more_vampires
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2014
- Messages
- 3,475
Hey everyone!
In this thread: We share and discuss tips and tricks involving our lights. You know the type, the little things that set us apart as the top 2% of flashlight users worldwide.
Hacks are always welcome!
I'll start with a couple.
Improvised ceiling bounce headlamp:
Last night, I was playing with flashlights with my girlfriend with the lights out. I improvised a ceiling bounce headlamp by strapping a Pak-Lite Super 9v to her pony tail with her hair tie with the light shining towards the white ceiling. It worked like a charm. Wrap with a bit of plastic shopping bag to further diffuse the light and go fully night adapted vision.
Improvised wire:
A sheet of aluminum foil cut into strips, then twisted. If the strips run down the length of the sheet, the improvised wire can be as long as the roll.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_resistivity_and_conductivity
Aluminum has a touch more than half of the conductivity of copper when used as a wire. This can be overcome by simply using a thicker twist of the stuff. Using aluminum foil as wire will cause some of the voltage of the circuit to be dropped across the wire, more so than copper. Even so, it still works for low amperage hacks. It's also quite useful for improvised battery setups. One of my favorite budget mods involves a $1.50 Rayovac AAx2 plastic host and aluminum foil. I wrap strips of the foil around and around a P60 reflector to shim it to the light head. I then squash the foil away from the pill to give a nice flat lip for the switch probe to engage. This also permits easy swap of the pill for further play. In a pinch, I can scavenge some of the foil from the head to hack the P60 to virtually any battery less than 18v. Power tools, automotive, etc.
Improvised tail-stand of non-tailstanding lights:
Place the light in a drinking glass for ceiling bounce.
Excellent improvised contact cleaner:
A pink pencil eraser. It's quite gentle and doesn't damage platings. Follow up with a contact grease such as No-ox-id.
A word of caution when receiving a new light:
Check carefully inside the light for metal whiskers left over from the build process. I never thought to check until someone mentioned it here. I went to a suspect budget light and found one. It was a problem, a short, waiting to happen until I picked it out with a dental hook. Safety first, attention to detail. Buy cheap and this might be something you face.
Quick testing of the vampire status of a light:
I like to keep matched sets of alkalines in various states of decay. It's extremely useful for quick testing of how low a light can drain and still function. I barely use them for more than a couple of seconds. My favorite set is a pair of Sony alkies with a combined voltage of .98. If an AAx2 light cannot power up with these, then it's not a vampire.
Jammed mechanical switch from dropping the light:
Sometimes when you drop a light, the switch jams. Light won't turn on or stays lit. You might not have to take it apart, start hitting the switch repeatedly and gradually increase the force used. This might be all it takes to return to full operation.
In this thread: We share and discuss tips and tricks involving our lights. You know the type, the little things that set us apart as the top 2% of flashlight users worldwide.
Hacks are always welcome!
I'll start with a couple.
Improvised ceiling bounce headlamp:
Last night, I was playing with flashlights with my girlfriend with the lights out. I improvised a ceiling bounce headlamp by strapping a Pak-Lite Super 9v to her pony tail with her hair tie with the light shining towards the white ceiling. It worked like a charm. Wrap with a bit of plastic shopping bag to further diffuse the light and go fully night adapted vision.
Improvised wire:
A sheet of aluminum foil cut into strips, then twisted. If the strips run down the length of the sheet, the improvised wire can be as long as the roll.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_resistivity_and_conductivity
Aluminum has a touch more than half of the conductivity of copper when used as a wire. This can be overcome by simply using a thicker twist of the stuff. Using aluminum foil as wire will cause some of the voltage of the circuit to be dropped across the wire, more so than copper. Even so, it still works for low amperage hacks. It's also quite useful for improvised battery setups. One of my favorite budget mods involves a $1.50 Rayovac AAx2 plastic host and aluminum foil. I wrap strips of the foil around and around a P60 reflector to shim it to the light head. I then squash the foil away from the pill to give a nice flat lip for the switch probe to engage. This also permits easy swap of the pill for further play. In a pinch, I can scavenge some of the foil from the head to hack the P60 to virtually any battery less than 18v. Power tools, automotive, etc.
Improvised tail-stand of non-tailstanding lights:
Place the light in a drinking glass for ceiling bounce.
Excellent improvised contact cleaner:
A pink pencil eraser. It's quite gentle and doesn't damage platings. Follow up with a contact grease such as No-ox-id.
A word of caution when receiving a new light:
Check carefully inside the light for metal whiskers left over from the build process. I never thought to check until someone mentioned it here. I went to a suspect budget light and found one. It was a problem, a short, waiting to happen until I picked it out with a dental hook. Safety first, attention to detail. Buy cheap and this might be something you face.
Quick testing of the vampire status of a light:
I like to keep matched sets of alkalines in various states of decay. It's extremely useful for quick testing of how low a light can drain and still function. I barely use them for more than a couple of seconds. My favorite set is a pair of Sony alkies with a combined voltage of .98. If an AAx2 light cannot power up with these, then it's not a vampire.
Jammed mechanical switch from dropping the light:
Sometimes when you drop a light, the switch jams. Light won't turn on or stays lit. You might not have to take it apart, start hitting the switch repeatedly and gradually increase the force used. This might be all it takes to return to full operation.
Last edited: