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Can anyone give me a link to make a led flasher for a night cache. I am a electronics neophite but have always wanted to have a night cache. We have one in our area that uses fire tacks. I want to something thats different. It will need to be a poster child for the KISS principle. I have no idea what the components are but we have an electronics wholesale, and The Source by Circut city in town so i know i can get the parts and guidance.

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Can anyone give me a link to make a led flasher for a night cache. I am a electronics neophite but have always wanted to have a night cache. We have one in our area that uses fire tacks. I want to something thats different. It will need to be a poster child for the KISS principle. I have no idea what the components are but we have an electronics wholesale, and The Source by Circut city in town so i know i can get the parts and guidance.

 

electronic Caches

 

www.radioshack.com

Bright-Red Blinking LED Modules

Model: 276-299 | Catalog #: 276-299

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.js...rentPage=search

 

This module works great, your only requirement is to build a waterproof housing unit.

 

It is pretty easy to buy "blinking LEDs" that blink automatically when the correct voltage is applied

 

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.js...rentPage=search

 

Model: 276-036

Catalog #: 276-036

Edited by Kit Fox
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The poster is in Canada, where we no longer have "Radio Shack" per se (they were bought by Circuit City and now operate as The Source). However, for all intents and purposes it is still Radio Shack and they may have the appropriate flashing LED.

 

A self-contained blinking LED would be ideal because they are self-contained (even the current-limiting resistor is built in). With a couple of long-life alkaline batteries, they should last for months.

 

Do you happen to have the Pink Floyd album "Pulse"? :P

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I just saw something really neat in the Sporting/Hunting section of Wal-Mart. It's a red LED blinker, about the diameter of a driveway reflector and twice as thick. It comes with a remote. Intended to help you find something like a tree stand or blind in the dark, it would work great for a night time cache. When the LED/Receiver is turned on, you use the remote to trigger that light. Put the remote control in a first stage and you're off and running. No idea of what battery life would be like in either part . . . Runs a little under $20.

 

JohnTee

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I just saw something really neat in the Sporting/Hunting section of Wal-Mart. It's a red LED blinker, about the diameter of a driveway reflector and twice as thick. It comes with a remote. Intended to help you find something like a tree stand or blind in the dark, it would work great for a night time cache. When the LED/Receiver is turned on, you use the remote to trigger that light. Put the remote control in a first stage and you're off and running. No idea of what battery life would be like in either part . . . Runs a little under $20.

 

JohnTee

 

Been done already Control the night. The circuit costs about $5.00 to build, I've made two of them, but the 20 to 25 foot maximum range has deterred me from setting them up on a night cache, yet.

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Been done already Control the night. The circuit costs about $5.00 to build, I've made two of them, but the 20 to 25 foot maximum range has deterred me from setting them up on a night cache, yet.

Would changing things to work off a garage door opener/car alarm fob work better?

A garage door opener or car alarm uses an RF (radio frequency) transmitter and receiver combo, along with a code scrambler (so that your neighbor can't open your garage door). My Control the Night cache that Kit Fox referenced and the other LED flasher from Walmart use infrared light, which is the same that is used in virtually all TV remote controls, as well as remotes for your stereo, DVD, etc. I'm no electronics engineer, but I think the reason they use IR is to avoid RF interference with the other electronic circuits. The beauty of using IR for the caches is the simplicity, as there are very few components, and no interference from anything except sunlight, which at night isn't a problem.

 

I have found a very good resource website at All About Circuits. They have a tutorial section, as well as a forum where electronic geniuses hang out and answer circuit questions. Also, if you search the internet for electronic supply businesses, many of them sell small inexpensive kits that can easily be adapted to cache uses. I used an IR switching kit coupled to a small laser to make the final for my night cache. It's an easy way to make you look smarter than you are!

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Been done already Control the night. The circuit costs about $5.00 to build, I've made two of them, but the 20 to 25 foot maximum range has deterred me from setting them up on a night cache, yet.

 

These from Wal-Mart are RF instead of IR and have a range of 300'. Downside is 18 day battery life of the receiver . . .

 

JohnTee

Edited by JohnTee
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I like this one....the one mentioned above.

All you have to do is figure out the switching if you only want it to trigger when someone is near.

Or if you want it on all the time,a small solar panel like you can put on your dashboard .

you just have to figure out how to reduce the voltage.

 

Is ther a way to find out how long it would blink on a set of batts?

Edited by olbluesguy
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If you add a solar panel for recharging batteries you should be good to go for and extended period of time.

 

Solar patio lights - water proof, solar, with battery back up and a light. All you need is the circuitry to make it flash if that is important.

I use my solar patio lights to charge AA batterys when I'm out in the bush.

Just don't let them turn on at night.

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Almost any radio shack will carry their NE555 timer chip. Google that guy, it's probably the easiest way to make a simple blinking LED setup. You'll find hundreds of simple schematics, and won't need any addition parts beyond a few resistors and capacitors. And of course a battery or two.

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Almost any radio shack will carry their NE555 timer chip. Google that guy, it's probably the easiest way to make a simple blinking LED setup. You'll find hundreds of simple schematics, and won't need any addition parts beyond a few resistors and capacitors. And of course a battery or two.

 

It's far easier to find LEDs with built-in blinkers. All you have to do is apply the correct voltage and your "blinking away! "

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I agree, MUCH easier, cheaper and less bulky if you just buy the LED's that are designed to blink. I believe Radio Shack has them, as well as most other electronic supply sources. I have been very pleased in the past getting stuff from All Electronics. Cheap prices, quick shipping and instructions for their electronic kits are written in real english, not badly translated chinese.

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I have been thinking about a night cache for some time, and have a creative way to do it without using a flashing LED or batteries.

 

While in a US Wal-Mart, I found packages of retro-reflectors (in the hunting section). They are REALLY SMALL (approx 1/4 inch square) but reflect a flashlight beam very bright!

 

They appear to be meant to be used as trail markers by hunters. You drop one every some many paces, then use your flashlight to find them on the return trip.

 

I hope this helps as an alternative.

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I have been thinking about a night cache for some time, and have a creative way to do it without using a flashing LED or batteries.

 

While in a US Wal-Mart, I found packages of retro-reflectors (in the hunting section). They are REALLY SMALL (approx 1/4 inch square) but reflect a flashlight beam very bright!

 

They appear to be meant to be used as trail markers by hunters. You drop one every some many paces, then use your flashlight to find them on the return trip.

 

I hope this helps as an alternative.

 

Hi Fuzzywhip,

 

The majority of night only geocaches use a version of reflective markers to mark the trail to the geocache. Many cachers are trying to bring night caches to an additional level of creativity. LEDs are one novel idea that many of us are pursuing.

 

I have a Scarecrow Owl that I modified with blinking red LEDs. The first and only finder liked the cache.

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I have been thinking about a night cache for some time, and have a creative way to do it without using a flashing LED or batteries.

 

While in a US Wal-Mart, I found packages of retro-reflectors (in the hunting section). They are REALLY SMALL (approx 1/4 inch square) but reflect a flashlight beam very bright!

 

They appear to be meant to be used as trail markers by hunters. You drop one every some many paces, then use your flashlight to find them on the return trip.

 

I hope this helps as an alternative.

 

Hi Fuzzywhip,

 

The majority of night only geocaches use a version of reflective markers to mark the trail to the geocache. Many cachers are trying to bring night caches to an additional level of creativity. LEDs are one novel idea that many of us are pursuing.

 

I have a Scarecrow Owl that I modified with blinking red LEDs. The first and only finder liked the cache.

 

Holy Cow! Owl #5 is enough to scare you silly!

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