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Reviews of Ceiling Light for 550/650


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  • 2 weeks later...
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Im super pumped that I stumbled across this thread. I have a pen light rigged up with tape sticking thru the toolhead. I leave the thing on every time I relaod and return to dead batteries! I just ordered a skylight for my 650. I can't wait to get it!

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Just set up the Skylight on my 650 and it is awesome!!!! Came quickly and super easy to set up! Works beautiful! I thought I had enough lighting on my press until now!!

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  • 10 months later...

Can someone using a Skylight with a 550b let me know if it's lights the inside of a .223 Remington case sufficiently to allow you to visually check the powder charge? Thanks.

It's still hard to see past the neck unless you press is mounted pretty low and you lean over to look. I have both the skylight and LEDs on the side and I can barely see the powder and I have to really look. For 223 my load comes up to the shoulder so I'm primarily looking to make sure that I can see something and that powder is not overflowing which would be obvious with my load.

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It sounds like these lights being discussed may have more features, but I am just using one of the Hornady ones I got form Cabelas for 17 bucks. Works well for me me on my 650. Just know there are options out there. The extra light through the center hole in the top is interesting though, I may have to look into that...

Link: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Hornadyreg-Lock-N-Load-Light-Strip/1617939.uts

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The skylight thing I'd not seen before, but I bought the supplies to make my own "Complete ceiling kit" for my RL550B, and I've been very happy with it. The only issue I've had have been with the adhesive on the LED strips not being strong enough to keep the ceiling strip in place, and I haven't found a solution to that yet. Assuming Inline has resolved that, I'm sure anyone wanting a lighting kit would be happy with one from them.

I'm just a combination of cheap and curious and like doing this sort of thing myself. If you shop around, you can get a whole roll (5M I think) of LED strip and the other odds and ends you'll need for less than the cost of the complete ceiling kit...but you will have to spend some time soldering and assembling things. If you're not comfortable with a soldering iron, send Inline some $.

I can do he leg work of finding the stuff but you happen to have a parts list of what you needed. I'd rather do it myself building things is more intriguing than paying someone to build it for me

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

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The skylight thing I'd not seen before, but I bought the supplies to make my own "Complete ceiling kit" for my RL550B, and I've been very happy with it. The only issue I've had have been with the adhesive on the LED strips not being strong enough to keep the ceiling strip in place, and I haven't found a solution to that yet. Assuming Inline has resolved that, I'm sure anyone wanting a lighting kit would be happy with one from them.

I'm just a combination of cheap and curious and like doing this sort of thing myself. If you shop around, you can get a whole roll (5M I think) of LED strip and the other odds and ends you'll need for less than the cost of the complete ceiling kit...but you will have to spend some time soldering and assembling things. If you're not comfortable with a soldering iron, send Inline some $.

I can do he leg work of finding the stuff but you happen to have a parts list of what you needed. I'd rather do it myself building things is more intriguing than paying someone to build it for me

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Here's the LED roll I bought:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ZUYI72/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The adhesive issue, I solved by using some common foam double faced tape. Only warning there is that due to the added thickness, be careful with the ceiling strip positioning so that there's no LED where the shell plate fingers are when you raise the ram.

The other small parts needed were:

an old transformer I had lying around. I decided 12V was too bright/harsh and used a 9VDC one

wire...I actually used some scrap ethernet

I bought a rotary switch and some tiny M/F plug connectors to make it possible to disconnect power from each LED strip at a local "electronics junk store"

Then it was just a matter of doing a bit of soldering and application of some heat shrink tubing.

Oh...and this roll of LED has a clear rubber-like protective coating. It's easily peeled off...and for the ceiling one, I did that. I think that's why someone mentioned filing the shell plate fingers. Just make the LED strip lower profile instead.

Edited by njl
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The skylight thing I'd not seen before, but I bought the supplies to make my own "Complete ceiling kit" for my RL550B, and I've been very happy with it. The only issue I've had have been with the adhesive on the LED strips not being strong enough to keep the ceiling strip in place, and I haven't found a solution to that yet. Assuming Inline has resolved that, I'm sure anyone wanting a lighting kit would be happy with one from them.

I'm just a combination of cheap and curious and like doing this sort of thing myself. If you shop around, you can get a whole roll (5M I think) of LED strip and the other odds and ends you'll need for less than the cost of the complete ceiling kit...but you will have to spend some time soldering and assembling things. If you're not comfortable with a soldering iron, send Inline some $.

I can do he leg work of finding the stuff but you happen to have a parts list of what you needed. I'd rather do it myself building things is more intriguing than paying someone to build it for me

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Here's the LED roll I bought:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ZUYI72/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The adhesive issue, I solved by using some common foam double faced tape. Only warning there is that due to the added thickness, be careful with the ceiling strip positioning so that there's no LED where the shell plate fingers are when you raise the ram.

The other small parts needed were:

an old transformer I had lying around. I decided 12V was too bright/harsh and used a 9VDC one

wire...I actually used some scrap ethernet

I bought a rotary switch and some tiny M/F plug connectors to make it possible to disconnect power from each LED strip at a local "electronics junk store"

Then it was just a matter of doing a bit of soldering and application of some heat shrink tubing.

Oh...and this roll of LED has a clear rubber-like protective coating. It's easily peeled off...and for the ceiling one, I did that. I think that's why someone mentioned filing the shell plate fingers. Just make the LED strip lower profile instead.

Sounds easy enough. You just use a 12v to 120 converter or just a 12v battery to run

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Either would work. Since AC is conveniently located, and beats having to replace batteries, I use an old 120VAC to 9VDC 1A transformer left over from some forgotten electronic device. 9V 1A is way overkill for the 9 LEDs I'm running, but it's what I had freely available.

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Can someone using a Skylight with a 550b let me know if it's lights the inside of a .223 Remington case sufficiently to allow you to visually check the powder charge? Thanks.

It's still hard to see past the neck unless you press is mounted pretty low and you lean over to look. I have both the skylight and LEDs on the side and I can barely see the powder and I have to really look. For 223 my load comes up to the shoulder so I'm primarily looking to make sure that I can see something and that powder is not overflowing which would be obvious with my load.

Thanks Dirty Rod. I read a comment from someone else that the Skylight didn't help him see his .223 Remington powder charges either. Unfortunately for me, my bench is rather high and my press in mounted on a Strong Mount exacerbating the viewing angle problem. The Skylight probably works great for larger mouth rifle cases and most pistol cases. I saw a forum thread where someone rigged a small video camera hooked to a video monitor to view his powder charges. Maybe I'll consider that if I find myself with extra money not better spent on something else.

Edited by 808win
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  • 1 month later...

I just put the light in my 550. Maybe I got a bad one, cuz I'm not impressed with the amount of, or lack of light I get. It's no where near as bright as the pic posted by beanie-bean.

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