Turn an altoids box into a bike light that includes a bright brake light.
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Step 1: Gather the Materials

Picture of Gather the Materials
A simple circuit board
A Green LED and a Small Green LED
A pushbutton
1 Brwn Blk Brwn 100 ohms Metal film Resistor (small resistors will get too hot and will burn out!)
A Slide switch (on/off)
(Yellow LED optional)
1 1.5 AA battery and battery Clip
1 9 Volt battery and battery clip
Large Altoids Box

Step 2: Make the LED line

Picture of Make the LED line
Take your altoids box and in the front drill a hole for each LED about 1 CM apart from each hole. And drill one hole in the top for the switch

Now match the holes with the PC board and place the leds in the matching holes in the PC board just to make sure they match up with the holes on the altoids box.

Take the PC board with the LEDs in it and solder the leads. Use jumper wire to connect the gaps (or just use a large amount of soder if you don't have any). Now in the middle just after the last LED that's before the red LED, solder a wire about 2 1/2 feet. And do the same on the left (same length), these 2 wires will be the switch on the outside that will make the RED LED turn on for brake. On the left solder a wire about 6 or 7 Centimeters this wire is for the resistor and power PCB. And then on the right solder another wire about the same size.

Step 3: Power and Resistor Conjunction

Picture of Power and Resistor Conjunction
This step covers the Resistor and power part. This is the part that connects to the LEDs and supplies power.

Take a square of PCB and solder a brwn-blk-brwn resistor (100 Ohms) and take the 6 CM wire from the LED line and solder it to one end of the resistor. Now solder the POSITIVE end of the 9 volt battery clip to the other end of the resistor. Now take the NEGATIVE end of the 9 Volt battery clip and the POSITIVE end of the AA clip and solder it together. Take the NEGATIVE end of the AA battery clip and attach a Slide Switch (See image CIMG2470) and take the very short wire on the RIGHT side of the LED line and solder it to the switch too.

Step 4: Brake Light Switch

Picture of Brake Light Switch
Now take those really long wires from your LED line and push them through the hole in the top of the altoids can. Shut the altoids can and Soder a pushbutton switch onto these wires and put it into something or hot glue it to keep it from braking off.

Step 5:

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Now take the long wires push them through the top of the altoids can (the hole you made earlier) and solder a switch to the wires. Put the batteries in the clips and turn the thing on using the switch inside the can. Shut it. And Make sure all the LEDs shine. Shake it some and if the LEDs flicker. try hot gluing all of the loose connections. If they work try the brake switch if done right the RED led will shine brightly.

Ta Da! Now just get some parts from Ace Hardware to place it on your bike.
tippy10006 years ago
this step is really not clear. Could you put it together outside of the box?
ANISHNAABE7 years ago
i'm not even sure what use this can be, all the leds are on one end right? red lights always face towards the rear on any vehicle, white or bright bright blue always face forward, and ambers are always facing outwards to all directions. is this for a train set or something cause i'm really not understanding the true purpose of this to be honest. Liitle more explaination perhaps? and maybe a drawn schemetic? please? :P
erckgillis8 years ago
Also bright white flashlight....
Hyperviking8 years ago
"Turn an altoids box into a bike light that includes a bright brake light" Say that ten times fast. Pretty rockin!
cpro (author) 8 years ago
this was a clunky model I made I made a better one, should upload it in a while.
SkunkFox9 years ago
could you add a small diagram of how the boards soldered up so I can make this?