Many things that we often simply do not notice around us turn out to be in demand and very useful at some point. One of these things is a regular flashlight. After all, if the lighting on the street is turned off or the electricity in the apartment is turned off, a flashlight at hand will always correct the situation. This thing can be useful both on a camping trip or fishing, and on a personal plot.
Today on the market there are a large number of different flashlights from a small pocket one to floodlights for illuminating large areas, which operate from solar energy... In any hardware store, you can choose a lantern for your needs and according to your capabilities. In some cases, if it is not possible to purchase a ready-made flashlight, you can make it yourself from scrap materials. This can save not only money, but also time when there is an urgent need to use the flashlight. How to make a simple lantern with your own hands - below.
LED flashlights have more advantages over conventional incandescent flashlights. Firstly, they last much longer, and secondly, they consume less energy. This means that the battery in the flashlight will last longer. It is quite easy to make a mini flashlight based on a bright LED. For this you will need:
- "Pocket" for the battery. A battery pocket on an old motherboard might be ideal.
- Battery (a regular tablet will suffice).
- A small button to turn on the flashlight.
- Super bright LED.
- Soldering iron, solder, glue, glue gun.
Work order:
- First you need to remove the battery pocket from the old motherboard... This is not too difficult for those who have ever held a soldering iron in their hand. You need to do the watering carefully so as not to damage the contacts.
- Next, you need to solder the button to the plus pole of the pocket, and already one LED leg is soldered to it. Its second leg is soldered to the negative pole. Thus, a simple electrical circuit is assembled, which will close when the button is pressed. After assembling the circuit, you need to install the battery and check its performance. If the LED lights up when the button is pressed, then the assembly has been performed correctly. So that the flashlight does not break during operation and moisture does not get on the electrical spikes, its top, in addition to the button, can be poured with hot glue.
- After the glue has cooled and hardened, the flashlight can be used.
Such a simple and cheap device is guaranteed to help in an emergency. All the parts necessary for its production can be easily found at home or bought on the radio market. Its undoubted advantage is its small overall dimensions. It is almost invisible in your pocket and does not take up much space in the car's glove compartment.
Lantern from a spent gas-discharge lamp and a lighter
Gas discharge lamps have become widespread and popular due to their efficiency. For the same luminous flux as a conventional incandescent lamp, the "housekeeper" spends almost 4 times less electricity. The most common reason for the failure of such a lamp is a breakdown of the controller board, which is located between the lamp itself and the base. In this case, the lamp itself can still be used to make a flashlight.
For this you will need:
- Old gas discharge lamp.
- An unnecessary electric lighter.
- Glue, hacksaw for metal.
Work order:
- The first step is to separate the lamp base from its body. To do this, use a hacksaw for metal. Then the lamp housing is carefully opened and the controller is removed from it. When removing the controller, the wires that connect it to the bulb must not be torn off; they are carefully bite off with wire cutters.
- Then the tip of the old electric lighter is sawn off. The lower part of the llama body is put on its handle and glued with hot glue. Next, the wires of the lighter are connected to the wires of the lamp, after which its bulb is screwed to the body.
The result is a pretty cute penlight that runs on battery power at the touch of a button. Such a product shines quite brightly, however, it produces not focused, but diffused light. With such a flashlight, it will be convenient to highlight dark areas of the garage. If you install a button with a lock on it, the product can be used as a candle in the event of a power outage.
When making a lantern from gas discharge lamp it must be remembered that the lower its power, the brighter it will shine. The fact is that the energy of the battery may not be enough for the normal glow of a large amount of mercury vapor, therefore, a lamp with a lower power is preferable in this case.
DIY street lamp
It often happens that in an unsettled place it is necessary to illuminate the site. This problem is especially important for those who are just starting to build a house in a "clear field".
To make a simple lantern for a garden with your own hands, you will need a few scrap materials:
- A 2 liter can with a twist-on sealed lid.
- Standard bulb holder (E27 base).
- A piece of double insulated copper wire.
- A small piece of wire for making the hanger. You can use a decorative chain to make the lantern look better in the garden.
- Electrician's tools, electrical tape (heat shrink tubing can be used).
Work order:
- First, a hole is carefully made in the lid for fastening the cartridge. To do this, it is necessary to disassemble the cartridge and mark the diameter of the hole for the thread of the cartridge. After that, you need to cut a hole with a knife or scissors.
- Next, a wire is taken and soldered to the lamp base. The connection must be strong so that the wire does not come off the socket under the influence of the wind.
- Then the cartridge is screwed to the lid of the can. Now, if you close the jar, the light bulb will be reliably protected inside from moisture or mechanical stress. The wire is connected to the network through a switch.
- Next, you need to make a ring for which the lantern will be suspended. You can use copper wire for this. A small chain is attached to the ring, for which the new lantern is suspended in the right place.
- For better insulation, it is better to insulate the part of the cartridge that comes out. This can be done with electrical tape or polyethylene.
As a lantern, you can use steel cans from baby food by making thin holes in them with a nail or an awl. Many designers use this method to create a garland from such cans, knocking out interesting designs on them. This product looks just amazing. However, it is worth noting that such a lamp cannot be used in conditions of high humidity, since it can simply burst from the ingress of water on the lamp.
DIY solar lantern
Solar powered lanterns have become quite popular in places where there are problems with the mains connection. Thanks to the energy of the sun during the day, such a lantern charges the inside battery, which, at nightfall, supplies energy to the LEDs that illuminate the territory.
It is rather difficult to make such a lantern for a garden with your own hands, because for a normal glow it is necessary to solder a small circuit, and for this you need to have certain knowledge in electronics. Therefore, if you do not have skills in assembling electrical circuits, it is better to buy such a flashlight in a store.
If you have such experience, you can make a small lamp on a solar cell yourself. For this you will need:
- Bright LED 3V, 1W.
- 3.7V battery and a box for it.
- Solar cell with voltage 5.5V, current 90mA.
- Resistors with resistance 10 Ohm and 50 Kom.
- IRF 7832 bipolar transistor
- Diode.
- Luminaire housing. A small plastic container can be used.
Work order:
- First of all, one hole is made on the sides and in the lid of the container. Mounting bolts are installed on the sides, and an LED is mounted in the cover, which is fixed with a sealant. A small hole is made in the bottom of the box, into which the wire from the solar cell is wound.
- Next, the electrical circuit is assembled. All connections are carefully soldered and insulated with heat shrink tubing.
- Everything assembled circuit fits in a box. All openings and the lid are sealed with sealant to prevent moisture from entering the structure.
Due to the bright LED, such a lamp can illuminate a fairly large area. Thanks to the photocell, the device will turn on at a time when the intensity of natural light decreases. The role of the photocell will be performed by a solar battery, which is controlled by a transistor. When the current from it stops flowing to the network, the transistor will turn on the power from the battery and supply it to the LED. When the solar panel is turned on, the transistor will direct energy not to the LED, but to the battery.
It is necessary to hang the lantern in such a way that the sun's rays fall on its surface as much as possible. Such a flashlight, if used correctly, can last more than seven years.
For its maintenance and repair, it is enough to remove the sealant layer and disassemble the structure. After repair or replacement of the battery, the housing is reassembled and sealed. The low cost and ease of assembly of such a design allows you to easily make several portable flashlights that will illuminate the area exactly where it is needed.
Do-it-yourself solar-powered lantern: video
Surely many of the physics course remember or have heard that from ordinary potatoes, and not only from them, you can get some electricity.
What is needed for this, and is it possible in this way to light a low-power flashlight, an LED clock powered by round batteries of 1-2 Volts, or make a radio receiver work? Yes and no, let's understand in more detail.
Where does the electricity come from in potatoes?
To understand that the voltage from a potato is not a fiction, but a very real thing, it is enough to stick sharp probes from a multimeter into one single potato and you will immediately see several millivolts on the screen. 
