Building A Giant Vacuum Tube Smart Lamp

Vacuum tubes are pretty, which is why they’re often showcased externally on exquisitely-expensive home Hi-Fi hardware. But if you just want to gaze at their beauty without making any noise, why not build this vacuum tube lamp from [Noel Törjék] instead?

[Noel] got into some creative reuse with this build, with the main body consisting of a bell jar and wooden bowls. The internal structure is then created from jar lids, wire, metal sheeting, steel rods, and galvanized wire mesh. Simple modelling techniques are used to assemble the internal parts of the “valve,” including the grid and the electrodes and so on. As for light, [Noel] employed a ZigBee LED driver that he could control over his smart home setup via a Philips Hue bridge.

The final result looks like an extra-large tube. Anyone who knows what it is will spot that it’s not a real one, but they’re also exactly the audience that will appreciate it for what it is. Everyone else will probably just think you’ve taken an interest in strange art-deco replica lighthouses. It’s not the first time we’ve seen replica valves around these parts, though, and we’re sure it won’t be the last!

12 thoughts on “Building A Giant Vacuum Tube Smart Lamp

  1. Make a lamp, sure.
    Make my own vacuum tube, on my list of things I’d like to try.
    Make a lamp that looks like a giant vacuum tube, that’s something I’d have never thought up.
    Nicely done!

  2. If any radio/tube nerds give you flack for having a giant replica tube as a lamp, just tell them you wanted to enjoy the look of a large radio tube without heating the room.

    I worked in an AM/FM radio station in the early 2000s and the AM exciter bank was the size of a pair of restaurant refrigerators and would keep that end of the building warm through the winter. Summertime was misery when the AC cut out, which it did frequently. I’m not exaggerating when I say the AM radio tubes were larger than softballs.

    1. I worked on Collins 208U-10 HF power amps. From memory, there was NO glass in the valve that was the Class A amplifier of the final stage.
      Just some lovely, dangerous Beryllium Oxide.

      I’d prefer the fake lamp version, thank you.

  3. I am a vacuum tube enthusiast, I love it. I think I would have put a Bluetooth amp in the base, but that’s me not the person who built this. Great Job on the aesthetics!

Leave a Reply to Mark GartonCancel reply

Please be kind and respectful to help make the comments section excellent. (Comment Policy)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.