9v LED flashlight - teh best evarrr!

I know this project's been done a few times here on instructables, but as with many projects there are several ways one can get the same result. I personally think that this setup is the best and easiest for beginnners. Also, it's reusable!

I whipped up this little project from scratch as a means to teach my thirteen-year-old cousin how to solder about a month and a half ago. He did all of the soldering that you see in this instructable (and not bad at all! He's a natural!) He liked the flashlight so much that I think he still carries it around with him!

Step 1 The Parts

Honestly, the design of this is as simple as it gets. It's even easier than another project here that houses the LED inside of the 9v battery clip.

What you will need:

1) Hard plastic 9v battery clip
2) tactile switch (tact switch)
3) Jumbo LED or really bright LED, whichever you prefer
4) proper resistor(s) for your LED
5) 9 volt battery - duh
6) hot glue gun and cheapo soldering iron with solder

The battery clip, LED, and resistor(s) can all be purchased at RadioShack or some other similar electronics store. The tact switch came out of an old broken VCR - check some old junk electronics that have buttons that click, and you'll probably find some tact switches inside. However, you could buy them new from digikey.com or something like that if you wanted to. If you are going to get your tact switch out of something, though, you'll probably need to use a desoldering iron (or something similar) to remove it. A solder sucker works just as well.

Comments

[AlexTheGreat]

Good instructable. mine came out perfectly

[nevery]

coat that with durabond 5 minute epoxy and it'll be pretty durable.

[codongolev]

if by pretty durable you mean could resist a depleted uranium tank round, I guess you're right. 

[struckbyanarrow]

hi nice instructable im trying to wire up 2, 5mm high brightness white leds with a 1000 ohm resistor to a 9v battery, will it burn out the leds?

[lasermaster3531]

there is a better way to do this. use two LEDs in series, and you get almost twice the brightness and you don't need a resistor, or only a very small one(20 ohm or so).

[lasermaster3531]

sorry my math was off. more like 100 ohm.

[raykholo]

thats a good value here if ur using the super bright leds (they run at 3.3 volts) then resistor calc recommends a 150 ohm resistor for 60% brightness i wanted more so 47 ohm resistor works perfectly for me when the 2 leds are in series i also tried it with 100 ohm and 150 ohm resistors , the brightness really doesnt change that much

[lasermaster3531]

I made an LED flashlight using 8 leds and a slide switch for the power. it runs a little over the LED's safe limit maybe 4.5 volts each but seeing as they are wired in series-parallel it doesn't matter very much. this thing is a MONSTER!               I actually temporarily blinded myself with this. I would like to call it the "hack-light extreme" but that name is taken somewhere on the web and i don't want to be berated for taking someone else's name.

[codongolev]

 making a nine volt clip on one with 9 leds. hope it'll be awesome.

[raykholo]

 i did that with 2 LEDs - works like a charm.  ^specs seen above...

[codongolev]

I actually made it. I decided to go with 12 high intensity LEDs.

[lasermaster3531]

AAHHHHHHHHH! my eyes!!!!!

[electronic nut]

Yes because a 1000 Ohm resistor wouldn't resist enough electricity and therefore burn the expensive LEDS out. My opinion would be to go with a 470 ohm (yellow,violet,brown) and work your way up to like a 580. hope it helps

[Coodude26]

Electronic nut, your logic is backwards. The higher ohm's of a resistor, the more it resists. Also, 1000 ohms is WAY too high, hell, it wouldn't even light up.

[z28racer]

HMMM a lighter eh. now that might be a good itable. A lighter light. I know I seen a bic turned into a diversion safe now we just make it light up too.

[Tommyhzy]

With the red colour and your thumb being in that place, it looks like a lighter!

[PetervG]

I'm not sure what resistor to use because I got my LED out of a dollarstore LED flashlight. The LED is perfect and works for some reason. It's a bright white light. It came with 2 Lithium Batterys CR2016 3V. So would I have Supply Voltage= 9, Voltage Drop Across LED= 6, Desired LED Current= 20?
It doesn't say what kind of LED or what not that it is. I'll give some pictures.

Specifications:
Lamp - High Powered L.E.D.
Batteries - 2 Lithium Coin Cells
Burn Time 12-14 Hours
Beam Angle - 20 Degrees
Weight - 7 Grams With Batteries

[electronic-components]

Your led will probably be an ultra-birght white led. They usually run on around 3v, so you should type in as follows - Supply Voltage= 9, Voltage Drop Across LED= 3, Desired LED Current= 20. The 3v lithium batteries were probably linked in parallel so the voltage would have just been the same as one battery. You would probably need around a 330ohm resistor.

[n0ukf]

PetervG, you forgot to turn on the lights for those pictures, so they show nothing usable.

