# A DIY Ceiling Light For My Theatre



## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

I've had a ceiling light tray in my theatre since it was built..It's looking a bit worse for wear of late with some warp-age and swelling of the plasterboard panel..

I have an almost flat roof of "Cliplock" with very little space between roof and ceiling and certainly not enough room for anyone to crawl through..and moisture tends to build up in the cavity.. 

I decided to take it down and replace it with a centre ceiling light..
I looked around for a suitable light fitting from both local suppliers and on the internet and couldn't find anything large enough or of the style I was looking for..
I didn't want an oyster type light nor a pendant type..The style I was looking for (a more futuristic style) was only available in fairly small fittings..with very big prices!!

So I decided to make my own!..I originally thought of making it out of alum. which needed to be curved and folded..but in my neck of the woods, there are no sheet metal shops capable of doing the job..and I didn't feel like driving 200k just to get some metal bent..so I decided to make it out of timber instead..

The light source I will be using for the fitting will be a multiple string of 12v. LED's, in the order of 600 LED's..so there isn't going to be a heat problem using timber..

The light output will be controlled by an IR remote control dimmer, which will be programed into my Logitech remote..to be dimmed at the start of a movie..

One other thing I'm going to have to do is re-route my existing wiring for all the downlights and IR controllers, as they are currently wired to the ceiling tray! 

I will post photos as I progress..


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## ironglen (Mar 4, 2009)

You truly are mad! :dumbcrazy: Let the photo uploads begin!


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

:bigsmile: That's how I got my nickname at 19..I was doing mad experiments then as well!!


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

:nerd::T


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## Zeitgeist (Apr 4, 2009)

Look forward to pics!


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

Prof. said:


> The light source I will be using for the fitting will be a multiple string of 12v. LED's, in the order of 600 LED's..............


Store bought strings or are you making your own?


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

There was a time many years ago when I would have made my own.. But I don't have the time or the patience or a steady enough hand to do that anymore, so I bought two 5M. rolls of string LED's..


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Well the light tray is down, but it's left a bit of a mess of the ceiling! 
The anchors I used to attach the hangers to the ceiling for the light tray were of the fold down type that flatten out when you screw them in..They are supposed to straighten out again when you undo them..but they didn't, and so in getting them out I had to virtually rip them out while the arms were still spread..which took a large chunk of the ceiling with it!!.:gah:

Also there was an old ceiling exhaust fan that the ceiling tray had previously covered up..so that had to come out as well, which left a 12" diam hole in the ceiling as well!!..What a mess!! :hissyfit:
Being time poor, I decided the easiest way around the situation was to place panels over all that mess and paint it the same colour as the ceiling..Hopefully it would all blend into the ceiling..:innocent:

Then a brilliant idea came to me!.. I had to run new wiring for the ceiling light and I couldn't run it through the ceiling because the only way I could do that was to remove a section of the Cliplock roof..It's been constantly raining here and not a good time to be removing roof panels!!

What I decided to do was to cut a small groove down the length of the new panels on the ceiling side and run my new wire through that for the ceiling light..At one end of the panel, the ceiling light will butt right up against it, so you won't see any wiring and at the other end the panel will extend beyond and behind the screen wall, so that it will be out of sight..
It's only 12V. DC wiring so it will be perfectly safe..All problems fixed! :yay:

Here are some shots of the progress so far..The colours are not good and a bit grainy..My camera doesn't like taking photos in poor light conditions!

Here are two of the MDF panels in postion..These cover up the exhaust fan hole and some of the hanger holes..










Here you can see the wiring for the light protruding from the panel and one of the holes the anchors left!










The panels have now been painted and do blend in better than what the photo shows...although it looks like they could do with another coat of paint..










I'm still waiting on the LED strips and the IR remote dimmer to arrive..Hopefully there might be something in the post today..


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

Looks like an interesting project, Prof... I swear, there's nothing that people won't DIY these days. Furniture, light fixtures, there is some serious customization going on around here. Keep us posted with lots of pics, and I'm interested to see how the dimming works out too.


