The navy arcade cabinet night light on a wooden nightstand at dusk, its window glowing with a pink and orange sunset behind black palm trees

Sunset Slider Night Light

Tilt the stick. Move the sky from sunset to midnight.

From your hand to the sky

A sunset in a cabinet

A navy mini arcade cabinet, 8.6 in tall. Its 3 in window holds a layered scene of palms, hills and a car on the road, lit from behind.

It starts at your hand

The ball-top joystick tilts 25° each way. Push it left for sunset, right for midnight. Nothing else drives the sky.

A toothed sector

Under the deck, the stick's hub carries a toothed sector. Every degree you tilt turns its teeth by the same degree.

Three turns for one

The sector meshes with a 20-tooth pinion that turns 3 times as far, the other way: 25° at the stick is 75° here.

A crank in a slot

A pin on the pinion's lever, 32.35 mm from its axle, runs in a slot in a carrier that can only slide sideways. The turn becomes a push of 31.25 mm each way.

Same scene, another hour

The carrier slides a colour band behind the window, running on rollers at each side. The palms stay put; the sky behind them changes.

Then the room goes dark

Press the red button and 12 LEDs light the scene from behind, with the amber marquee glowing on top. It runs on USB.

Up close

A little arcade that only plays sunsets

Dark blue sides with a mint pinstripe, an amber marquee on top and a black-framed window on the front. It looks the part from across the room and still rewards a close look.

The cabinet on a light oak desk in window light, a coffee mug and a mechanical keyboard beside it
On my desk by the keyboard. In daylight the window still reads as a sunset, and the mint stripe catches the sun.
Close view of the sloped control deck: a black ball-top joystick in a slotted ring and a round red button below the sunset window
The stick and the red button sit on a sloped deck, right where my hand lands when I reach over in the dark.
The window face on: black palm trees, two hills and a car on the road against a pink and orange sky
The palms, the hills and the car are separate cut-out layers, so the scene has real depth when you look at it from the side.

One stick, one sky

Tilt it and watch the band move

The slider stands in for the joystick. The sector turns with it, the pinion turns 3 times as far, and the crank pin shoves the carrier sideways, taking the colour band with it. Left is sunset; right is midnight.

Stick
0°
Pinion
0°
Band
0 mm
Diagram of the drive: the stick and toothed sector turn on one hub, mesh with a pinion below, and the pinion's crank pin slides a carrier that moves the colour band behind the window band carrier pinion stick and sector
The cabinet with the stick pushed right: the same palms and car against a violet midnight sky
Stick to the right: the same palms against a violet midnight. I leave it there at bedtime and push it back left in the evening.

Sunset Slider Night Light

Tilt the stick. Move the sky from sunset to midnight.

One night light in the box

1
arcade cabinet night light in dark blue with mint trim
4
cut-out scene layers behind the window: palms, hills, road and car
1
ball-top joystick that moves the sky
1
red latching button for on and off
Size
4.5 × 4.4 × 8.6 in (W × D × H), 114 × 112 × 218 mm
Weight
15.8 oz (447 g)
Window
3 in square (75 mm)
Light
12 LEDs behind the scene, amber marquee on top
Power
USB, switched by the red latching button
Control
Joystick, 25° each way
Sky travel
1.2 in each way (31.25 mm)
Material
PLA
The cabinet face on against a pale grey wall, the stick upright and the window showing sunset fading into violet
Stick straight up, and the window sits halfway between the two skies.

Good to know

How is it powered?

Over USB. The red latching button on the control deck switches it on and off, and 12 LEDs behind the scene light the window and the amber marquee.

What does the joystick do?

It moves the sky. Tilting it slides a colour band behind the window: left for sunset, right for midnight. 25° of tilt each way moves the band 31.25 mm each way, through a toothed sector, a pinion and a crank in a sliding carrier.

How big is it?

4.5 × 4.4 × 8.6 in (114 × 112 × 218 mm) wide, deep and tall, and it weighs 15.8 oz. The window is 3 in square.

What is it made of?

PLA, in dark blue with mint side trim, black for the scene and the controls, a red button and a translucent amber marquee.