Getting Back into Ham Radio (aka UV5R Basics)

Amateur Radio: Upgrading from Technician to General

The Mad Scientist Hacker Lamp

Cheesy puns aside, I needed to be able to see in my little work area where I plan to play with electronics while I try not to burn myself with my soldering irons. Over the summer I bought a couple of workbench tables at a garage sale. One condition was that I had to take everything on the tables! That included a couple of laser printers, a box with a few keyboards and mice, and various office accessories. One of those accessories was an adjustable lamp.

The Hacker Lamp next to its cousin Willy, the Free Printer

The Hacker Lamp next to its cousin Willy, the Free Printer

Great! I’ll just use that adjustable lamp for my work area. Problem: The clamp that holds it to the desk probably broke a long time ago, and is long gone. The solution?

I rummaged around my storage and found a nice heavy base in the shape of a Microwave Oven Transformer that I was going to turn into a welder, and never did. I drilled out one of the mounting holes to make it big enough to fit the only bolt I could find, and I mounted the bolt upside down and set the lamp on top of it. Voila! A desk lamp. To make it look more hacker-turned-mad-scientist-y, I connected some spade connectors to the lamp itself. I give you… the Hacker Lamp!

 

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