Frosted plastic as beam smoother.

[Max]

I have (actually had) an inexpensive Casio digital alarm clock/thermometer that went bad (zeros look like sevens), so I decided to chuck it. But first, I saved the 2AA batteries and took the whole thing apart.

I thought originally that it had some kind of electroluminescent backlight, but it turns out that behind the LCD is just a green LED pointed at a sheet frosted plastic about 2.75"x3.5".

A beam diffuser! I'm going to try cutting a circle for my Garrity 2AA and see how it flies.

 

[Max]

Actually, it came out not too bad. I cut a disc of plastic, and it slipped in perfectly behind the existing clear plastic cover. It now throws a really smooth hemisphere of light, pretty good for not tripping over things in the dark. No aim needed. The plastic is about as transparent as scotch tape, so the overall light output is still lower.