I had a lot of fun with this build. To the best of my knowledge, this host was build in the mid 1920's, making it roughly 90 years old. Of course, the 445nm diode is a bit newer The switch is both a momentary clicky, and a typical on/off. I love it!

Video of it in action:
"Ancient Light" - Nearly a Century Old - 445nm DIY Build - YouTube




I wanted to retain as much of the internals as possible, so I tapped the battery feed from the light bulb socket itself.


The relatively large size of this host allowed for the DIY 1084 driver IC to be built on the underside of the aluminium heatsink itself. It's running at 1,666 mA (a 2W 0.75 ohm resistor)


The host was built for D cell batteries. Instead of investing in yet another lithium ion cell size, I decided to grab AA adapters, which of course are also "14500 adapters". The build runs on two lithium-ion 14500s, adapted to fit as D cells.


All in all, my absolute favorite aspect of this laser, apart from the retro coolness factor, is the dual function of the button. It is both a momentary clicky AND a typical on/off. 90 years later and very few modern hosts are replicating the awesomeness of this ancient two-mode switch!

Damn you! I have been hunting flee markets to do this exact thing! You pulled it off beautifully I must say. Very unique

Helios, would you like 2 hosts to give this a shot with?

I have two more ancient hosts that I would be happy to send in your direction. They're a bit different. One may actually be a bit older.

Thats awesome!

+1

Whoa! Thats awesome, where did you find that flashlight?

Sending PM

Reminds me of steampunk built hosts. It adds a nice retro look.

That is Awesome, man! Excellent work and what a good idea!! I'll bet you for sure the the person that originally put this light together could never have imagined it being modified to do this. You just keep on coming up with the greatest stuff!

rhd. Instead of using 2 14500s use 32600s or 32650s. They are the same size as D cells. I use them in my SAIK and it fits like a glove!

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Lol, I thought of that, but... well:
"Instead of investing in yet another lithium ion cell size, I decided to grab AA adapters"

I'd never have another use for 32600s or 32650s.

that is awesome, I was waiting to see what that heat sink would go in

So glad you decided to do this one. The last time I was at the flea market I was looking at some of these old lights. I may have to pick up a couple next time I go. Now if there was only someone still around making low cost heat sinks.

What ? Steampunk laser ? Cool !

What power this laser give out? (mW)

1,500mW as stated in his signature

ah awesome build!

i actually had 2 of the similar flashlights back in the days... too bad I broke them... and threw away...

they were pretty snug I used to hit my brother with one of those when I got angry
do you still have one of those hosts, what condition too??? PM me if you do

+1

I actually do still have one of these (with a heatsink ready to go). A few build challenges to brainstorm around first though.

Did you know that the man who invented your host, thought it was worthless, and gave the invention away? It was a man named Lionel, who was more interested in his toy trains.

awsome!!!

Man thats a great "Back to the Future" laser. Love the lack of pcb with the driver components right on the heatsink keeping the retro real


Yeah, just wish Lionel could see it now....... He'd p!ss his pants

nice build man, reminds me of...

Nice lovely project !!! A big + for you.

That is so cool. I was also thinking about doing something like this but haven't gotten around to it yet.

I think after seeing your build I am going to have to man up and build one just like it.

my god! Lshccomnaiweda