Making Poundland's pinkest solar light even pinker

Poundland is a prominent UK dollar store. This light is one of a range of very colourful solar garden lights that are kinda begging to be retrofitted with the matching colour of LED.
It's fairly straightforward to swap an LED in these lights. While doing the hack I also recommend waterproofing the PCB with grease or lacquer to make it last longer, and if possible, also seal over or around the solar panel to avoid water wicking down the sides and causing its early failure through corrosion. It's also a good idea to bridge the switch contacts with a blob of solder, as the switches are a common failure point.
After a full days sunlight the light was still pretty dim looking, which is typical for UK solar lights due to our low levels of sunlight. They use a tiny NiMH cell and a high value inductor to get decent run time at low intensity from our meagre amount of daily sunlight.
These lights are a cheap source of a PCB to fix other favourite lights that have suffered water damage.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:- www.bigclive.c...
This also keeps the channel independent of KZbin's algorithm quirks, allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
#ElectronicsCreators

[@cashwood]

I love the way you vocalise your thought process lol

[@incy55]

again I am amazed at the dexterity of your left hand/fingers. bravo

[@LarixusSnydes]

Third hand? I don't need no third hand...

[@francistheodorecatte]

seeing that sort of handiwork in clive's videos are one of the biggest reasons my soldering skills have improved so much over the last decade.

[@alexmarshall4331]

Dyspraxics arise!!!

[@thehappylittlefoxakabenji8154]

Ive soldered that way all the time I pretty much had to as I didnt have a proper work bench when I first started soldering at 12 years old

[@imark7777777]

I'm in the camp that wants to see all of them changed their match in color. When we moved into the house we are in now it came with outdoor lights down the driveway. Really old incandescent outdoor peg lights. Well one year we picked up some colored binder separator things basically colored cellophane/plastic. And we sliced a little strip off and put it in each light to make them more colorful. They really do look neat that way. No if I could just get the plug to plug in a Wi-Fi controlled outlet we might be able to turn them on more often as the mechanical timer never function since long before we purchased the house. And the RF remote that I have got unplugged because it blocked the outlet.

[@u.e.u.e.]

Now you don't just have a kinky palculator but also sinky polar light - excellent! 😂

[@RFC3514]

Sure it's not a linky polar sight?

[@u.e.u.e.]

@@RFC3514 Maybe 🤣

[@technozombiePT]

I'm always amazed by Clive's dexterity! It's mind blowing seeing holding a pcb, led and solder on one hand!

[@Bob.Jenkins]

Ah - Thank you for solving a little mystery for me, Clive. A few days ago I heard a loud 'Pop' and went into the Garden only to discover one of these Lights in pieces. I thought my neighbours son had taken a pot shot at it with his Air Rifle because the entire upper section was absolutely shredded.

[@merwindor]

Being not from the UK, Poundland sounds like it should be an adult web site.🤣

[@Pyroteknikid]

Pretty sure it carries that meaning in the UK as well. They love their play-on-words naming schemes.

[@Doc_Hawk]

As a childish American, i will always chuckle at it

[@Handyman1199]

I have the same lamp in Germany at a (dutch) store called Action.

[@chitlitlah]

I've mentioned on here before that it sounds a lot like Poundtown.

[@jmr]

I have said I want a T-shirt from Poundland. 😆 Another great shirt is the ones from Beijing that say "I❤BJ".

[@Frankhe78]

Ah, it is pink! That is a good start!

[@SirBoden]

I think my uptight neighbor needs these hidden around his yard. Up trees, in bushes, etc. 😊

[@AndrewJens]

Well, up something.

[@phantomkate6]

Genuine lol

[@FarleyHillBilly]

You need a piezo sounder and a battery connected through a timer, on for a few seconds and off for a few minutes. Impossible to find.