[schumill]

yes,agree more,maybe it makes sense to try here:<br/><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.sourcingmap.com/flashlight-c-1137_1335.html">http://www.sourcingmap.com/flashlight-c-1137_1335.html</a><br/>:D,then you can view it better.<br/><br/>PeterVG,you must break your LED,for it's so dark there.at first glance,i just took it as a cigar lighter...<br/><br/>great diy,but have you tried hand crank flashlight?view this:<br/><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.geekalerts.com/wind-up-keychain-led-torch/">http://www.geekalerts.com/wind-up-keychain-led-torch/</a><br/>

[chuckr44]

(9v-6v)/.020 amps = 150 ohm.

You need a 150 or 160 ohm resistor.

[lasermaster3531]

the 3v cells are probably linked in parallel. that means that the voltage is 3 volts. not 6. try that calculation again with that. you will probably get around 330 ohm.

[eight]

G'Day Pete,

Firstly, I'm an Aussie, so my spelling will seam odd (Colour Vs Color)

I have various LED keylights like yours. In fact I have the exact one !
I paid AUD $2.99 (+/- US 75c = $1 Aussie)

Anyway, your figures are out, brother. (I M Very H O)

My guess is that these leds look they have a yellow reflector,
when you look into them (when they are not powered).

i.e. they are water clear but the internal reflector dish is pale lemon colour...

My guess is they are about 10,000 mcd and draw 30mA with a max of 100mA.
(Guess plus source: "page 76" of Jaycar catalogue - Part Number: ZD-0194)
They are fine off a pair of 3v lithiums because the disc cells can only output "x" amount
of current and have high internal resistances. (I read that somewhere... I think)

That negates the need for a resistor.

Connect the same LED to a Lead Acid or worse DC power supply and you'll watch
your LED ($$$) extinguish promptly.

B T D T (Been There Done That).

Mind you, you can always reassemble the keylight and then return it to the vendor saying...
"It don' work ! Can ya swap it over for one tha' does please mate?"

They wont have a clue... and will swap it over (...at least once anyway. GRIN)
... Though it is not very honest.
How do I sleep at night??? I dunno....

Meanwhile back at the ranch, tension mounts...
And falls off again !

The calc for the resistor is as follows:

Note: Dots are to space the equasion, as multiple spaces are ignored by the web page

.......... (Vs - Vled)
R = -------------------
.............. I LED

Where...
R is the Resistor value
VS is Vsource.
VLED is Volt drop of LED
ILED is the Current draw of the LED

VS minus Vled divided by ILED = required Resistor value.

Resistance required = (Supply Volts minus Volt drop of LED) divided by the
Current draw of the LED.

So...
(9v-3.5v) = 5.5v
divided by 35 mA
157 ohm resistor.

Closest Resistor values are 150R or 160R
(source: "page 58" of Jaycar catalogue)
so...
160R is the safe pick.

Ah, but how do I know all this stuff?
I'm not qualified, nor in the industry...
I'm not tall, not too smart (OK, I lied, I'm reasonably smart - GRIN)

I learned all this 5hit by quizing my buddies and grabing all the electronic's store's catalogues !
Try these...
jaycar.com.au (or jaycar.com, I guess)
soanar.com.au (Wholesale but you can B/S your way into a catalogue as I did !)
dse.com.au
altronics.com.au
You can learn a lot, as I did/have/am/will.
Cats make great ref libraries. Free ones at that too !

Naturally, I won't get away with standing on my soapbox like this...
so...
If you found an error in my post...
Please be nice when posting any corrections/errors/boo-boos.
My ego is not impervious to machine gun derision !

I did my best and am human. Humans do make mistakes.
My intent is honourable.. to help.
I hope this has helped.

- eight from Oz

P.S.
My huge thanks to "Big Bad Brian" and Anthony... my mates...
(Also any share of any derived kudos, from this post. HaHa !)
Why?
Because I drive them both totally insane with my perpetual questions about
basic electronics, formulas, component ID's, "What if's" and "Can I do that's"...

As yet, neither have murdered me (Yet !!) for the ongoing electronic inquisition !!

T-Y-V-M Brian & Anthony.

To be fair, Brian took my old Audi and Anthony took my Ex.

We all seem to be happy with the deal and still get on famously.
Personally, I think I got the best deal, though Brian managed to sell the old car at a small profit, so....
Go figure !

: P

[WingDings]

Hi there, I think the 'reflector' you speak of is actually phosphor. I think the way white LEDs work (at least the ones that don’t mix red, green and blue together) is that they're really blue LEDs, but with phosphor on top of the glowing bit. The blue light shines onto the phosphor and then re-emits the light in a wider, whiter-looking spectrum. This is why white LEDs give a slightly cold, blueish light.

