it -if I can-. What's so awful about that?

>>1034849

Light autist here. EL won't be enough for you to light up to see what you're doing. It's excellent mood lighting, but no much more. There's side emitting fiber optic, but it's a little brighter than EL. Your only real option is LEDs which you can make as bright or as dim as you like, so you can use it for mood lighting.

>>1034916
Holy shit, guy. A car battery is 12 volts, and is literally 2 wires, one red, one black, wired to the plus and minus side of whatever you're wiring up. To turn said thing on or off, you need a switch to stop power flow on either side of said wired device. It is by far the easiest fucking thing in the history of things. 99% of the time there's already power in the location for something. If not, and if you don't want to run a wires that far, just buy a 12V battery for the truck bed and hook up a light to it. Buy a car battery charger and charge battery when you're not using.

Jesus. Look up basic car electrical stuff before asking basic questions here. And by the way, you can buy frost spray shit and make any light 'soft.'

>>1034849
>>1034974

He's right you know

>>1034925
>Your only real option is LEDs which you can make as bright or as dim as you like
Yeah, the more I look into it, the more it seems like I'll have to resort to LEDs. I think I'll use a fairly small, battery-powered strip and mount them on top of the back window (top of line 3 in my pic), have them facing outward, and cover them with some sort of cloth or thick plastic to diffuse the light.

I do already have a small USB-powered strip, but I don't think it'll be big enough as it's only 18 inches long. Luckily I already have a power source for it. Thanks for your input.

>>1034974
>It is by far the easiest fucking thing in the history of things.
Actually, I think that being able to read the title of a thread is easier. Fuck you very much.

>>1035003
>cover them with some sort of cloth or thick plastic to diffuse the light
White plexiglass, cut or heat formed into a channel over the strip.

>>1035003
I'm the guy that suggested the LED light strip and said you'd be better paying someone.

I'm even more convinced you're and arrogant idiot.

I read your post and that's why I suggested BATTERY POWERED DIMMABLE LED LIGHTS.

Dense cunt.

>Being able to read the thread title is easier

Reading the fucking replies to it is just as easy then. Why don't you try it.

>>1034925
Is it possible to see the source code ? I'm curious about how you generate these waves

>>1034849
Holy fuck all these overly complicated ideas. Just get a bright light and shine it at the ceiling. Unless the ceiling is ultra gloss paint it'll diffuse the light. If you need it to be dimmable then just make that light source dimmable easy. No fucking with lighting strips and far better diffusion.

>>1035042
That's a fantastic idea, thanks a bunch!

>>1035047
You're just mad cause you're angry.

>>1035070
>Holy fuck all these overly complicated ideas. Just get a bright light and shine it at the ceiling
I don't really see how one would think that these are complicated ideas, and this is coming from someone who wants to stay away from any sort of electrical work. The main reason I want a stationary strand of lights I can "install" in there is because it sucks fumbling around in the bed of the truck in the dark holding a phone light and flashing myself in the face.

My girlfriend and I spend a considerable amount of time going places and catching sleep in the back, so I wanted to put some effort into making it more convenient. Not to mention, the key thing here is that this lighting should be dim/smooth enough to also be mood lighting.

>>1035132
>I wanted to put some effort into making it

Having read your list of desires and demands, sated only by your complete lack of ability, I'm curious as to where you intend to put this effort?

Put some effort into reading basic stuff about how batteries work - test a 9v on your tongue - light an led with a 3v button cell..

If not - start a thread on /out asking which flashlight is best suited.

>>1035132
Stop calling wiring in an LED light 'electrical work.' that's like calling cutting down a tree 'arboral devertification.'

I don't understand why you're mad about people treating you like a retard, you obviously are not capable of anything more then hanging a flashlight in a truck bed. However, you insist that there is some magical other way.

When you find it, let us know how wrong we all were.

As someone has already suggested, 12v car battery under the seat with 2 wires coming out of it to a switch and a potentiometer (variable resistor) to control the brightness. a long led strip running around the ceiling will do perfectly fine from the battery. What you could do as well is run it from original car battery with switch next to the driver's console, ldr (light dependant resistor) mounted on a boot. If you actually take the truck apart on the inside and run cables behind the upholstery and do it proper it will be permanent and will actually INCREASE the truck's resale value. More and more people want some sort of light in their trucks. If it was mine i'd run a 3way switch with a feed to variable resistor at the back and ldr on the grill. the switch would have 3 positions OFF/LDR/VARIABLE RESISTOR and just as I park decide which one I want to use. For driving i'd use LDR as it would be the most efficient one and easiest to use at night without hurting your eyes and giving strong reflections in windshield.If you want more advanced system where you can read and your gf can sleep you could use few smaller strips instead of 1 long and run seperate on/off switches with dimmers (variable resistor). all of the stuff you'll be able to pick up in your local electronics store and the diagrams on how to wire up ldr and variable resistor are available online on millions of school grade physics

Sometimes, its easier to suggest somebody as dense as op should simply not attempt a project as simple as wiring said led's to a pot, let alone to a 12v supply in said heavy duty pick up rig.

