Day: January 24, 2022

In preparation for the next time a task puts my head in a dark place, I got a cheap headband LED light:

Unlike most of the others you’ll find, this one has a pair of 18650 lithium cells in the box on the back of the headband:

Contrary to what you might think, the cells are in parallel, with shorting plates connecting the battery compartment terminals. This works well for perfectly matched cells, which is not what arrives in the package.

The 3200 mA·hr capacity claimed (in one line of the product description) doesn’t match the 2200 mA·hr capacity (claimed in another line and) printed on the cells. As expected, both claims far exceed the actual 1500 mA·hr measured capacity.

The 1 A load is somewhat more than the 800 mA I measured at full brightness, but makes for easy comparisons.

I think they put the cells in parallel to reach the claimed 4-6 hours of run time, but in practice the connection discharges the better cell to match the weaker one with no assurance of equal load sharing thereafter.

So I conjured an insulator from the Box o’ Retail Clamshells:

In the unlikely event my head must remain stuck in a dark spot for longer than one cell lasts, I can move the insulator to the dead cell and continue the mission. Charging alternate cells isn’t much of a burden, either.

For unknown reasons, the (anonymous) manufacturer soldered the LED package at a jaunty angle inside the frame:

The lens pulls in-and-out to zoom the focus. The tightest setting (all the way out) projects a bright tilted square out in front, which is somewhat unsettling.

The whole affair cost less than a pair of known-good 18650 cells from a reputable supplier, so ya get what ya get.