Internet Of Things / IoT / Connected Home / Smart Houses

Yesterday I was browsing the internet for a "backlight" to reflect off the wall (it will show the fugly/floral wallpaper though, so it will only alleviate the physical eye strain of working in the dark)

It went like this...

4.30pm: "It's gotten so dark so early. I need a backlight."

• IKEA tertial lamp. Hang on, I don't have an edge to clamp that on that side of the desk to be useful. It's not on sale except on IKEA, or some $$$ ebay sellers
  
• Better/longer clampy-clamp lamp to mount at the back. No, it will conflict with the monitor arms
  
• A lamp with a stand. I can hide the stand behind my oscilloscope (which sits at a 30 degree angle to my right) but didn't like the stands
  
• Philips Hue Play projectory things. Hmm it's reduced price at BezoShop.
  
• Used Philips Hue Play x5 set + HDMI box on eBayou. I could use the first 3 with the box in the living room (had enjoyed an ambilight TV in a past life) and take the other 2 to mount behind the monitor. Alas the bidding starts at 200 quid and will go on for a week, probably won't get it.
  
• Hmm a double pack Philips Hue Play projectory thing is cheap on eBayou.
  
• But it will be limited and looks like single colour on each "thing".
  
• Ooh Pimoroni has nice LED strips. And they've released a new 2040-based-RasPico-like-LED-controller (Plasma 2040)
  
• Let's measure a rectangle behind the monitor. 165cm, ok.
  
• 144 LEDs per metre... That would give me 240 individual LEDs to play with
  
• Each "pixel" would draw up to 60mA, but the USB-C can supply only 3A. Would need a PSU
  
• Oooh look at this 5V 15A power brick over on BezoShop. Not that expensive, not that large...
  
• Why do I need the "Plasma" 2040 if I'm supplying the power with a brick anyway, could easily do that with a bog standard Pico or Pico W
  
• Let's order 5x Pico W (I have 3 Picos already, but would need those for the eventual HA integration), few bits and bobs and 2 x 144 Pixel 1 meter strips... 100 quid, ok.
  
• 1 am, in bed: Researching AWG calculations with phone brightness at 1%. Giving up and ordering 18AWG (copper/silicone obvs), planning to do multiple power runs to separate parts of the strip, with a single signal wire.
  
  

It will probably fail in flames and I'll end up paying for that double pack Hue LED thing in the end.