I got my first SAD lamp 3 years ago with my first paycheck as a software engineer. It was a little treat to myself, having taught myself how to code and landing my first job. I used it for a bit, but it's quite a lot of brightness in one area, and it's quite a small lamp, which makes it hard to be very effective. I started thinking about lights again about a few weeks ago. Me and Alice, my girlfriend, were discussing how to get up earlier / have more consistent schedules and energy, and light was one big thing we wanted to talk about. It brought me back to thinking about my SAD lamp again, and how useless it felt to actually be practical. And so, I stole a couple lamps from around the house and brought them to my work space, and then I bought some very bright light bulbs, and then some more, and then some more. It became clear to me that it was quite difficult to illuminate a workspace *very* bright with high quality light for cheap. There are many blogposts on the importance of light, and the problems associated with lighting up rooms very bright, so I'll refrain from going too far into detail here. I'll recommend Leila's blogpost if you want to dive into that rabbit hole: https://www.approachwithalacrity.com/extreme-residential-lighting/ It's also quite possible to get a very bright light, but with a headache causing sub-perceptual flicker or with low "CRI" -- a standardized metric for light quality. The options that did exist were quite cost prohibitive, or ugly, or not that bright. This includes string lights, "lumenators", big panels, etc. So, I decided to build my own solution. The first version took me an embarrassing 2 or 3 days. ![[IMG_5364.jpeg]]![[IMG_5363.jpeg]] I made it with an old box of LEDs and a broken monitor I found in the closet, as well as a piece of plywood I found in our alley. It was supposed to have nice plexiglass sides, but I kind of messed that part up, so I ended up just throwing up the light and taping a couple of the diffusers from the broken monitor to it. It obviously looks like shit, and if I touch it, it will probably fall down, but we *shipped*! I got a v1 out, put it over my girlfriend's desk, and it did make the room and the area significantly brighter, increasing the lux you'd get by working at that desk quite significantly (up to 2500 sitting down, 6500 standing up) without having to move your head in a particular spot or strain your eyes. Next was version 2, which I made out of an old TV I found. I actually planned out this one much better, and I got better at assembling things, so I ended up with something much nicer. ![[IMG_5349.jpeg]] ![[IMG_5350.jpeg]] ![[IMG_9109.jpg]] ![[IMG_5351.jpeg]] ![[IMG_5353.jpeg]] ![[IMG_5354.jpeg]] ![[IMG_5355.jpeg]] ![[IMG_5356.jpeg]] I mounted it on this hydraulic arm I found in the lost and found, and so I was able to position it directly above the monitor on the standing desk. So you're getting at least 7000 lux whether standing or sitting, but the TV is quite large and the lights are diffused, so it's really nice on the eyes and you don't have to think about it that much. What's next? Maybe I shell out some money for some nicer materials and build some better versions for people? Maybe I make some brighter ones? Who knows. If you're interested in having one of these, or making one yourself, pls do reach out! brentably (AT) gmail.com ![[IMG_5362.jpeg]]