LED Throwies

Step 7: Other applications and upgrades

Other applications:

Other than tossing it, you can also use your LED throwie to write in the air with light while taking a long exposure flick. You can put them on your bike as an additional reflector. You can put the on surveillance cameras to make them more visible at night. You can use them to play a version of bocci ball on a magnetic surface in the dark.

Upgrades:

You can make a better LED throwie by using shrink tubing on each lead to make sure they don't short to each other or the battery. This upgrade will allow you to bend the LED so it faces in the direction you choose. You can also dip the throwie in epoxy, silicon or potting compound to make an all-weather LED Throwie. A resistor in series would allow you to increase the throwie shelf-life. Bigger batteries = longer life. Stronger magnets = increased stick probability. You could add a solar panel, photocell, etc...Have fun.

User Upgrades:

Flickr instructional set for thowie on/off switch mod -- by A. Joyce, aka. EverythingDigital

Comments

[dada11]

hi!,
I'm new here and I want to learn how to make a solar throwie. can someone teach us?. thanks

[JKPieGuy]

The only problem I see with this is having broken material and ruining a perfectly good """"Rare"""" Earth magnet. Other than that it seems like a pretty cool concept.

[schumi23]

Rare earth magnet is just the name. It is also called Neodymium magnets (might have mispelled that :))
They arent rares, which you can see from the price (though they arent free)

[alvaromanuel]

What's the "life time" of 1 of these?

[facilitator476]

Throwies can last a few days.

It depends on the LED (+++Brightness=+++Power used) and the battery used. LEDs can last quite a long time before burning out so the problem is the battery. Using a higher capacity or adding a resistor (bigger batteries will make the Throwie bigger and heavier and resistors will lower the brightness. This is why people want to make them with solar cells and photoresistors. Solar cells gather the energy and photoresistors will tell when it is dark enough.

[clinde]

How can I make these to where they have solar cells, then turn on when it is dark enough?? I'm brand new to this...

[gx27470]

1-2 weeks

[alphiejon]

I've mulled this over before; there isn't really anything stopping you from using power LEDs that use the button cells (modestly) as a heatsink. Especially considering the runtime would probably be maybe half an hour. It comes down to how long you're wanting the lights to last and how much money you're willing to put into each

[epsilakis]

Hi, I'm trying to create these for lighting at my wedding reception. It's going to be held outside, and I'd love for the lanterns to light up as the sun starts to set. Is there a way to have them start to light up when it's getting dark?

And if not, what do you think would be the best battery to use to keep the LED throwies lit for over 12hrs?

I'm really new at these things, so the best terms to use, would be the basics. I'd appreciate it if you could even point me in the best place to buy what I would need to make them light up at dusk.

Thanks!

[veno260]

could u use el wires or something

[johnvile]

 El-wire requires an inverter for it to work. It would be  a very expensive thing to do.

[facilitator476]

El wire uses DC current, same as batteries. I think the problem is how to supply the voltage for effective lighting.

[rachel]

Nope, EL wire requires AC current to function. The kits that are sold for use with batteries have a small inverter included to do the DC=>AC conversion. It's the part that makes the annoying tiny whine!

See http://science.howstuffworks.com/electroluminescent-wire2.htm for excruciating detail.

[silvide_dude]

Hey, what about using IR (infrared) LEDS for use with light amplification gear?

[facilitator476]

Like night vision that can illuminate any object at any distance.

That...Is...AWESOME

[mohtaprashantrocks]

i found it pretty nice .................................

[Mainz]

would the LEDs still be as bright if you put 3 or 4 on a single battery, I know it would go flat quicker but I think they would look cooler

[fritzle]

Hi there,
aren't the LEDs and batteries harmfull to the enviroment, just toxic waste once they're burned out???

[alancj]

So much debate... yet nobody has answered if the components are particularly bad. The battery in my view is the only thing potentially harmful. But not all batteries contain heavy metals by definition. Lithium batteries contain, well, lithium and either manganese, copper oxide, or carbon. None of which are toxic. The led's are sealed in a plastic case, and the magnets are pretty innocuous. So Chill out! just don't get the mercury chemistry button cells... that have been made illegal for general use since 1997. If you are worried about energy used to make the parts here is a rule of thumb. --- If it is expensive it used a lot of energy. ---- Think about it for a few minutes and you'll see why. There's a few exceptions but you'll know it when you see it.