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## fitzwaddle (Aug 25, 2010)

Looks cool! :T

Has me thinking though - you could make it do double duty as a ceiling cloud. :T:T


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Owen Bartley said:


> Looks like an interesting project, Prof... I swear, there's nothing that people won't DIY these days. Furniture, light fixtures, there is some serious customization going on around here. Keep us posted with lots of pics, and I'm interested to see how the dimming works out too.


Thanks OJ..My philosophy is..If you can make it yourself..why buy it! 
I think you get greater satisfaction from your own efforts..if the end result turns out well..



fitzwaddle said:


> Looks cool! :T
> 
> Has me thinking though - you could make it do double duty as a ceiling cloud. :T:T


An interesting thought..but my skills don't extend to artwork!


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## fitzwaddle (Aug 25, 2010)

I meant an acoustic cloud (absorb ceiling reflections), not a painting of a cloud


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

This was one of my concerns about taking down the ceiling tray..
Since it was covered in velvet and inline with the centre speaker, I felt that it was probably helping with some dampening effect for the front speakers..
After taking it down I re-ran MCACC in another preset to check to see if there was any change in the reverberations in the room..It was almost identical, so obviously the tray wasn't doing much acoustically speaking..
I've played a couple of movies that I know well since taking it down and I can honestly say that I can't tell much difference..But with an acoustic panel in that position, it just might help improve the clarity of voices..


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

The lighting gear still hasn't arrived so I've been concentrating on the other side of this DIY project...The re-routing of the power and downlight cables..

I have now set up a master switch to control the power and lighting to all the equipment in the room..including the projector..
It is located just inside the entrance door, so I can turn everything on as I walk through the door..
Sorry about the poor quality pic.










All the light controllers and dimmers, along with the IR Remote Extender unit will be fitted into a panel section that will fit under my existing acoustic panel, nearest to the seating..
This will be covered with the same cloth I'm using for my panels and the finished result will just look like a long panel on the wall..when it's finished..


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

That's a great idea Brad... Prof., is it too late to mess around with your design to include a section of acoustic panel in some way? Here's a couple of ideas off the top of my head since I'm not feeling very productive at work today:


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks for the ideas..Probably the centre drawing idea is what I would do..Having one large panel to give maximum coverage for the front speakers..
That would also cover up those timber panels I've just put in and would give it a cleaner look..:T


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

Well it couldn't hurt, as long as the lighting area is self contained and you won't have any heat buildup issues. If you were used to having some treatment up there, it might be nice to incorporate it into this new project since you're building it to your own specs anyway. Just a thought.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

It's certainly something I'll be looking at further down the track..

In the meantime while I'm still waiting for the lighting gear to arrive, and not being able to even make a start on the ceiling light until they arrive, I decided to modify the panel on the opposite side wall, to match the new panel that will house the lighting controllers..










I still have to add some base mouldings to the bottom of the panel, but this will give you some idea of how the panels will look..They look more like columns now!


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

pic doesn't seem to show, Prof...


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Finally! the lighting gear has arrived..
I thought I was being a bit extravagant by buying 10M. of the LED strip lights, but it is so narrow that I think I'm going to need all 10M. to get enough coverage across the width of the ceiling light!

It looks like the final dimensions for the light will be 600 x 600 x 140 deep..
Here is the timber I'll be using for the sides of the light.,.










And the lighting gear..










I'm now just waiting on some gold vinyl to arrive from the UK.,but now that the weather has cleared I'll be able to start on the timber work..


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Mike tells me that the pics aren't showing up..Sorry about that..
What I can't understand is that when I look at this thread, I see all the pics.! :huh: :scratch:


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

I've re-loaded the IMG tags..Let me know if you can see them now or not..


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

We have lights!










And the lighting control panel is ready for the final wiring..


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

The side material for the light is now painted..The photo doesn't show it well, but it's like a hammer tone finish..


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

Project is looking good, Prof! How much light will those 2 spools output? They look really bright, but pics can always be deceiving. Oh, speaking of pics, I can obviously see yours now.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks OJ..The total light output for the two spools (10M.) is 30W.. In halogen terms, that's about 200W.! 

