Random idea I had: LED guide rods

[Skribs]

I was just thinking, we have laser guide rods (although they aren't too popular), but what about LED guide rods? The LED wouldn't need to be calibrated for accuracy, and could allow you to put a flashlight on your handgun without requiring a new holster. Even better, for handguns without a rail (thinking many pocket pistols here) it would be an opportunity for a light.

Now, my DIY knowledge ranks up their with Napolean's work on nuclear physics, so I'm obviously not going to be the one to build a prototype. It was just an idea I had and wondered what others thought.

 

[dcarch]

The only thing I would worry about would be the durability of such a device. Otherwise, great idea!

 

[danweasel]

You might be on to something there...

 

[Drail]

If you depend upon battery powered electronics to sight your gun then one day you will be extremely disappointed.

 

[LawScholar]

Hm. That's not a bad idea at all. Use a high impact Streamlight or Surefire LED...where to put the activation switch?

 

[forindooruseonly]

I think the amount of projected light you will get out of a guide rod sized LED light will be too dim to be really useful, yet give a really bright beacon to whoever is on the other end.

My smallest LED light is about a guide rod in diameter, and is something I would not try to clear a house with. Hurts your eyes to look at, though. Unless you've got a better small LED light than mine, it might be an issue.

 

[Skribs]

Drail, not for sighting, but for light. As in, it's 2 AM and I hear a noise, is it my cat knocking stuff over, my friend from out of town who's staying over, or a burglar?

Forindooruse, like I said, it was just an idea. And some light is better than no light when you're trying to figure out what you're pointing at. I have night lights all over, but they're dim/low power, just enough for me to see shadows on the ground so I don't trip over anything. I think it also depends on the guide rod. My LCP idea I think was mainly fantasy, since the guide-rod is about the size of the ink cartridge for a small pen. My XDm has a nice guide rod, thicker than a AA battery.

Where to put the activation switch? Got me there. Where is it on the Laser guiderods? I wouldn't want something like Crimson Trace, because I wouldn't want to use the light all the time.

 

[greyling22]

unless it has a reflector to focus the light, it's not going to be very bright. about what you would get this a keychain light. AND you'd have to find a place to stash the battery. I've never seen one small enough to fit inside a small guide rod. (maybe the same one they use for the lasers?)

 

[rcmodel]

I agree the reflector would be the stumbling block, and probably why nobody has done it yet.

I have a Streamlight Micro-Stream that runs on one AAA battery, and it puts out plenty enough light for a mini-TAC light inside a house.
It would put out the same light with an AAAA battery, which should be small enough for most guide rods.

The light is 3 1/2" long, the C-4 LED is less then 1/8" in dia, but the reflector is 1/2".
Without the reflector, you wouldn't have any focused light.

rc

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

The only thing I would worry about would be the durability of such a device. Otherwise, great idea!

The Lasermax guide rods can take quite a bit of abuse from one SIG torture test I read about.

If you depend upon battery powered electronics to sight your gun then one day you will be extremely disappointed.

I wish I had the ability to see in the dark too...Then I wouldn't need a light to not shoot family members.

 

[danweasel]

If you depend upon battery powered electronics to sight your gun then one day you will be extremely disappointed

When you have to change the battery?

It seems to me that you could run it off of a AAAA battery. You would probably not have a lot of life in it but that's what scheduled maintence is for right? How often do you use your pistol light really? The reflector would be a problem. I have faith that some engineer somewhere could make on though.

 

[TimboKhan]

Its not a bad idea, but it has it challenges.

Besides the technical challenges, ask yourself why you would want an underpowered light on the gun when you can have a very good light in your offhand.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[Warp]

Drail, not for sighting, but for light. As in, it's 2 AM and I hear a noise, is it my cat knocking stuff over, my friend from out of town who's staying over, or a burglar?

I think this is a great time to have a hand held flashlight. Pointing a loaded gun at something that could be your friend from out of town is a bad idea. Plus the hand held flashlight is going to be a crap ton brighter (if you want it to be) and a lot easier to keep charged batteries in.

And yes, I am aware you can point a weapon light at the floor and use the bounce to illuminate an area, but even that still requires pointing the gun in at least the general direction you want the light, which I would be hesitant about under stress, and with the likely under-powered light you could actually fit in a guide rod probably wouldn't work all that well...especially compared to the hand held.

 

[Shipwreck]

I think you would have to do what the Lasermax guiderods do - they use like 3 of those tiny watch sized batteries. And, for an LED - unless its some of the newest tech that requires decent power and puts out heat - I don't see that the LED would do much. And, as others stated, you have the reflector issue. I don't see that it would do much besides find your keys at the doorknob at night

 

[Skribs]

Timbo, because I am not the creature from the sci-fi novel I am writing, and don't have a third hand for other things, such as opening/closing a door or calling 911. That is, I believe, the biggest reason people want weaponlights.
Also, if I don't need the second hand for something else, I'd rather use it to get a sturdier grip on the pistol.

Warp, I currently use a flashlight attachment, so this wouldn't be much different. It's also no different than mounting a flashlight on a shotgun and pointing it around, which I might add most people believe mounting a light to a shotgun is a necessity in HD. If you keep your finger off the trigger, you shouldn't shoot anything prematurely. *I'm not advocating breaking the rules, but am saying that when you hear a bump in the night, booger picker off the bang switch until you're ready to use lethal force.*

You guys are right about the reflector issue. But again, I'm not necessarily looking at something as powerful as a Surefire, but something bright enough that I could actually see what I'm pointing at.

