Stage City

The camping lamp with guts removed, and the power supply.

Battery operated lamps are not a new idea, but when was the last time you saw a battery operated floor lamp? We needed one for a recent production. The floor lamp was on a wagon that moved into place in the dark, and the lamp had to be on, as an actor turned it off during the scene. Without a battery fueled lamp, an electrical cord would have to be hooked up and disconnected in the dark. The battery lamp solves the problem, removing the cord that may get caught under the wagon, or in a caster.

I started with an $8 LED lamp bought at a sporting goods store. I then took it apart, reducing it down to the cartridge that holds the bulb and socket. I unsoldered the small PC board, to remove it, which revealed two prongs spaced just right to fit into an electrical outlet. I took the end of a Christmas Lights set, the plug that has the outlet on the back side. These are ‘through-plugs’. I attached that to the socket. The completed unit, along with a lamp socket adapter (it has the part that goes into the lamp socket on one end, and an outlet on the other, is ready to use in the lamp.

The lamp socket with through-plug.

For power, we need four AA batteries, and a holder for such. I could have used the battery holder that came with the lamp, but I happened to have a four battery holder handy. I attached the output to the socket end of the Christmas Light set. The floor lamp plugs into the battery supply.

The LED lamp is polarity sensitive, so I marked the plug and outlet ends with a plus sign, to allow matching everything up. I also marked the floor lamp plug, in case it gets unplugged when moving around.

Figuring out what I wanted to do, then finding and purchasing the parts took longer than making the two pieces. The camping lamp was around $8.50. The Christmas Lights set was an old one hanging around with lots of burnt out bulbs, cost $0.00. The cost of batteries varies. If you had to buy everything, I estimate the total cost would be less than $12.00

So, that does it! The on/off switch on the floor lamp will work as usual, and it’s super portable, lightweight, and battery operated. Don’t forget to test it before using on stage, and have spare batteries at the ready.

Do I have to say, never plug the adapted lamp socket into a live 100v outlet? You might consider some warning labels.