LEDs from Dubai: The Royal Lights You Can’t Buy

Re:LEDs from Dubai: The Royal Lights You Can’t Buy by the_pwner224 on Friday March 03, 2023 @01:23PM (#35013222)

> “The hardware is failing at a rate faster than we can cost-effectively keep up,” Ben Davis, the founder of Illuminate, told KRON4 in January.

> “It’s a challenge of the current lights. They’re good but they have to exist in an area that has rain, fog, high winds, grime 24/7, vibration, expansion and contraction,” Davis said.

This has nothing to do with brightness or with the bulbs being LEDs. Their hardware is not properly suited for the environment it's being used in. If you put an Arduino in your car, don't be surprised when the non-automotive-grade electronics fail after a few years. The EEs must have not done a great job when initially designing this light project. From to the project's website (linked by your article):

> They must be replaced with a new system that is custom engineered to perform in the harsh environmental conditions of San Francisco Bay.

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Re:LEDs from Dubai: The Royal Lights You Can’t Buy by pcl on Friday March 03, 2023 @01:36PM (#35013374)

In their defense, the original system was only supposed to be up for one maintenance cycle, but it was extended due to the massive popularity of the installation.

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Re:LEDs from Dubai: The Royal Lights You Can’t Buy by RC_ITR on Friday March 03, 2023 @01:51PM (#35013526)

This is so weird though, because the lights that line the catenary cable are older and not proposed to be turned off (and anecdotally are much less likely to be broken on a given night).

Maybe it's the scale, relative inaccessibility, or remote control that's the problem.

Honestly, I never loved the 'light show' effect anyway - maybe they should just light the suspender cables with normal lights and call it a day.

EDIT: For reference, here is the bridge before Baylights: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Oakland_Bay_Brid...

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Re:LEDs from Dubai: The Royal Lights You Can’t Buy by DaiPlusPlus on Friday March 03, 2023 @02:25PM (#35013892)

> must be replaced with a new system that is custom engineered [for] San Francisco Bay.

Other major port-cities around the world, with comparable climate conditions, have presumably transitioned to LED lighting over the past decade - why can't they save taxpayer's money by simply buying-up whatever Valencia or Singapore is using instead of having their own NIH Syndrome and insisting an entirely bespoke system just-for-them be used?

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Re:LEDs from Dubai: The Royal Lights You Can’t Buy by davidgay on Friday March 03, 2023 @02:46PM (#35014122)

This is a decorative/art installation, not the bridge's engineered lighting. So whatever Singapore is doing is not relevant (except if it's also for similar purposes).

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Re:LEDs from Dubai: The Royal Lights You Can’t Buy by ars on Friday March 03, 2023 @02:46PM (#35014125)

These are LEDs to write messages and do colors, they are not for lighting.

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Re:LEDs from Dubai: The Royal Lights You Can’t Buy by nradov on Friday March 03, 2023 @02:49PM (#35014172)

Did you even read the article? This is a public art installation funded by a non-profit. Not taxpayers. The installation was intended to be temporary and has already gone way past it's design lifetime.

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Re:LEDs from Dubai: The Royal Lights You Can’t Buy by DaiPlusPlus on Friday March 03, 2023 @04:45PM (#35015466)

I did not read it, and it shows - I eat my words :)

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Re:LEDs from Dubai: The Royal Lights You Can’t Buy by paxys on Friday March 03, 2023 @07:36PM (#35016899)

It was never meant to be a permanent installation. It has already overshot its expected lifespan by many years.

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