Matthew writes – “Scouring the Internet for information on LEDs, I accidentally stumbled upon a PDF detailing a flashlight made from PVC. For the torch, he biases ultra-bright LEDs with ballast resistors as described in my LED lighting guide. This is a simple solution, but a with a slightly more complicated circuit we can extend battery life by over ten times!” – [via] PDF link.
Related:
- See all sorts of weird things made from PVC – Link.
- Backyard Zip Line by Dave Mabe. Be the hit of the neighborhood with a high-flying, tree-to-tree transporter. MAKE 05 – Page 72.
- The Night Lighter by William Gurstelle. Launch potato projectiles 200+ yards with this stun-gun triggered, high-powered potato cannon with see-thru action. MAKE 03 – Page 108.
- HowToons– Make a marshmallow shooter. MAKE 02 – Page 172.
16 thoughts on “Low power LED PVC flashlight”
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cool little project! i think copper would be cool
I would be VERY careful carying that in publike, it could easily be confused with a pipe bomb by someone. if you do make this project just be wary of that
it’s about time! just needs some decorating :)
I agree with vinnyf, you gotta dress that thing up. Otherwise it kinda resembles a pipe bomb.
It’s cool to see something you designed posted by some one else. The picture you see is rev 1.0.
The parts for the “plumbing parts” flashight can add up to several dollars. When I finished up that instruction sheet, I was at the hardware store and they had complete flashlights selling for 99 cents! So now instead of using plumbing parts, I’ve been retro fitting cheap plastic flashlights.
Remove the plastic lens and replace it with a circuit board. Move the resistors from the back to the front becasue all the wires need to fit within the parabolic reflector area. My first design I used 1/2 watt resistors and could only fit 19 LEDS, my second design I used 1/4 watt resistors and put 20 LEDS in and could fit more. Make sure to sand the chrome(?) plating off the reflector becasue it conducts electricity. I also keep the bulb inplace and smash the glass on it. I then solder the leads from the LED circuit board to the leads on the bulb that holds the filiment. (remove the filiment in the bulb.)
The design works great, becasue the batteries are not soldered in, so they are easier to replace. It also knocks about $4 off the cost and gives you more room for more LEDS.
I got pictures if some one can tell me where to post them.
Enjoy,
Strenski
Strenski – add them to the MAKE flickr photo pool!
http://flickr.com/groups/make/pool/
cheers,
pt
It would be great if someone came up with the plans to make a kinetic versions of this… I know you can buy them now for 40 bucks but it would be cool to make one. Any takers … I still don;t know what i am doing half the time.
I think everyone needs to try this because it looks cool to me.