I like subtle lighting effects, so I've been buying a few different types of the LED ripple projectors to take a look at. This one is probably one of the cheapest, but not by much. It has a single LED colour and rather poor motor speed control.
If you enjoy my videos, you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random LED effects at https://www.patreon.com/bigclive

13 thoughts on “Inside an all-plastic 3w led ripple projector.”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Travis Edrington says:

    Could you put a low resistor in parallel with the potentiometer to extend the range?

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars bob fourjs says:

    Ok, so I think you could improve things with the motor speed control and the colour selection by ordering it with white LED and putting in a colour disk to rotate by hand, just for a change or fit another motor. Sounds like a good little project. I fancy strobing every now and again just for a change, so the ripple effect would freeze for a fraction of a second, hummm! Would the case hold it all.. HOT MELT GLUE andd it TOASTIE HOT! Wire colouring! I think it is what they get at a knock down price. Is it rated high enough?

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Crushonius says:

    its called shiny but the case is matte 🙁

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Greg S says:

    Awwww, you got my hopes up when you were complaining about the potentiometer with the first 30 seconds of the video. I thought you were going to measure the usable range of the pot, draw us out a schematic, then swap it out for a better-matched one so that you'd have finer control of the motor 🙁

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Myles Nicholas says:

    Somewhere in my tools is a 6 inch blue metal bowl.
    It has a magnet embedded in the base.
    I use it to store small screws etc when taking apart gear.

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Nathan Lucas says:

    Is it acceptable to chop the plug off and put a standard UK plug on, instead of using the deathdapter?

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars DAVE FRIDJHON says:

    i love your videos

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Michael Thompson says:

    Dammit Clive.
    Gave in and got one of the metal blue lights with the remote and everything because ripple projectors are really cool and it was under 20 bucks US.
    That and my LED disco light needs a friend.

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Michael Skelton says:

    my mums got something like this but it uses a 12v DC input, it has a problem though… at 12v a couple of the LEDs start flickering… I thought it was a bad power supply at first so I tried another one and it was doing the same thing so I tried a 9v DC adaptor and it fixed the problem, it's just a little duller. does anybody know what the problem could be? it has the triangle anti tamper screws so I can't take it apart at the moment

  10. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars neardood1 says:

    The washers might be to keep the disc straight as my rgb remote controlled one's clear disc is mounted so it wobbles as it goes round. I don't see it as a bad thing because it adds more randomness to the effet

  11. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Landrew0 says:

    Personally, I'm generally quite impressed by Chinese manufacturers. They seem to be able to deliver products to nearly any specification. They can build-down to nearly any price, but also build up to almost any quality required, still with a lower cost than any competitor. This explains why nearly everything we buy, at whichever quality, is usually made in China.

    Since most clients specify "cheap as possible," that mostly what we see from China.

  12. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars ffiregod99 says:

    what screw driver is that?

  13. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Mark Blackmore says:

    Apologies for off topic… Perhaps a future item: how do touch switch lamps work? Where you touch the metal base to switch between off and a few levels of brightness.

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