Lidl/Parkside (and others) 12V system flashlight

Although this is a LIDL/Parkside unit it's probably available under various other brands around the world. I was expecting this to have the usual click-through intensity settings, but it's just a simple on/off. This is probably due to the fairly high operating voltage of the unit.

It uses the classic three 18650 cell power pack used with a variety of tools, and the current draw is low enough that it should easily last a full shift on one charge.

The LED is a standard "star" type, so can be swapped for a colour of your choice (I may swap in a warm white one). It could also be fitted with a near-UV LED for applications like leak detection.

Although it's possible to hack the power down to a lower level for longer run time by removing one of the sense resistors, it is already fairly low at about 1W. I don't recommend increasing the current by using higher value sense resistors, as there is no heatsink other than the standard aluminium star backplate.

The battery level indication is crude, but works. It's based on voltage dividers and the forward voltage of the LEDs, so they tend to fade as the voltage falls instead of having a solid transition.


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