 

[jp9mm]

Not a bad idea but wont get that much light output from the size and it would probably be as expensive as a rail light.

 

[Skribs]

I guess I should clarify, the reasons for this would be:
1. To enable the use of a flashlight for target identification purposes.
2. To enable #1 without requiring a modification to the size or shape of the weapon (i.e. adding a flashlight that would make it not fit into the holster you already have or add unecessary weight to a carry gun). Some weapons do not have a rail, making it harder to add a flashlight to the frame.
3. To enable both the gun and light to be used with one hand, allowing your other to be used for better control of the pistol.

I mainly thought of this in another thread asking if your nightstand guns were holstered, when another poster said "no, because I have a light and that won't fit in my holster."

 

[Warp]

I just don't think the technology is there yet.

 

[Ash]

The tech might not be there, but the idea remains interesting - perhaps even compelling.

 

[Robbins290]

Nice idea!

 

[barnbwt]

I think the idea's good enough to sell to a bunch of folks at gun shows, if nothing else Kinda like the shotgun magtube light that someone here rigged up a couple days back, and if simple/LED, it's gotta be cheaper than some of the "Tac-Lights" out there now.

A small (short life) battery-stack could easily power a sufficiently bright LED to illuminate a small room/hallway, if your eyes are already adjusted to darkness. Instead of a reflector, why not use a small fresnel lens for a diffuser? That would be very short, and give very good dispersion or focus (depending on the design).

Yeah, battery's short lived, but I always get a kick out of folks who complain they might forget to change the battery after use, but never worry about forgetting to reload the gun after shooting it . Remember, your life depends on the batteries in your smoke/carbon monoxide detector every night. Batteries are plenty reliable nowadays, provided you test them twice a year (you practice more often than that, right ).

Keychain lights are very popular because they are good enough for illuminating small areas, so putting one on a gun would add some utility. Might be better than Tritium sights for seeing beyond your barrel in the dark, too (don't flame me, bro!). And there is something to be said for aiming with both hands when you're sleepy/adrenalined.

The only missing piece is an easy way to turn it on quickly. Accelerometer switch perhaps? Lights up the second you grab the gun, and stays on for five minutes after it stops moving? Or even simpler, rest the gun on a magnetized stand (or stick a magnet w/ lanyard to the slide) that keeps the lightswitch in the "off" position until the gun is moved a couple inches away.

But the real money, the height of innovation, would be in the guide-rod CAMERA!! Laugh now, I'll bet the tech will be here within 5 years...(actually, it may already be here, look up Eyeborg sometime. Guy put a camera in his false-eye; http://www.eyeborgblog.com/ off topic, but very cool super-science!)
d
you know who to send the royalties to when you hit it big...

TCB

 

[MyGreenGuns]

"no, because I have a light and that won't fit in my holster."

^Hey, That was me!

I have seen holsters that accept a light, but I already have one I like for CC. It didnt seem right to buy one just to hold the gun at night. I carry a flashlight when I'm out in the world.

The low light output could be a positive if you wanted a dim light to navigate around in the dark. You'd be less likely to broadcast your position, expecially if you kept it pointed at the floor. You'd still need another way to illuminate your target, and two lights might be overkill.

Good idea! This could be your million.

 

[Warp]

Keychain lights are very popular because they are good enough for illuminating small areas, so putting one on a gun would add some utility. Might be better than Tritium sights for seeing beyond your barrel in the dark, too (don't flame me, bro!). And there is something to be said for aiming with both hands when you're sleepy/adrenalined.

In my experience it takes a lot more light to adequately see/use your pistol sites than it does to identify a threat. WHERE the light is/is coming from is also very important. I would much much rather have tritium sites than a relatively dim light.

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

Timbo, because I am not the creature from the sci-fi novel I am writing, and don't have a third hand for other things, such as opening/closing a door or calling 911. That is, I believe, the biggest reason people want weaponlights.

Learn to shoot effectively with one hand. Pretty much all people were doing that with handguns since the invention of the handgun till around the 70s and 80s where the two handed grip became predominant. I use a weapon light on the pistol with a Surefire 6PX Defender as the main light.

 

[Skribs]

In my experience, warp, once you turn on a weaponlight in front of your sights, your sights are black. I still like night sights for carry, though.

Green, it was you! Wasn't trying to be mean or single you out, you just gave me the idea. Probably won't be my million, I don't have a design, don't know how to make one, and don't know who I'd find to make one...I just have an idea.

Barnbwt, a motion activated one would make your carry gun run out of batteries really fast. I think the laser model that's already out there, at least for XDm (since that's my gun its the one I looked at) has a switch that goes on the breakdown lever. They can find a spot for anything.

The guide-rod camera is similar to what is used by some characters in a sci-fi I'm working on, except they don't have a guide rod (they use a futuristic propulsion method, which allows you to just load bullets, not cartridges in, and doesn't require extraction or a recoil spring). Where the recoil spring would be is a camera, which connects to their cybernetic eyes, which means they don't even need to look down the sights (well, there aren't any sights, because they don't need them).

I did have an idea a while back if a group (like military or LEO) wanted to have accountability for their actions to use a camera mounted on the top rail for the sight. The camera could have a basic reticle, and it's feeding real time picture anyway (also easy transition to night vision if applicable), and whenever you pull the trigger, the camera takes a picture of what you were shooting at. But most LEO/military wouldn't pay for it.