Computer controlled Lavalamp?

[bigCat216]

Hi guys, (first post) i just seen some of the stuff here and you guys are WACK! :D
I cried tears of joy...

anyway, I'm not a modder or anything special (well, now I wish I were)
so I have absolutly 0% idea how to do what I want and so I'm asking here, hoping
you guys'll solve the mistery:

I have an ordinary Lavalamp, nothin fancy, (its this one: http://www.theoldwatertower.ndo.co.uk/IMAGES/MATHMOS-l.jpg
(the link might not be clickable, I just don't know how to do that )
[edit: what do you know, it works]

and an ordinary case, no modding done or anything...
and I want to power up the Lavalamp so that I can have control over the
intensity of the lamp through windows (like a dimmer, only a software one...)
so it can be programmed to change based on whats happening...

for example, so that if the cpu level is high the lamp would shine real bright.
(maybe I should add, I got tired of the noise so i took the computer outside
my room... and there are extention cables all over the place, for the keyboard,
mouse etc dragging across the floor... the horror... ahahhaha :eek: :eek: :eek: )

so this poses 2 questions:

1. is it possible to connect the lamp to the power supply
and
2. is it possible to interface with the added hardware (i dont suppose these lamps are plug 'n play...) through windows, similarily to the way it can tell your screen or HD to turn off... or is that just an on / off thing. because I want it to be like a 0-100% voltage thing. not on / off....

[Silver.Draco]

I think It should be possible. I'm not 100% sure but this is what I think you need to do.

1 you need some kind of adapter to change the power from the psu to the lamp. I don't know if they can be connected together directly.
2 you need to find a dimmer that can controle the amount of power that the lamp gets. Lamps that hang inside the room of a house can have the same idea.
when you find this dimmer you can put it between the the adapter and the lamp.
3 you need to find a way to get the dimmer computer controled. I have no idea how to do that. Someone else might have an idea on that.

I hope you know what i'm talking about, and that it gives you an idea of what you need to do. I'm sure other modders here can help with the details.

Good luck with your project.

[crazybillybob]

The easiest way to do this would be to go look for a computer controlled dimmer pack (used in theaters....the ones where they have plays...) It plugs into the wall (120v...I'm sure there is 240V for everyone else), the light plugs into it, as does the computer's port (normally serial...but the way USB has taken off I'm sure some use it now too). Then there is some software to be installed (to control the light) and your in business. This solution is easy which means not cheap...and your going to have to find a theater supply shop (look online).

The other option (assuming your comfortable soldering and can read schematics) is to look online for a low wattage (the bulb is what max 40w) microcontroller controlled dimmer circuit. This will involve programming (microcon, and a windows app), soldering, and ....creative adjustments. It's not a walk in the park but yea it can be done.


Crazybillybob

[fiendskull9]

hey guys,

i cant get the link right now, but there is an article on making USB powered christmas lights....

the thing is, the xmas lights were battery powered, so i dont know if you strip down the power cable on te lamp, if it had red and black wires, or you can test the voltage....

but it basically got its power from the usb2.0 port, and a guy is writing a driver for it to control the lights....

here we go!

http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/62/44/

that could certainly be a basis for your mod...

clay

[DaveW]

Hmm...the problem you have here is that the Lavalamp will have a step down transformer inside of it, and if it's a first time mod, you really don't want to be mucking about with that sort of power. In theory your idea is possible, but with the time it would take for the lavalamp to react, i'd say it wouldn't indicate much of what was going on in inside the computer. You would need some kind of USB interface module and a power relay to turn it on and off, but what you're talking about would require some sort of power-relay potentiometer, and i don't even know if that exists. Depending on the type of transformer that's inside the Lavalamp, then you could run it off the PSU, but i wouldn't reccomend it, cos i think it sucks up a lot of power. Overall, i'm thinking this is a good idea, but maybe not with a lavalamp-you might be better off with something that's going to be faster and draws less power. I'm not going to make any suggestions, but try visiting the gadget store, or whatever the American Equivalent is, and look for stuff that doesn't require as much power.

Honest Opinion: Although possible, i don't think it's feasable. Sorry.

-Dave

[tybrenis]

I agree completely with Dave. He is right, for a first time mod, this isn't something you want to mess around with especially if you don't have background in electronics or programming. Plus, even if you could get it to work, it would take way too long to actually see the results, since lavalamps take a bit of time to heat up and cool down. Not to shoot down your project or anything, but this doesn't seem like an easy thing to accomplish.

[crenn]

It might be possible to do with if you have enough common sense and a book about soldering a electronics. But if I remember correctly most lava lamps run on AC. This will bring up a problem, as the power (actually current.... but power seems more correct) coming out of a PSU is DC. You might be able to 'replace' some of the AC circuit depending on the device's layout. If it's heat generate that causes the 'lava' effect (I don't actually own a lava lamp) then you might be able to find a type of LED that will generate enough heat (maybe a 5W LED..... they run quite hot if I remember... but you'll have other problems as well) to do the effect and then it just a matter of having of controller circuit. One last thing, if you plan to use serial as a connection, most motherboards I know of have a header that you could use instead of having a cable going out the back.

[OvRiDe]

Let me say first that this isn't really a "mod" but it would sorta get the job done, and would be doable by someone with very little electronics knowledge. Its not really cheap but not that outrageous either.

You would need some X10 equipment .. mainly a TM751 (http://www.x10.com/automation/tm751_s.html) and a CM17A "FireCracker" (http://www.x10.com/products/firecracker_x10_cm17a_br1ab.htm) and a little utility called light.exe (http://hak5.org/releases/1x01/Light.zip). (I know that is a direct link, the page it comes from is located here on Hak5.org (http://www.hak5.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=28) along with all the information).

Basically you plug your lava lamp power into the TM751 controller, then you plug the Firecracker into a serial port, and use the light.exe program to turn it off and on. Not super fancy but a means to an end. It still doesn't help the heat issues you may encounter. I don't know about the new ones, but I about got new fingerprints on one hand picking up an older one.. Unfortuantely this setup is not dimmable but there are dimmer modules available from X10 just not sure if they are controlable via the firecracker or the light.exe software.

Anyway check out hack5.org (http://hak5.org) Episode 1. They use the same setup to control a light via a browser and they give you the code example so you could do it as well..

I guess you could make it into a mod by disassembling your PS and the TM751. Splice into the AC coming into the powersupply and then splice the lava lamp into the output of the TM751 and integrate the whole thing into your case. But as others have already said, there are some major voltages that can really take a bite out of you! So this being your first mod, you might want to hold off on that kind of thing untill you get a little more experience under your belt.

Hope this helps and Good luck.. would love to see a work log on what ever you decide to do..

[OvRiDe]

Ok.. I know I didnt spark much enthusiasm with my last post on this project :D, BUT I just happened to be looking thru a website for a small amplifier (hmm.. future mod maybe :rolleyes:) when I came across this little article.. Looks like it hits the nail on the head.

http://www.circuithut.com/index.php?/circuit/content/view/full/363

Unfortunately its not that simple, and it may not be very cheap. All the schematics, info and parts are on the page.

All I can say is -- By God, we here at TBCS DELIVER!! hahaha

Well good luck if any of you choose to take on that adventure.. :D