Homemade LED lamps. Possible? Worthless?

Qew71

Qew71

Joined
Dec 4, 2000
Messages
169
I was playing with my new G2 and that got me digging up all my old torches... a coupla mini-Maglites, a long D-Cell Mag, my dive lights... and in the bottom of a drawer I found... an old LED lamp.

You know the kind, the ones that bikers/jogger use, clamped to a fanny pack or their ass... flick a switch and 4 red LEDS flash alternately; flick the switch the other way and a white LED turns into a simple flashlight. I openned it up and realised that the 2 AAA batteries (alkalines) hadn't been changed for 5 years! And that got me thinking...

I had read about some tent lights that burn for up to 10 hrs (thought I had read 40hrs on one but it could have been a mistake)... well there are lotsa times when I could use a long and low burn... just for reading for instance... could I fix up my own LED light? any ideas?

I wouldn't need any of the new-fangled high power ones right? I could walk into an electronics parts shop and just ppick out a handful of LEDS and some battery holders and maybe a box to fit the assembly in... RIGHT?

I enjoy tinkering around with stuff... while this idea is still bouncing around in my head, maybe some of you guys have some constructive input. Maybe some of you have done it b4. Maybe some of you know the burntimes for particular combinations of batteries. Is there a formula? I'd love to hear from you guys!!
 
Well, sure, but if all you want is a long low burn just pick up a red Photon II. It'll burn for a week continuously, or longer if you turn it off in the daytime.
 
Might I suggest you check out this place........
CandlePowerForums
Lots of good info and plenty of helpful Forumites. What you want to do is possible. LED's have come a long way towards becoming a light source.

Photons are nice, but if you want a small, long-burn LED light, check out these guys....
Arc Flashlight
DURABLE, well made, long-burn, and awesome customer service. They're presently working on a light with a super extended long burn time for military apps.

WARNING - Flashlights are as addictive as knives :D.
 
It's occurred to me it might be fun to rig up about six D batteries to a low-power LED ... so the burn time is about the same as the shelf life of the batteries. I'm not sure what a light like that would be good for ... maybe use it for a nightlight, never turn it off ... replace the batteries every ten years ... then you'd have a light even if there's a power failure.

You can get LEDs at Radio Shack ... or cannibalize the ON light from anything broken that has an ON light....
 
Originally posted by Cougar Allen
It's occurred to me it might be fun to rig up about six D batteries to a low-power LED ... so the burn time is about the same as the shelf life of the batteries. I'm not sure what a light like that would be good for ... maybe use it for a nightlight, never turn it off ... replace the batteries every ten years ... then you'd have a light even if there's a power failure.

You can get LEDs at Radio Shack ... or cannibalize the ON light from anything broken that has an ON light....
Click to expand...

That sounds like a GREAT idea! kinda bulky tho... BUT what I had in mind was a light that I could use for reading in a tent... low burn is good... that I could then leave attached to or in my pack forever so I'd never forget it... I think the possibilities are pretty good.

I'm not sure about a photon... they seem a little too small... I mean, with a larger light source, you could design a different kind of reflector... why not even a diffuser? That way you could get soft lighting you tent without any hotspots. I know I hate hotspots when turning my light on anything in the dark... it totally screws up my night vision.
 
There are a bunch of options for reading in a tent. Some use a red Photon II but I think I would want something brighter if I want to read for a long time. You can get fluorescent lights that run on batteries at camping stores, in various sizes. Some of the guys who know more about flashlights than I do will probably notice this thread soon. You might try posting in the Wilderness & Survival forum here, too -- try a search first.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top