I put together this cotton reel bulb replacement for a pole light for total cost of about one dollar. It uses the strip LEDs from Deal Extreme stuck on a cotton real with double sided tape.
To get the old glass bulb from the base, soak in metho for an hour or two. Use a bit of round wood (with a hole drilled through it) to join the base to the cotton reel.
The light output is amazing! It’s like daylight out there! And instead of ten watts it now draws less than one watt. I can leave it on all night without fretting about discharging the battery.
The folding pole light is this one from Whitworths. It cost me $14 on special. (I see now, 10/2011, it is $24.)
I stick it onto the cabin top using suction cups. The other end of the wire has a cig. lighter plug.
I converted all the interior cabin lights using the leftover leds. You can cut the strip in groups of three leds and feed them off 12V.
For more ideas on DIY led lights have a look here. These ideas are for converting motorhomes to led lighting but they apply equally to Noelexes.
Gil Webster
Each group of three has a 150 ohm resistor for 12V use. You can easily see the cut lines.
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