[eight]

Ummm, I had thought that the composition of the junction material was the cause of the colour. GaAs etc. I could well be wrong though. Perhaps there are phosphors, but I have a feeling not. The colour of the white led does change with voltage, though.

[WingDings]

Yes, that material does decide the colour of the emitted light, and the most common type of white LEDs are blue LEDs. But (as I said above), the phosphor (the yellow bit that you see when the LED is off) is positioned between the part that gives off the blue light and the outside world, and when the blue light (or sometimes UV LEDs are used, too) falls on the phosphor, it makes the phosphor emit a wider spectrum of light.

There are other methods of making white LED lights, such as tri-colour LEDs that contain red, green and blue LED components in one LED, but the blue/UV LED and phosphor approach is still the most common.

Here's a (US government) site that backs this up (if briefly):

http://www.netl.doe.gov/ssl/usingLeds/general_illumination_color_white.htm

"White light can be achieved with LEDs in two main ways: 1) phosphor conversion, in which a blue or near-ultraviolet (UV) chip is coated with phosphor(s) to emit white light; and 2) RGB systems, in which light from multiple monochromatic LEDs (red, green, and blue) is mixed, resulting in white light."

There's more information on good old Wikpedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphor#White_LEDs

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-emitting_diode#White_light_LEDs

And on this page, there's a close-up picture of the phosphor in an LED (more of a surface mount-type LED, I think, but the same kind of technology):

http://www.dansdata.com/spotlight.htm

You might have a different kind of white LED, but those are the most common. The colour may change when you change the voltage due to a different mix of the blue light from the blue LED components and the other light wavelengths emitted by the phosphor part, but now I'm guessing.

[eight]

Well, I don't like being wrong, but it costs nothing to say so. On that basis, you win, I was wrong. Ta for updating my education. :) Dave

[PetervG]

So short way to say it is that I should use a 160 resistor?

[eight]

You saying I talk too much Peter? HaHaha I think thata 160R resistor is the go, but I'll get a second opinion for you. Famous Anthoy is popping in for a coffee in 6 hours (12.30pm GMT +8 Hours Thursday 5th October) I'll bounce it off him and get back to you. If you are feeling rich, I'd just go with it. I am as stated, guessing on the actual LED and have no way of knowing the spec. I will personally try out what I suggested and post back. I have the bits here. FYI, Resistors are ubber cheap. just cents each at full retail even at the highes tollerances. I suggest spending a $1 and grabbing a few values so you can power off various sources. E.G. Old Cell Phone battery, a few Metal Nikle Hydrides or NiCads. A Cr123 (or similar) larger camera battery. Even hanging a few together, and powering by your old analogue video camera battery. I hope I have helped. P.S. a "Thank You eight" would be a nice touch. Hmmm? To which I would certainly reply... You are most welcome Peter" : P

[shaphieh]

Dse doesn't have everything

[Vendigroth]

o_O big comment.....

[PetervG]

Thanks eight. . . Lol, I keep thinking you look like that icon of yours. AhhHhHhh!!

[joedog86]

I'm afraid I don't know the answer to your question. Anyone else know?

[CaseBoy]

 i have super bright  led that takes 3.5 to 4 watts.  how many resistors and what type would I need

[ExplosiveRed]

Best Instructable evar! (also great for beginners with leds)
I made one of these bad boys for bar tending to check IDs with. Used 3 UV leds. This baby rocks. And I hot glue like a champion.

[joedog86]

Awesome!

[nireves1]

does anybody know a site like ledcalc.com but in reverse so you can check what a certain resistor is used for? thanks!

[Whaleman]

Nice. Simple and small. I also like that it is essentially just an LED that you clip onto a 9v battery, so changing batteries is quick and easy. This is awesome, and very hard to screw up. Nice job!

[Bran]

Is there any household items that may have a LED suitable for this? All the LEDs I have are, well, not very bright. Great job with the project too!

[BrianH]

Would you like more light from your project and still have the same battery life? Yes it can be done! Since this is an 'educational project' I thought that I'd add an educational tip.

Your circuit uses a resistor to drop the voltage from 9V to whatever the LED you chose needs.

That works, but it's actually wasting power that could be used for making more light. If you are using a typical LED, that has a voltage rating of 1.8v and draws 20 mA. The resistor would be (Vbat - 1.8)/.02 = 380 ohms. If you use two LEDs in series and use a 270 ohm resistor you would get twice the light and draw the same 20mA. Similarly you could use 180 ohms and three LEDs, or 90 ohms and four LEDs or no resistor and 5 LEDs. That's five times the brightness for the same battery power!
You didn't mention the voltage/current of your LED, so I don't know what resistor value you would need for your project.

Also note that LEDs can be damaged if you keep the soldering iron on them too long - I've learned this the hard way.

Click on the image below to see schematics for one two or three LEDs.