I've had a few setbacks on the project..The AC 12V. adapter and the dimmer both failed after only working once..(cheap Chinese rubbish)..and my painted timber panel got sprinkled with saw dust while the panel was still wet!..My own stupid fault..:gah:

I've now found a better quality AC adapter (local) and a much better dimmer (US)..Just waiting for the dimmer to arrive..
While searching the US site, I discovered that they have special plugin connectors for "daisy chaining" the individual strips..I was not looking forward to soldering these strips together, as the + and - contacts are very close together..The slightest carry over of solder across the contacts would short out the chain!

I've also bought some new timber and I'm now forming the sides of the light..I'll have some more photos shortly..


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

Sorry to hear about the setbacks, Prof., but it sounds like you have things under control. It seems like good adapters and dimmers are a little tough to come by for LED. I've heard of people having lots of different issues including outright failure like yours, erratic dimming, dimming to a certain point and then straight to off similar to "dimmable" CFLs... I hope the new setup works properly for you.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Yeah..Being the proverbial cheapskate, I look for the cheapest way of making something..Most times it works out..but not this time! :R

If I have any dimming problems with the new one, I might have to settle for just "on" or "off"..:dontknow:

The light is finally starting to take shape..


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## raZorTT (Jan 17, 2008)

Great stuff so far Prof!!

Where are the LED strips going to be attached? inside the square? or attached to the fins (for lack of a better word)?

Cheers,
Simon


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks Simon..

I'll be fixing a flat white Melamine timber panel to the ceiling..This panel will have approx. 20 LED strips attached to it..
The light frame will fit over the panel and be screwed to it..
The underside of the light fitting will have a clear prismatic acrylic cover fitted. to diffuse the light..At least that's the plan..


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## raZorTT (Jan 17, 2008)

Sounds great i'm looking forward to seeing some more updates


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

So am I. It looks like after your initial setback you got things moving along nicely again, Prof. When you first described it, I definitely wasn't picturing the "fins", and I'm interested to see where you're going with this.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

The "fins" are for purely decorative purposes, to give the light a bit of a futuristic look..

The light frame has now been painted..again!










The next step will be to apply the gold foil to the fins and then re-fit them to the frame..


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## raZorTT (Jan 17, 2008)

looking good Prof!


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks Simon,

Looks like we've got a few days of rain coming up, so I just got the painting done in time! :whew:
At least I'll be able to continue in doors with the gold foil application.. and when the strip connectors arrive, I'll make a start on getting the LED's wired up..


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Well, the gold vinyl foil has proven to be unsuitable for this application..It's very thin and creases very easily and creates a lot of air bubbles..It generally doesn't look very professional..
I also found that it's not sticking very well to the timber..So it was back to the drawing board..:scratch:

I recently found a similar product that has a thick paper backing that can be glued directly to the timber, so I'm hoping that this will give a much nicer finish..But it's coming from the UK, so it won't be here for awhile..

In the meantime, the dimmer and connectors should be arriving shortly, so I can then make a start on that side of things..


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## raZorTT (Jan 17, 2008)

That's a shame 

I hate when something like this happens, puts a real dent in your motivation!


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## robbo266317 (Sep 22, 2008)

Have you considered using a can of gold spray paint (automotive) for the fins?
I just refinished an antique floor lamp that had gold dragon claw feet and the paint came up nicely on them.

Cheers,
Bill.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Yes I did Bill..The effect I'm trying to achieve is that the fins look more like Bright Dipped Gold Anodised Aluminium..having that very smooth satin finish..
The gold foil board material has that look about it..

Painting them with a can of spray paint would certainly make life a lot easier, but it's not going to give me what I'm after..

The final effect (I hope) that I'm trying to achieve, is that when the lights are low, the black body of the light will virtually blend into the ceiling and the fins will look like they're floating in space..:bigsmile:


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

raZorTT said:


> That's a shame
> 
> I hate when something like this happens, puts a real dent in your motivation!


I get so annoyed when these things happen that it stirs me on, determined to find a better alternative..and determined to not let it beat me..:boxer:
This time I did find a better solution..but that's not always the case..:thud: :laugh:


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## jeremytodd1 (Sep 12, 2011)

What a unique project. I'm not much of a DIY'er but I wish I was.


