Ultrabright LED Emergency Lamp (Rechargeable!)

Preparing for a calamity or planning to go camping in the vast wilderness? Make an ultrabright emergency light in less than 5 minutes! It glows 360° and is completely WATERPROOF!. In addition the jar's lid can be detached from the jar turning it into a compact flashlight! This is a simple project that uses a 3W LED and a BL-5C (Li-ion) Nokia battery. Macgyver's style!

It's completely rechargeable, via USB or wallwart (5v), only takes an hour to fully charge the lamp. If you remember my previous project "DIY Portable USB Solar Charger", you can charge the jar using a solar panel. Guys, it's free and renewable energy!Top 10 Practical Uses (Must Read): 1st.) Portable Emergency Light 2nd.) Camping Light/ Lamp 3rd.) Floating Pool Lanterns 4th.) Nightlight (Sidetable Lamp) 5th.) Constant Camera Light 6th.) Waterproof Rescue Lights! 7th.) Solar Powered LED Lamp 8th.) Garden Props & Ornaments 9th.) Replacement for gas lamps 10th.) Halloween Lanterns (Modded Version)Real Life Scenario (My Experience): (11/8/13) - A Category 4 typhoon has entered the Philippine area of responsibility. Codenamed: Yolanda (11/8/13) - The president declared a state of calamity, told to brace ourselves. (11/8/13) - My parents told me to charge all our lamps, unfortunately 2 out 4 emergency lamps were broken. (11/8/13) - I made a simple "Jar Emergency Light" in just 5 minutes! (11/9/13) - Typhoon reached our area with extreme rain and winds. (11/9/13) - 1:00am The Blackout Started, my 1st time to use the LED Jar :D (11/9/13) - It feels so cozy to light up a whole room as if there was electricity!

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Step 1: Gathering Tools & Materials

Since this was a "Macgyver" type of assembly, the parts needed to come from recycled parts. Most of them came from my scrap radio on the other hand my 3W LED came from an old 220v LED Bulb. Materials: - 3W Ultrabright LED (Radioshack or AC LED Bulbs) - Red LED Indicator (Recycled Parts) - BL-5C Nokia Battery (Old Nokia Phone) - 1N4007 Recitifer Diode (Recycled Parts) - 470 ohm Resistor (Radioshack or Recycled Parts) - On/ Off switch (Recycled Parts) - DC Power Jack (Recycled Parts) - Scotch Mounting Strips Tools & Equipment: - Soldering Iron - Hot Glue Gun - Leatherman - Portable Drill

Step 2: Scavenging for Parts

I was in a rush when I assembled my lamp since the storm has already entered our country. Since I'm a Macgyver fan, I like to make things with existing parts around me. BTW I made two lamps, one made from brand new parts and one from scavenged parts.Where To Scavenge Parts (Macgyver Style):

Broken Radios, CFL Bulbs, Toys
Busted Flashlights, AC LED Bulbs
Old Nokia Phones (I have no use for my Nokia)
Home Inventory

Things You Get From Them (For Free):

Resistors, Switches, DC Plugs, LED Indicators
Some Working High Powered LEDs (cuz it's in series)
Li-Ion Batteries (ex. BL-5C)
Glass Jar, Utility Knife, Tape, Gluegun

Step 3: Hot Glue the Parts in Place

1st.) Drill two holes (6mm) for your "Charger's Plug" and for the "Slider Switch" 2nd.) Solder two wires to your BL-5C's positive and negative terminals. 3rd.) Hot glue everything In place! 4th.) Use a small strip of Scotch's mounting pads to mount the 3W LED (BTW, they don't melt)Want To Make It Waterproof? Don't drill holes, just hot glue the socket and switch inside the jar/ lid. Just unscrew the lid to charge!

Step 4: Optional: Adding a USB Lithium USB Charger

Trickle charging isn't the best way to charge lithium batteries. When overcharged, they have the tendency to explode, that is if you forget to unplug it for an hour. If you plan to use this in long terms, I would recommend to attach this module for safety. To install this circuit, simply connect the Bat+ and Bat- parallel to the battery's respective terminals. You can buy it here for $1.70! "1A Lithium Battery Charging Module - Blue" Red Light = Charging Green Light = Fully Charged

Step 5: The Schematic Diagram

One thing you must know BL-5C batteries, they have a voltage protection circuit inside them. You can trickle charge these batteries at 5 volts, just limit the charge time for an hour. If you want to take precaution, there are Lithium battery chargers available out there.How Does The Circuit Work? This is a very simple circuit that doesn't require circuit boards. All it does is trickle charge the battery, a rectifier diode was added to prevent the backflow of current. I added a LED charging indicator just to show whether the jar is charging or not.

Step 6: Solder Everything in Place

Just follow the circuit diagram and you are good to go! A perf board isn't necessary but if you insist then go ahead.

Step 7: Charge Testing

Cool! If you've done it right, the jar should glow red when the charging. You can also charge this with my previous project: the "DIY Portable USB Solar Charger".