The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning

Ed Nisley's Blog: Shop notes, electronics, firmware, machinery, 3D printing, laser cuttery, and curiosities. Contents: 100% human thinking, 0% AI slop.

The New Hotness

  • LED Bulb Life Data Point

    A rare trip to the Poughkeepsie Railroad Station provided an opportunity to check out the LED bulbs in the chandeliers:

    • Pok RR Station - Chandelier A
    • Pok RR Station - Chandelier B
    • Pok RR Station - Chandelier C

    The 108 bulbs had only one deader (lower left in chandelier C).

    I have no way of knowing if they’re the same bulbs from six years ago, but the accumulation of bugs / dust / crud inside the (what I would expect to be) sealed envelopes suggests they’ve been hanging there for quite a while:

    Pok RR Station - Chandelier B - detail
    Pok RR Station – Chandelier B – detail

    The dark cruciform patches might come from failed LED chip strings, although the bulbs all had the same eyeballometric brightness. The patches all seem to have a hard lower edge, so we may be seeing shadows from dust accumulating atop the chips on the PCB.

    They’re a definite step up from CFL bulbs, although still not as pleasant as OG incandescent filaments.