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

I can't wait to see the finished product Prof. This is something I want to tackle early next year, luckily I have a great resource for it now! Looking good!


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

jeremytodd1 said:


> What a unique project. I'm not much of a DIY'er but I wish I was.


Thanks..At one point I was beginning to think that I had bitten off more than I could chew..But it's not over yet and the complication of the electrics could prove to be a bit of a problem.. 



Dale Rasco said:


> I can't wait to see the finished product Prof. This is something I want to tackle early next year, luckily I have a great resource for it now! Looking good!


:bigsmile: I managed to get a couple of the fins covered with the new gold foil yesterday..It bonded to the timber very smoothly with no creases or bubbles and they are looking more like what I was after..:T


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## raZorTT (Jan 17, 2008)

pics!  :T


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

raZorTT said:


> pics!  :T


I second that!


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

I just have to trim back the foil to the shape of the fins and then I'll get out the camera!


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

SUWEET!


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

The first fin is finished..11 to go!

I found it quite difficult to get a good pic..the sheen of the foil messes with the camera..










This one shows it a little better..


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## raZorTT (Jan 17, 2008)

Nice work Prof! the foil looks great. I think i'm starting to get an idea of what the end result will be like :T keep the pics coming


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks Simon,

It's quite a long drawn out process to fit the foil to the timber..It's quite stiff and has to be firstly creased to be able to fold it evenly..and then has to be bonded under pressure..
Hopefully, all the time and effort will be worth it..


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

The last two fins being bonded with the foil..

Tomorrow, I should be able to assemble the complete frame..


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

The frame for the light is completed..



















Next stage is to start laying down the LED strips..


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## raZorTT (Jan 17, 2008)

Looks great Prof! :T

I hope there is enough light so people can see all the effort you've gone to with the fins!! 

Are the strips going on the side facing into the middle or on a plate/ceiling and shooting down?

Cheers,
Simon


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks Simon..I think it was worth all the effort! :bigsmile:

The strips will be attached to the plate that is going to be fixed to the ceiling, so the lights will be firing down..
I'm just currently trying to calculate how many lengths I'm going to need to get a good coverage, so that it doesn't show strips of light, but just gives an overall light source..Obviously the closer the strips are together, the more likely that they will all blend into together..
I have 10M. of strips (which sounds a lot to put into that area) but that will give me a max. of 20 rows..Each row will be 20mm. apart, so hopefully that will be enough..

I'm also a little apprehensive about the sticky on the back of these strips, as to whether they're going to adhere to the Melamine ceiling plate..
I remember you had problems sticking yours down..What did you do to remedy this?


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## raZorTT (Jan 17, 2008)

Prof. said:


> I'm also a little apprehensive about the sticky on the back of these strips, as to whether they're going to adhere to the Melamine ceiling plate..
> I remember you had problems sticking yours down..What did you do to remedy this?


In the end I resorted to hot glue. They adhesive just wouldn't hold against the matt paint I used on the shelves.

If you don't have a hot glue gun you could try something my dad does when putting up cornice in a room that is already painted. Mix a little bit of aquadhere with some water and then spread that on the surface you want to stick to (the plate) then after it dries the adhesive will be more likely to hold. 

Cheers,
Simon


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

I like your dad's idea..If they don't stick, I'll give that a try..Thanks Simon..


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## robbo266317 (Sep 22, 2008)

The other alternative is to get a small tin of Bondcrete. 
It makes difficult surfaces easier to bond with.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks Bill..I will certainly give that a try if the Aquadhere doesn't work..

The Melamine board has a stippled surface, which in affect gives less contact area..and I think this going to limit the adhesion of the stick-on strips..I won't know until I try a section..
I should be able to make a start tomorrow on laying down the strips..

It took me half the day yesterday in trying to work out how these wired connectors join the individual strips together!
No instructions came with them and they look like they just push on..It wasn't until I looked at a You Tube video that i realised they have a little pull out piece on the end of the connector that allows the end of the strip to push in and then when you push that section in again, it locks the strip in! :doh: :R 
I busted one during my frustrations, but luckily they provided me with more than I ordered..
I ordered 10..paid for 10 and received 14!!..Bonus!


