Hacking a FREE Flashlight into an LED Backlit Sign
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- I was recently given the task of building a small light-up sign. I volunteered to build the sign on short notice, and managed to use what I had to get it done, including modifying a Harbor Freight flashlight to serve as the backlighting for the sign. Watch to see how it was done.
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MUSIC: "Schneeregen am 25.3.2014 [Digitale Improvisation / Tagtraum]" by Alf
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So glad I found this. It was what I was looking for. Thank You.
Bright idea! Sorry I couldn't resist. Nice build and I like that it was pretty much free materials too.
Thanks for adding a little light humor to the comments
I've been using these Harbor Freight flashlights for backlighting on my 3D printed lithographs
You are crazy to grind the LEDs, no electronics guy would have thought of that. Loved it.
Thanks :-)
most smart people would just go and buy them like that.
If you have a budget for it, sure. It depends on the constraints of the project. I enjoyed working with what I had on hand.
So cool! A lot of thought and work went into that. Great job
+July With Fitz Thanks, there was a fair amount of rough design work done in my head ahead of time, and other stuff I figured out as I went. Still I think it came together well for a tight deadline project.
Really clever techniques there - grinding the LEDs & battery setup especially! Quite a clean build.
Thanks Jeremy
That's really cool. Great job showing and explaining every step. It's videos like this that give people the confidence to try new things that might seem intimidating.
+Joshua Luther Thank you Josh, you're very kind
Well done. Nice explanation of how to trace the positive for folks who aren't familiar with boards.
+Matthew Friedrichs Thanks, glad to hear that was clear. This circuit board is fairly simple, so it's definitely good for those who are new to this sort of thing.
Fantastic. I love hacking cheap stuff and making it useful. I've done quite a few outside projects using those cheap Wal-mart solar led lawn stakes. This was absolutely wonderful and gave me lots of ideas.
+Waylight Creations Thanks! It's definitely satisfying hacking this kind of stuff. Happy to inspire some new ideas.
great idea using the free light for this project looks like it will work good for a small sign thanks for sharing
+Patrick's work shop Yup, it worked out well. Upgrading to name-brand batteries basically doubled the brightness as well.
Great hack! Electronics is my least comfortable realm, but something I really want to delve into. This looks like a great project to do some skill building.
Totally... This is an approachable project for basic electronics work
Great Video. Great project!
+Vasilis Papadopoulos (FS WoodWorking) Thank you!
That was awesome! Very clear, easy to understand. I have modified these HFT lights several times, but I never thought of cutting the pc board to reshape the array. very Nice.
Thanks!
Fantastic, Ben! Great explanation of everything you did.
+Bruce A. Ulrich Thanks Bruce, I tried to cover everything well. Thanks for the good feedback.
Cool idea!
+Samy Kamkar Thank you!
Ben that's awesome! I have several of these lights from HF! That rocks!
+Mike Kapotsy Thanks Mike! I too have managed to collect a lot of these (it's a cheap way to support my flashlight addiction), it felt good to give up one of them to a higher purpose.
thanks for the great Ideas! A lot of grate inspiration in this.
Thank you
excellent vid Ben! Just the type of video I prefer! another thing you can use for the opaque panel, is a strip of thin white cutting board! I used this for my Kart and it diffused the leds nicely! Keep it up!
+Geeksmithing Thanks Wes, great idea with the cutting board. I did find some white acrylic at one of the local home store, but it was pretty thick and quite expensive, just wasn't worth it. I'll have to keep this in mind next time I go to IKEA for sure.
+Ben Brandt they have a good Multipack at Target with thin whites for about ten bucks. :)
I have a few of these lights just sitting around from trips to Horrible Freight. (Totally mean that too.) This has given me some ideas for those LEDs inside.
+Sonicdude10 Yup, lots of potential in that cheap little package.
2 minutes in and I'm already impressed.
Cool Nice Job Sir!
great video ben!
+mike gager Thanks Mike!
A very serious tip of my hat to you, Sir!
Great tools, great ideas, great design, great build, nice shop, well-edited video.
What can't you do?
