Making my own LT1M from an IF25

Other Types of Lights LED Lanterns
1

So I’ve been dying to get myself a smaller version of the LT1 since I got mine in December.
Don’t get me wrong, the LT1 is absolutely amazing, however when I’m packing lightweight for an overnight camping trip, it takes up too much space and weight.

So I went at it last night and looked at the ideas from DBSAR himself:

Looking through my inventory I found some canisters bought from eBay, and they were the perfect size.

Then I started experimenting while using some info that DBSAR had found out.
For example the mirror in the top reflecting down to increase light output and reduce glare.

First revision, added electrical tape to hide the ugly glue marks from gluing the container cap up in the container itself. The cap also acts as a first diffuser:

Kitchen testing, ~25% brightness @2700K. Looks great!

Living room testing, 100% brightness and lowered ISO on the camera to prevent overexposure.

It’s plenty bright, but it gets hot and ramps down in this state.

Designed and printed a cap and bottom for it, and glued them on. Here it is compared to the LT1.

The diffuser is tightly press-fit onto the top of the IF25, so no modification of the light required and it’s still water resistant.
The original lanyard makes it hangable in the tent, or outdoors in a tree. I didn’t want to hang it from the diffuser in case the press-fit wasn’t tight enough, but it’s plenty tight (for now).

Tint ramping!

I hope this is inspiring to others, and it is by no means a competitor to DBSAR’s project.
His final one will be miles better than this one with better LEDs, better looking finish, higher quality etc.
I’m still buying two of his LT1M whenever they’re available :slight_smile:

2

Great job Nismo. Thank you for sharing. :beer:
Can I have the measurement of the container/diffuser please ? Also, do you still add thi mirror to the cap after 3D print?

3

Very nice! Seems to be a handy size and the tint ramping as a bonus. Some different approaches compared to my Yogurt Lantern.

I have some prototypes using this kind of container. With mirror, without mirror, with plastic tube in the center, with various cones. I think I’ll start experimenting with them again.

4

Thanks! Here are the measurements of the container. It’s a standard 60ml container from eBay. Here’s an example, however I’m not 100% sure it has the same measurements.

The mirror is in there even with the 3D printed cap, I used the small inner-cap that the bottle came with, as you can see on the first picture:

5

Thank you! I saw your yogurt lantern and it inspired me to try different plastic containers as diffusers back then.

It’s fun to experiment and see the different results, milky white diffusers are at least better than most commercial LED lanterns available that don’t have any.
I dislike the harsh lighting from clear LED lanterns.

6

Absolutely! One important factor with glare and softness of the light is the area. Bigger area helps a lot.

Would be interesting to try these anti-glare filters used in office lights. Are they available as flexible sheets?

edit: Some info about these anti-glare films: Glare Control Diffusers | BrightView Technologies, Inc.
Everything together decreases the efficiency a lot, with mirrors, internal diffuser and anti-glare film maybe >30-40%?

7

Today I’ve played a little bit with OpenSCAD. Here’s my idea of a lantern using this kind of container. Not sure how I will finish/coat the “reflector” part. I’m thinking of something like satin white.

You have to cut off both the bottom and top part of the container, drill eight holes in the remaining tube and clip it into the printed parts. Every dimension is fully parametric (but due to some laziness and experimentation the code is ugly).

Anyway, here’s the code: FinfCloud

8

Nice job on this Nismo! :+1:

9

Hello, is the 3d print available for download? Thanks