Two high-tech (one super-high-tech) designs to brighten your nights.

The idea for the first of these two torches took hold last summer whilst the author was contemplating a camping trip to Scotland. The Scottish weather and insect life can lead to long evenings confined to the tent (especially if the campsite doesn’t have a bar!) so it was felt that an economical reading light might prove useful. The first design was put together using parts which happened to be available in the workshop. Many readers will have similar components to hand, with the possible exception of the very bright red l.e.d.s, which were left over from the construction of goggles for a "Mind Machine" project.

The resulting torch subsequently proved very useful as some unpleasant weather was indeed encountered north of the border. Readers acquainted with the famous Scottish midge will know how swarms of these can also prevent any kind of outdoor activity, and the ability to read for long periods without incurring heavy battery replacement expenses was well worth the constructional effort.

On return it was felt that the torch might make a useful constructional project. However, EPE, as we all know, is right at the cutting edge of technology and our Editor indicated that it would only be acceptable if it used the latest and brightest white l.e.d.s. Unfortunately this was not just a case of replacing the original ones as the new high intensity white types exhibit around twice the forward voltage of the familiar red ones and required the development of a circuit capable of handling this. The resulting torch using white l.e.d.s is impressive though, as it really is extraordinarily bright for l.e.d.s and with three brilliant sources of cold, bluish-white light it looks like no other torch currently on the market.