Let me guess, you are also a Michelin 3 star chef, have 3 Grammys and do standup at the Improv
Thank you, you're very kind
Nice project.
+Willem Kossen Thanks, it was a fun build
Awesome ! Love the mechanical switch !
Thanks Tom!
Nice wire organizer @02:48.
I love these lights. This is good deal when they have them for free.
Yup, very handy. I have several of them floating around my house.
this is very, very cool, i am so going to try this. great video, we're big fans
+Just Fooling Around Thank you! That means a lot, happy to inspire.
Great job! I have a large AC circular magnifier desk lamp with probable bad ballast. Can a bunch of these strip connected in parallel be powered by a 3-4.5 volt device AC power source? Say from an old phone or battery charger etc? House rules make due with stuff from the parts bin.
Nice work, I need to hit up my (not-so) local harbor freight soon :)
+Live Free and DIY Yes! I'm fortunate to have a Harbor Freight about 10 minutes form my work, so it's become a fairly regular lunch-hour destination.
Very cool!
Thanks!
INGENIOUS!!!
Thank You for sharing.
+David Samuels Thank you David
Nice one man! looks great!!
+Cactus! workshop Thank you!!
Excellent hack. Great show.
+Make Crazydays Thank you
This duth provision me with the ultimate in full-on maximum mind blow.😬
Many thanks to you, 'tis the best kind of mind blow 😉
I like the style of speech
That's awesome! Great job!
+Josh Millar Thanks Josh!
Great !!!!
+Houtje Boom - Be Creative Thanks!!!
Love this idea! Thanks
Happy to share, Marc!
very cool
+dalton vickers Thank you
Awesome hack vid!!!
Thanks!
Damm it You have Ruined a Perfectly Good 15 Cent Harbor Freight Flash Light lol Just Kidding Great Project Very Cool
nice hack, well described
+Mitch Peacock - WOmadeOD Thanks Mitch!
PRETTY COOL
Thanks
i actually replaced the 3 batteries with 1 lap top lithium battery 18650. works great. super bright
Great job Ben!! Nice logo btw :)
Thanks :-)
Cool
Very cool. This is the first video of yours I have seen. I'm subscribing when I'm done with this comment. Keep em coming!!
I can't even count how many of those lights are floating around my house right now from the free coupon :p
Excellent idea! I was wondering would it be possible to connect several of these lights to a large power source to light up a shed?
Probably, you would need to supply DC power, though determining the necessary circuitry and power requirements is a bit beyond my expertise.
man I am going to pay more attention to the free coupons, this was a good hack apart for sure and I am always about that cheap to free budget.
+Antaya Work Shop Yup... the price is definitely right.
Nice
Thanks
I think these little HF lights are just great, and have been thinking about a few different hackable uses... But... I REALLY don't want to use a series resistor to limit the current. It's inexpensive, yes, but wastes a high percentage of the power. Plus the lights will dim as the batteries discharge. I'd much rather figure out a low dropout regulator, constant current source solution. Any ideas? One of the 'applications' I have in mind is to string a couple dozen or so of these lights, one every twenty feet or so, along an off grid driveway (to make walking easier and safer). Efficient of available power will be even more important in that use case.
+ellsworth I'm afraid the constant current regulator is a bit too complicated for me to give you a good answer off the top of my head, could be an interesting idea to experiment with. For your outdoor application, you might benefit from the simplicity of using cheap solar-charging landscape lights. Not as fun, but could be more practical for that specific application.
whats with the tape on the drill bit? depth gauge?
+ILordSpawnI Exactly... Had to make sure some of those holes weren't too deep, so I put tape on the bit at the desired depth. Once the tape starts brushing the sawdust away I know I've hit my target depth.
Nice hack.
Is your name MacGyver? I also a bunch of those free flashlights, wonder what I can make.
Really well done Ben. thanks for sharing. process was really easy to understand and kept my attention. you and +iliketomakestuff have channels if like mine to be like.
+Neil Makes It Thanks! That's high praise, I'm honored to even be mentioned alongside Bob. Glad you enjoyed the video.
Are you one of those on call mission impossible force guys ? I will accept this challenge my iPhone is now on fire
Cool
+M. Le Thanks