As an occasional camper I've often thought that there wasn't a reasonable "camping lantern" available. Plenty of little (and not so little) designs that have the same basic shape as liquid fuel models but less output. Many of them are flimsy or fragile and hard to pack due to their shape…….The task was to design a better camping lantern/emergency light.
Desired characteristics:
Robust with no glass or plastic to break. (Dare I say it… "Built like a tank").
Not able to be easily knocked over or if knockedover they should bounce.
Water resistant or water proof.
A convenient shape to pack and not too large.
Magnetic base to "stick" to suitable surfaces. Capacity to be hung overhead as a ceiling light with light directed downwards.
Light output should be diffused with no blinding hot spot.
Light intensity needs to be enough to be useful but not so bright that it completely destroys night vision. Higher light output should be available if required.
Long runtime on one set of batteries.
Able to use primary or rechargeable cells.
A foolproof lock-out switch to prevent accidental discharge due to any "rough and tumble" during transit.
Overall it should be something like a glo toob on steroids!
I'm sure this light exists somewhere but since I couldn't find it I decided to make my own (A great excuse for a new project).
Components:
One di-cast 9x12cm waterproof metal box.
One P7 led.
2 homemade 18650 battery holders. (also fit 2x123's)
1 Kai 3 level P7 driver.
Switches for on/off, lockout and mode change.
Acrylic sheet to make a diffuser.
Epoxy – thermal and general purpose.
The light:
And inside:
Run times on 18650 (x2);
About 1 hour on high, 2 hours on med and ?? 20 hours on low (haven't been able to time it on low yet).
I'll post some outdoor beam shots in the next few days.
EDIT 27 Aug 08.
Run time on low was just over 10 hours which supports the data that the driver board is less efficent on the lower output settings.
Desired characteristics:
Robust with no glass or plastic to break. (Dare I say it… "Built like a tank").
Not able to be easily knocked over or if knockedover they should bounce.
Water resistant or water proof.
A convenient shape to pack and not too large.
Magnetic base to "stick" to suitable surfaces. Capacity to be hung overhead as a ceiling light with light directed downwards.
Light output should be diffused with no blinding hot spot.
Light intensity needs to be enough to be useful but not so bright that it completely destroys night vision. Higher light output should be available if required.
Long runtime on one set of batteries.
Able to use primary or rechargeable cells.
A foolproof lock-out switch to prevent accidental discharge due to any "rough and tumble" during transit.
Overall it should be something like a glo toob on steroids!
I'm sure this light exists somewhere but since I couldn't find it I decided to make my own (A great excuse for a new project).
Components:
One di-cast 9x12cm waterproof metal box.
One P7 led.
2 homemade 18650 battery holders. (also fit 2x123's)
1 Kai 3 level P7 driver.
Switches for on/off, lockout and mode change.
Acrylic sheet to make a diffuser.
Epoxy – thermal and general purpose.
The light:
And inside:
Run times on 18650 (x2);
About 1 hour on high, 2 hours on med and ?? 20 hours on low (haven't been able to time it on low yet).
I'll post some outdoor beam shots in the next few days.
EDIT 27 Aug 08.
Run time on low was just over 10 hours which supports the data that the driver board is less efficent on the lower output settings.
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