[jpjp.xx]

keep your hair on lolage totaly

[zack247]

but the leds wont be burnt out, just the batteies are. the batteris can go to a recycling plant, and the leds and magnets could be reused

[livebriand]

Yep exactly! :P

[Schuyler]

Right.  Except that the whole idea is based on a "cheap, throwaway" philosophy.  How many of those "throwies" in the video do you think were recycled?  This is a bad idea at its very core.

[Tibicen_Linnei]

my friends and i clean up after ourselves once the fun is all burned out. But usually, once we go back and check on our markings, people have either stolen them [tourists take them as mementos....i've watched it several times] or clean up crews take them down. My city has a recycling policy, so clean up crews put recyclables in their proper recycling place.

Oh, and "throwies" isn't about being "cheap" and easily disposed of. It's a street art term about quickly done tags that look like they've been "thrown"

Example : "Hey [name], want to fill up your mops and put up some throwies?"

Oh, and this ible is awesome. The way we were making ours was wayyyy too complicated. Thanks!

[zack247]

but the idea is entertaining, you have to give him that

[Schuyler]

I give him that.  I repeat, not all entertaining, artistic, creative ideas are good ideas.  Taking a step back, as stated elsewhere, unless you are absolutely sure that the battery in any "Throwie" that you make is going to be recycled, don't make it.

[lindraal]

Remember that even if the person making the throwies didn't make them, other people would have used exactly those same parts to build something else, and there, the chance of the batteries being recycled is still almost zero. If anyone uses them, the chance of the batteries being reused is next to nothing, so the batteries are a bad idea, not the throwies.

[Schuyler]

Hmm. No. You aren't thinking. Your logic justifies building anything made out of "exactly those same parts." Hell, why not build a nuclear warhead, if you don't do it, somebody else will, and we've got all the parts right here. I believe I said in the beginning, just because something is a great idea doesn't mean it should be built(like nuclear bombs). Obviously we aren't talking about something so dire, but the harm here is more insidious, because it does seem so harmless(and fun). We should not be manufacturing and using products which by their nature(i.e., human nature) will pollute(in this case in a fairly significant way). The little button batteries used in these "throwies) will almost certainly end up in the landfill(or worse), and they will leak heavy metals into the environment. If you want to make these toys with a total commitment to recycling the batteries when they are worn out, go right ahead. I saw a little video of people blithely tossing these things onto the side of a building where they were certainly not going to be recycled. Not to mention the trash left for others to clean up. The revolution starts with you.

[badideasrus]

my friend, you are being a little extreme. first, he already said that the lithium batteries don't have toxic componets.

second, where do you think the 'heavy metals' came from? the environment. you same argument is what makes getting rid of lead bullets idiotic. animals thrive in civil war battle areas, and there must be tons (literally) of lead on those feilds.

don't get me wrong, i think recycling is a good thing. but the only thing that we should really be worried about is synthetic materials. everything else already came from the earth. things like metal and cloth and magnets, those all are natural. if you picked up a rock, carved on it alittle, and left it somewhere, whould you recycle it? no, you'd just let it erode.

that said, while these throwies are fun, if you take it to an extreme, or put them in impossible to reach places, you are basically vandalizeing, and littering. the officails you're trying to wow may not be so pleased, particularly if you don't take them down yourself.

[zack247]

what if someone made solar throwies? ones that charge during the day, and turn on at night?

[Schuyler]

I'm not sure about the pollution involved or how throwable they might end up being. My point from the beginning has been, "Clean up after yourself."

[rottenrecords]

Sorry, but I've gotta butt in. I think people need to be more environmentally conscious and all that--conserve energy, stop using plastic bags, buy locally-grown foods, etc., but you have to pick your battles. There's no way to live completely without any kind of environmental impact. And trying to do so would take the fun out of life. The point should be living sustainably, which does mean you're allowed to consume resources and impact the environment, as long as you allow those resources time to replenish and the environment to recover. In the grand scheme of things, it's pointless to deny yourself throwies when you probably damage the environment far more just by commuting to work (especially if you fly regularly) or produce more toxic waste each time you throw away an old appliance like a fridge or TV. So instead of getting all up in someone's face about minor occasional environmental trespasses, concern yourself more with the regular industrial-scale pollution that most of us contribute to by living in a consumer society. Do you buy products manufactured in countries with poor industrial/environmental regulations? If so, fix that before blowing throwies out of proportion.