Id suggest you drag your ass to ebay and buy some $2 touch activated led lamps, as old ladies put inside their cupbords, with 2x AA batteries, and stick self adhesive velcro on them.

This way, they are there when you need them, there is no smoke when you try wiring black to red and red to yellow behind your stereo, and the velcro is so good nowdays you would even need a crane to get it out.

>>1035063
0. turn all the green and blue LEDs on
1. turn the rightmost green LED off
2. wait
3. turn it back on
4. turn the next green LED off
5. if not at the end, go to step 2, else go to step 1

And then you take a video with a shitty camera and convert the video to a gif for maximum artifacts.

>>1035063

Give me a minute.

>>1035192

Not even close, but I do have your source code.

If(dick != mouth.in){

findDick(suck);

}

>>1035543



uint32_t Wheel(byte WheelPos) {

WheelPos = 255 - WheelPos;

if(WheelPos < 85) {

return strip.Color(255 - WheelPos * 3, 0, WheelPos * 3);

}

if(WheelPos < 170) {

WheelPos -= 85;

return strip.Color(0, WheelPos * 3, 255 - WheelPos * 3);

}

WheelPos -= 170;

return strip.Color(WheelPos * 3, 255 - WheelPos * 3, 0);

}

uint32_t WheelAurora(byte WheelPos) {

WheelPos = 255 - WheelPos;

if(WheelPos < 85) {

return strip.Color(0, WheelPos, WheelPos * 3);

}

if(WheelPos < 170) {

WheelPos -= 85;

return strip.Color(0, WheelPos * 3, 255 - WheelPos * 3);

}

WheelPos -= 170;

return strip.Color(0, 255 - WheelPos * 3, WheelPos);

}

void aurora(uint8_t wait) {

uint16_t i, j;
long int decCode = results.value;

do {

ir_receiver.resume();

j = j + 1;
for(i=0; i<strip.numPixels(); i++) {

strip.setPixelColor(i, WheelAurora((i+j)));

}

strip.show();
delay(wait);

if(j > 256) {

j = 0;

}

if (ir_receiver.decode(&results)){

ir_receiver.resume();

decCode = 100;

}

}while(decCode != 100);

}//end aurora



ignore the decCode stuff, that's for an IR remote.

>>1035543

void aurora(uint8_t wait) {

uint16_t i, j;
long int decCode = results.value;

do {

ir_receiver.resume();

j = j + 1;
for(i=0; i<strip.numPixels(); i++) {

strip.setPixelColor(i, WheelAurora((i+j)));

}

strip.show();
delay(wait);

if(j > 256) {

j = 0;

}

if (ir_receiver.decode(&results)){

ir_receiver.resume();

decCode = 100;

}

}while(decCode != 100);

}//end aurora

uint32_t Wheel(byte WheelPos) {

WheelPos = 255 - WheelPos;

if(WheelPos < 85) {

return strip.Color(255 - WheelPos * 3, 0, WheelPos * 3);

}

if(WheelPos < 170) {

WheelPos -= 85;

return strip.Color(0, WheelPos * 3, 255 - WheelPos * 3);

}

WheelPos -= 170;

return strip.Color(WheelPos * 3, 255 - WheelPos * 3, 0);

}

uint32_t WheelAurora(byte WheelPos) {

WheelPos = 255 - WheelPos;

if(WheelPos < 85) {

return strip.Color(0, WheelPos, WheelPos * 3);

}

if(WheelPos < 170) {

WheelPos -= 85;

return strip.Color(0, WheelPos * 3, 255 - WheelPos * 3);

}

WheelPos -= 170;

return strip.Color(0, 255 - WheelPos * 3, WheelPos);

}//end Wheel

[/code]

Ignore the decCode stuff. That's for an IR remote.

The entirety of the code is over a thousand lines. I even have a function to choose custom colors.

Just get a LED lamp and magnet or velcro it to the roof. If the lighting isn't defused enough, place white translucent material over the lights. Scotch tape might be enough.

>>1035180

OP is too dumb / obstinate to work with a 12v battery - he sure as hell isn't going to wire a potentiometer or anything else.

OP needs a flashlight.

I've had a couple 3-setting pop lights in the bed of my hobo truck for like 8 years.
I replace the batteries maybe once a year and between the 3 I have, it's way more than bright enough.

>>1035543
I LOL'd.