VA-8050 Digital LCD Light FC Meter Tester Illuminance Gauge 0 ~ 30000 Lux & 0 ~ 2788.0ftc FTC with Max Min Hold Handheld Device CE marking

Since I liked the idea, I added an 8 LED neo pixel ring to the backplate. It sits right behind the hand. This gives a really nice touch. It is controlled with an ESP8266 and ESPHome.

LUX-426 Split Type Digital Light Lux Meter with Temperature Measure Colored LCD Display Illuminance Meter for Luminosity Measuring & Monitoring

The glass (112x80cm) is held in a steel frame made of L-shaped profile. The frame is powder coated in black. I painted the inside in white so the light could be distributed better. The stained-glass itself is glued into the metal frame with some clear silicone glue. I glued it in, so that the weight (12kg) of the glass would not sit on the lower part of the metal frame, but to distribute the weight over the whole frame.

For the backlight I designed an aluminum plate, which holds 31 LED strips. The plate was laser cut with around 300 holes in it. I tapped around 250 M3 threads and painted the plate white. The LED strips are actually PCBs which I could screw on to the plate. There are 30 20mm screws in the backplate which act as additional spacers, so that the backplate and the plastic diffusor plate have the same distance everywhere. Together with the lenses on each LED the light is uniform. You cannot see individual spots/points. Yes there is the thing that on the left and right sides there are less LEDs than in the middle. But since the inside of the frame is white and the light gets reflected, it is not much of an issue. At the end I had to work with what I got from the TV.

Electrical: The LED strips have 1,27mm edge connectors. I didn't want to solder wires directly to them, so I designed connector PCBs. On the PCBs are SMD spring clamps (WAGO 2060) - very nice solution for such applications. Of course the cables are held in place by 3D printed brackets so they dont disturb the light. Nearly everything on the inside (cables, brackets, PCBs) is white, so no other color mixes with the stained-glass. The 24V LEDs consume 250W when on full throttle. I use a 300W 0-10V dimmable power supply together with a Shelly 0-10v dimmer.

PAR-414 Full-Spectrum Quantum PAR Meter Waterproof Sensor IP68 for Aquarium Reef Tank Plants PPFD Tester Indoor Plants, Garden, Farm, Hydroponics Photosynthetic Activity

There is one more LED strip that I mounted to the hanging rail. This rail holds the whole frame on the wall. The rail - which is actually for mounting furniture on the wall - is around 4cm high. I didn't want to have the top of the glass to be darker (remember, I asked for uniform backlight so I will do uniform backlight!). So first the rail is screwed to the wall, then the LED strip is screwed on the rail to some brackets that are welded to the white painted rail. The LED backplate has one additional connector PCB with a longer cable on the top right side, which is connected to this LED strip while hanging the frame on the wall. Behind the hanging rail is a 2mm spacer so that the whole thing has a little air gap on the wall. Yes, there are holes in the wall. There used to be a dartboard.

LUX-429 Digital Light Lux Meter Illuminance Tester Photometer Luxmeter High Precision Illuminometer Lx FC Measurement for Photography, Schools, Hospitals, Workplaces and other Environmental Monitoring

PAR-355 Light PAR Meter Advanced Quantum Sensor Measure Grow Light Intensity Lux Meter PPFD Tester for Indoor and Outdoor Plant Photosynthetic Activity

But first I have to mention that this masterpiece my mom made turned out fantastic! It was a lot of work and love she put into it - so I had to honor it with the best frame and lighting I could think of. Thanks mom :)

Around that is an oak frame a friend of mine made (thanks for that Christian :) ). For the lighting, I did what everyone suggested and got a broken TV, disassembled it and took the diffusor plate and the LED strips from it. I cut the plastic diffusor plate to size and designed and 3D printed holding brackets that screw through the metal frame to the oak frame. These brackets push down the diffusor plate to the stained glass and hold the backlight plate in place while keeping 20mm space between the plates so the light can de distributed.

LX-1010BN Digital Light Meter Luxmeter 0~100,000 Lux w/ Selectable Range x1 x10 x100, Handheld Illuminance Tester Sensor Illuminometer Lighting Level Measurement, for Indoor Room Greenhouse Plants Home

PAR-380 Quantum PAR Meter Photo Synthetically Active Radiation PPFD Tester for Plant Lighting Horticulture, Research Study of Indoor and Outdoor Plants

So that's it. I hope you like the result :) And let me tell you, it is a HUGE difference if the light is turned on. You can see the colors so much better!