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UER Forum > Private Boards Index > Flashlights, Torches and Light Painting > 6V spotlight, traditional mod. (Viewed 3456 times)
marsrover 


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6V spotlight, traditional mod.
< on 2/3/2011 4:02 PM >
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This one is uber basic. No soldering unless you want to.
You need:
6V spotlight, the ones with the heavy and expensive batteries
4AA battery pack, found in junk R/C cars and radio shack
wire
AA battery's
multi tool, (wire stripper, cutter, etc...)
Styrofoam
===============================================================
Step 1.
Chuck that heavy battery in the trash. Open up your flashlight and connect a wire to the base of the light, and a wire to the shiny disk part.

Step 2.
Hook the wires up to your battery pack and start putting the pack into the flashlight.

Step 3.
Use the foam to keep the pack from moving around

Step 4. seal up the flashlight and test it out
==============================================================

Under my testing I found there is about 2 hours of bright light, 4 hours of usable light. This was with some midrange mAH (about 2450mAH) rechargeable battery's.

Enjoy people.

214771.jpg (36 kb, 750x600)
click to view


214772.jpg (40 kb, 750x600)
click to view


214773.jpg (34 kb, 750x600)
click to view


214774.jpg (42 kb, 750x600)
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214775.jpg (30 kb, 750x600)
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So i'm just pokeing around, are you gona do anything about it.
AnAppleSnail 


Location: Charlotte, NC
Gender: Male
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Re: 6V spotlight, traditional mod.
< Reply # 1 on 2/3/2011 6:53 PM >
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Posted on Forum: UER Forum
Posted by marsrover
This one is uber basic. No soldering unless you want to.
You need:
6V spotlight, the ones with the heavy and expensive batteries
4AA battery pack, found in junk R/C cars and radio shack
wire
AA battery's
multi tool, (wire stripper, cutter, etc...)
Styrofoam
===============================================================
Step 1.
Chuck that heavy battery in the trash. Open up your flashlight and connect a wire to the base of the light, and a wire to the shiny disk part.

Step 2.
Hook the wires up to your battery pack and start putting the pack into the flashlight.

Step 3.
Use the foam to keep the pack from moving around

Step 4. seal up the flashlight and test it out
==============================================================

Under my testing I found there is about 2 hours of bright light, 4 hours of usable light. This was with some midrange mAH (about 2450mAH) rechargeable battery's.

Enjoy people.

214771.jpg (36 kb, 750x600)
click to view


214772.jpg (40 kb, 750x600)
click to view


214773.jpg (34 kb, 750x600)
click to view


214774.jpg (42 kb, 750x600)
click to view


214775.jpg (30 kb, 750x600)
click to view





Not a bad mod, with good results for the money. Incandescents are fun to play with. If you were pushing more amps, the wire gauge would help. Do the wires inside the battery pack get warm? I've burned those out before while underdriving a car headlight bulb with an 8-AA pack.

You can go further. Get an MR16 bulb and socket from Home Depot and stick that in there, or get a car headlamp bulb and socket on sale at Auto Zone. It wants 12v which would be 10 NiMH AAs in series. You can build that into a 6v 'boat light' type they sell for a buck at Wal Mart with a free crummy lantern battery. The reflector that comes with the MR16 is glass because the 50watt bulb can melt plastic ones. The car bulb might melt the plastic reflector.

Mag Lite bulbs are common and pretty stable for overdriving slightly, and their socket is common enough that it's an option also. But if you have a C or D cell mag lite you can put Li-Ions and spacers in there for more voltage to drive hotter (sexier) bulbs. Look up ROP mods (Roar of the Pelican) to see the extreme end where you get 2500 lumens or so.




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marsrover 


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Re: 6V spotlight, traditional mod.
< Reply # 2 on 2/3/2011 7:00 PM >
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Posted by AnAppleSnail

Do the wires inside the battery pack get warm?

You can go further.......



The wires are quite thick, they were whatever I had laying around... When i'm done using all of the battery in one night the wires and the batteries are still cold. No heat issues so far.

True, I could mod the crap out of this thing. But it's orignal purpose was acheived. Create a bright rechargable light with the junk I already had.

If I were to do it again I would put another 4AA pack in it so the light lasts longer....




