Lantern Dimmer and Flasher

Here is the circuit diagram of lantern dimmer / flasher designed by Tony Van Roon:

lantern dimmer

There are two circuit modes: dimming and flashing. The flasher mode is useful for warning other drivers of your troubles and it may be adjusted to have a very short flash duration for long-term use as when the car must be left on the shoulder over night.

Electronic Parts List:

R1 = 100K
R2 = 100K
R3 = 100K
R4 = 100K
R5 = 3K9
R6 = 3K9
R7 = 470
R8 = 100
R9 = 220, 1/2 watt
P1 = 5K
C1,C3 = 10uF/16V
C2 = 0.01uF, ceramic
T1 = 2N4401
T2 = TIP32
U1 = LM358
L1 = Lantern Bulb
S1 = On-Off Switch

Lantern Dimmer Circuit Notes:

  • S1 switch is used to activate the ‘Flashing’ mode.
  • P1 is the dimmer potentiometer, you can adjust the dimming setting from here.
  • Transistor 2N4401 can be substituted with a NTE123AP, the BC547.
  • Transistor TIP32 can be substituted with a NTE197. Other transistor types might be work.
  • The DC power supply or battery for this lantern dimmer / flasher is 6-12V.

There is nothing particularly critical about the resistor and capacitor values and the experimenter may change them, if desired. For example, a 10K-pot may be substituted for the 5K by increasing the 3.9K resistors by 2 also (8.2K would be fine). The 100K’s in the flash circuit may be a different value if the capacitors are also scaled (inversely–if the resistors are doubled, the 0.1 and 10uF are halved).

Good luck…


3 thoughts on “Lantern Dimmer and Flasher

  1. mike

    hi is there a substitute for tip32 other than nte197? i tried 2n3702. the C3 either explodes or turns red on multisim. has anyone made this to work?

  2. circuit diagram

    The recommended lantern battery is 6V-12V. The lantern bulb/led is depended to the battery. You may try to use 6v led for 6V lantern battery

  3. saurabh kataria

    hello sir,
    i have few questions regarding this circuit

    1) this lantern dimmer circuit output voltage is…???

    2)can we use 3watt power led with 6volt,4.5a battery, if no than what changes required..?
    waiting for your reply sir…

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