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1. “But if you have the time to invest, then the skills you acquire while tinkering with salvaged items may come in handy if things continue to go south.”

   Definitely. MacGuyver rules! Thanks for the cool article. BTW, headlamps will also come in handy for midwives and other medic-types. And huge congratulations to your family on the newest blessing!

   1. Hi Bear, Thank you for your kind word of congratulations. That little girl is the cutest thing in the world in this Grandpa’s opinion.

      1. Another proud Grandpa. High five, brother.

         And, thanks for the encouragement to tinker. I have always appreciated that word and all that it implies.

         Carry on

2. Tinkering yields useful skills!!

3. Understand that LEDs are not “bulbs” that generally can be directly substituted for an incandescent bulb just because the batteries in the device are the same voltage. You got lucky.

   LEDs are a diode that doesn’t limit current flow (amperage) the way the filament in a bulb does. Generally LEDs require a resistor or other circuitry to control how much current flows through the LED to prevent too much current that will kill it. It is unlikely, unless there is a circuit to provide levels of dimming , that the headlamp has current limiting circuits as incandescent bulbs are really good at doing that themselves. In fact some old school Nicad battery chargers used incandescent bulbs to actually control the charging current. Really small batteries aren’t able to supply much current and probably are limiting the current saving the LEDs from destruction but don’t be surprised if they fail before long.

   An electrical engineer

   1. Hi EE Bill, Thank you for your comment. Survivalblog is blessed to have readers from a wide variety of backgrounds who can share their expertise with each other. It will be interesting to see how long the LED lasts. It is good to be aware that I should not count on it in critical situations, since it may not be durable or reliable.

4. I think this whole LED thing is just a Fad,
   Like Oxygen. 😉

   1. Oh, well played, sir.

      Carry on

5. I think tinkerers may have invented a lot of the things we take for granted these days! Thank you for the informative article. It encourages me to think outside the box, which will be a trait more and more valued in times to come.

   1. Hi Didi, Thank you for the encouraging word.

6. “My wife stayed with my daughter and her family for a few more days after I returned home. I asked her to salvage the parts if the red balloon burst while she was still there. I waited with baited breath to hear the outcome. The balloon outlasted her visit.”

   That one made my day. 🙂

   Hey Novice, I have an unrelated question… or semi related.

   Remember back in the good old days when we could take our toys and other things apart and they had all kids of lights, buzzers, switches, etc. with wires connected? I’m trying to put together a box of electrical odds and ends like that for one of my granddaughters who has a major MacGyver/engineering streak, and there are none to be found anywhere. I can’t even find any old toys and games in thrift stores.

   So far I’ve rounded up some 12v stuff and a 12v adapter, jury rigged some switches that look like a telegraph key and old home 120v switches, some computer fans, and a few automotive things like light bulbs. Any thoughts on what I can add to the assortment without costing too much money?

   1. Hi St. Funogas, Sorry for the slow response. I have been racking my brains, but I have not come up with any really good answers to your question. We are blessed in our area in that the thrift stores have a good selection of used kids toys with motors, lights, and sound at reasonable prices. You could buy several for your granddaughter and let her have at it. If there is a place near you that does electronics recycling, or even a dump, they might be worth a look. Sorry, that is all I could come up with. Perhaps other Survivalblog readers can come up with some suggestions?

   2. Oh, I just had one other thought. If you have Craigslist in you area, you could check their free section. You might find something useful there.

7. Garage sales?

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