Salvaging a $1 Fake Shake Light

Intro: Salvaging a $1 Fake Shake Light

How to get upwards of $6 worth of parts from a $1 flashlight. So, if you bought one of these and feel ripped off, here is a nice way to make lemonade out of a lemon.

STEP 1: Shake It, BREAK It!

First, you need to unscrew the lenscap. Next, carefully give it one good shake and be prepared to catch the inner tube. I recomend doing this while standing at the foot of your bed so it lands safely on it.

STEP 2: Cheap Parts!!

Slip the batteries out using a pen and remove the circuit board by removing the single phillips-head screw holding it on. Voila, You now have:

1 - Ultra Bright white LED, great for throwies. (approx. $0.99 ea @ RadioShack)
2 - CR2032 batteries, useful for throwies or replacing the battery in your car's remote. ($1.95 ea @ WallMart)
And assorted other parts like a small circuit board and a magnifying lens, etc. that I'll give a cumulative value of $0.50 just to round things out nicely.

Comments

[instructa-fan]

actually it is magnetic. I used it to pick up little screws and other metal crap from under my bed!lol! can you tell i'm an instructable fan when I have screws under my bed!

[D34TH2U]

I have a welder, soldering iron, LEDs, wire coils, and tic-tac/altoid boxes under my bed...doesn't everyone?

[mattccc]

lol!!!!

[twighahn]

lol

[hitachi8]

yes ,

[girrrrrrr2]

nope...

[Wolley]

I don't think there is a magnetic in this flashlight if it uses batteries and the author says it is fake. The real ones use a magnet, coil and cap. to store the energy. This one appears to be battery powered cheap $1.00 version.

[mysterio77]

 actually, the thing in the middle is a half-supermagnet. stronger than the average magnet, weaker than a supermagnet. how do i know? i have this exact model of flashlight. theres also a resistor in there if you get lucky

[mysterio77]

oh, and the screws? prob made of chromium or some other metal that isnt magnetic. supermagnet+magnetized screws=shattered magnet and/or screws

[mattccc]

some of the shake flashlights are fake but not all of them

[drakesword]

Hey there,

the piece in the middle has to be magnetic ... otherwise it wouldnt be able to induce a current in the coil from changing emf. Also you forgot to mention the large amount of magnet wire you get from this too!

[Colonel88]

Hey can't you charge CR2032 batteries?

[power]

you can also save the magnet wire. pretty useful too

[Jack Daniels]

Grr not beaing able to read these isn't helping

[westfw]

"View all steps on one page" is working...

[boznia]

Having been fooled by this one, and done some internet research ( whilst having no real knowledge of electronics ), is it possible to simply replace the CR2032 batteries with LIR2032 rechargeable ones? I have what I would call a semi fake in that the 'slug' is strongly magnetic and the coil is attached. Without the batteries the torch works ( really dimly ) and you can see the light pulsing when you shake it. However shaking it for a long time does not really improve the brightness. Would it require more components added to the circuit if I swapped the CR2032 for the rechargeable LIR2032s??? Hope someone can help.

[Hoopajoo]

I'm not sure about the LIR2032 ones, but I have replaced the batteries with a capacitor on my working one. It does pretty well. Thirty seconds of shaking yields 2-3 minutes of light.

[boznia]

Thanks Hoopajoo! Can you tell me which capacitor you used, and how easy it was to fit? I have done little electronics I am afraid, but am keen to make my semi fake light a real one if possible. Thanks, boznia

[Hoopajoo]

Pretty much any large capacity 5 to 6 volt capacitor will do. Just be careful that it is completely discharged before wiring it up and that you are getting it from a reputable vendor, there are some fakes out there that can be dangerous if overloaded.

[Hoopajoo]

Picture of fake capacitor that didn't get attached to my last post for some reason.