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

Looking great Prof! looking forward to seeing it completed!


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks Dale..

The completion is still a way off yet..I think the laying and connecting of the strips will be problematic as there are a few unknowns, including whether the strips will stick and making good connections so that all 22 strips light up!..Time will tell..


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

I know you'll pull it off. Where there's a mad scientist; there's a way!


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

:rofl: Good one!


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## raZorTT (Jan 17, 2008)

any progress?


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Hey Simon, you beat me to it..I was just starting to write an update when your post came through!.

There has been some very slow progress..I managed to get all the strips laid down and connected..
The connectors were an absolute pain..They are very small and fiddly and not very strong..I busted two of them and two were faulty..I also miss calculated how many I needed and finished up four short!
I ordered some more and they only arrived yesterday..

Also each of the contacts on the ends of the strips had to have the adhesive removed to make a good contact..That was very time consuming..

Another little problem I had was that the power converter they sent me was the wrong amperage output!. I needed 5A. and they sent a 1.5A, so I had to wait for the right one to arrive as well..

The adhesive on the back of the strips was very good and stuck well to the Melamine..providing you didn't try to unstick them and then re stick them again, which I had to do to get the connectors on..so some of the ends didn't re stick well..

I finally got the light panel fitted to the frame yesterday..
Now I'm just waiting to hear from the Acrylic supplier that it's ready to be picked up..

Here are a few shots of the progress so far..

The strips are all connected..










Lights operating at about quarter output..










Light panel fitted to the frame..










I've now cut the Alum. angle that will retain the prismatic acrylic, so hopefully I'll get that painted and finished today..

During the construction process I decided that I will suspend the light from the ceiling as opposed to fitting it flush..It will only be down a few inches but I think it will look better like that..


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## raZorTT (Jan 17, 2008)

Nice work Prof! A pain that you've had to send so much stuff back

Have you taken it into your room and cranked the brightness to full? Is it as bright as you thought?

I think suspending the light from the ceiling will definitely look better. Like you say it'll only be an inch or two but it'll look like it's just hovering!

Cheers,
Simon


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

Lovin it Prof! Keep up the awesome work!


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

raZorTT said:


> Nice work Prof! A pain that you've had to send so much stuff back
> 
> Have you taken it into your room and cranked the brightness to full? Is it as bright as you thought?


I haven't taken it into the darkened theatre yet..but this shot was taken in the living room in daylight..
Lights at full output..












> I think suspending the light from the ceiling will definitely look better. Like you say it'll only be an inch or two but it'll look like it's just hovering!


My thoughts exactly! 



Dale Rasco said:


> Lovin it Prof! Keep up the awesome work!


Thanks Dale..All going well I should have it up early next week..


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Well the LED ceiling light is finally finished and installed..
It finished up a lot heavier than I expected and getting mounted to the ceiling was quite an effort..Fortunately I didn't drop it in the process..:whew:

The prismatic acrylic looks great and it does a very good job of hiding the individual 500+ LED's.. and gives a very even illumination..
It does however reduce the light output a little, but it's still bright enough..

The IR remote dimmer works well but unfortunately I wasn't able to program it into my Logitech remote..The remote doesn't recognise the manufacturer or model number..

Here are a few shots of the finished light..
They are not dirty marks on the ceiling..just some light reflections from the floodlight I used to improve the room lighting..The ceiling light is not on at this stage..





































Fully illuminated..

My next project will be a complete renovation of the theatre, including painting, new acoustic panels, new soffits and some new downlights..and then there will be a new projector to go in..a new Blu-ray player etc.etc...
It never ends!! :rofl:


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## Cyberfloatie (Jun 1, 2011)

Love it! Nice work.


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## raZorTT (Jan 17, 2008)

Great job prof!! :T :T


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## robbo266317 (Sep 22, 2008)

Watching your progress has been quite illuminating. :whistling:


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

Excellent work sir!


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Thanks guys..much appreciated..

It certainly has given the theatre a different feel to it and I now need to update the decor to be more inline with the style of the ceiling light..
I will shortly start another thread on the renovations..


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