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Comment by monktastic1 | Hacker News Reader

Riding the coattails of your comment to ask the hive mind: any reason I shouldn't try to build the simpler version from the tutorial using a more powerful (100W) LED from Amazon?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T8RDF8F

Might not be as awesome as a $60k CoeLux, but for 1000x less cost, maybe it's worth a shot?

(Edit: come to think of it, with an 8x10 fresnel lens, it might be way too bright for the size.)

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Don't forget that the volume of the device has a cost too. The video shows the construction of a really really nice, but takes up the whole hallway outside that room. Most of the time you'd probably prefer to use your hallway for walking in. On the other hand, maybe your house has an attic above one of your rooms that; there will be a lot less opportunity cost to using up that volume.

It is much easier to take broken lcd screen and remove diffuser.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8JrqH2oOTK4

That’s the same guy as this article link. This one is supposed to be an improvement over that.

the point of the parabolic reflector/fresnel versions are the parallel rays

maybe I should look at things first before commenting ..

Use Fresnel lenses with a shorter focal length and reduce the depth.

It would be useful to start with a standard home-type window from, say, Home Depot, and build a unit about 120mm deep using multiple shorter focal length Fresnel lenses.[1] Then, in a basement or windowless room, mount some of these into a wall. Add curtains. Nice if your home office or workshop is in a basement.

This has commercial applications. Houses have few windowless rooms, but commercial structures have many.

[1] https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Fresnel-lens-plastic-...

lenses cause chromatic abberations though, the red/yellow halo around the beam you see in his cheaper version at the end.

I have a chromatic film on my actual windows because I like the effect so there's technically a market for it , especially if it makes it cheaper and smaller

I am really curious about this -- do you have it just for the effect? What does it look like?

DIY Perks has previously shown how to do that, and it looked pretty good.

Turning Smashed TVs into realistic daylight panels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JrqH2oOTK4

Keep watching the video - he builds Fresnel lens versions at the end of the video.

The satellite dish is more dramatic so I don't blame him for leading with it :)

The idea is to build this as a light box behind a standard windowpane frame. Like this one.[1] With a 120mm short focal length, the unit only needs to be about 150 - 200mm deep, if you angled the optics so you get light at a 30 degree angle or so. (Horizontal sun rays would look wrong.) That's a convenient size; you could hang it on a wall, like a rather bulky picture.

[1] https://www.walmart.com/ip/Darice-Wooden-Window-Pane-w-6-Pan...

I would advise to use some brass chassis for hot elements as fire accident may be more costly.

You'd still have to deal with the glare and chromatic aberration from the mirror sheets. Also the area covered would still be confined to the size of one sheet and you'd have to make a "bank" of them to cover any reasonably large area.

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