Wireless 360 Headlight

I posted this a while back, so its an oldie but a goodie.

  Get a little plastic translucent disposable cup and lid that you put salsa in at your favorite burrito joint (feel free to change the condiment and food to your taste/region). I think they are called soufflé cups(?)  They are also used as sample cups at Costco/Sam's,,,,,, 3 oz cup is fine 4 oz is better. If the cup is clear, scuff the inside with sandpaper to make it translucent.

Finding the suction cup was a bit of a challenge at first. Smaller ones work better than big ones and the best I have found are the little ones that hold small tags to windshields. I eventually found them in a package of 50 at the dollar store with a little clip to hang something with. (remove the clip and dispose of it)

 Poke a small hole in the lid of the container (hot nail works great) and slip the nipple of the suction cup into the hole with the suction cup facing out. Then stick the suction cup to the face of the headlight. Put the cup on its lid, put the headlamp on top of your head, upside down with the lamp pointed up, turn it on, and you've just met all colregs, Coast Guard and state requirements for lighting a craft under 7 meters powered by oar (paddle).

 No mast or wiring to bother with, no new holes in the boat, and its always above your head.  As a bonus it casts enough indirect light to tie knots and find gear without wrecking your night vision. Only drawback is that it looks really goofy. So don't forget to take it off when the sun comes up   

well done... I've made a number of similar looking things trying to improve off-camera hotshoe photography (ala Strobist)...  I might suggest finding a cheap, stick-on convex mirror to the bottom of the deli-cup to help recover some of the light-loss through the top of the container.

well done... I've made a number of similar looking things trying to improve off-camera hotshoe photography (ala Strobist)...  I might suggest finding a cheap, stick-on convex mirror to the bottom of the deli-cup to help recover some of the light-loss through the top of the container.

Aluminum foil, shiny side down.

Quote from: The Nothing link=topic=3143.msg29999#msg29999 date=
well done... I've made a number of similar looking things trying to improve off-camera hotshoe photography (ala Strobist)...  I might suggest finding a cheap, stick-on convex mirror to the bottom of the deli-cup to help recover some of the light-loss through the top of the container.

Aluminum foil, shiny side down.

Cool.  I could just use the aluminum foil I always wear on my head.

Good idea Wali! 

I do something similar when backpacking.  I use a full Nalgene bottle with my headlamp attached to the bottom as a lantern. 

Aluminum foil, shiny side down.

Which works as well.  The idea with the convex mirror is to move the light more outward, rather than right back to the light.  Just one of the stick-on blindspot mirrors from Autozone is all ya neet

On the original I used the bottom of a coke can (convex or concave and cheap!) and the additional brightness was not worth the bother. It definitely improved it, but just the sanding the cup scattered the light enough to see it from a mile or more away on the water.

Cool tip.  Think outside the box and get two uses out of one item.  I have a small crank light in my boat to be legal.  I put your idea to the test, using one of my kids Sunny D drink bottles.  I found it works really good, kinda like a small lantern.  The small drink bottle just needed to be cut so it fit over the top of the light.  The plastic is lightly frosted on the bottle and really looks good lit up.  Thanks for the idea, I think this will light up the interior of a tent pretty good too.
-Scott