It's always nice to visit older projects and see how I did things in the past. This device dates back to when blue LEDs were first available. Up to that point all LEDs had been in the range of infrared, red, orange, yellow and a dull apple-green, so the new era of blue and white LEDs was quite special. The first blue LEDs cost £10 each making them about 200 times the cost of a normal LED.
Since it was a new style of light source and was capable of giving out a deep and psychedelic blue light that had not been achievable at low level with small tungsten lamps, I decided to make a small battery pack system that let me wear a blue LED in my hard hat at work or in a jacket or sweatshirt at the weekend. It got a lot of attention at the time because in a world where blue LEDs hadn't existed before it created a very odd visual effect.
The charger was deliberately very simple and used a low trickle current to charge the battery pack. Since the normal charging current of these packs is very low (memory backup batteries) it suited a very basic resistive dropper directly powered from the mains. This also meant that the exposed pins on the charger could give a shock, but not a dangerous one. That little twist of danger was part of the fun of it.
These days I might consider using a simple lithium ion battery with a zener for voltage capping and maybe a USB or solar powered charger.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
http://www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm
Since it was a new style of light source and was capable of giving out a deep and psychedelic blue light that had not been achievable at low level with small tungsten lamps, I decided to make a small battery pack system that let me wear a blue LED in my hard hat at work or in a jacket or sweatshirt at the weekend. It got a lot of attention at the time because in a world where blue LEDs hadn't existed before it created a very odd visual effect.
The charger was deliberately very simple and used a low trickle current to charge the battery pack. Since the normal charging current of these packs is very low (memory backup batteries) it suited a very basic resistive dropper directly powered from the mains. This also meant that the exposed pins on the charger could give a shock, but not a dangerous one. That little twist of danger was part of the fun of it.
These days I might consider using a simple lithium ion battery with a zener for voltage capping and maybe a USB or solar powered charger.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
http://www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm
3100th like 👍🏼
Can you please make another version of wearable IR LED?
Yes, you may have been killed while wearing that hard hat but you would have looked so cool on the way out!! I'm glad nothing hit your head and you still looked cool!!
I Found a 'Clive' i had not seen! = ] Cool! and Not surprised it Still Works.
Oh, the Days of Parties. Only said as when Most things were New & So Exciting!
I think i get it now, the more One learns . . . I'm so glad i'm a slow learner now. 8 )
I love how… early 00's the design is… everything translucent and blue
Better than whats on the shelf..
I wouldve used an led for clipping the voltage
Hope the ICRC never sees this video – they'd sue over that red plus sign on a white label on the battery pack.
The guys who 'invented' high intensity blue LED's were given a Nobel Prize back in 2014 for dong so, but it wasn't until the turn of the millenium that it was commercially feasible to grow the proper crystals. So I guess this device dates back to the maybe 2000-2003?
"Or it might have shoved the battery pack straight through my brain… nice!"
I have a niece who is a ghost hunter (a bit on the strange side – to say the least!) I have been making her some toys for ghost hunting, some of them from projects you have shown us over the past few years. This appears to be one that would work as an ID for members of her group, only with red LED's so they can find one another when the lights are out, but not ruin their night vision. Great little project I would never have thought about on my own. Thanks so much, you are constantly keeping my rapidly aging 67 year old brain active by allowing me to learn something new nearly every day.