[lucek]

Naturalistic fallacy. The fact is when we mine the heavy metals we make it available for animals in the environment to ingest. Just because it's "natural" doesn't mean methyl mercury is as safe as the cinnabar it was produced from. It's also a concern that the magnets although not much of a threat to the environment by them selves the mining of rare earth elements leads to radioactive waste as the ores of rare earth elements often contain large quantities of thorium. Even the lithium is a problem. As thees batteries become more common and demand goes higher the production from water is becoming more and more unsustainable and mining is increasing.

Waste for the sake of fun only increases thees problems. Despite the argument that "someone would use the batteries, and magnets", this is leading to an increase in pollution as yes they would have bought and used them but now they are buying others that need not have been produced if not for this prank.

[Schuyler]

I'm not battling anybody. I'm just saying(this isn't rocket science), take responsibility for your actions. In this case, may I suggest as gently as possible, if you are going to throw "throwies" around, clean up after yourself. Do not leave them behind for someone else to clean up, and particularly, do not leave them, and especially their batteries, behind to break down and pollute the environment. It matters! It is not a matter of proportion, it is a matter of changing the way we think about our environment and how we fit into it.

[rottenrecords]

OK, that's pretty reasonable. But that is different from saying throwies are a horrible idea, period. And when I say "pick your battles", I don't mean battling people; I mean battling environmental issues--e.g. crusading against any and all plastic products vs. crusading against the plastic products which are the main sources of pollution. So, for instance, I wouldn't make a big fuss about someone's artificial heart having a plastic component, but I am opposed to people buying bottled water in bulk when they could just purchase a water filter and get a non-disposable water bottle/thermos.

[AyrWaves]

Agreed! Oh, and the LEDs recommended on the list are from China...so maybe change the source of those. Long live the Throwie.

[Schuyler]

Fair enough.

[chouf]

I have to agree with Schuyler here, these throwies are a really artistically nice concept and the pics shared by QBranch are really beautiful! Nevertheless, don't tell me throwing any kind of battery in the wild is harmless, here in Belgium (and I suppose everywhere else in Europe - maybe the US I don't know) - we have big ads, contests and marketing campaigns to push people bringing back their batteries back to a recycling centre so they can be properly recycled and re-used, but certainly not thrown in the bin or left them in the environment.

For those interested, there's even a page in English about this whole program: http://www.bebat.be/pages/en/main.html

I suppose some ppl bring the environmental impact topic here as these throwies (as small their impact can be) is like a punch in the face, going exactly in the opposite direction a lot of people are trying to go in terms of leaving the disposable-society we're currently living in (disposable camera, shavers, toothbrush,...)

[Schuyler]

Thanks for your support. Despite much ado, Americans are still so blithe about their trash and where it goes. I'm particularly worried about fluorescents, which though much more efficient energywise, are little mercury bombs. In Vermont here we now require sellers of bulbs to take them back for recycling, but they can't go in the recycling bin, and you know the majority of them are ending up in the trash. And despite glib remarks in this column about lithium's low toxicity, it is an element which persists in the environment, forever, gets into the water table, it doesn't just go away. Further, it is an even more limited resource than oil, our electronics industry is utterly dependent on it, and it is bound to be at the center of the next big geopolitical resource war. We shouldn't be "throwing" any of it anywhere.

[gorovich]

It's Freezelight.
http://www.freezelight.ru

[thaizeal]

good idea

[lucek]

$2.30/batery $2.00/led $3.13/magnet $7.43/unit

[willymakesstuff]

get the batteries in bulk from ebay i bought 50 for 9 dollars!

[lucek]

don't trust ones off eBay. look below for one reason. use common scenes for others.

[silverbyte]

dollar store = 8 batterys = 1$
LEDS as cheap as 0.05$ x 20 = 1$
4magnets @ dollar store = 1$

4 led throwies = 3$
8 led throwies = 4$
20 led throwies = 9$

[sensoryhouse]

buy all this schitt on ebay. I make throwies for less than 35 cents each. I took a couple hundred to Warp Tour last year. They were being thrown all over the crowd, up in the grass, the band members were grabbing them and throwing them back. IT WAS SICK!

[xfnord]

9$ ist still to expensive. -> this is cheaper

[thepelton]

No Sprechenzie Deutch

[silverbyte]

thats 20 thowies for 9$

you just posted me a link to a guy whos selling
50 throwies @ 14.50 EUROS = 19.85$ american

If im not mistaken doesn't that come out to almost exactly the same price?

