🔦 Second Life of an Old Chinese Lantern

Bzzz!

A little sorry you didn't like my last story about a burnt out electric kettle with a happy ending, so today I will try to surprise you with something else.

Today I'm going to show you the restoration of an old flashlight, or rather not exactly restoration, but replacement of the old battery and installation of a charge control board for lithium-ion batteries.

My neighbor asked me to help him to do it, he is very old, he is almost 90 years old, and he needs a flashlight to go about his daily business without turning on the lights in the house.

He had already made a lot of unnecessary purchases of cheap flashlights that broke and worked poorly, so I volunteered to help him with the one he found most convenient to use

To do this, I had to order some parts online, and a more convenient, modern soldering iron to replace his old Soviet unit. Not all of it will be useful for me here now, some of the schemes I took for my future projects.

Let's get started
First disassemble the flashlight and study its construction. If you are not a connoisseur in electronics, I recommend you to take photos of the step-by-step disassembly process.

There is nothing tricky here, the simplest cheap Chinese flashlight.
We remove everything unnecessary.
This is an old battery, and the simplest charger working from 220 volts, which is the cause of failure of batteries.
This board does not have a charge controller, so it charges for as long as it is connected to the AC mains.
This mode of operation reduces battery life, and using it in combination with lithium-ion and rechargeable batteries can lead to explosion and fire in case of overcharging

Having melted a hole in the plastic case with a lighter flame, we press the charge control board of our new battery firmly into place until the plastic hardens. Fix it with thermal adhesive.

Next you can start soldering the contacts of the power button, controller board, battery and LED.
Here we will need the basics of electrical engineering and straight hands. On the board itself there is a marking of contact pads to not confuse the polarity of the battery.

Now we can assemble all the elements of the lantern body and give it to the owner.
I will ask permission to film the moment of handover and all the emotions of joy.

Having soldered everything together, check the circuit for functionality.
Making sure that everything is in order can begin to place the elements in the case and fasten them. Insulate the soldering points.

Now we can assemble all the elements of the lantern body and give it to the owner.
I will ask permission to film the moment of handover and all the emotions of joy.

The parcel was on its way to me for a very long time, and then, I had no opportunity to pick it up at the post office for a long time. During this time, the elderly man had a lot of trouble with his weakening eyesight, so it was a great joy for him to get his flashlight back.
Now, after my upgrade with a powerful battery the flashlight will be able to work without recharging for weeks, which will simplify the life of the elderly man

Translated with DeepL.com

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I wish you all a peaceful sky above your head and stable soil under your feet! Take care of yourself and your loved ones so that we can meet again in the hive!!