[@davidfalconer8913]

Should your ( uptight ) neighbour , have a house named [ Whistling Pines ] sneak around his house at night and swap the E and I 😝.... and see how many ( weeks ? ) it takes for him to notice ( tried - n - tested ) DAVE™🛑

[@TYGAMatt]

Thanks to your vids I have about 20 of these scattered around and not a single white LED among them. Also stole your simple mosfet solar circuit for strings hanging in the trees, and then the Mrs wanted twinkly lights so broke out a few ATtiny85 chips for twinkles and flashing strings. Is exceedingly satisfying

[@gregorythomas333]

If you get the chance and change out the other colors I would love to see the end result :)

[@JimithyJamithy]

I love coming back to check on big Clive and seeing all the new fun burn marks on the bench 😂❤

[@henrybecker2842]

With that many pink LEDs, how many Pink Lawn Flamingos do you think you can illuminate?

[@brianm6337]

My bet is 250

[@u.e.u.e.]

@@henrybecker2842 Less than 50.

[@static_bolt]

Depends how much you want to light it, I'd use the entire bag on one

[@cybi124]

2 weeks ago??????????????

[@u.e.u.e.]

@@cybi124 It's first for donating members, later for everyone.

[@boudicca7181]

Thanks Clive. Hope your job is going well.

[@shanesgettinghandy]

Clive, you are certainly an expert at everything you do. Thanks for another stellar video!

[@ghostkhadaji]

I just removed a faulty switch like that from a product that was malfunctioning. I soldered wire to the only setting I care to use, and it works great now.

[@tin2001]

I've done that a few times with solar lights. The switch is really only there for shipping.

[@Jimmyfisher121]

Thank you Clive I will be buying some of those lights and adapt them for my boat just as marker lights for when I am anchored at night.

[@merlynsfire1275]

I used to fire perform and know a few jugglers etc who use pink kit, stays visible and gets stolen less :D Great stuff as always, always good when you drop a new video

[@tin2001]

We got asked to supply a laptop to a local swimming club. Asus had a bright pink one at the time. We said the same about no one wanting to steal it, and if someone did, it would be obvious who had it 😂

[@InfiniteLoop]

Had a Big Clive moment at the local dollar tree, saw a box of extension cords, ignored them started to walk away, noticed a single pink one in the box, bought it and brought it home because "you always buy the pink one".

[@phonotical]

Pah, you didn't even add pink heat wrap on the battery! 🤣

[@d0ugk]

Looks like the same garden lights I got from Walmart 5 or so years ago but just black. But they had a 2/3 AA NIMH cell in them. They still work today

[@tncorgi92]

Every once in a while Walmart will have an actual good well-built item. Usually though they sell out and you never see them offered again.

[@mattg437]

Oddly enough I was doing the same thing with some similar lights from Tesco's "reduced to clear" shelf recently (two quid for a pack of five!) I've fitted red LEDs (fifty for a couple of quid on ebay) and plan to use them for night vision friendly lighting. The Tesco ones had a similar design, minus the switch (they use a slip of plastic jammed between the battery and one contact), but with insulating sleeves on the LED legs which made an excellent height gauge after swapping them to the new ones. They may also have had some form of charge controller, I think there was a tiny chip on the back of the board.

[@robp9129]

Thanks Clive; always enjoy your personal customisation vids. Had a nice pint in the Whitehouse in Peel the other week 😉

[@Uncle-Duncan-Shack]

Yes, they are freely available items and highly customizable to suit the required application or taste. Thanks for sharing, hope the work is going well in Scotland. Kind regards, Duncan

[@wisher21uk]

Great hack Clive thanks 😊

[@davidbandler]

Over here in the US the big box retailers (usually Walmart and Home Depot) sell this exact same solar garden light (usually in a metallic finish or using metal parts). Always my go to solar light for projects and parts since they're always so cheap (around $1) and extremely reliable. I don't know who the Chinese manufacturer is, but they always do a good job - a rare find.

[@moeburn]

Do you use the solar panels in them? I thought the low voltage in these ones made them useless for most things, have to go for the much larger ones to get a proper 5v.

[@mxslick50]

@@moeburn You can tie solar panels of like construction in series to increase the voltage with no issues. As cheap as they are, they would be excellent for a low current 12v charger design, just use 14 of them.

