Rayovac 4AA Kid’s Lantern/uFlex Mod (long/pics)

I've been wanting a waterproof 4AA backpacking lantern modded with a 1W Luxeon Star and George's uFlex driver for a long time now, and the inexpensive Rayovac Kid's lantern seemed like a good sturdy host for such a mod, so here goes...









The heatsink was made by lopping-off the threaded part of an old MiniMag head and bezel and pressing it onto a solid piece of aluminum stock to provide a chunky, solid surface for the Star to sit on.. The MM bezel works perfectly for retaining the star without using screws.

To provide for routing the wires, first I drilled a 1/4" hole part-way through from the bottom, then drilled smaller holes on an angle from the perimeter, intersecting the larger one through the center. This provided for clean routing of wires through the center to the Star. A standard fiber washer purchased from my local Ace Hardware insulates the MM bezel ring from the Star's solder pads and provides firm, even pressure on the Star once the bezel is tightened. Four additional tapped holes were added to the bottom for mounting the heatsink inside the lantern.

The original bulb holder post was removed from it's base using the Dremel, and the tapped hole locations were transferred from the heatsink for the mounting screws.

The uFlex driver fit almost perfectly alongside the original mounting posts inside the base of the lantern. A couple of small pieces of double-sided foam tape held it to the posts while I added a few dabs of hot-melt glue here and there to secure it.

The momentary switch added to the side is the one supplied with the uFlex. I made a waterproof switch "sandwich" from the following bits:
- A rubber tailswitch dome cover from a cheap alum 2AA MM knockoff
- Two large rubber washers
- One O-ring
-A round piece trimmed from a Radio-Shack proto circuit board
-four #1 stainless flathead screws and nuts

The original switch ensures zero power drain when OFF for longer term storage, while the momentary switch on the side controls the uFlex. Because the last dimming level is stored in memory, using the lantern's standard ON/OFF switch also takes you back to the previous setting.

You can see George's runtime graphs HERE (Thanks George!) The runtimes are obviously greatly extended when using lower levels.

The lantern weighs 12-5/8 oz with alkalines, and it floats easily!

I used the lantern Saturday night around the campfire, and I especially like the ability to use only as much light as needed without disturbing dark-adapted eyes. I'm really happy with this mod, and can't wait to take it backpacking...

Thanks to Georges80 for such an outstanding product as the uFlex Driver /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

John

Sounds nice
No pics
Chris

Imagestation is really raising my blood pressure...I need to find a better place to host my pics!!!

OK,

What am I doing wrong?? If I right-click on one of the X's, select properties, copy the URL, then paste it into the browser address bar, then the URL takes me to that image. When I return to this post - that image appears as it should...

I've posted my Imagestation pics before, and I DID use the "Instant UBB Code>[image]" method like I'm supposed to...

Anyone?

I have one of these lanterns, and am using it as an everled host. Does really well, as I have no modding skills with which to operate! Good job, Illuminated!

Thanks Phaserburn - can you see the pics? They're not showing up for me...

John

[ QUOTE ]
Illuminated said:
Thanks Phaserburn - can you see the pics? They're not showing up for me...

John

[/ QUOTE ]

Here's the pics via logicnerd's site. I think you can only see the imagestation pics if you are an imagestation member...

Thanks George!

And Thanks to Logicnerd as well /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

John

Here's an "action" pic of the lantern at full output, next to a Mini-Mag for size reference. It's really quite small compared to most lanterns.



I really like this one - the uFlex driver is so unique and well thought out...

Thanks to Logicnerd for hosting pics for us /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

John

This is just freakin' cool, even though I wouldn't have picked orange. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Illuminated, you da man! Georges80, you da man supplying da board for da man! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I have a green one in the works...only other color choices I've seen were purple, pink, maybe blue - they ARE sold as kid's lanterns, hence the color schemes.

The orange one was the only one I could find last year on my way to camping in Superior National Forest. I kind of like it now...

John

I can vouch for blue being available... I've got one! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif Various colors seem to be in plentiful supply at my local WalMart, in the camping section along with assorted other flashlights and lanterns.

As far as that switch, there have GOT to be some waterproof momentary pushbuttons available somewhere. I'd look in places where they sell marine parts, for boats and stuff. Another possibility might be to take a Kroll clickie and somehow modify it so the click no longer "sticks." Then you could fashion a homemade threaded spacer by cutting a little of the tail end off a MiniMag, and slip an O-ring between that and the switch for better water resistance.

But is the stock switch on that light really water resistant? Guess I never realized that, gotta take another look at mine...

Scott,

Yes, the stock switch is sealed with an O-ring. I even dunked mine to test for leaks - didn't see any. Hmmm...maybe we need another "action" shot...

The switch sandwich I made works well, though it's more time-consuming to build. I like the fact that it doesn't stick out far enough to get snagged or damaged while in transport like a toggle switch probably would.

For my next one, I'm going to simplify the heat sink and use a bare emitter rather than the Star. The current heat sink gets fairly warm nearest the LED, but is a lot cooler at the bottom. I wouldn't want to use any less material than I did, since it is enclosed in plastic. The temperature doesn't seem too excessive after extended use at room temperature, so it should be just fine.

Later - John

John,

I like the looks of the switch you used and definitely wouldn't use a toggle, but there must be a momentary pushbutton with a boot or something over it for water resistance. That would save you the labor.

As for the heatsink, my general rule of thumb is that if it's cool enough to touch, it's probably fine. More metal is of course better, but at some point you're stuck by virtue of the plastic housing and the need to keep it intact to preserve water resistance. I'd imagine you're not in real danger, though, unless you're WAY overdriving your star.