LED Lights for glow golf

[swel304]

I tried soldering a lead directly to the battery and it did not seem to want to stick. of course I was trying not to get the battery too hot but it did leave a mark on the battery, the solder just would not stick. Iwill have to figure out about how many I need. I will send you a pm later today most likely. as for shrink tubing, Idoubt it would be tight enough. the one that I have sealed with silicon just barely sqeezes the batter tight enough, just pinching it makes it twice as bright as the connection needs to be very solid. the second unit I made I put a wire against each side and wrapped it with duct tape as tight as possible. It seems to be getting a good connection but I am afraid it will loosen over time.

[Glock23]

Hmmmm, I wonder why the solder wouldn't hold. There has to be a way to make it work. I wonder if something like JB weld would work??? Then you could wrap it in tape, and I doubt it would break apart. It may also be possible to extend the leads using a wire, and that would give you more surface contact on the battery.

[superq]

I have not really had time to play with the led's. I am a little put off by the size. Normally I use either the 1inch glow sticks or the nite lite fishing Led's. I cant imagine that a 20oz bottle cap taped to the top of a disc helps the flight charistics at all.

For me I am looking for the best balance between Glow discs (as natural to the flight as you could get) Small Led light (changes the disc flight but 100% easier to see than glowbies)

Last time I went on this search I found a chem light that is radioactive and lasts for several years it is about the same size as the 1 inch light sticks but at 25 a piece and having to order them overseas it was a fools errand for me.

what about smaller LED the light output does not need to blind you just enough that you can see it from 20-30 feet away and size should be as small as possible. I bought some Leds from radio shack (not sure the size) the diode itself is about the size of a BB and the leads are 3/4 inch long. I soddered 2 of them to the sides of a 2032 battery and then taped the thing to the top of a disc. I liked the way it worked but could not come up with a good way to make them disconectable.....

I will see if I can post some pics of what I am talking about and see who can help me get the on off situation handled.

[superq]

OK I ordered some of the BR435 batteries and some different 3mm Leds see what I can come up with.

I like the idea of the 3mm on the flat round cell with leds on the sides that would allow for a circular clear piece of tape to cover it all.

[swel304]

as far as what you guys are talking about, its very easy to assemble a "ghetto" version very quickly. take the smaller led's and slide them right on to the battery, once you have made a little star just rap it in tape, and use clear tape to put it on the bottom of the disc.

as for diminished flight characteristics, puting anything on the disc is going to change it, just like hitting trees would. The completed caps are not very heavy at all, and so long as you keep the internals balanced and put it as close to center of the bottom of the disc as you can it doesnt seem to affect it too badly. maybe a little less glide where there is less room for an air pocket underneath, and a tad more overstable. I guess it depends on how seriously your taking these night games. I personally only plan to carry two discs, a putter and a mid. discs that I can throw straight. even if the added weight were significant, heavier just has more accuracy right? sounds good to me.

I soddered 2 of them to the sides of a 2032 battery and then taped the thing to the top of a disc.

Im sure can explain the physics behind it but my guess is that this would change the flight characteristics more than a 5-10 gram bottle cap on the bottom of the disc.

[swel304]

got a chance to check the wieght on them today. the little one with the switch (and full of silicon sealer) is about 10 grams. the 1 liter lid with the big led's is almost 15 grams. Im estimateing that the big lid with 8 lights wouldnt be much more than 20 grams if that, so it should be possible to attach it to a lighter disc and get a comfortable weight. that also means its makeing my glow mrv about 200 grams, no wonder its flying so straight. if anyone can get some coin cell battery clips and/or micro switches cheap let me know, I will trade or buy some (about 20 each would be nice).

[Glock23]

Swel, did you get the other package I sent you yet? With the weather, I wanted to make sure it got to you in one piece. I tried to keep the water and stuff out with some tape, hope it worked.

[swel304]

yes it arrived today

[Weebl]

To have the solder stick, one needs a high watt soldering gun to heat the metal on the battery quickly without extended exposure killing the battery. I would imagine there's cylindrical batteries somewhere with small diameter, wrap it in tape, attatch LEDs to both ends, and it's the same shape (size to be determined) as the night lites that are brighter, and last longer (assuming lithium polymer batteries)

[swel304]

I think the other type battery would be a bit too heavy. the coin cells are working great and are super cheap (like 50 cents each i think). last I hear glocks test led had be going for 4+ weeks and still nice and bright. a bigger battery will not make them much brighter (if any at all) and more voltage will likely burn them up without resistance in the circuit. the thing i want is durablity. you can tape leads to a battery and it will work but in most cases it will get twice as bright when you pinch it. also it tends to malfunction after a couple of good hits, because the tape starts to loosen up and the leads need to be firmly against the battery.

[Glock23]

The battery died at nearly 5 weeks, and that was non stop use. The Led is as good as new. The coin batteries are cheap if you can buy them in bulk from overseas. But if you go to a local store you are looking at $2-$4. Out of all the batteries I tested, the 2032 seemed to have the longest life and the best power, weight and price ratio.

[swel304]

thats about 840 hours from the 2032. or roughly 350-400 rounds of night golf if there is a way to turn it off when not in use.

[Glock23]

Not bad for something that costs under $5 to make.

[swel304]

ok, at total disreguard for my own safety, I tried really hard to solder a lead to a battery. Im not sure what the metal is on the outside of the battey but it dissipates heat way to fast to get hot enough to melt solder or for the melted solder to stick. I dont think I would reccomend a higher watage iron either. if I lay the point of my iron sideways to get a largest surface contact area, I can hear the inside of the battery boiling (and it started moving a little).

anyway I did pick up some solder today and we are supposed to try a few holes after dark tomorrow to test them out so I will be working on some tonight. if anyone has a good idea for the battery connection let me know so I can give it a shot.

[garublador]

anyway I did pick up some solder today and we are supposed to try a few holes after dark tomorrow to test them out so I will be working on some tonight. if anyone has a good idea for the battery connection let me know so I can give it a shot.

Have you tried scuffing up the battery with sandpaper before you solder to it? That may help.