Newbie and Big Jim

[hillysfolly]

G'day to all! I'm new here and my friends call me Hilly. I found this excellent forum just today and now I'm a member!! I remembered seeing a mates Big Jim with a rechargeable cell strapped on below. I just bought my lantern...an early model BJ with black bakelite/plastic handgrip, white push button switch and screw tight lens retainer, no battery. Paid all of $1 from a local Second Hand shop. So I was googling battery options and 'found' this forum....and after a couple of intriguing hours reading posts from the likes of LCTorana and others...I'm hooked! So now, instead of just finding a rechargeable battery, I'm wondering how far I can go with lamp/battery combos...without being silly! I want to use the lantern for general use...I'm preparing to travel in a motorhome around Australia and need a bright, reliable, easily rechargeable torch with an excellent spot like beam and kinda like the idea of making my own. So, bearing in mind my limited knowledge to date, can some kind soul please suggest in simple terms a set-up that will get me more light, and be reliable and economical to boot? Thanks in advance.

 

[R@ndom]

Shoot off a pm to lctorana he's the expert at big jim's.

 

[bigchelis]

Hilly,
Salutations and welcome aboard. You should be warned that while this forum is informative and addictive it is also fun, but becomes expensive as you learn. I sure wish I had learned about this forum sooner. The lantern seems like a good $1 purchase.

Have you explored on handheld lights yet? If you are going to be in wooded areas my incandescent applications suit me best. Incandescent lamps drain cells (batteries) in no time, but they make the outdoor landscape colors appear more realistic without the blue or white tint of LED. I due have both LED and Incandescent set-ups as they have there specific use for me.

Wow motorhome around Australia must be a dream. I am under 30yrs old and dream of the time when I get to travel around the U.S.A. in such a manner.

Good luck on the trip and welcome to the forum,
bigchelis

:welcome:

 

[Cosmo7809]

Hello and welcome to CPF.

 

[lctorana]

go here

 

[hillysfolly]

Thanks you guys. Thanks for the welcome r@ndom, cosmo7809 and bigchelis, nice to be aboard. Thanks lctorana for directing me to your way interesting post on the Big Jim Hotwire list. I just read and re-read through it to try and follow your methodology. However, as a neophite, I have problems with some of the terminology and referrences to some of the globes and cells. I guess I will pick up on some of these things as I go along. So I am going to make a start on this little project. The $1 torch was sans battery pack, so I will need to start there I guess. Should I buy a standard two post cell, use it till it's flat and then re-pack with some heavier cells? or should I start somewhere else? Any direction here would give me a start, but I can already see the paradox.....where you start is largely dependant upon where you want to end up! So, here goes. I want a really bright spot with great throw but some spread that wont go 'poof' too often and can handle a bit of abuse, be relatively inexpesive to build (under $100??) and be able to be re-charged from mains or 12v DC...I'm thinking solar here. Any ideas? Would one of those little soft start thingy's be a wise addition in any case? Any help with best source to purchase batteries and or globes from would also be appreciated. Thanks again for the warm welcome and great info. I look forward to learning heaps. And bigchelis...this trip around Oz has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember...so hang in there...if you want to do it bad enough, you'll get there too!

 

[Daekar]

Thanks you guys. Thanks for the welcome r@ndom, cosmo7809 and bigchelis, nice to be aboard. Thanks lctorana for directing me to your way interesting post on the Big Jim Hotwire list. I just read and re-read through it to try and follow your methodology. However, as a neophite, I have problems with some of the terminology and referrences to some of the globes and cells. I guess I will pick up on some of these things as I go along. So I am going to make a start on this little project. The $1 torch was sans battery pack, so I will need to start there I guess. Should I buy a standard two post cell, use it till it's flat and then re-pack with some heavier cells? or should I start somewhere else? Any direction here would give me a start, but I can already see the paradox.....where you start is largely dependant upon where you want to end up! So, here goes. I want a really bright spot with great throw but some spread that wont go 'poof' too often and can handle a bit of abuse, be relatively inexpesive to build (under $100??) and be able to be re-charged from mains or 12v DC...I'm thinking solar here. Any ideas? Would one of those little soft start thingy's be a wise addition in any case? Any help with best source to purchase batteries and or globes from would also be appreciated. Thanks again for the warm welcome and great info. I look forward to learning heaps. And bigchelis...this trip around Oz has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember...so hang in there...if you want to do it bad enough, you'll get there too!

:welcome: Welcome to CPF, Hilly! Don't feel bad about the terminology-overload, everybody (with a few notably-brilliant exceptions) suffers from that when they first arrive - it's very intimidating! We're all here to help though, so don't be afraid to ask questions after you've used the "search" function. :thumbsup: As far as where to start with your project, I think you need to clearly define how you want to use the light: How often will it be used, how long do you need it to run between recharges, are you going to want to carry it longer distances, etc. All those things will determine the best battery and bulb combinations for you. As far as 12V charging and AC charging, that should be fine depending on what kind of battery charger you decide to get. I'm afraid that, unless you have quite a lot of sun and huge solar cells, recharge times for a good-capacity battery pack are going to be ridiculously long. If solar-charging is a must, I suggest you pursue a warm-white LED light in addition to your Big-Jim, because it will require far less energy to run. That's a whole other can of worms though, and definitely a topic for another thread. I'm afraid I can't offer much insight into different bulbs for your project, but Cheapbatterypacks.com has a great reputation on CPF and might be a good place to get your power source! Good luck with the build, we are all anxiously awaiting pictures of your progress. :wave: