More Than a Flashlight

I have a lot of flashlights, getting a new one has not completely lost its thrill. But what I now want is not being made. In a form factor like the TrustFire TR-801, using one 18650, I would like a different type of switch, give me one that looks like the middle scroll button on a mouse, smaller, that turns the flashlight on or off when you push down on it and gets brighter or dimmer when you scroll.

That's only the first part though, it gets me a flashlight that works the way I want it to, but I want more. Place the scroll button off center to make room for a mini USB connector that is used to charge the battery and program how the other modes, (those not related to brightness, such as strobe frequency) of the flashlight work.

A nice addition but still not everything I want. OK here is where I move into far left field, as long as we are putting a microcontroller in there lets make it a good one, a real microprocessor chip. Add at least 32 gig of ram from a USB stick, oh that works we already have a mini USB interface. Lastly add a WiFi access point to help connect all your computer systems, phone and what ever else you have. Now that's a flashlight I can use as an everday carry.

I agree, now become an engineer and build one for me.

brianch said:

I agree, now become an engineer and build one for me.

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That would be to long a wait, I am taking engineering classes however.

I agree with everything except the WiFi...

Even a small laptop-mouse-style touchpad for the scrolling. Much smaller and easier to mount on a flashlight.

Scroll on the side, mini usb on the tail. I don't know that you'd need the storage though. USB to program modes would be cool.

As you swing further into left field, it may turn out to be more efficient to attempt to fit a proper emitter in a mobile phone that already has all of the other features you want.

mechanical engineering student here, and a real pro at that

my verdict, YOUR CRAZY

O.J lol

i agree with everything exept wifi, why not replace it with a GPRS tracker so if you lose your very expensive light you can find it lmao

jamie

That sounded viable until you mentioned Wifi.

Guy's Dropper said:

That sounded viable until you mentioned Wifi.

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Theres 1 big problem with the scroll wheel idea... How are you going to make it waterproof/water resistant?

All the other stuff is WAY out of chances in that size. If you have an extended tailcap, though, it might be possible for the Mini-USB part..

~Brian

Check out the mini Chimera by Sabrewolf. Not quite what you want, but it does have a few of the features you are asking for.

A mini USB port would be handy for firmware updates.
Beyond that, I prefer discreet devices to avoid the " all your eggs in one basket" syndrome.

Don't forget the toaster. For some reason new phones want to be your phone, pda, camera, camcorder, and mp3 player. All that's left is integrated bread toasting. But a closer way to get to this magical flashlight would be glue your flashlight to your phone.

Bluetooth diodes are so tiny and cheap, and would be perfect for the limited space inside a flashlight. Just send a small, cheap ($2 each in bulk, for example) USB Bluetooth dongle (to plug into your PC) with the flashlight, and voila! Programmable flashlight.

sinkhead said:

Bluetooth diodes are so tiny and cheap

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Bluetooth diodes? I guess those don't exist.

with all the latest craze, i'm surprised that i didn't hear a touch screen interface lol

I liked the GPS addition... or have a "Clapper" circuit for easy finding.

linterno said:

Bluetooth diodes? I guess those don't exist.

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My apologies, I'm confusing Bluetooth and Infrared again! I meant small Bluetooth recievers that can be mounted on circuit boards.