How to Disable Offensive Streetlight Glare

If you've ever wished you could do something to reduce the glare of public streetlights in your windows at night, or wanted it a little darker in your backyard so you could see the stars, here is a legal, non-destructive way to improve the quality of light on your property.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• binoculars or a small telescope
• pen-sized, inexpensive pointer laser
• something to aim the laser with- a small camera tripod will do

1. Using your binoculars, carefully examine the offending light during the day when the light is off. Look for the electric eye, usually on top of the fixture, housed in a cylindrical feature. It's about a half inch spot, and generally on the north side of the fixture. What you want is to have the electric eye visible from where you set up your laser. The eye doesn't have to be exactly on your side of the light, but the more directly you can shine the laser onto it, the easier time you'll have turning the light off.
2. If the electric eye is not visible from where you want to set up your laser, you can stealthily (or brazenly, depending on your level of boldness) take a ladder out to the light, loosen the screws that hold it to the pole and turn the fixture to where the eye is in a position to be illuminated by your laser. Be sure to retighten the screws when you're done.
3. Beginner's overkill with this setup Set up your laser. All you need to do is attach it securely to something that is stable, but adjustable so you can aim it. A camera tripod is fine, just use a spring clamp or lots of tape to hold it on the head of the tripod. When I first tried this I machined a block of metal to hold the laser and an inexpensive rifle scope to sight the laser in. It is somewhat helpful to have all that stuff, but it's really not necessary to make it that complex. Once you've got your assembly together select a place to set the laser/stand assembly that has a clear view of the eye on the offending light.
4. What you want to do is to point the laser into the electric eye so the eye sensor thinks it's daytime and turns off the streetlight. The best time to aim in your laser is at dusk when the ambient light is fading so you can see where the laser is pointing, and before the streetlight comes on, so you don't have to try to see the laser light through the glare. Aiming is fairly easy, and you should be able to see when you've got the laser light on the electric eye. While pretty simple, this is the delicate part of the whole procedure. If the light you're turning off is quite a ways from your laser setup, a tiny movement will change te aim of the laser quite a bit, so take your time and have fun anticipating your newly darkened backyard. The light I have defeated is about 150 feet from my window, and it takes a couple of patient minutes to aim my laser in. Also, the little tripod I use isn't really good for this kind of work because the tilt and swivel movements are not smooth. So I usually end up moving the whole tripod to make fine adjustments to the aim. When you have your laser aimed correctly, the light will go out within 5 seconds.

Tips & Warnings

• The laser I use is very low powered and inexpensive; it doesn't take much light for this to work.
• I've found I can get about 4 full nights of darkness from two AAA batteries.
• If you're inclined, try hooking up a correct voltage power supply and save on batteries.
• Don't turn off the light just because you can. Sooner or later someone will make a call and you'll see the electrician out there undoing your good work. A degree of moderation will prolong the usefulness of what you've accomplished.
• This will work in all kinds of weather; rain, fog and snow. Well, not in a heavy snowstorm, but then you're probably not out stargazing, either.
• While getting what you want is good, be aware of the safety of others. I never turn off the streetlight on Halloween so the trick-or-treaters can be better seen.
• While very low power, it's still a laser. Don't go looking for the meaning of the universe in there, and don't leave it unattended with little kids around.