New 9v Goofy Light

[Flying Turtle]

Got my light fix today at my favorite place, the Dollar Store. Glad I decided to make a second pass down the "hardware" aisle. Might go back for a couple more. It's a 9v "tea light". Plug your old smoke alarm battery on to the top half, slide the battery cover on (not necessary), stand it up (gravity switch), and you get a fairly bright red glow. Not too shabby for a buck.

Geoff

Edit: Not all 9v batteries will fit in the cover, and the glow is really red, not orange.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I mentioned this over a year ago, I took one apart and swapped out the red LED for a white one and use it to drain batteries from smoke detectors and answering machines there is a secondary diffuser inside the square one.

 

[shhh]

My kids love these things lol its there "night lite". lol

 

[swxb12]

Edit: Not all 9v batteries will fit in the cover, and the glow is really red, not orange.

Hello Geoff,

Can you elaborate on this statement? I'm not too familiar with 9v batteries, besides smoke alarm maintenance at home.

 

[Flying Turtle]

The battery cover was just a bit too small for a Duracell 9v. An old Energizer did just fit inside. I don't know about other brands of batteries. It's just your typical 9v that is needed. The cover is only for cosmetic purposes.

Sorry, Lynx. I must have missed your post about these.

Geoff

 

[daytec]

beam shots good find!

 

[EZO]

Got my light fix today at my favorite place, the Dollar Store.

I live near a small town that has two dollar stores and I love 'em. One carries true junk while the other carries more of the "high end" stuff like this tea light. Can't seem to avoid wandering in there from time to time. Course, that's where I found my beloved D'OHLIGHT! Recently on a whim I bought some Sunbeam AAA & AA alkaline batteries, 4 for a buck and was astonished at how well they perform. I went back for more. Since the store seems to carry a range of Sunbeam stuff I think I'll just hafta go see if they have one of these fine lamps.

Yeah, I too am always finding interesting uses for old smoke detector batteries. I've been running a caller ID box on one for the last 8 months.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

The battery cover was just a bit too small for a Duracell 9v. An old Energizer did just fit inside. I don't know about other brands of batteries. It's just your typical 9v that is needed. The cover is only for cosmetic purposes.

Sorry, Lynx. I must have missed your post about these.

Geoff

It was a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away
These have a ball bearing tilt switch that is at times flakey. Try taking off the square plastic cover you will find a smaller cover inside and it will be even brighter. I think there is a 100 ohm resistor in this light.

 

[Flying Turtle]

The switch is a bit flakey, but it works. In the dark it does appear somewhere between red and orange, and is pretty bright with a worn out 9v. I'm tempted to get enough to put one in each window at Christmas.

I got this at a Dollar Tree store. Must be the same as your's, EZO, cause it's where I get the cheapo Sunbeam batteries, too.

Geoff

 

[Lynx_Arc]

They also sell cheap 2AA swivel lights that are good for modding direct drive with a single 5mm LED. I put a cree 110 degree 5mm LED in it after clipping off the bottom lip and the leads about 1/8 inch or so I swapped out the bulb and stuck in two batteries and nothing... flipped them around and with some tinkering you can get decent focus on the LED. Not a perfect light flickers a little but cannot complain for $1.

 

[EZO]

Yes, that's it, Dollar Tree. I was trying to remember but we have several stores around here that start with the word dollar, like the brand new Dollar General. I only visited once and there was really nothing in the store that sold for a dollar.

Hey did you guys know that Sunbeam offers AAA & AA NiMHs LSDs? I didn't either, but this thread prompted me to do a search for Sunbeam products and they turned up. I wonder if they're any good? If they ever show up at the Dollar store I might try them.

And Lynx_Arc, I saw the swivel lights there too and was thinking the same thing. I thought the reflectors looked pretty cool. I was wondering if it would require a resistor to put a 5mm in there but you answered my question.

 

[Selectron]

Wow, LSDs in a dollar store? Just out of curiosity, do you know what the capacity is?

Edit: Ah, I misread your post - they aren't actually in the dollar store (yet!)

 

[EZO]

The Sunbeam LSDs ..........AAAs are 800 mAh and the AAs are 2100 mAh.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

And Lynx_Arc, I saw the swivel lights there too and was thinking the same thing. I thought the reflectors looked pretty cool. I was wondering if it would require a resistor to put a 5mm in there but you answered my question.
[/IMG]

It is a 2 cell (2xAA) light so unless you use lithium batteries you will be underdriving a 5mm LED. If you use nimh the drive current will be rather low around 1ma and run for days even weeks. The reflector works well but you probably will need to cut the lip off the LED to get focus right.

 

[offroad]

Cool, how about some outdoor beam shots? I would really like to know how far these will throw!

 

[Flying Turtle]

Try taking off the square plastic cover you will find a smaller cover inside and it will be even brighter.

Found this out inadvertently myself today when it pulled apart while removing the battery. If you get one be gentle, cause the glue is not very strong. No harm though. It is brighter, but I decided to reassemble it with super glue. In spite of that I went back for two more. :shakehead

Geoff

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Cool, how about some outdoor beam shots? I would really like to know how far these will throw!

depends on your throwing arm

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Found this out inadvertently myself today when it pulled apart while removing the battery. If you get one be gentle, cause the glue is not very strong. No harm though. It is brighter, but I decided to reassemble it with super glue. In spite of that I went back for two more. :shakehead

Geoff

I thought about buying another one but I am not much into red LED lighting and my first attempt at swapping the LED was successful but not very easy as you just about have to unsolder the entire board from the 9v terminals. These have come twice to the store near me and gone if you search around multiple stores there is a chance you may stumble across unsold ones to those who are looking for them. The white LED swap is worth it if you are successful, and removing the first layer of diffusing if you have a non focused LED light I used makes for a better output.

 

[Flying Turtle]

Well, goofy light #1 bit the dust. I'm guessing it didn't like being bathed in super glue fumes. I probably did overdo it a bit. Could be something else since it was working right after the reassembly. Of course I chipped it apart for a look. Obviously the LED's dome did not enjoy my repair effort.

Geoff

 

[xamindar]

Obviously the LED's dome did not enjoy my repair effort.

Looks like it shrunk. Weird.