60 LED umbrella camping lantern mod

Albert_

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Jan 25, 2016
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I found a 60 LED umbrella type camping lantern, that can be purchased from ~5 to ~10 dollars.

https://s25.postimg.org/5p6d4tben/s-l400.jpg
https://s25.postimg.org/y21uvbukv/s-l1600.jpg

The lantern uses either a single 18650 battery or 3 x AAA installed in a 18650 holder.

As a small hanging lantern it's a few inches in thickness and ~4.5" in diameter.

Has three light output settings of low, medium and high. I believe the high setting lumens are somewhere between 200 and 300.

There is also an dc input port using a small dc jack the same size as found with many led flashlights that can be connected to lithium battery charger adapter. The dc jack should only be connected to a lithium charger with maximum output of 4.2 volts. Applying other voltages you run the risk of damaging the internal circuits of the lantern and an installed battery.

My mod was to be able to connect the lamp to USB for both operating the 60 LED's (without battery installed) and charging an installed 18650 battery.

The mod is fairly simple. First you need a TP4056 board with usb female jack. Mine uses a mini usb, there are also TP4056 boards using micro usb.

https://s25.postimg.org/ohi88gcyn/TP4056.jpg

1. First remove the lantern's lens and LED board, being careful not to damage the the wires connected to the LED board.

There are 4 wires going from a small switch board to the LED board. The wire in the middle is a Pos+ and the outer wire is a Neg- ground, the two wires in the middle plus the center wire complete the three LED output settings of low, medium and high.

If needed you can first create a diagram of the wire connections from the LED board and switch board which is held in place by two small screws. (As long as you none of the wires become separated from their solder points it's not really necessary.)

2. Centered the TP4056 board in the middle opposite of the switch board directing the USB jack toward's the lamp case exterior.

3. Soldered a pos+ and neg- wires to the TP4056 board

4. Marked an area for a through hole for the USB jack (middle area of the lantern's case).

4. Next I needed to make a hole for the USB jack. This may be sort of tricky as the plastic is potentially tough and difficult to cut. What I used to create a hole was an old soldering iron, where I was able to melt a rectangular hole for the USB jack to fit. Once the hole was created using a soldering iron, further trimming/cutting/modifying was necessary using an xacto knife

5. Next prepared and glued the TP4056 board into the case at the same time arranging the usb jack into the hole created.

6. Used some more glue gun glue to surround the usb jack and fill in any gaps.

7. Soldered the pos+ / neg- leads of the TP4056 to the pos+ / neg- of the battery holder.

You can possibly use other types of glue materials other than glue gun glue.

The lantern now can be connected to any USB for power and charging capabilities.
 
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