iPhone 3GS LED Flash Hack
One of our own is at it again with the iPhone hacks. Last time, Andreas showed us how to add an inline remote control to high-end headphones for his iPhone 3GS. This week, he’s whipping out the soldering iron yet again to add an LED flash to his handset. The whole setup took him under 10 minutes, and uses some electrical tape, a 3V external battery and a high-powered Cree-emitter LED light.
Andreas shows off the extra illumination in a short YouTube video and it’s pretty darn bright for a single LED. Even so, he still hasn’t got me to overcome my fear of soldering irons. I keep thinking I’ll solder my fingers together or something. Maybe I can convince him to make me one for purchase?
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Pretty Nifty, But I bet this drains the battery life a bit though… Also it is more a ‘light’ than a flash :)
It runs off it’s own 3V C2 battery, not the iPhone. I made a much smaller one running directly off the iPhone here: http://andreasodegard.com/2009/08/diy-iphoneipod-add-on-battery-free-flashlight/
The Cree Q5 emitter on this device – the strongest Cree emitter out there – can’t be run directly off the iPhone as if it worked at all it would run the battery dry extremely quickly since it pulls about 30 times as much mA as a normal LED.