If you complicate the design a little, for example, insert a copper electrode or a bronze coin into the tuber on one side, and something aluminum or galvanized on the other side, then the voltage level will increase significantly. 
Potato juice contains dissolved salts and acids, which are essentially a natural electrolyte.
By the way, lemons, oranges, apples can be used with equal success. Thus, all these products can feed not only people, but also electrical appliances. 
Inside such fruits and vegetables, due to oxidation, electrons will escape from the submerged anode (galvanized contact). And they will be attracted to another contact - copper.
However, do not be confused, electricity is not generated here directly from potatoes. It is well produced precisely due to the chemical processes between the three elements:
- zinc
- copper
- acid
And it is the zinc contact that serves as a consumable here. All electrons flow away from it. Under certain conditions, even earthen soil can provide electricity. The main condition is its acidity. 
You conditionally stick two sticks into the ground (naturally made of zinc and copper) and measure the voltage. Sometimes the potential difference reaches 0.2V. In wet soil, the result is improved. 
This is the so-called earth battery.
Assembling a battery from potatoes
So, here's what you need to assemble a more or less capacitive battery:
Several pieces, since one will be of little use.
The larger the cross section, the better.
Nails will play a major role in generating electricity for the flashlight.
- galvanized - this is a negative contact (anode)
- copper-plated is a plus (cathode)
If you use simple nails instead of galvanized ones, then you will lose up to 40-50% in tension. But as an option, it will still work.
The same applies to the use of aluminum wire instead of nails. At the same time, an increase in the distance between the electrodes in one potato does not play a special role.
Take copper wires (mono core) with a cross section of 1.5-2.5mm2, 10-15cm long. Strip them from insulation and tie them to a carnation. 
It is best of course to solder, then the voltage loss will be much less. 
One copper nail on one side of the wire and galvanized on the other. 
In this case, different nails are stuck into each tuber, from different pairs of wires. That is, you should have one zinc contact and one copper contact in each potato. 
Different tubers are connected to each other, only through nails from different materials - copper + zinc - copper + zinc, etc.
Voltage measurements
Let's say you have three potatoes, and you connected them together as described above. To find out what the voltage is, use a multimeter. 
Switch it to the DC voltage measurement mode and connect the measuring probes to the conductors of the extreme potatoes, i.e. to the initial positive contact (copper) and the final negative contact (zinc).
Even on three medium-sized potatoes, you can get almost 1.5 Volts.
If, however, reduce all transition resistances to the maximum, and for this:
- use soldering in contacts
then only 4 potatoes are capable of producing up to 12 volts! 
If your cheap flashlight is powered by three AA batteries, then you will need about 5 volts to glow successfully. That is, when using ordinary wires, you need at least three times more potatoes.
For this, by the way, it is not necessary to look for additional tubers, it is enough to cut the existing ones into several parts with a knife. Then do the same procedure with the wires and carnations. 
Insert one galvanized and one copper stud into each cut tuber. As a result, it is quite possible to get a constant voltage of more than 5.5V.
Is it possible, theoretically, to get 5 volts from a single potato and at the same time ensure that the entire assembly is no larger than a finger battery in size? It is possible and very easy.
Cut off small pieces of the core from the potatoes, and place them between flat electrodes, for example, coins made of different metals (bronze, zinc, aluminum). 
In the end, you should end up with something like a sandwich. Even one piece of such an assembly is capable of delivering up to 0.5V!
And if you collect several of them together, then the required value up to 5V will easily be obtained at the output. 
Current strength
It would seem that everything, the goal has been achieved, and all that remains is to find a way to connect the wiring to the power contacts of the flashlight or LEDs. 
However, having done this procedure and having assembled a not weak construction of several cards, you will be very disappointed with the final result. 
Low-power LEDs of course will glow, after all, you still received voltage. However, the brightness level of their glow will be catastrophically dim. Why is this happening?
Because, unfortunately, such a galvanic cell gives a negligible current. It will be so small that not even all multimeters can measure it.
Someone will think, since there is not enough current, you need to add more potatoes and everything will work out. Here is a video experiment using the 400's! potatoes and connecting an LED light bulb from them as much as 110 volts.
Of course, a significant increase in tubers will increase the working voltage.
When tens and hundreds of potatoes are connected in series, the voltage will increase, but the most important thing will not be - sufficient capacity to increase the current strength.
And all this design will not be rationally suitable.
The practical way with boiled potatoes
But still, is there a simple way how to increase the power of such a battery and reduce its size? Yes, I have. 
For example, if for this purpose you use not raw, but boiled potatoes, then the power of such a source of electricity increases several times!
To assemble a convenient compact design, use the case from an old C (R14) or D (R20) battery. 
Remove all the contents inside (of course, except for the graphite rod). 
Instead of filling, fill the entire space with boiled potatoes. 
Then assemble the battery in reverse order. 
The zinc part of the body of the old battery plays an essential role here.
The total area of the inner walls is much larger than just stuck carnations into raw potatoes.
Hence the high power and efficiency.
One such power supply would easily deliver nearly 1.5 volts, as would a small AA battery. 
But the most important thing for us is not volts, but milliamps. So, such a "boiled" upgrade is capable of providing a current of up to 80mA. 
These batteries can power a receiver or an electronic LED clock. 
Moreover, the entire assembly will work not for seconds, but for several minutes (up to ten). More batteries and potatoes, more battery life.
Do not throw away your used batteries, because they can still serve. A new alkaline battery has a voltage of 1.5 volts, which decreases with use. Eventually the voltage becomes too low for most devices to operate. However, the remaining 15% of the charge can be "pulled" from the battery using a special technique called the "joule thief". This is quite enough to light the white LED of the flashlight, which we will try to make.
The joule thief circuit raises the depleting battery voltage, but does so in fast pulses. As a result, we will see a constant glow, although in reality the LED will quickly turn on and off.
So, what we need:
Required tools
- soldering iron;
- wire stripper;
- scissors;
- Double-sided tape.
Necessary materials
- battery holder with contacts;
- 10mm super bright white LED;
- a piece of wire from an old network cable;
- toroidal transformer core (2 cm);
- button;
- resistor 1 kOhm;
- round breadboard (diameter 2-3 cm);
- 2N2222 NPN transistor or similar;
- A used AAA, AA, C, or D alkaline battery.
Let's start building a flashlight:
1. Preparing the battery holder
Our battery holder model has a negative (spring-loaded contact and black wire) and positive (red wire) contacts. Pass the wires through the holes in the housing until they come out as shown in the illustration. Pay attention to how the negative wire passes from the side of the spring contact.
2. Attach the button
We take double-sided tape and attach the button to the battery holder from the negative contact side.
3. Solder the button
We cut the negative wire of the battery holder near the button, strip the ends of the wires and solder them to the button contacts.
4. Insert the LED
Take the PCB and insert the LED in the center of the PCB so that its legs go through the PCB.
5. Bend and solder the LED legs
Bend the ends of the LEDs as shown and solder them to the vias of the board.
6. Install the transistor
Look at the packaging of the transistor or search the internet for which legs of the element correspond to the emitter, base, and collector. Mount and solder it to the breadboard above the LED so that the emitter of the transistor is connected to the end of the LED that is bent upward and the collector is connected to the end that is bent to the side (see figure).
7. Install the resistor
Install a resistor on the board just below the LED. Connect one leg of the resistor to the base of the transistor, and bend the other and bring it to the side.
8. Prepare the wires of the battery holder
Shorten the wires from the battery holder so that they stick out 3-4 cm from the case. Then strip and tin the ends.
9. Attach the breadboard to the battery holder
Pass the wires from the previous step through the breadboard as shown. Note that the positive lead should go to the right side of the LED and the negative lead to the left.
10. Solder the wires of the battery holder
Bend and solder the black wire to the side-curved leg of the LED (see photo).
11. Insert wires
Cut off two 50cm wires, strip and tin on one side. Connect the wires to the breadboard. One - to the red wire from the battery (passing through the via). The second is to the collector of the transistor.
12. Solder the toroid wires
Solder the wires from the previous step. They will be needed to hold the core of the toroidal transformer.
13. Pass the wires through the core
Thread the free ends of the wire through the core. Place the core against the breadboard so that the LED and other components are inside it.
14. Wrap the core with wires
Use the wire from the collector of the transistor to sew the toroid to the breadboard. To do this, thread the wire through the vias until you are full circle.
In the 21st century, it is difficult to surprise society with a simple flashlight. The device has so reliably merged into life that it is difficult to imagine how one would live without it. Every thing breaks, breaks and stops working at the wrong moment. We offer a couple of ways to independently make a flashlight from what you have at hand.
The advantage of hand-made things is the cost, because everything is on the farm.
Video tutorial "How to make a flashlight with your own hands"
Low power flashlight
In physics lessons, the teacher showed how to make a mini-flashlight from a small light bulb, a finger battery and a piece of wire. To begin with, the wire is wound along the upper edge around the lamp thread, the rest of the wire is wrapped with the long end down. The battery is connected with a wire to the lamp in such a way that the pole with the "+" mark and the lamp base are connected. Do not forget that for reliable operation of the device, you need to work on closing the circuit. To do this, near the free pole of the battery with the value "-", you need to make a couple of turns of wire.
In order for the flashlight to work, you will have to work hard on the correct positioning of the wire with the bulb at the end. The light range of such a device is short; it makes no sense to use it outdoors. The increase in power is achieved by adding a second battery and an aluminum reflector to the circuit.
LED Flashlights
The LED device is manufactured in two versions:
- Single LED. To create it, you need a Chinese lighter with a faint light. The Chinese are not famous for reliable products, so the LED provided by the manufacturer will have to be replaced with a bright white one. The light beam easily illuminates the next three meters and will become an indispensable item for those who like to walk along the street at night.
- The second method is more complicated and involves the use of a battery, diode and resistor. The button closes with the battery in the "-" pole, and the positive pole closes with the lighter body. It remains to solder the resistor with a soldering iron exactly with the drawn circuit. To increase the power of the flashlight, you will have to mount a resistor, otherwise the diode will not give the required amount of light and will soon burn out.
By this principle, you can make a powerful flashlight, but for this you need to stock up on a significant number of LEDs, find the body of a non-working halogen lamp and a glue gun. There are hundreds of LED layouts on the Internet, choose the right one and transfer it to the aluminum sheet. Poke holes in the plate with a nail so that the LEDs fit through them. For reliability, small parts are fixed with superglue. Little secret: you need to place small bulbs cathode to anode, so as not to create problems for yourself during soldering.
The LEDs should not be connected in 4 pieces, after which the resistor is soldered. As a result, positive poles are collected on the side of the LEDs, and negative poles on the side of the resistors. The LED feet on each side are soldered together, and a copper wire is attached to the common poles. A disc with diodes is mounted in the reflector from the housing of a halogen lamp and generously coated with glue. After complete drying, the wire of the plus pole is cut and attached to the battery, the same manipulations are carried out with the minus pole. Such a flashlight will serve the family for many years, and there will be no problems with its operation.
A flashlight is a necessary thing when traveling to nature or out of town to the country. At night, on a personal plot or near a tent, only he will create a ray of light in the dark kingdom. But even in a city apartment, sometimes you just can't do without it. As a rule, it is difficult to get something small and rolled under a bed or sofa without a flashlight. And although nowadays there are devices that are multifunctional and can be a source of light, some of our readers will probably want to know how to make a flashlight with their own hands. How to make a small device from improvised objects will be described later.
Classics of form
The most convenient design, which, in principle, has remained unchanged for flashlights for many years, is a design that contains:
- cylindrical body with batteries of the same shape;
- reflector with a light bulb at one end of the housing;
- a removable cover at the other end of the case.
And this design can be obtained using unnecessary household items. If you make a lantern with your own hands, of course, there will be no beauty of forms like an industrial design. But it will be functional and a lot of positive emotions will be received from a working homemade product.
So, the main problem, which at first glance is difficult to solve, is the reflector. But it just seems complicated. In fact, we are surrounded by many objects that can become a blank for a number of reflectors. different sizes... These are ordinary plastic bottles. Their inner surface near the neck is very close in shape to that of a reflector made at the factory. And the lid is as if designed to hold the LED in it, which is the best light source today. It is brighter and more economical than a miniature light bulb.
Making a reflector
The fact that you may not find a tube of suitable dimensions for the manufacture of the body is not a problem. It can be glued together from individual parts. For example, from unnecessary disposable ballpoint pens. To spring the contacts, you can use a spiral, which is used for binding pages, and the contacts can be made of thin sheet metal, the raw material for which will be a tin can. Therefore, we start by choosing plastic bottle the desired sizes and the selection of other elements. The smaller the bottle, the more rigid and sturdy the reflector will be. Fastening of parts during assembly is easiest to do on the basis of construction sealant.
So, let's start making a flashlight with our own hands. Cut off the neck and the parabolic part of the body from the bottle with a sharp knife and trim the edges with scissors.
For effective reflection, we use foil, which is used to wrap the chocolate bars. If its size is not enough, you can cut the workpiece bigger size from a roll of foil intended for baking products. To keep the foil on the surface, apply a thin layer of sealant. Then we press and level the foil on it. If it wrinkles, it doesn't matter. The main thing is that there are no bulges, and it repeats the shape of the base.
We press the foil with our fingers and, smoothing out irregularities, we form the most even surface. We trim the foil around the edges with scissors flush with the plastic base. Along the contour of the neck, we make a cutout with a knife for the LED, which will subsequently be installed in this place on the panel.
We make it from the bottom of the bottle cap by cutting off the threaded edges with a sharp knife and, if necessary, trimming them with scissors. Then, having made two holes in the socket with an awl or the edge of a knife, we pass the legs of the LED through them, pressing its base against it. For correct installation led lamp in the center of the cover it is necessary to choose the distance between the holes according to the position of the legs at the base of the LED.
We bend the LED leads to the sides until they stop against the edge of the panel. We attach the conductors to them by twisting. If the twisting turns out to be unreliable due to the properties of the wire cores or for other reasons, soldering is used. After attaching the wires, the leads are bent along the panel. It is recommended to check the performance of the received part with the batteries used in the flashlight.
Then we cut out the contact area for the battery from the sheet metal, which rests against the socket with the LED. By twisting or soldering, we connect the pad - a terminal with a shorter wire. We attach the terminal to the spring, which in turn is attached to the socket. We use a sealant to hold the elements together.
Then we glue the socket with the LED into the reflector.
Bottom and case with batteries
The part of the flashlight body opposite to the reflector is also made from a part of a bottle with a neck. But only from the very neck with a lid. A terminal made of sheet metal is glued to its inner wall. A wire is also attached to it. This wire and the second wire from the LED will be used to control the flashlight. The terminal is in contact with the battery by pressing down on the cap, which is screwed onto the neck.
The two main details are ready. Now we need to make a case for the batteries. For this we use dry and therefore no longer needed markers. We leave only the body from them, which we shorten in length and cut at the ends along the axis, making two protrusions for gluing. Before cutting, we make notes with a marker, applying the body of the felt-tip pen to the parts to be glued.
Apply glue to the protrusions and glue them to the reflector and the back, respectively.
Then we cut out the details of the switch from the sheet metal. We mount wires to them and glue the parts to the body.
We insert batteries into the flashlight and use it. This, of course, is not a factory-made flashlight with a high-quality reflector and high beam. But on the other hand, it is made with your own hands, this is your own product, which gives good near-field illumination and gives great pleasure, but you cannot buy it for money. Now you got a visual idea of how easy it is to make a lantern yourself.
Ready flashlight and light from it