Peter "Bobricius" Misenko's ArmaLamp Aims to Brighten Up Those Dark Post-Apocalypse Nights
Designed to harvest sunlight during the day and emit a bright white light at night, this simple circular circuit is a disaster must-have.
Peter "Bobricius" Misenko has added a new entry to the apocalyptically-good "Arma" family of electronics, showing off an as-yet untested design for an "armageddon resistant night lamp:" the ArmaLamp.
"[A] supercapacitor is charged via Schottky diode," Misenko explains of the round board's operation. "This current also disables [the] step up booster. In night or if it lose[s] power booster is automatically started and very effectively discharge[s the] supercapacitor and convert[s] almost all stored energy because [it] can work until 0.3V."
The device falls into the same device family as the Armachat, Misenko's off-grid LoRa-powered communicator designed, tongue somewhat in cheek, for post-apocalyptic use. The ArmaLamp, like its communication brethren, is billed as an "Armageddon resistant doomsday light," offering the ability to gather energy from the sun during the day and emit it as light for up to four hours at night.
Misenko describes the circuit as "extremely simple" for reasons of reliability, while the current circuit design could be further optimized to reduce its footprint. On the board are six plastic photodiodes, which act as the solar energy harvester, a 10F supercapacitor, a power-management chip, and a single 10mm white LED.
Design files for the project, which requires no microcontroller to run, have been shared on Misenko's Hackaday.io page; Misenko has also shared a video of the device in action.