Engineers Light Ideas ??

[tardis]

As my job demands a light for looking inside machinery i.e. printing equipment, I was wondering (and with the help of you guys) what would make an ideal light for this task. It would have to be small, light, probably LED unless you think otherwise, white light, tough and be able to project a decent spot beam for looking at things in detail (i.e. parts, wire, circuit boards etc) This light would help me diagnose faults and problem solve. It wouldn't have to been fantastically bright.

So far, I was thinking Arc AAA but does this project a spot ? How about E1e ? KL1 ?

Any other ideas most welcome.

Thanks and regards

Tardis /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[LEDmodMan]

Minimag plus BadBoy or MadMax LS drop-in from Dat2zip.
That's all I have to say about that.

 

[James S]

I'm going to agree completely with LEDmodMan and his recomendation of a BadBoy or MadMax drop-in. Except that I'm going to recomment a Brinkman legend 2AA as the host. You can find a lot of info about them on this board. Of all my flashlights that I've aquired since I came here, my Brinkman/BadBoy 500 gets the most use.

I've even used it for exactly what you mention and soldered audio cable connectors together with no light but it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[PhotonBoy]

You might complement it with a headband like this

http://www.orderoutdoors.com/niteize/hband.htm

when you need a third hand.

 

[Tomas]

A BB or MM might be a bit much for close quarters inspection.

How 'bout an Opalec Newbeam. Not only is the light a bit softer, since it comes from three sources the light/shadow contrast is a touch less, and transitions are smoother.

In truth, any of the three would be a good unit.

 

[paulr]

Or you could try an Elektro-Star (www.elektrolumens.com).

 

[paulr]

Also, I think there are some LED "snake lights" available. I don't remember who makes them though.

 

[whiskypapa3]

Like LEDmodMan says, MagLite AA with BadBoy. Add a Kroll switch and wrap something lumpy around the bezel to keep it from rolling around. I use mine for mucking around inside computer boxes, just the right brightness and beam spread. Also bright enough to find those pesky screws that drop on the floor and roll into the darkest corner. Watch it like a hawk because someone is bound to think they need it more than you...

 

[tardis]

Thanks LEDmodMan and James S,

Just the kind of information I needed and wow sooo fast. This is a great forum.

Now, I just got to find one of these mods.

Thanks again /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

 

[tardis]

I can't keep up with you lot ! While I was thanking the first 2 replies to my thread, a whole more came through

Thanks to all /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[RewopEldnac]

I agree with Tomas.

My job is to look inside computers & printers to fix them. Opalec Newbeam has been my primary flashlight for these kind of tasks.

 

[B@rt]

[ QUOTE ]
paulr said:
Also, I think there are some LED "snake lights" available. I don't remember who makes them though.

[/ QUOTE ]

LedLenser has a "snakeLed"... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

You can find more info here: The Complete Guide to ... LedLenser

Hope this helps,

 

[INRETECH]

My technician friend Robert at Intel uses his InReTECH adapter just for that, looking at PC boards - he says that the WHITE light from the LED works soo much better for reading printing on PC-Boards and printing on part numbers

 

[Slick]

Streamlight makes a light called the "Stylus" that is as skinny as a pencil with a single LED on the end. The also have one called the "Stylus Reach" that has the snake head that cna be adjusted as needed.

 

[tardis]

Thanks guys for all your seggestions. I'm looking into all of them. In particular, the mini-mag mods.

Tardis