any body use em? i went to hook mine up for the first time the day after christmas, and they werent workin right, so i thought about comin up with the same basic idea, except cheaper. I hate spending $6 on a light that only worked 1 season for me. Ive come up with a way to convert a regular cheap flashlight into a tip up light, and with the flashlights and D batteries on sale, they cost less than $1 to make. heres what i did...
use a dremel, utility knife, or other tool to cut a hole in the side of the flashlight, directly above the switch, and level with the bulb. you'll need to cut through everything that might be blocking the view of the bulb FROM THE SIDE. this includes the interior reflective plastic. then its a matter of fitting the top back on, bending the metal tab inside (that touches the metal disk which completes the circuit) so that it touches the disk automatically. then all you need to do is put in the batteries and tape the top on w/ some duct tape, and possibly use some rubber cement or super glue on the threads. once you cut that much out, the threads wont hold the top of the light on, thus the tape.
the metal tab will want to touch the disk, so when you put a string tied to the tip up between the tab and the disk, it will go off, and when the flag goes up and takes the string with it, the light will turn on. when you store em, you can just put a piece of tape or some other sort of stopper between the tab and the disk so the batteries dont wear out. they also double as an actual flashlight you can use when you're picking stuff up. i plan on just sticking them in the snow near my tip ups, and if for some reason the light malfunctions, i wrapped the base in reflective tape. they dont take long to make once you get the hang of it, ive made 4 so far, and hope to try them out this weekend.
hope you enjoy my project, feel free to make some of your own, glad i could share somethin i made with everybody.
here are some pics of the finished product...
good luck fishin!! be careful on that ice!
home-made tip up lights
