I am an addict

I have more idea's than I know what to do with and a wife that takes away all my resources!!! Well, she say's I can't spend too much anyway. What she doesn't know won't hurt her!! Anyway, picked up a Hello Kitty lantern from Target today for my daughter. (O;K; so it was to mod but she gets to use and keep it). I am looking for sugestions as to what I can do with 6 volts as it is a 4AA light. Could I put in two luxeons at 3 volts apiece? Or do I need to lower the voltage? Ideally I would like to have a long running unit with a little bit more than reading light so my daughter can stay up reading in bed. Obviously, I would like the longest run time available which would probably mean 5mm LED's. The bulb is a plug in similar to what you would find on a cheapo or a large M@G Light. Any thoughts?

You could put a Mag 3-cell bulb in it to give a nice amount of overdrive. That'll make it quite bright. I did that to a 4AA light I bought at Sears. When I showed it to a friend who didn't really care about flashlights, her eyes lit up so much that I gave it to her. She's still grateful.

Sorry, that's not the long-runtime kind of light you are looking for. But this configuration will please. The only investment is a bulb. I hear the Magnum stars, which cost a buck or two more, are brighter, but I have no experience with them.

Paul

Biblefreak, how old is your daughter? Luxeons put out a heck of a lot of light and I'm not sure if I would want one in the hands of a youngster. They could damage their eyesight or other childrens. As for using a luxeon star for a reading light in bed, I dont think that is a great idea. That would be seriously way too bright.

I think the best way to go would be to buy yourself a rather diffused 5mm LED. Normal 5mm LED's project a beam around 15-20 degrees and they would be uncomfortable for reading at night. There is a Nichia 5mm with a 70 degree beam for 1.79 at goldmine-elec.com which says it is used specifically for reading lights and backlighting displays..Sounds like the ticket for you...
Here is the entire URL for you..
http://sales.goldmine-elec.com/prodinfo.asp?prodid=6054

If the Hello Kitty light is like others that I have seen, it is made of plastic. Plastic will not handle the heat dissipation requirements of Luxeon LEDs. You need a metal (aluminum, probably) host.

Go with the 5mm LEDs.

the title of this thread is a little deceptive ... let's start over ...

"My name is Biblefreak" ...

(chorus) "HI, BIBLEFREAK!!!!"

" I'm a Flashaholic ..."



hideo

PS my vote's for 5mms as well--cost, safety, heat dissipation and frankly at that age anything that lights up at all is a revelation ... you ARE doing this for HER, yes? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

If Biblefreak's anything like the rest of us, it's because modding a reading light is fun, his daughter will like it, and it's a cheaper hobby than modding dune-buggies. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

You could also use an underdriven Luxeon, at 50-100mA. Assuming you use a Star rather than a bare emmitter, it'll work. I had one of those plastic military angle-head lights with a LS/o driven just under spec. It got hot, but not too hot.

My daughter has a 1AA Hello Kitty light /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I've been eyeing it suspiciously for a mod host. One day, she'll turn it on and get a nice little blast of light /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif