the stuff inside my head that must get out
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Mon, 24 Apr 2006
Sunday at the Maker Faire was tons of fun, and I saw tons of customers there too. I was rocking my Free Comic Book Day hat and taking pictures of all the cool stuff I saw. I was inspired by all the homebrew tech, so I came home that evening and came up with an ultra-simple LED flashlight using only one LED, a battery, a bottle cap and a bit of gaffer's tape. The result is the gafflite:
You actually don't even need the bottle cap, all of the connections are made with the gaff tape. One prong of the led is taped flat to the bottom side of the battery (make sure the longest prong is connected to the positive side of the battery). The other prong is bent so it is just out of contact. Then it's wrapped in tape and it lights up when you squeeze gently. I decided to put the whole shebang in a plastic soda bottle cap to add some structural stability, and so that it wouldn't turn on in my pocket. I then added another layer of gaff tape (truly, the adhesive tape of the gods) and the whole thing is ready to go!
I was shocked at how simple it was to make, yet how well it works. I'll try to post more details here soon, or just come into the store and I'll show you how to do it. If you don't have any gaffer's tape handy you can probably use duct tape or some other lesser grade of tape, but nothing beats the real deal!