"Head" Lights

Intro:

This project is great for when light is needed but both of your hands are busy! The simple but useful DIY project gives you light when the power is out, working on your car in a tight space or just having fun. Just flip a switch and there is light!

Supplies:

1x 9V Battery

1x 9v Battery connector

1x Mini 3 pin Slide Switch

1x resistor (Be sure to use a resistor that is compatible with your LEDs, I used a 330 ohms resistor)

1x pair of glasses (I used safety glasses)

2x LEDs (Try to find bright ones, I used blue for fun)

2x plastic tubes (They will go around your LEDs so be sure they are the right size)

Some wire (I used 16 gauge but any thing above is fine)

Some elastic ( a foot should be fine)

The parts that are needed for the circuit can be found at Radio Shack or
you can order them off Amazon. Safety glasses can be found at a hardware store (Home Depot, Lowes). The elastic can be found at a fabric store (Joan's, Micheal's ect.).

Tools:

Soldering Iron

Wire Strippers and Cutters

Super Glue

Electrical Tape

(Helping hands is not required but very useful).

The circuit is a very simple one. It is basically 2 LEDs controlled by a slide switch then added to some safety glasses and some elastic. If you look at the picture for this step it will show you the simple schematic. I will split the circuit part in to 3 chapters, LED 1, LED 2 and The switch.

a)

First you are going to cut your positive terminal of the 9v connector short (like in Picture 1), that way you wont have too much wire which makes the glasses look sloppy. Then you will solder your resistor onto the positive terminal of the 9v battery connector (as shown in picture 2).

CAUTION: BE SURE TO TWIST ALL LEADS TOGETHER, THIS WILL MAKE THE SOLDERING EASIER.

b)

After you have finished step (a) of LED 1 you are going to solder on wire to your resistor. Make sure that the wire will reach to the end of the glass (Like in picture 3). Now your are going to solder on the wire leading from the resistor to the positive terminal of LED 1 (as shown in picture 4).

CAUTION: REMEMBER WHICH SIDE IS POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE BEFORE YOU CUT THE TERMINALS ON THE LED.

C)

Now we are on step (c) of LED 1. In this step you will get another piece of wire which will be soldered onto the negative terminal of LED 1 (like in picture 4).

CATION: THE WIRE MUST BE LONG ENOUGH TO REACH THE POSITIVE TERMINAL OF LED 2 (AS SHOWN IN PICTURE 5)

This part of the Instructable if fairly short since The Switch over laps The Circuit: LED 2 in the steps.

a) Once all of step 3 is finished you must get the wire that you soldered on to the negative terminal of LED 1 and solder it on to the Positive terminal of LED 2 (as shown in picture 1).

CAUTION: AGAIN THE WIRE LEADING FROM LED 1 TO LED 2 MUST BE LONG ENOUGH TO GO AROUND THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD (ALIGN WITH GLASSES IF NEEDED).

Now we will be adding the switch to the circuit.

a) First you must cut the negative terminal of the 9v connector short (as shown in picture 1). Next you will solder on the negative terminal of the 9v connector to the left pin of the slide switch (like in picture 2)

CAUTION: BE SURE THAT YOU SOLDER THE NEGATIVE TERMINAL TO THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SLIDE SWITCH.

b) After you will solder on a wire to the middle pin of the slide switch (like in picture 3), used the cut piece of the negative terminal since the wire was small and easy to solder onto the small pins.

CAUTION: BE SURE THAT THE WIRES ARE ONLY TOUCHING ITS OWN PIN OR THE LIGHTS WILL STAY ON.

c) Next you will run and solder a wire leading from the middle pin of the slide switch to the negative terminal of LED 2 (as shown in picture 4). BE SURE THAT THE WIRE WILL REACH TO THE END OF THE GLASSES.

CAUTION: BEFORE COMPLETING THE CIRCUIT YOU MAY WANT TO TWIST THE WIRES TOGETHER SO THEY ARE NOT ALL OVER THE PLACE ( AS SHOWN IN picture 5).

d) Now you can use electrical tape to cover showing wire on the circuit (like in picture 6)

Now it is time to add the elastic onto the safety glasses.

a) First you are going to tape on the end of the elastic to the middle of side of the glasses after you will get the other side of the elastic and put it on the same place but the opposite side (like in picture 1). Make sure that you use tape at first so you can size it to your head. It should be snug but still comfortable.

CAUTION: DO NOT CUT ELASTIC IF YOU HAVE NOT MADE SURE IT WILL FIT COMFORTABLY ON YOUR HEAD.

b) Now you can cut the elastic and use the super glue to glue the elastic onto the glasses (as shown in picture 2).

CAUTION: BE SURE THAT YOU GLUE IN THE SAME PLACE WHERE YOU TAPED.

Now we will add the circuit to the glasses.

a) Now you will use the small plastic tubes and put them around the LEDs (as shown in Picture 1). After you have finished you will super glue the LEDs to the glasses by putting some glue on the tubes and pressing the tubes and the glasses together (like in picture 2)

b) Now you will super glue the 9v battery connector to the elastic on the back of the glasses (like in picture 3).

YOU HAVE FINISHED THE PROJECT.

Now you can use it around the house, out side or in the work shop. I hope you enjoyed this project. This is my first instuctables that I have made please comment I will be glade to hear what you think.