[@davidbandler]

Sometimes when all you need is a simple solar light, the entire guts of these can be useful to cannibalize for whatever project (your own lights, clocks, or whatever you might need illuminated.) I mean for the price, an entire solar circuit + NiMH battery it's a pretty good deal. Removing the LED, they're a not-too-bad circuit to trickle charge a single AA battery (I've noticed some are using a more obscure half-AA-size LS/CR style battery sometimes). Several of the cells together is more useful if you need a bigger cell; but at a certain point, online electronics suppliers probably end-up being a better part source for cheaper, better solar panels. Edit: Clive's is the newest revision I've seen that's using the 1/4th-size-AA coin-type cells that I'm assuming are a Lithium battery of some type... But they're all designed to trickle-charge and run off of about 1-1.5V.

[@TomCee53]

I picked up a couple of these for$1.25 each at $🌳. All they had left was black and yellow, and black is too boring. 😎

[@kerzwhile]

Love it!! I have thousands of these, well maybe like 10.. So doing this with warm white leds! 😊

[@jakethreesixty]

I have these same ones, but in chrome, I put glow in the dark rocks on the inside, looks pretty good 😆

[@vhfgamer]

We have those exact lights in the USA, except the ones I've seen have a AAA cell in them.

[@HowardLeVert]

I bought some pink LEDs several years ago for my HT/LT battery eliminator for my vintage radios. They are certainly very bright and eye-catching!! Maybe I should have put them in my HP high voltage variable PSUs to illuminate their meters (there was no other indication of the power being on other than the position of the switch) rather than boring white...

[@phils4634]

How did I miss this?? YT algorithm playing up again I suspect. Looks excellent!! Can't say I'm a fan of desoldering braid - I get better results with an old solder sucker (just changed a dead green neon using my 20-year-old el cheapo one - easier to get into tight places!)

[@joshmyer9]

How Corporate Pride is it that they're colorful on the outside but have the absolute least humane (cold white) LEDs inside?

[@rexsceleratorum1632]

Cold white is the absolute most popular lighting here in India, we don't feel particularly cozy when the light is warm

[@nickk6518]

It's just a reflection of what gay men are like 😏🤭😁

[@mechanoid5739]

These are great when we go camping and we use them to mark the guy rope pegs. Useful after a couple of bevvies! ;)

[@100-pc-notbot]

I am always amazed that you can hold and solder things without burning your fingers...me? I'd burn everything even vaguely close to the soldering iron

[@kti5682]

It helps if you start early in life so the learning experience from burnt fingers can yield maximum results.

[@GWorxOz]

Always good.👍 👍 👍 👍

[@KeritechElectronics]

Pinker than Kink Palculator itself!

[@alexstone691]

Have a same one, switch started causing problems from moisture in few weeks, but considering the price i expected it, just cleaned corrosion and smeared nail polish everywhere

[@dean5263]

Very nice job! I suspect that you were showing off the dexterity that only comes from experience and a few burned fingers throughout the years.

[@darrinswanson]

I've been waiting patiently for the soldering iron to make its appearance 😊

[@jeffdayman8183]

Takes me back to the famous Pink Flamingo Room radio show from Toronto Canada's Q107. Would have been fab decor for the booth! Cheers!

[@penguin44ca]

F you make me old man. That room was so nauseating. I still don't think my eyes have recovered

[@alnicospeaker]

I found the exact same design in the trash. replaced the LED with a turquoise one and the cell with a used leftover AA NiMH battery - it fits inside no problem. If you change (lowering it iIrc) the value of the inductor you can make the LED glow brighter.

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

I’ve got a few of these in my yard, but they’re black. They work great as long as you have lots of sun.