So i'm just pokeing around, are you gona do anything about it.
AnAppleSnail 


Location: Charlotte, NC
Gender: Male
Total Likes: 49 likes


ALL the flashlights!

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Re: 6V spotlight, traditional mod.
< Reply # 3 on 2/3/2011 7:10 PM >
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Posted by marsrover



The wires are quite thick, they were whatever I had laying around... When i'm done using all of the battery in one night the wires and the batteries are still cold. No heat issues so far.

True, I could mod the crap out of this thing. But it's orignal purpose was acheived. Create a bright rechargable light with the junk I already had.

If I were to do it again I would put another 4AA pack in it so the light lasts longer....


The Rat Shack sells an 8xAA pack with a 9v-style plug on it, but it gets to be a right pain to swap that many of 'em. Also, charging 8 AAs is a bear ;)

[light nerding]
For free, try shimming the bulb to get the exact throw you want (if the filament is centered you can get a pretty good beam from any parabolic reflector). To check if it's parabolic, hold the reflector at arm's length with a pencil coming through the bulb hole (all this pointed at your eyes). If you can get things so that you only see the tip of the pencil completely reflected in the reflector, you don't have a crap reflector. Then the only trick is to wiggle the bulb and hold its place with metal bits so it's in the right spot.
[/light nerding]

Does it still float with 4xAA? You could probably get away with 5 AAs in series but that'd kill the bulb sooner.




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marsrover 


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Re: 6V spotlight, traditional mod.
< Reply # 4 on 2/3/2011 7:17 PM >
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Posted by AnAppleSnail


The Rat Shack sells an 8xAA pack with a 9v-style plug on it, but it gets to be a right pain to swap that many of 'em. Also, charging 8 AAs is a bear ;)

[light nerding]
For free, try shimming the bulb to get the exact throw you want (if the filament is centered you can get a pretty good beam from any parabolic reflector). To check if it's parabolic, hold the reflector at arm's length with a pencil coming through the bulb hole (all this pointed at your eyes). If you can get things so that you only see the tip of the pencil completely reflected in the reflector, you don't have a crap reflector. Then the only trick is to wiggle the bulb and hold its place with metal bits so it's in the right spot.
[/light nerding]

Does it still float with 4xAA? You could probably get away with 5 AAs in series but that'd kill the bulb sooner.


Haven't heard about light shimming.. it throws the light a good long way. (to the back of my property about 400ft way) but it's worth a try. Sounds good to me.

Have not tested the "floating" property's yet, but that is a good point. Woulden't want it to flood out.
EDIT: nope, doesen't float... I think a small rock in the back would fix that.
EDIT 2: Ok, took some "C" cell bateries and jammed them in the back. Sealed up every crack, vola waterproof.

And, true, 8AA would take a while. I have 2 chargers though. Could charge it completely in about 2 hours.



[last edit 2/4/2011 5:20 PM by marsrover - edited 2 times]

So i'm just pokeing around, are you gona do anything about it.
Otaku 


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Re: 6V spotlight, traditional mod.
< Reply # 5 on 2/4/2011 4:31 AM >
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Hmm, I do need a couple of disposable bright lights. I can't say I've ever seen any with glass reflectors and lenses. I'll have to look harder. My current beater Jeep light is a resistance modded mag with a magnum star bulb. Good enough for a knockaround light, but I'd like to have a spare or three.




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marsrover 


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Re: 6V spotlight, traditional mod.
< Reply # 6 on 2/4/2011 5:24 PM >
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Thought I would make a separate post for waterproofing your light.
2 "C" cell batteries fit quite well into the back of the light, just push them in and they stick in there.
I took some electrical tape and wrapped the threads at the front of the light to create a tighter seal there.
Took some hot glue and sealed the front and back of the lens.
It seems to take quite a few splashes now.
I even tried to submerge it for a second, there wasn't any water inside the case so I assume I did it right...

Also, poor person's hack here.
Take a old cd jewel case (the thin ones).
trace a circle the size of your lens on the cover.
take sharp scissors and cut circle out.
vola, replacement lens if you cracked your old one.




So i'm just pokeing around, are you gona do anything about it.
AnAppleSnail 


Location: Charlotte, NC
Gender: Male
Total Likes: 49 likes


ALL the flashlights!

