Creating a USB-powered 5V vanity mirror

[karljohan]

I’m in the process of creating a jewelry box in solid oak, where the lid of the box acts as a mirror. I’m exploring the possibility of adding LED lighting into the mirror the same way it's done with a lot of other vanity mirrors: https://www.amazon.com/FUNTOUCH-Rec...keywords=vanity+mirror&qid=1610707996&sr=8-39.

I want the lights to be powered by USB (which would make it 5V LEDs from what I understand), to avoid the multiple-different-power-connecters issue. It would be great if one could dim the LEDs to different brightness levels and it would be nice if one could choose between different light levels (different K-values), but these two things are not a necessity.

I've read up a bit on LED lighting on - Learning Center | Waveform Lighting - https://www.waveformlighting.com/learn - but I'm still very new to LED, so I have a lot of questions that I was hoping you could help me out with:

• What do I need to create different brightness levels for my LEDs?
• What do I need to create different light levels (K-values) in my LEDs?
• Do you think the aforementioned mirror uses something similar to LED light strips - CENTRIC DAYLIGHT™ LED Strip Lights for Commercial & Retail - https://store.waveformlighting.com/collections/led-strips/products/ultra-high-95-cri-led-strip-lights-for-commercial - behind the glass?
• To diffuse the light, would it be enough to simply sandblast the surface or what would you do to diffuse the light properly?
• Where would I go about buying what I need for a project like this?

I know that was a lot of questions. I hope some of you can put me on the right track.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

* To adjust the brightness, you need a DC PWM dimmer designed for LEDs. These are widely available as modules or complete units, either with control knobs or IR remote.

* To adjust the colour temperature (K) you need dual-white LED tape that has both warm-white and cool-white LEDs., The tape in your link is not of this type. Also, the dimmer needs two channels, one for each colour white. There are specific two-channel dimmers for dual-white tape.

* There are many kinds of prismatic and diffusing filters and sheets available. I would recommend buying a ready-made product so that the diffusion effect is even and consistent.

* To operate from any USB port, the unit must work at 5V. Most LED tape is 12 or 24V but 5V is available. It is possible to step up the voltage but better if you can find 5V tape. The maximum length of tape you can use on a standard USB port will be limited by the power per unit length of that tape. There is an upper limit to the total amount of light you can produce from a USB supply, which might or might not be enough for your purpose.

5V dual-white tape does seem to exist, see;

 

[karljohan]

* To adjust the brightness, you need a DC PWM dimmer designed for LEDs. These are widely available as modules or complete units, either with control knobs or IR remote.

* To adjust the colour temperature (K) you need dual-white LED tape that has both warm-white and cool-white LEDs., The tape in your link is not of this type. Also, the dimmer needs two channels, one for each colour white. There are specific two-channel dimmers for dual-white tape.

* There are many kinds of prismatic and diffusing filters and sheets available. I would recommend buying a ready-made product so that the diffusion effect is even and consistent.

* To operate from any USB port, the unit must work at 5V. Most LED tape is 12 or 24V but 5V is available. It is possible to step up the voltage but better if you can find 5V tape. The maximum length of tape you can use on a standard USB port will be limited by the power per unit length of that tape. There is an upper limit to the total amount of light you can produce from a USB supply, which might or might not be enough for your purpose.

5V dual-white tape does seem to exist, see;

Damn. It was just something like that I was looking for .

I could potentially use the LED dual white tape you linked to above, but I'd have to modify it a bit:

• I'd need to disassemble the remote and build it into the mirror (which I think is doable).
• I'd also need the output to be a micro USB or some other kind of output I can plug in a USB cable to. Kind of like what the same company does with this lamp: Round Solid Wood LED Lamp Base USB Powered AAA Battery Bin TDL-WB - https://www.xstron.com/round-solid-wood-led-lamp-base-usb-powered-battery-bin. Do you know where I can get that kind of output? Do you think it's easy enough to replace the USB-output with a Micro-USB?

Would you purchase a pre-build product like the above you linked me to and then modify it? Or would you try to assembly your own from different smaller components?

 

[PaulDay]

I’m in the process of creating a jewelry box in solid oak, where the lid of the box acts as a mirror. I’m exploring the possibility of adding LED lighting into the mirror the same way it's done with a lot of other vanity mirrors: https://www.amazon.com/FUNTOUCH-Rec...keywords=vanity+mirror&qid=1610707996&sr=8-39.

I want the lights to be powered by USB (which would make it 5V LEDs from what I understand), to avoid the multiple-different-power-connecters issue. It would be great if one could dim the LEDs to different brightness levels and it would be nice if one could choose between different light levels (different K-values), but these two things are not a necessity.

I've read up a bit on LED lighting on - Learning Center | Waveform Lighting - https://www.waveformlighting.com/learn - but I'm still very new to LED, so I have a lot of questions that I was hoping you could help me out with:

• What do I need to create different brightness levels for my LEDs?
• What do I need to create different light levels (K-values) in my LEDs?
• Do you think the aforementioned mirror uses something similar to LED light strips - CENTRIC DAYLIGHT™ LED Strip Lights for Commercial & Retail - https://store.waveformlighting.com/collections/led-strips/products/ultra-high-95-cri-led-strip-lights-for-commercial - behind the glass?
• To diffuse the light, would it be enough to simply sandblast the surface or what would you do to diffuse the light properly?
• Where would I go about buying what I need for a project like this?

I know that was a lot of questions. I hope some of you can put me on the right track.

As the above showed, all you need is one of the kits that lights up the back of a flat screen tv. Already designed to run on 5 volts, You can get a RGB version and most come with some kind of simple fade/pulse feature. Can be cut to length also.

Good luck.

Please post a finished product picture. Sounds like something I might like to tackle.

Have a good day.