[@KJ6EAD]

I have a bunch of flexible USB powered book lights in many colors that all light up white. I'm going to convert them to illuminate in the color of their exteriors, similar to what you're doing with the solar lights. A problem I encounter is getting LEDs that emit purple at a useful intensity. The ones I find for sale that claim to be purple are mostly 400nm UVA at least in 3mm & 5mm through hole parts. For through hole I have some dual color red/blue that I can use but I have to adjust the mix to get a decent purple so extra holes and components are required on the PCB to make them work meaning I can't easily hack an existing PCB. The size needed for these particular lights is 2835 smd so maybe I'll get lucky and find a decent purple.

[@BigClive]

You do get phosphor purple LEDs with a blue emitter and dusting of red phosphor. They are visually brighter than the near-UV ones.

[@spokehedz]

OOOooooo if I find those at the US version of Poundland, I am absolutely going to color match the LED in those!

[@dcallan812]

The LEDs ought to be the colour of the plastic. If you go for the rainbow look go all out. 🏳‍🌈Interesting video 2x👍

[@nyetloki]

They can have rainbow internally controlled leds in them. They'd have a buffer cap/diode IIRC to make it work with an IC LED, just 2 extra parts on the same 4pin driver IC, Clive has done a video on them before.

[@randyab9go188]

I know the water gets into the LED light but you can use clear fingernail polish as a very cheap conformal coating. It works quite a while and you can probably pick up a bottle at poundland for a pound. I've known about this trick for years and it actually makes a good conformal coating. If you buy the real conformal coding over here in the States it's $20 for a small bottle I believe it's 2 oz. Give me the dollar fingernail polish.

[@Slikx666]

I bought some of those lights a few years ago to make a solar panel. Not the best value for money, but I did learn something. 🤣

[@nooneyouknow9399]

Get a PACE desolderind station. You’ll love it.

[@PeterShipley1]

I used to install Blue LEDs in the store lamps in front of my house. they end up getting stolen every year to year and a half. I eventually stopped replacing them because the quality of soul lamps dropped, on the all started using single battery with lower voltage LEDs

[@kyoudaiken]

Make the lamps a rainbow! I really wanna see it. Also in the garden operating!

[@kyoudaiken]

I love pink LEDs. Might need to make a nice 5V string.

[@rimmersbryggeri]

You could also 3d print a pink "lense" for maximum pinkness.

[@g7eit]

Great a sink polar light

[@gertbenade3082]

Some years ago I developed neutron detectors that functioned as cosmic ray monitors. Naturally I added a variety of different coloured LEDs on the front panel to indicate the various sub-system's level of happines. Turns out that "would you like some LEDs for your LEDs" was a regular remark... Until a professor of physics had to diagnose the electronics on a remote site and thanks to the LEDs quickly pin-pointed a bad flash-drive which he could easily replace. No jokes ever again.. Great job Clive! Would you like some LEDs for your LEDs? 🤣

[@jaimeortega4940]

Good job!

[@psirvent8]

In remember the early 2000s ones that had a amber LED for some reason instead of a white one. Might be because of the cost (Like with the keychains that all had red LEDs at the time) I thought, however my dad and I got the idea of swapping the LED and getting a 5mm white one from a store like Radio Shack but in France didn't cost very much. (I don't remember the price, it's been a while).

[@BigClive]

There were no white LEDs at that time.

[@surfinmuso37]

Solar lights in Scotland is some nice optimism

[@AllLoudNation365]

I would love to see the purple solar light.

[@snakezdewiggle6084]

But its oh so Pink.! Clive solders like a BOSS.😆

[@elongated_muskrat_is_my_name]

Neat. I know some people who could do with port/starboard lights

[@SusanAmberBruce]

Well that's nice 🎉❤

[@curtishoffmann6956]

"That's boring. It's ok. We can fix that. We can fix your dog. If it's a poodle, we'll spay it pink."

[@richardwernst]

Wondered why there was some insulation on one of the LED legs? Also wondered how the light might look/display if the LED was bent over, vs. straight. Since done a while back, not important, obviously.... :)

[@j.f.christ8421]

On LEDs with longer leads the insulation makes sense, but you'd think as these are pretty short it's not worth the effort. Rather surprising they bothered giving their usual penny pinching.

