Author Topic: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!  (Read 10098 times)

Offline Higgins

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Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« on: Dec 13, 2012, 06:21 PM »
Here is a cheap way to rig your tip ups with lights for fishing at night:



A magnet is connected to the flag pole and when it is in the down position it is next to the light and will not be on but when the flag goes up the magnet will disconnect from the light and the light will go off. I have never had this set up fail on me in 5 years of burbot fishing in negative temps with the wind blowing as well

Ebay is the only place I could find them, Menards and Lowes as well as others did not have them but this was about 5 years ago when I looked so maybe now they do

Here is a link to them:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=magnet+drawer+light&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313&_nkw=magnet+drawer+light&_sacat=0

Offline Yukoner

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #1 on: Dec 14, 2012, 12:54 AM »
Is the light too heavy to be attached to the flag?  That way the light would be higher, as well as turned on when triggered.

Ted

Offline Buck1985

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #2 on: Dec 14, 2012, 01:07 AM »
This is interesting
The fishing is always great, the catching however, always isn't


Offline Sucker

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #3 on: Dec 14, 2012, 04:52 AM »
Thanks Higgins, I'll check them out.

Offline Higgins

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #4 on: Dec 14, 2012, 06:45 AM »
Is the light too heavy to be attached to the flag?  That way the light would be higher, as well as turned on when triggered.

Ted

Never tried it but to be honest these lights are very bright even with a foot or 2 of snow they still can be seen with ease. I usually put them around 50 to 100 yards from the shanty and you never have to guess if its your light or something else.


Note: the cheapest ones don't have a on off switch so you have to take out the batteries after each night (I'm not going to lie this does suck when it's cold out cause you cant do it with your gloves on) but there are some out there that have a on off switch on them, they are black and cost any where from $10 to $20 for a 4 pack. Still cheaper than the other tip up lights.

Offline Yukoner

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #5 on: Dec 15, 2012, 12:06 AM »
Thanks Higgins.  Now all I have to do is find some of those lights and give them a try a -30.   ;)

Ted

Offline Martian

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #6 on: Dec 15, 2012, 11:24 AM »
 I have heard big-lots have them also. When the light is atached to the pole, above the flag ,facing down, it lights the flag up nicely, just is usually a problem of where, how to attach the magnet

Offline Higgins

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #7 on: Dec 15, 2012, 03:24 PM »
There is sticky tape on the back of the lights when you buy them and then I put zip ties over that to make sure. With the magnets I just use electrical tape on the flag only 1 or 2 raps so the magnet is still strong. When you look at them you would think that they would work well with the wind and cold and the abuse but they work great and no the light doesn't go off on accident, when the lights on that always means the flag is up but as we all know it doesn't always mean you have a fish on the other end  ;D

Offline dylan8351

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #8 on: Dec 15, 2012, 03:34 PM »
I tried that. It worked for a bit but the cold and water didn't help them. I settled for iron on reflective tape and a very good flashlight.
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Offline The Kraken

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #9 on: Dec 15, 2012, 09:31 PM »
Stopped at the dollar store to pick up some Koosh balls for plastics and I saw they have drawer lights and window sirens, a buck each that would work great

Offline Yukoner

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #10 on: Dec 15, 2012, 11:29 PM »
Kraken,

Sounds good.  Dollar Store in what city?

Ted

Offline Higgins

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #11 on: Dec 15, 2012, 11:48 PM »
Thanks Higgins.  Now all I have to do is find some of those lights and give them a try a -30.   ;)

Ted

Gotta say we don't get temps that low next to Lake Michigan so the coldest I've tried them in is between -5 & -10

As for water though they are not water proof but I have had them out in rain and had a few splashes get on them but they still worked fine. I sure as heck wouldn't expect them to work after they have been completely submerged though "so don't do that"  ;) if you can afford to buy a few extra and be ready to replace one just in case something happens (also extra batteries can come in handy(extra cheap on eBay)) like i said I don't have problems with them except for loosing an occasional battery but they always work (at least for me any ways)

Offline Nightbird

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #12 on: Dec 16, 2012, 09:02 AM »
I've done similar with door alarms from a dollar store. Must find some of these lights and try hooking them up together. Sound, light, maybe someday music!

Offline skinnyb

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #13 on: Jan 10, 2013, 04:36 PM »
I made some of these as well, they work like a charm.

I had them out in below 0 and they still were bright, don't know about below 30.

What i did was cut a rectangle of the plastic packaging, long enough to sit across the base of the Tip Up, and use the provided adhesive strip to attach the light to the plastic rectangle. Then, cut a velcro strip, put some on the plastic, some on the tip up, so the plastic rectangle has a "seat." Using garden or florist wire, i strung the magnet from the flag (close to the spring, so it didn't weigh down the top of my flag), and kept the wire long enough to be at rest right near the light (also resting on the plastic rectangle) when the flag was down.

One idea my friend had with my design was to remove the little plastic "lense" that comes on the light, expose the LED, and shove that LED into a cheap highlighter tube (buy the highlighter at the dollar store, same time you buy the wire and the lights, pull the writing end off of it, and then pull the cylindrical sponge which holds the highlighter fluid out of the cartridge...that cartridge is the tube i'm talking about) This raised the light up a few inches (the light glows out the end of the highlighter tube), and made it a very visible color. There is no mistaking highlighter blue when you are out on the ice.

mine were found at the dollar tree, which is a store that i know exists in both the st louis and chicagoland areas. I'm not sure where else you find them.

Good times
Mike
The fish wouldn't get in trouble if it could just learn to keep its fool mouth shut.

There's a lot I could learn from the fish.

Offline Whopper Stopper

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #14 on: Jan 10, 2013, 05:13 PM »
Great idea.

     WS

Offline Velcro

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #15 on: Jan 10, 2013, 10:59 PM »
Is the light too heavy to be attached to the flag?  That way the light would be higher, as well as turned on when triggered.

Ted

I just got an amusing mental image of the flag catapulting the light across the ice :D  :woot:

I use a bit of velcro to attach the lights to my tipup base, holds well and makes it easier to remove the lights. I keep the magnets attached to the flags though, even when I'm not using the lights.

Offline Higgins

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #16 on: Feb 04, 2013, 10:39 AM »
I love the Velcro idea  @)

Offline vt-jig

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #17 on: Feb 05, 2013, 11:10 AM »
Thats the kind of light my grandmother uses in her cupboards..haha what a coincidence.
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Offline maddogg

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Re: Very cheap tip up lights!!!!!
« Reply #18 on: Jan 07, 2020, 04:35 PM »
Never tried it but to be honest these lights are very bright even with a foot or 2 of snow they still can be seen with ease. I usually put them around 50 to 100 yards from the shanty and you never have to guess if its your light or something else.


Note: the cheapest ones don't have a on off switch so you have to take out the batteries after each night (I'm not going to lie this does suck when it's cold out cause you cant do it with your gloves on) but there are some out there that have a on off switch on them, they are black and cost any where from $10 to $20 for a 4 pack. Still cheaper than the other tip up lights.

Lots of cheap magnets around just put one on the tip up when you don't need the light.

 



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