[xfnord]

you are right thats just a small difference if you take the 50 LED package. the bigger package are much cheaper. except of that the cr2032 which they are selling are full charge batteries. 99cent or dollar shops normally selling half or quater charge batteries. also check the magnet power. they are selling N45 discmagnets (GRL recommends N40). Check out the power of the dollarstore magnets.

[nadina]

What means N40 ??????

[facilitator476]

N is the the magnetic field and the number is the strength
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oersted

[MrL33TPenguin]

go find out!!

[nadina]

thats what i am trying to do here :)

[techturtle2]

N stands for neodymium, a rare earth metal, and 40 is an isotope.

[MrL33TPenguin]

N40 is a type of small rare-earth magnet that like I said, is small..

[inventorjack]

Do you buy your supplies from Radio shack? Actually, I don't think even radio shack sells stuff at prices as high as you list, and that's really saying something. These materials aren't very expensive, especially if you buy more than one at a time.

[lucek]

I took a quick trip around yahoo shoping

[mynameisjonas]

don't buy from there! try digikey or the electronic goldmine you can get things much more cheaply there.

[NeCrom-X]

Yea and I'm sure a lot of you know people that work at colleges or goto college if you know the right people DIgiKey sells to most schools with educational discounts and tax free! It's where UPENN gets most of its parts in the electronics shop.

[lucek]

OK I'll concede with the sites I cut the price to $2.94/unit, but thats still $15 for one thrower.

[silverbyte]

no offence, but u have no concept of where to buy your stuff..

dollar store = 8 batterys = 1$
LEDS as cheap as 0.05$ x 20 = 1$
4magnets @ dollar store = 1$

4 led throwies = 3$
8 led throwies = 4$
20 led throwies = 9$

[lucek]

I'm envious that you have a dollar store that sells that kinda stuff.

[silverbyte]

ya the dollar store is freaking awesome, I buy TONS of stuff there...

Example check my instructable...
http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino_RGB_LED_Lamp_4bit_LCD_Display/

the metal pewter thingy where the scroll wheel is. I got 2 of those for 1$

They got a variety of stuff there. I can't imagine WHY you don't have a dollar store there. Some one should open up a francise there, you'de make a killing!

[NeCrom-X]

Yea but only thing is the dollar store magnets you can't throw hard at stuff and have it always stick like the earth magnets. But if your gonna stick them up by hand that is the cheaper alternative. A lot will bounce back untill you get your throw just right. You might just have to try a few more times with the cheaper magnets but it is a good alternative. You can cut them too but you have to do it in ice water or when they heat up they will loose their strength.

[crazyazn48]

okay, first of all, there might be a dollar store near where you are second, did you not read the entire instructable? he gives you a link ehere you can buy the items listed. look more closely

[lucek]

I have dollar stores around my house but usually they don't have any thing good. also no I didn't read this instructable. the devices really don't need explaining... byw the price estimates are on a large quantity from wholesalers. I was calculating for one. my mistake (not that I would invest that much)

[silverbyte]

Actually no sorry I didn't look at the instructable at all. I know what these are all about I used to make the a couple years back. anyways didn't wanna cause a big hoop-la its just that these things are cheap to make, just letting you guys know.

[mynameisjonas]

yes, I agree that these things are expensive, especially to just throw at a ferrous surface. but you have to admit that these things are awesome.

[Ja2Pc]

what are you talkin about, this is a waste of money ur spending money on lithuim battery LEDs and rare earth magnets just to thrown them around -_-

[smartman13]

i agree Ja2Pc it is quite a bit of money to buuy lithium batterys and you are just going to throw them a more practical use would be to put them on a cell phone or robot then you would have a colorful roboot

[codenameblackbird]

But a colorful robot isn't nearly as fun as throwing lights at a light pole...

[Replicator]

You could also add a pull out plastic tab (between positive leg and battery) so that you can prepare your throwies at your lesiure and only activate them seconds before the throw :D Additional testing would be required and I would reccomend putting the tab on the magnet side so that there is additional force to connect the lead to the battery.

[Opalinus]

You should really add Resistors, it will be much better for the LED and the Battery. Round 65 Ohm Resistor will be enough i think, for a LED which needs 20mA and needs 1,7Volt. Good Luck

[kadris3]

i see you have a good working knowledge of ohm's law and LEDs. that's my calculation exactly. i am puzzled though w a 1.7 volt LED. their forward voltage is usually not that low except for IR, which are in a category all their own.

