WatchLight

[d'mo]

The last time my wife and I went to the Philippines it was too hot to wear anything but athletic shorts. Since my EDC (a Photon II and Leatherman Wave at the time) were in a custom belt case, no belt loops meant no belt; No belt meant no EDC. Because it gets very dark there at 6:00pm and they don't have indoor plumbing, a flashlight was essential for evening outhouse visits and looking for find a working flashlight was a royal PITA. Since I am almost never without my watch, I decided to wrap some elastic piping around my Photon II's screws and attach it to my watch band. Despite being somewhat practical, I later saw a photograph and though it was REALLY ugly, but it got me thinking....

A flashlight that's small, unobtrusive, "hands free" and always with me. This could work.

This is now the sixth incarnation of the "WatchLight." The first model was made of plastic held together with tiny screws and was "squeeze on" to illuminate the single 3mm LED via direct drive. It had been done before, but never quite so small. It didn't last too long and any bumps would send parts flying. Sharp screws meant I would sometimes scratch loved ones or snag it on something. The next version had epoxy casing which made it smoother, but it was more fragile than before, so this idea was scrapped in favor of a soldered brass housing. More durable, it lasted through occasional bumps, but made battery changes impossible. The next version added a tiny slide switch and more powerful LED, but did not overcome the tendency for it to be torn from the watchband if caught on something.

I experimented with several different holders to make batteries replaceable, finally coming up with a tiny plastic cartridge holding two stacked button calls. Not waterproof, but simple enough to dry out.

The latest version rides in a tiny pocket sewn into a nylon watch band. It's removable and can be easily modified for right or left-handed wearers. I've also included a portion of a glow disk to make it easier to find in the dark. It uses a single, trimmed down 5mm LED and is powered by two CR1220 batteries. It has no "squeeze" functions and is equipped with a tiny slide switch. I've found that if I need a bit of light on an object I'm holding in my hand, I simply rotate the watch to locate the flashlight at the bottom of my wrist, focusing the light in my left palm. It's not as bright as a Photon or Arc AAA, but since it's almost always with me, it's gets the most use of any flashlight I own

For the next version, I hope to make it regulated. Here are the pics of the current version.....

Sorry for the blurry picture.

 

[paulr]

Nice! You could use a red or yellow LED with a single battery, of course.

Note that LRI makes a nice little lanyard for the Photon, a few inches long with a spring clip at the end. You could use that to clip the Photon II to the waistband of your athletic shorts, no belt loop needed. See the "lanyard clip" down the page at

http://www.photonlight.com/products/accessories.html

 

[Bravo25]

I understand Swiss Army now makes a watch with a built in light that is bright enough for edc, plus has flashing emergency signal, and even a locator beacon. What will be next?

 

[WildRice]

I saw one at the mall a few weeks ago. it came with a charging stand, and had (i think) 3 3mm whites in the face. the demo was dead so I couldent see it working. The only problems I could see with it was I think it only had a momentary PB for the light. light lifetime, but the charger takes care of the (might even be inductive). and the biggest drawback would be aiming the darn thing, I mean forget it is a watch light, go to check the time, push the button, and you're wandering around with your hands over your eyes, cursing at yourself, stumbling into things.
jeff

 

[paulr]

That swiss army watch is quite expensive. I didn't realize it had a charging stand, which is yet more complication to deal with.

There are a comple of other wristwatch flashlights on the market, but the ones I know of are pretty ugly.

I think d'mo's approach is very nice and if I had a nylon-banded watch I'd give it a try. But I'd probably use a single coin cell and a yellow LED, to keep it thinner.

 

[CiTY]

I straped a photon to my watch as a "watchlight".

 

[reviewum]

Hey All,

This looks like a great idea to me! I would love to put one of these on my hiking / camping watches! My only concern in asthetics on my "nicer looking" watches. (My wife's dad will wear his torn up calculator watch with missing buttons to the opera :-)

Personally, I'm all about portability! While I was in Switzerland I bought a real Swiss Army Knife (yeah... a Swiss Army Knife in Switzerland, how cool is that?) that has a built in LED. The cool things about this knife:

Functionality, portability, small, uses the "sield" logo to turn it on, oh, and did I mention I got it in Switzerland?

Check it out here:

I also have a keychain light from Sharper Image. Eveything is cool about this except the key rings keep falling out of it so I glued it shut.

 

[Stainless]

d'mo:
Keep at it man. The concept of a flashlight for the wrist - an affordable and practical flashlight for the wrist - is something that manufacturers have been missing the boat on in my opinion. Ideally, if we could get PK to model a phony SF prototype, we could just wait for the "knock offs" to start flooding the market. Meanwhile, it's up to folks like you to keep pushing the envelope. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

 

[oldeng95]

I dont know why, but no one has thought up a led light that has 12 leds built into the watch instead of numbers. sizes 1206 or ever 0603 would work perfect. these are cellphone size leds of course but I have 12 blue leds on the back of my cellphone and it will light up a room.
just my 2 cents
PAUL

 

[paulr]

There are a few watches with traser tubes at the hour markers.

 

[d'mo]

Paulr,

I tried one of those Photon clips. I lost the Photon light in the airport on the way to the Philippines I guess I wasn't careful enough or it wasn't secure enough. Since it was the onlly clip I took on the trip, the photon attached to the watch was the best I could come up with.

As time permits, I'm trying to make an even spaller version with a single red or yellow LED.

I've seen the integrated LED watch "flashlights" and was not impressed with the switch mechanism and the light coming from the watch face - tough to aim.

To all: Thank you for the encouragement!

 

[paulr]

Btw, where did you get that tiny switch?

 

[d'mo]

Paulr,

The switch is an NGK SS3-12

 

[Stainless]

I once had a wide velcro watchband - with a flap that velcroed over the watch face when not in use. Perhaps you could attach a photon type light to something like that.

See it here:
http://www.actiongear.com/cgi-bin/tame.exe/agcatalog/level4s.tam?xax=29958&pagenumber%2Eptx=1&M5COPY%2Ectx=10481&M5%2Ectx=10481&M2%5FDESC%2Ectx=Wrist%20Watches%2C%20Multi%2DFunctional%20Wrist%20Instruments&level3%2Ectx=results%2Etam&query%2Ectx=watch&backto=%2Fagcatalog%2Fresults%2Etam

COMMANDO WATCHBAND™
Protects your wristwatch and conceals Nighttime Glow. Rugged actionwear for military, police, emergency services, construction, climbers, outdoorsmen and men of action. Unique crystal cover strap and exclusive double-security closures keep your timepiece protected and safe. Heavy duty hook-and-loop closures assure comfortable fit.


Our replacement wristband is made of durable parachute harness Type VIII nylon webbing, 1-3/4'' wide, rot-proof and completely washable. Choice of Olive Drab or Black.

To Order The Right Size: Use flexible cloth measuring tape. Wrap it loosely around your wrist. The next larger 1/4'' mark is your correct size. It's better to order slightly larger when in doubt.