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DIY Street light screen for obsy


Brutie

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Hi Everyone,

My local council has removed the old sodium street lamp from nearby my observatory and installed an LED. This is better than the old lamp but it is still causing me trouble when I am observing.

I want to make some DIY pop up screens  to mount on my obsy wall. Has anyone figured out a clever way of doing this withpout too much faff or mioney ? I was thinking of some black ripstop nylon fabric and some lightweight sticks which I could somehow  or fold up onto the top of the wall of the obsy but have not quite worked out how to keep the fabric taught.

Any ideas ?

Thanks !

Brutie

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May not help, but if your LED street lights are like ours...

I was mildly surprised/absolutely flabbergasted to see the council lighting contractor fitting a shade to the light outside yesterday.  It hasn't quite worked, unfortunately, as the shade needs to be about an inch closer to the lamp post, but considering we didn't ask for it, well surprised.

Might be worth asking if your council could do something similar

0752sm.jpg.ce262b00568b72d637c2d21542d3e525.jpg

Edited by almcl
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Plastic gutter down pipe. Make a 'shower curtain' type rail using down pipe as the rail and uprights. You could then use pegs or clips to secure the ends of the curtain to the uprights to keep it taught?

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I have a similar issue, they have good cutoff but are lethally bright if you are in the covered area. I have asked, but no luck yet. I have had to find small bits of the garden that are shielded or maybe hang something on the washing line. I am planning to start growing an apple tree to eventually block the worst offender. I also wondered if it would be possible to make some small baffles like you show and then attach them with double sided tape, so you aren’t damaging the lamp, might provide some better blocking.

 

peter

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Thanks Seelive and Almcl.

I had forgotten completely that the Councils sometimes fit these nice shades if you ask nicely. Thanks for reminding me. So I have today traced the appropriate Council ( in my case my local Community Council) and e mailed them to ask for a shade. I'll report back when I get a response .....fingers crossed !

Kind regards,  Brutie

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Hi Peter W

Yes some baffles would be nice but climbing up a light pole (or in my case a power pole with a light on it) might be a no no unless you are nimble.... and quick. Sadly in my case it's too close to a road for me to do that safely.

I like your cosy hat ....very fetching....is that Gucci ?

🙂

Brutie

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Hi Swoop 1

Thanks for that .... a very good idea and simple  (which is always good). I may even have some suitable ,materials in the garage....I'll search it out tomorrow

Thanks again.

Rgds

Brutie

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I e mailed the community council today and they said they have added several shades in the area. Cost is £5 for the shade and £180 fitting . They will put my request on the agenda at next meeting on 19 October. Sending them some photos tomorrow. Will report back here !

Brutie

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On 08/10/2020 at 22:18, Brutie said:

I e mailed the community council today and they said they have added several shades in the area. Cost is £5 for the shade and £180 fitting . They will put my request on the agenda at next meeting on 19 October. Sending them some photos tomorrow. Will report back here !

Brutie

Are they expecting you to pay for that? They after all are the ones causing the problem in the first place!

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.... I read somewhere that some will add a shade for a short period for free, otherwise it would be charged for... as you  have found out. It’s sad that they won’t add  shade regardless, but they’re probably so cash strapped that they need to as it’s not essential work.

Peter

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They didn't mention anything about me paying so I'm keeping quiet on that ! However I have read that they have an obligation to minimise any nuisance  or light pollution into homes at night............teh light also interefres with my sleeping  😉

Brutie

Edited by Brutie
spelling error
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they fitted a shade to the new led street light next to my obsy strait away but it was useless so i made my own with a small aluminium frame sandwiched in between 2 flooring mats and bolted it to the lamppost and used a long pole to push it up and it works great now.as seen above and behind the home made dome.

new dome.jpg

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Hey Toxic !

That's a great light shade and ingenius fitting.  Very impressive.

I just heard back from the Council .......they have agreed to lower the new lamp to reduce the glare and also fit a shade  ! Wow what a result ! Cost £180 for the contractor and £8 for the shade - Council happily agreed to pay for the lot. I'm so glad I bothered to contact the council.

Brutie

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I've got the same problem.  I have a street lamp right outside the front of my house, and there is another around the corner shining into my back garden.  I contacted the council, and they fitted light shields with 2 weeks!!

result I hear you say.....but the shields are quite small.  The one at the front of my house maybe cuts down the light by about  20%, so pretty useless.

The one round the corner is actually on the opposite side of the street shining towards my garden.  As the light shield is on the pole it is shielding the house behind the lamp, but actually focussing more light into my garden.......DOH!!!

i was looking to put up a DIY shield in my back garden to block off the worst of it.  My idea is to use two tubular poles, one slightly small diameter than the other that will fit inside.  When i want to put the shield up I extend the inner pole up and peg it in place with some pre-drilled holes kinda like a garden umbrella

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On 13/10/2020 at 11:18, toxic said:

they fitted a shade to the new led street light next to my obsy strait away but it was useless so i made my own with a small aluminium frame sandwiched in between 2 flooring mats and bolted it to the lamppost and used a long pole to push it up and it works great now.as seen above and behind the home made dome.

 

Total genius!! :icon_salut:

Edited by RobertI
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15 minutes ago, Nigella Bryant said:

My council fitted two led streetlights with shads and cost nothing to me. Was done in a week of me asking. Cuts down the stray light into my garden. I have to watch where I walk now as it's really dark, lol. 

they fitted them to the 0ne above my obsy but it didnt stop the light from going strait down lol

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My 5 cents here: I also have a (extremely tall) street light right in front of my house and, although a technician at the city council has assured me that is looking for solutions for that, the truth is that nothing has been done so far (two years and counting). My first try at solving this was to go bold 😇 and paint it with red paint (by using a combination of a windsurf mast and a brush extender, and what a very difficult task that was, I can tell you!) and it worked wonderfully during three days, which was how long it took the city council to come and clean the mess I made (probably tipped off by my neighbours). My second try was to install a black retractable side awning, similar to this one, which more or les worked, as long as you placed the telescope very close to it (which also meant to block most of the available sky). I don't know, maybe this could be a solution for you as well.

Best regards,

NV

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  • 3 weeks later...

Not sure if this helps, but I made a rectangular frame from PVC pipe and fittings and hang black nylon shower curtains on it.  Mine sits on the ground or my deck, but it might be possible to rig up a hoist of some kind if it needs to be higher.

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