USB plugin light modules

[more_vampires]

Back side of the board gets slightly warm on high, that's all it can do. Get the feeling we can boost this baby maybe without more therm mass.

edit: .05 watt board is a dud, others show .700-.955 watts, this explains the brightness difference. Dud is visibly dimmer.

loving the drok USB meter so far.

 

[FRITZHID]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to tinkering with these.

 

[more_vampires]

Sorry for previous fragmentation.

Loved variation in the Soshine modules! It's what made it fun! Would have been frustrating without the USB meter.

Thanks to one of my main men Reppans for mentioning it! It enhanced my enjoyment 1000fold!

love you all!

 

[xzel87]

Have you tried the plug in module with a USB OTG cable to a phone and see whether it lights up?, would be a really neat lightweight lighting option for phone cameras if it does work.

 

[FRITZHID]

Have you tried the plug in module with a USB OTG cable to a phone and see whether it lights up?, would be a really neat lightweight lighting option for phone cameras if it does work.

Nice idea! I have one so as soon as my lights get here, I'll try it.

 

[xzel87]

Just opened the box 30 secs after FedEX got here!
They could have put a housing on it, but they didn't. Bare board, double-sided plugin... plug it in either way. Cool!

No optics, mule flood only. Tint is fairly neutral on mine, didn't find the "warm" version, or I would have gotten those.

For more added durability and longevity, you could apply some optical glue to the bare circuitry and LED, just tape up the edges so the glue will have nice edges when it sets. Also, Gearbest sells the white AND warm white version, same 5 pack, but $6+ :devil:

Nice idea! I have one so as soon as my lights get here, I'll try it.

Take pics of it in action!...this would be the rage for selfie lovers

 

[FRITZHID]

Take pics of it in action!...this would be the rage for selfie lovers

Oooo you're right..... Idk if I want to give those ppl fodder.... They're bad enough as it is!

 

[Poppy]

budds224 posted an ingenious way to use them as an auto ON power failure emergency light... see the LINK HERE

 

[FRITZHID]

Ok so, mine arrived today.
At first look, they are on quite the robust pcb! Only concerns I'd have are..
A, smd components are bare, no protection what so ever.
B, thermal stress on the COB LEDs themselves.

They are fairly bright on high, dim is a nice soft glow as well.
The dual direction is a very nice option!
Touch control is a neat feature.
And the question y'all have been waiting for.....
YES, they will run on USB OTG off a phone or tablet***, etc!
All in all, worth the $6 I spent.
Ty MV for pointing these out!

***note... Well not work on every phone. Works on my gs5 and cheap tablet but not on my wife's older LG. So YEMV.

 

[more_vampires]

Fritz, glad to help spread flashahol addiction!

Also, I think sealing the board totally will break the touch functionality. Even so, loving these things. Even non-flashies get curious for a second when I show them the dual head setup.

 

[FRITZHID]

Note....
Running off phn, battery, tablet, etc is noticeably dimmer than running off a line powered USB source.
As far as sealing goes, I think I'm going to put some kapton tape in some strategic places and then spray or dip them with conformal coat. Over the LEDs, the USB pads and on the back where the obvious touch surface is. Edges and smd components will then be sealed safely. Also noticed there's a slight green tint to these in warm white. I may look into a LED upgrade at some point.

 

[FRITZHID]

Pwm isn't that bad either....

 

[Timothybil]

Not quite the same functionality, but still useful, BangGood and GearBest both sell the Xiaomi USB light stick, which is a flexible silicon wand about six inches long that has a USB plug at one end, and five small LEDs at the other behind a nice diffuser. There is also a small metal plate on the opposite side of the LEDs, obviously a heat sink of some sort. Draws 1.2 W, really lights up the area. I have several, in various color temps. At the times I ordered them I didn't notice any specifications about CCT, so don't know if the difference is deliberate or random. They usually sell for under $3 USD, but once in a while they go on sale for $0.99.

 

[FRITZHID]

Gave one to my wife to play with....
Now I guess I'm ordering some colored LEDs to mod to her specifications. Lol
She's been playing with it for more than an hour now but wants them in; red, purple, blue and pink. Lol

 

[FRITZHID]

Decided to run an endurance test.... After less than 15 mins on high (using a line powered USB source), the pcb becomes very uncomfortable to touch. These will fail fairly quickly under full power despite the full copper ground plane that are soldered to.... Just isn't enough surface area to cool the COBs. Not that this is unexpected being a $1.20/pc device, just don't use them as a nightlight! Lol

 

[more_vampires]

What wattage? My mophie bank takes some of mine to .955 watts, some to .855, but my gf's bank runs them at 1.06-1.08watts. Just a different bank, they get hotter faster.

Apparently current boosting is as simple as trying different USB sources. The Drok USB meter leads the way.

Edit: weirder and weirder. My gf's power bank takes them straight to 1.06-1.08 watts. On my bank, they are .855-.955 at turn on. Let it warm up on high a few seconds, dim all the way, go to max, now my bank takes them to 1.06 as well!!!

I wouldn't know this without test gear. Thanks again, Reppans! You are the man!

 

[FRITZHID]

So far, 3 of my 4 edc battery packs have an issue running these on low! They have an auto shut off feature that kicks in when they aren't being used and the draw isn't high enough on low to keep that from triggering. :/

 

[more_vampires]

Yeah, my USB meter can't even detect the wattage and MAH consumed when these little guys are on lowest. Mixed feelings, I should feel good... right?

Only tried these on two usb packs. They seem to work fine on a "real" usb port. Both packs worked fine, though one did show a few idiosyncrasies.

Also, THEY WORK ON A KEYCHAIN. I was wondering if touching the keychain changed anything, no not really. The touch functionality is a bit more stubborn when on a keychain. You have to pinch the chips with your thumb and forefinger when on a keychain.

When not on a keychain, you can simply touch the center of the back of the board where there are no contacts, that's enough to trigger it alone.

Down to 2 Soshine modules. Giveaways over the weekend.

 

[FRITZHID]

Be nicer if I could use these on a pack on low! Bright isn't moonlight mode, Damnit. Back to my coast for trips to the head....

 

[herbicide]

I have a couple of these. Neither of them dim, but one's certainly brighter than the other.

Here's a USB power meter comparison (with the insides of the white boxes brightened to show the OLED screen while not blowing the images out with the three LEDs):

And here they are on my keyring, to see how they hold up to wear and tear: