July 9, 2014

a journey of a thousand miles...

... begins with a single step - Lao Tzu, Chinese Philosopher, 604 - 531 bc

well, a thousand miles this is, my ever so challenging mini-laptop, I've been able to work on a bit the past few weeks! Meaning that I could finally proceed on the lighting again. In my head I've known for months what to do, but in ones head connections don't come loose all the time and once connected lights don't stay dark for unclear reasons either :).


in the real world they apparently do, with these tiny lights and ridiculously thin wiring anyway ;) [and my lack of experience in this department probably didn't help either]. I was thrilled that I was able to reconnect one of those leds to the wire again since I could't order any new ones and had a few laying around loosened form their wires and wanted to use those. And I not only managed to rewire it: it actually worked!

you see, I wasn't at all sure that that was possible, or that I could, because I have next to no experience in soldering and only have a regular solderingtip and not a special micro one that you would actually need for this kind of work. Also because the led is so small (about as big than the 'sand'/crumbs in your eyes when you wake up ;) the heat of the iron melts away that connection, so had to figure something for that too, but this makes the soldering even harder..


but it appearantly was possible, yay! But despite the soldering connections being pretty strong, surprisingly so, I had to reconnect them often because handling them they did come loose at some point, just being too delicate. And needed to solder again and again the times I could work on them, the same connections that is....

and then I finally had two together, and they didn't light up! Both of them worked, but not when tested at the same time. Later - because I kept thinking why and the connection between them had to be fine - I finally thought it might be the 3V coincell that is easy for testing. That should be fine using for 10 leds on one coincell, but that's in parallel, maybe not the series I was having my lights in. Had no idea if that would (or could) matter, knowing practically nothing about electronics (I also had to look this up, the parallel and series thing, had no idea what that was or how to call it, just knew there was a difference). But when using my 12 volts transformator, it appears that had been it, because now they lit up both! But the connection came loose again, because of having to handle them to be able to test it, no matter how careful I was. Arrghh!


why even bother with al this right? Well, it's simple: I really want to do this. And kind of like the challenge and overcoming all the hurdles and bumps it brings (wouldn't mind skipping them or at least part of them, but they do make me móre determined, not less). And I am sure I'll get it someday, because I know it is (or should be) possible and I will succeed! Hopefully befóre I'm an ancient relic, haha!

and to show you at least something: here's the little box (can't figure out the english word for it, freely translated from Dutch it would be 'feeder') with its blue light. I haven't shown that before, although that has been ready for ages (the box I did show once, but not lit I mean). Because I wanted to show it all at once, lit laptop, the blue light, all of it. But because that is going to take a while, here it is.

20 comments:

  1. Hello Monique,
    I don't think I would ever attempt working with something that fine! I applaud you for not giving up. By the time the project will be finished you'll be proud you stuck to it.
    big hug,
    Giac

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    1. Thank you Giac! And I know you're right: it's these kind of struggles that make the outcome the more to be proud of. And boy, will I be proud :)
      Big hug for you too!

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  2. Jemig, wát een priegelig miniatuurgepriegel, oftewel kleiner dan kleiner ;o. Ik hoop écht dat het je zal lukken, we zullen het zien, hè? Zet 'm op! Net zo lang doorgaan totdat het je gelukt is....de aanhouder wint, Monique :D! En trots mag je er zéker op zijn!
    Groetjes, Ilona

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    1. Dank je wel Ilona, voor je enthousiaste en positieve reactie! En je vertrouwen en de aanhouder wint zeker, gelukkig ben ik daar vrij goed in, noem mij maar pitbull ;)

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  3. This is so cool! I love that little box with the blue light, I imagine the rest will be even better =)
    Hannah

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    1. Hi Hannah, that is such a nice thing to say! I hope so, if it is going to be as I hope/think, it will be, but thanks for the confidence!

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  4. ¿ Y lo que se aprende y lo contento que estás cuando lo consigues...? Me gustan los retos y veo que a ti también.

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    1. Eso seguro que supera Isabel, y es muy agradable si funciona. La cosa más difícil es, más satisfecho con el resultado!

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  5. Hoi Monique, ik ben ervan overtuigd dat het je helemaal gaat lukken.
    En ik het proces om daar te komen leer je, zoals je zelf al zei. Jij bent straks de expert hierin waar iedereen jaloers op is.
    How cool is that?
    Hugs,
    Gee

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  6. I am so Impressed with your determination to get this project closer to the finish line! Lighting is tricky enough when illuminating the dollhouse interior but to work with lighting for the inside of a mini laptop computer, and with a bulb the size of a crumb........ Well that is just AWSOME SAUCE! :D

    elizabeth

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    1. Thank you so much Elizabeth, your enthousiasm is so warming!

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  7. Wow! *applause* Monique I applaud your patience and determination. This is taking miniature making to the next level! Well done! hugs AM

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    1. Thanks AM, that's a great compliment and I much appreciate it!

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  8. Heel tof, wat klein, jij kan alles maken.Groetjes.

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  9. Ok, so this is the laptop charger, I think the box is an adapter AND IT'S AMAZING! This laptop is going to be A-list famous when finished! The attention to detail is insane, in a good way :D

    p.s. Thanks for your lovely "stalker" comments, and feel free to leave suggestions :D I might take you up on the flower soft sample, I could send you some green mossy powder in return, I have a sack of it to use/get rid of :D You didn't understand the masking tape on the bracket, I have to make a picture/diagram for that, I found it difficult to describe, so I can see why it was difficult to understand for anyone :D

    Sarah x

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    1. Thanks so much Sarah! And that's great, I will send you some flowersoft then! Please send your home adress to my emailadress monique at moonsart dot nl and I will send it to you. Green mossy powder sounds great, for the sidewalk and sidealley of the oldtiquestore to be I can use that, thank you!

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  10. Very interesting. I would love to see updates to this mini laptop. What type of micro LEDs are you using? Are those actually bulb lights or fiber optic lights? And what are you hoping to achieve - a screen that lights up like a real computer? And what will you do to create the images on the computer screen? Also - what is that little box with the blue light? And where would that go on a normal computer? I think you're doing an awesome job trying to figure it out yourself. I have seen miniature working laptops in 1:12th scale so they do exist and I'm sure can be purchased, but guessing you just want to make it for yourself to learn this intricate and amazing skill. Good luck!

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    1. thank you for your interest and compliment and I look forward to being able to proceed on that laptop too! Because of certain circumstances I rarely have the opportunity at all to do anything (including miniatures), but this laptop requires possibilities that are eve more rare. But when they occor I always grab it with both hands :D.

      ah yes, how great are those?! Well, I haven't seen working – or lit up – 1:12 scale laptops actually (would be fun to see those, could you please send me a link of one of them? I'd love to see!) but I've seen one of those miniature working computers (not sure they were 12th scale..). I think the one I saw a year or two ago was a miniature gamecomputer or something, it was connected to a real computer or actually working itself, that is just so much fun! Mine will indeed have a lit screen, to resemble a laptop that's 'on'. You guessed right, it's always been about the fun of making one and soon I thought it would be more fun to be able to have it lit :D. If it happened to be – then or when finished – be original for some reason than that's just a side thing, not the objective.

      the micro-leds are micro chip leds (I think called SMD-leds (and leds are not bulbs by definition and fiber optic lights is something entirely different too. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode, not sure if that helps, it is shown in the photo's (first photo, left of the solderingirontip and left bottom of the collagephoto) – and that's challenge enough with the screen being just an inch high and less than 3/64 of an inch thick: that's very thin!

      the little box with the blue light is the feeder, or whatever it's called, I still don't know the English term for it. It's between the plug that goes into the laptop and the plug that goes in the powersocket.

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