[@abitofabitofabit4404]

Could be a spacer or installation aid (3:13)? I used to cut up the red double barreled coffee stirrers with a hobby knife to conveniently, consistently set LED height for a short production run.

[@nyetloki]

It so it doesnt short out when they assemble it. Probably also so that the height is consistent, but sticking it through the hole it can twist and short.

[@Grid56]

It was quite close to the battery.

[@slapnut892]

The one thing I really don't like about portable solar lights is just how inadequate the solar panels are for most of them. I am yet to find one that lasts all night.

[@iamfreeareyou681]

In another video, you made a solar charger for Ni-Cd cells, and when I mentioned protection circuitry for the cells to not over charge them, you replied that Ni-Cd cells can be put on constant voltage without any problems. In this video, you're saying that Ni-Cd cells can explode from being overcharged. If the smaller cells can explode, then certainly the bigger cells could also explode.

[@BigClive]

If the current is high they can pressurise. With a controlled trickle charge they can control that pressure and convert liberated gasses back into electrolyte.

[@Pyroteknikid]

You're suppose to put 2 (LEDs) in the pink one.

[@kimchristensen2175]

I've never seen a single brown LED...😁

[@markmarkofkane8167]

Looks like you're in the pink. Interesting.

[@jmr]

Last solar light I bought had the LED folded over. That's not how they used to come here and I had not realized it was on purpose.

[@user-mo5hz9kp6y]

I'd love a video about the wind powered lights. Once he's explained to people how they work they can build and experiment with their own. Would a vertical windmill with solar panel blades be any use? Or a normal one that points towards the sun and adjusts the pitch of its blades depending on the angle of the wind?

[@zebo-the-fat]

mmm... pink!

[@TRR552]

❤❤❤ nice video 💯

[@MrKfadrat]

This made me wonder and curious - do you vary the temp on your soldering iron, or just blast full force? Everything melts really fast for you so it looks like 400c?

[@BigClive]

350C.

[@smalcolmbrown]

Thanks :)

[@strongandco]

Next project. Turn a pink poundland garden light into a Powerful Pink Runway light

[@robertburrows6612]

I normally change those LEDs for a Blue LED. As I find blue light is more relaxing at night on the decking while drinking a cold pint of Guinness

[@twocvbloke]

Pink to make the boys wink... ;)

[@davidfalconer8913]

We have a clothing and food store in the UK called ... M&S ..... by swapping the letters on their store bags , you get S&M .... which results in smiles 😝 as you walk down the High street ( errrmm ) ... NOW ! handy tip #76 ... to get a SUPER BRIGHT orange LED for your Orange lamp , you simply use a ( POUNDLAND™ ) LED from a Halloween light string ... this is a blue LED with an orange phosphor ... this is MUCH brighter than an ( old skool ) orange LED and needs 3 Volts like your pink type ( tried - n - tested ) .. DAVE™🛑

[@DudeManDude-ot5fv]

I've bought those kinds of lights from the dollar store here in America and they usually don't work right. Like at best they charge the battery just enough for it to light up dimly. Could you try to find one off these and see if you could fix it? It looks a lot like there over you just opened.

[@cgoad]

Hi Clive. I hope the opening weekend of the Tattoo went well and that you are enjoying Edinburgh. Still......no 'Classic Clive' schematic? Tsk, tsk!😅

[@BigClive]

It's all going well so far.

[@ralphj4012]

Remember to compensate for super-duper sunshine, especially for Australian tournament viewers.

[@Starphot]

Here in the US, Walmart sells similar for $ 0.98 singly, or $4.98 in a six pack. These have a removable 2/3 AA 150 mAh MiMH cell and are warm white luminance with a black exterior. The solar cell is quite larger than shown in this video. I've been buying this model for over a decade. Usually for replacement boards, solar cells, batteries crystal cases, mounting stakes and housings. I have eight in the garden year around with the different colors of LEDs I put in them. If the case or solar cell is bad I just remove the LED and put it in a new one. The two mounting screws 2 mm x 10 mm can be used for projects needing miniature self-tapping screws. $ 0.98 for a battery replacement? A bargain as for the same 2/3 AA 150mAh battery cost about $14 for four on Amazon. A hailstorm here in Denver, CO with golf ball sized hail a couple of months ago smashed one of them and crumpled the battery inside.

[@johnm2012]

I know all electronic components are to some degree ESD sensitive but are LEDs worth worrying about? I stick the legs of MOS devices in conductive foam but I just tip LEDs into plastic bins.

[@BigClive]

I keep my gallium nitride LEDs in anti-static packaging.

[@cyberhornthedragon]

im pleasantly surprised they are actually made in the color plastic not just painted clive changing the inductor would bring up the intensity of the led not that the cells in them last forever.

[@sinformant]

🤦‍♂️ man i feel dumb....never occured to me to use flux on solder wick to make it work better. I guess thats why we have you to give us advice.

[@nyetloki]

Surprise, desoldering braid is literally just Fine Copper Wire, And Flux. If its not working at first is because you burned off the flux but didnt give it enough heat for the braid size and/or the trace you are trying to clean. A dedicated, wide tip desoldering soldering iron is ideal.

[@samuelfellows6923]

And a soldering iron with adjustable temperature, I found with the “fixed” temperature iron in my rudimentary soldering kit that desoldering brad doesn’t work as intended [not hot enough?]

[@DimasFajar-ns4vb]

mosquito lamp will be amazing sir

[@MD4564]

Poundland should sell internationally...

[@zippy5131]

Shame as the Pound shop near me disapeared overnight. Where will I get my batteries from now?

[@JoyClinton-i8g]

What is the part number of the four pin controller IC? Is there a light sensor? Or is the on/off function done off the solar cell?

[@BigClive]

Usually a variant of the YX8018 which can sense dusk using the same solar panel.

[@stewartpalmer2456]

Big Clive, as is the case again, you bring the very best. I was wondering, if that populated PCB can be sourced in bulk? I don't need their plastic housing. I have sources for similar chips but am looking for a real cheap source.

[@BigClive]

It's probably cheaper to buy the whole light.

[@stewartpalmer2456]

There in is the problem. lol

[@britishtechguru]

I'd like to see you modify an innocent little thing like that to do something totally outrageous. Walk past the lamp and then a few seconds later it starts flashing like a disco or playing music. When I was in college and the 286 PCs had only the tiny speaker inside that one could barely hear, we loaded every one of the 30 PCs with software to play the same tune. Then 15 of us stood ready to hit enter on all 30 PC when the signal was given. The music played quite loudly then.

[@SpenceReam]

“Pound Land” 😂💀

[@janosnagyj.9540]

6:28 I have black ones, so I should swap the LEDs to black light diodes I guess 😅

[@BigClive]

UV LEDs.

[@BEEZUS45]

This dudes making terraria torches

[@rolandkeith5322]

it's pink!

[@jondurr]

I went back to lead; lead is best!

[@kanrakucheese]

Could one of those reclaimed lithium cells be swapped in?

[@BigClive]

Sadly no. The voltage is very different.

[@adagioleopard6415]

I almost thought it was another 'personal massager' Or rather 7 of them

[@ke_ag]

Happy pride

[@frogz]

wow, the quality that managed to sneak in to the product after hyper optimization has me surprised they dont have fake solar panels and primary button cells in these yet

[@nyetloki]

Because they would die in a few days and the retailer would get yelled at by customers. Also, sued under consumer protection laws, with a fake solar panel. Probably cost more for a fake one too.

[@j.f.christ8421]

@@nyetloki Reminds me of those "shake light" rechargeable flashlight thingies from a few years back (plastic tube with a coli & magnet inside) which were soon followed by a rash of fakes containing CR2032 batteries. Huh, still for sale.

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

Wonder what LED you would use in a black solar light 🙂

[@FarleyHillBilly]

A DED, a dark emitting diode. LEDs absorb darkness, but eventually they fill up with it and become DEDs .

[@BigClive]

Ultraviolet.

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

@@FarleyHillBilly Good theory 🙂