LED Zeppelin
Flashlight Enthusiast
I was sitting on the can a few weeks ago, and noticed my wife had thrown out several old lipstick cases. One in particular caught my eye and I had a (brain) fart. I picked it up and read the color "Mod Velour". It was destiny.
The case is from the brand Prescriptives. The mods to the case were to drill out a 1/2" hole in the cap for the lens (stepdrill), and grind off the ribbing that holds the base of the cosmetic (Dremel).
For those who either don't have significant others, or who have no interest in their paraphernalia, I'll give a brief description of the mechanism:
The cap is a friction fit, and simply pulls off. Twisting the portion of the tube under the cap relative to the bottom of the case makes a plastic cup rise or fall inside the tube - piston drive. However, twisting the cap while it's on the body does nothing; there is clearance between the inner tube and the cap to prevent accidental raising of the cosmetic when closed.
I fabricated a cell cage from a piece of spring to serve two functions: It is the electrical path from the (-) terminal of the cell (the case is all plastic inside), and it compresses to allow the (+) terminal to continue to rise and make contact. I couldn't find a proper diameter spring so I had to reshape a slightly larger one. The spring needs to be rather weak since it's force is acting directly on the cap and is countered only by its friction fit - too strong and it will push the cap off.
Once the ribs inside the "piston" cup were removed, the spring was able to fully seat.
I made a crude (understatement) breadboard and mounted the SMJLED. The (+) lead simply drops through to a solder blob, and the (-) lead is soldered to two 8 ohm resistors in parallel mounted on the top. The resistors were then soldered to some SS wire laced around the perimeter of the board, and will contact the spring.
The cell cage will rise and fall with the cup, making or breaking contact with the breadboard.
One thing to note when you are shopping for your host is the variety of lengths these devices come in. Depending on your cell configuration and the length thereof, along with the drop-in depth of the reflector/breadboard, you have a certain minimum length or the light may not turn off. My setup is borderline; I have a scant 1/8 turn from off to on. It will behoove you to browse the "tester" rack examining the amazing variety of form factors, materials, and drive mechanisms.
Another thing you will note is the difficulty with which the cosmetic is cleaned from the cup. And they still want something that will stay on longer?
On the plus side, virtually 100% of these will be ultra stable in candle mode. A negative is that HA II is the best you can expect.
The AAA miniMag reflector and mineral glass lens were the right size to sit on top of the inner tube, and fit inside the cap. Thus when the cap is closed, the reflector and lens are sandwiched in place. They also happen to be the right thickness so the cap closes fully and snugs up the reflector/lens nicely. Although it's funtionally fine like this, I'll probably silicone the lens/reflector/ board into the cap because inevitably anyone who sees the light immediately pulls off the cap, spewing the spring-loaded board and lens about.
The last detail was to enable the closed cap to actuate the twist mechanism.
I simply wrapped the inner tube with a very specific amount of electric tape, which still allows the cap to be removed, but has enough friction to operate the twisty and counter the spring.
Here are some pics:
Here is a shot showing the raised cup with ribs removed. Note the size of the glass lens sitting on top of the cap. Also visible are the resistors between the reflector and board. JB Weld is holding everything together.
Here is a bowling pin lineup for size reference. The lipstick light is 3/4" dia. X 2 1/8" long and weighs just 20.9 gm (less than 3/4 oz.) with cell.
It's hard to take this light seriously, but the beam and output are surprising. Here's a beamshot with Mod Velour on the left, a miniSolitaire (10280 Li-ion, SMJLED, 6 ohms) at center, and a stock Arc AAA-P on the right.
Alright, I know you guys are all wondering why I didn't use the perfect part for this light, and quite honestly it is due to my lack of ability. I simply couldn't figure out how to make a Hotlips fit.
The case is from the brand Prescriptives. The mods to the case were to drill out a 1/2" hole in the cap for the lens (stepdrill), and grind off the ribbing that holds the base of the cosmetic (Dremel).
For those who either don't have significant others, or who have no interest in their paraphernalia, I'll give a brief description of the mechanism:
The cap is a friction fit, and simply pulls off. Twisting the portion of the tube under the cap relative to the bottom of the case makes a plastic cup rise or fall inside the tube - piston drive. However, twisting the cap while it's on the body does nothing; there is clearance between the inner tube and the cap to prevent accidental raising of the cosmetic when closed.
I fabricated a cell cage from a piece of spring to serve two functions: It is the electrical path from the (-) terminal of the cell (the case is all plastic inside), and it compresses to allow the (+) terminal to continue to rise and make contact. I couldn't find a proper diameter spring so I had to reshape a slightly larger one. The spring needs to be rather weak since it's force is acting directly on the cap and is countered only by its friction fit - too strong and it will push the cap off.
Once the ribs inside the "piston" cup were removed, the spring was able to fully seat.
I made a crude (understatement) breadboard and mounted the SMJLED. The (+) lead simply drops through to a solder blob, and the (-) lead is soldered to two 8 ohm resistors in parallel mounted on the top. The resistors were then soldered to some SS wire laced around the perimeter of the board, and will contact the spring.
The cell cage will rise and fall with the cup, making or breaking contact with the breadboard.
One thing to note when you are shopping for your host is the variety of lengths these devices come in. Depending on your cell configuration and the length thereof, along with the drop-in depth of the reflector/breadboard, you have a certain minimum length or the light may not turn off. My setup is borderline; I have a scant 1/8 turn from off to on. It will behoove you to browse the "tester" rack examining the amazing variety of form factors, materials, and drive mechanisms.
Another thing you will note is the difficulty with which the cosmetic is cleaned from the cup. And they still want something that will stay on longer?
On the plus side, virtually 100% of these will be ultra stable in candle mode. A negative is that HA II is the best you can expect.
The AAA miniMag reflector and mineral glass lens were the right size to sit on top of the inner tube, and fit inside the cap. Thus when the cap is closed, the reflector and lens are sandwiched in place. They also happen to be the right thickness so the cap closes fully and snugs up the reflector/lens nicely. Although it's funtionally fine like this, I'll probably silicone the lens/reflector/ board into the cap because inevitably anyone who sees the light immediately pulls off the cap, spewing the spring-loaded board and lens about.
The last detail was to enable the closed cap to actuate the twist mechanism.
I simply wrapped the inner tube with a very specific amount of electric tape, which still allows the cap to be removed, but has enough friction to operate the twisty and counter the spring.
Here are some pics:
Here is a shot showing the raised cup with ribs removed. Note the size of the glass lens sitting on top of the cap. Also visible are the resistors between the reflector and board. JB Weld is holding everything together.
Here is a bowling pin lineup for size reference. The lipstick light is 3/4" dia. X 2 1/8" long and weighs just 20.9 gm (less than 3/4 oz.) with cell.
It's hard to take this light seriously, but the beam and output are surprising. Here's a beamshot with Mod Velour on the left, a miniSolitaire (10280 Li-ion, SMJLED, 6 ohms) at center, and a stock Arc AAA-P on the right.
Alright, I know you guys are all wondering why I didn't use the perfect part for this light, and quite honestly it is due to my lack of ability. I simply couldn't figure out how to make a Hotlips fit.
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