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Re: 6V spotlight, traditional mod.
< Reply # 7 on 2/4/2011 5:36 PM >
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Posted by marsrover
Thought I would make a separate post for waterproofing your light.
2 "C" cell batteries fit quite well into the back of the light, just push them in and they stick in there.
I took some electrical tape and wrapped the threads at the front of the light to create a tighter seal there.
Took some hot glue and sealed the front and back of the lens.
It seems to take quite a few splashes now.
I even tried to submerge it for a second, there wasn't any water inside the case so I assume I did it right...

Also, poor person's hack here.
Take a old cd jewel case (the thin ones).
trace a circle the size of your lens on the cover.
take sharp scissors and cut circle out.
vola, replacement lens if you cracked your old one.


With hot glue, how do you change the batteries? And really, there isn't much inside one of these for mostly-clean water to hurt, as long as you don't let things get rusty. The bulb can crack if tons of cold water hits it, but drips are fine; the wires won't care, the batteries are fine, water isn't very conductive...the only long-term effect would be on the reflector, and it wouldn't be too bad.

I'll have to try the CD thing for my rainbowgun filter. I keep melting my packing tape ones.





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marsrover 


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Re: 6V spotlight, traditional mod.
< Reply # 8 on 2/4/2011 5:53 PM >
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Posted by AnAppleSnail


With hot glue, how do you change the batteries? And really, there isn't much inside one of these for mostly-clean water to hurt, as long as you don't let things get rusty. The bulb can crack if tons of cold water hits it, but drips are fine; the wires won't care, the batteries are fine, water isn't very conductive...the only long-term effect would be on the reflector, and it wouldn't be too bad.

I'll have to try the CD thing for my rainbowgun filter. I keep melting my packing tape ones.

http://farm5.stati...3_c8937a7825_b.jpg


The hot glue only holds the lens in, it does not hold the head to the body.

That rainbowgun. EPICK!!!




So i'm just pokeing around, are you gona do anything about it.
marsrover 


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Re: 6V spotlight, traditional mod.
< Reply # 9 on 2/24/2011 4:48 PM >
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Update
I like rechargable batteries... only they put out 1.2V not 1.5
So I added a extra battery pack to bring the total voltage up to 6.5V
The kinda shiny "battery" is a wooden stick that holds the wires in place.
I wrapped it in tin foil, then relised that would short it out, so I ripped off a small part of it near the positive terminal.
So, pic's describe it all.

217595.jpg (60 kb, 750x600)
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217597.jpg (41 kb, 750x600)
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217598.jpg (57 kb, 750x600)
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[last edit 2/24/2011 5:02 PM by marsrover - edited 1 times]

So i'm just pokeing around, are you gona do anything about it.
Keaven 


Location: 15 miles from the Grassy Knoll
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Re: 6V spotlight, traditional mod.
< Reply # 10 on 6/19/2011 3:26 PM >
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Is the purpose of this mod strictly to make the spotlight lighter in weight?
Is your battery life as good as it was with the 6v battery?
Is the battery cost less?




AnAppleSnail 


Location: Charlotte, NC
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Re: 6V spotlight, traditional mod.
< Reply # 11 on 6/20/2011 8:44 PM >
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Posted by Keaven
Is the purpose of this mod strictly to make the spotlight lighter in weight?
Is your battery life as good as it was with the 6v battery?
Is the battery cost less?


You can recharge AAs, while 6v lantern batteries don't. A set of NiMHs would be heavier, but easier to carry spares. You get about 2 Ah out of AAs, and I don't know the capacity of a 6v battery. Marsrover, can you compare the runtimes?




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Keaven 


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Re: 6V spotlight, traditional mod.
< Reply # 12 on 6/21/2011 11:29 PM >
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When I was a kid, we had a free source of 6V batteries.
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marsrover 


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Re: 6V spotlight, traditional mod.
< Reply # 13 on 9/12/2011 4:51 PM >
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Stale thread is stale I know.
Runtime is about 3-4 hrs of usefull light. However the bulb burnt out after a while so I upgraded to a better bulb and now I run it with an 8AA pack and a 9V connector from radioshack, so I can use the same pack in several of my projects.




So i'm just pokeing around, are you gona do anything about it.
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