[kadris3]

red, orange,amber and yellow are usually 2.1vdc. 47 ohms works great. white,green,blue, and UV are 3.4vdc and you are "underfeeding" them at 3vdc. the high internal resistence of the lithium cells compensates for the lack of a current limiter in th w,g,b,and uv LEDs. it's simple ohm's law. good luck. lite the world.

[bearsinthesea]

So, if i use a bigger resistor than calculated, does it : a) make the battery last longer because the throwie uses less power b) waste power because it is dissipated as heat from the resistor ? thanks

[kadris3]

a good question. it shows you are thinking. while the battery theoretically may last slightly longer it is not significant. it doesn't really waste too much power as heat because you are only drawing 20 ma. if the throwie is only to be used where it is dark as a boot, then spec brightness is less of an issue. try an experiment or two. you may find by halving the brightness you double the time or more. there is a point of diminishing returns where eventually most if the power is going to the resistor. in one commercial circuit a standard brightness led is used for an "on indicator" in a piece of equipment. a 1000 ohm resistor is used across 13.8 ohms. here spec brightness calls for a 585 ohm resistor. since it is only needed to indicate the equipment is "on" spec brightness is not necessary. being underfed the LED will last forever(they do almost that anyway). good luck with your project.

[Opalinus]

It will be more a) because the "dissapated" heat from the resistor isn't trown away, it blocks more the "strenght" (or intensity of the light) greets opalinus

[kadris3]

it serves as a current limiter. at 20 ma little heat is made ;although, w one resistor and one diode across 12vdc the 1/4 watter gets warm to the touch. i use 470 ohms and a white ultra bright LED to show how they look lighted. good luck to all.

[xfnord]

well the cheapest seller for led throwies is still http://www.ozhobbies.eu.
they deliver very cheap to usa, too.

[hansis]

how does the blinking ones look like? Do they blink slow or fast?

[loveshot]

Do that guys deliver to US?

[nadina]

i bought there. got it in three days

[xfnord]

errm .. thats exactly what I wrote :)))))

[self centered]

dude can you tell me where you got the led's i want to know what's cheaper.

[Opalinus]

Im from Germany and use often online shops like www.reichelt.de but dont know if there is a shop like that near you!
One LED at the online shop costs 0,009€ (no joke!!) Look here: http://shortlink.co.uk/qyy

[barefooter64]

Because the throwie on my handlebars looks like part of a high-tech alarm system, my bike has not been stolen in weeks! Also, a handful of these keeps my garbage disposal smelling clean and fresh!

[floorwaxdesserttopping]

These also look great on barrettes, belts, and suspender clasps. Not to mention suits of armor.

[DELTA3X9]

ROCK ON........

[carrothead23]

totaly cool you rock can you make it flash

[Artificial Intelligence]

Take a look at this

[doo da do]

for people who forget where they park, maybe they could put one on the car antenna at night What ya think?

[HammyHavoc]

Great idea! I might mod my antenna to have it permanently lit since I use satellite radio anyway, so my standard antenna is fairly redundant. Great make.

[dummy1977]

Good thinking, doo da dude... you could also apply it to helping people find your house (if your address is hard to spot in the dark) and stick these suckers to your mailbox.

[xACIDITYx]

In the shape of your numbers!

[Notbob]

that is a good idea

[nick-dawg]

Super duper dude. i threw them all over the lamp post in my neighbor's yard and they actualy thanked me!

[DaMadProfessor]

Holy hell these things are fun to play with and can be added to almost any gelly toy to make it light up!

[jwoytk01]

In "The Americas" yes. But "Amercia"... hell no. English only. I don't go to France and Speak Russian.

[1406]

Yet you come to America and you don't speak Cherokee, Navajo, or Cree?

[1406]

and yes, lets just enjoy the throwies......:)

[trouble-maker]

So let me get this straight: Americans are only allowed to "spaeck" English (no "spainish"), but you don't have to learn how to spell in English? Puh-leeeeeez! This site is supposed to be about fun and cool projects, not a forum for political/social commentary...let's keep it that way, huh?

[mr depo]

your right, but these are cool i throw them on my friends house

[toucansam4000]

lol.... WOW I see alot of people that arn't to nice on here posting anyway I like these things there fun to play with good work!

[koraz]

Mola,está guapo!!!!!!!

[knownow258]

speack english no spainish in america

[moldyclint]

Please. Many countries in the Americas have Spanish as their official language. And I agree...está guapo!