Kipkay's video hacks and pranks

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By Gareth Branwyn
Posted 2008/02/29 @ 3:26 pm
Category Craft, Electronics

Kipkay has made something of a name for himself on Metacafe with his numerous how-to, hacks, and tech-oriented pranks videos. He’s also made some $100K with the “Producers Rewards” that Metacafe pays for popular vids. And now he’s a YouTube Partner. When I saw the first Kipkay vid, with his super-slick informercial voice, I thought he was another DIY spoof videomaker, a la Mark Erickson’s hysterically goofy Infinite Solutions. In fact, Kipkay may have been Erickson’s inspiration. But Kay’s videos are legit, and while some of them may be over the top and more about garnering eyeballs (and revenue) than anything else, there’s some useful and interesting stuff here.

See all of his videos on

In the Maker Shed

10 Responses to Kipkay’s video hacks and pranks

KWillets on August 20th, 2007 at 4:31 pm said:

Incandescent flashlights — how nostalgic.

There’s forum at candlepowerforums.com that’s all flashlight mod’s — most of them a good deal brighter and more efficient than this.

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rehorstmark@netscape.net on August 20th, 2007 at 6:02 pm said:

Nice, but light bulbs are sooo 20th century!

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samurai1200 on August 20th, 2007 at 6:31 pm said:

awesome mod! this guy sounds like he’s trying to sell it though… what a voice!

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RTourn on August 20th, 2007 at 7:59 pm said:

I did this project earlier this year. The new bulb gets really hot; under extended use it will start to melt the reflector in the back. Replacing it is a little tricky, and requires you to cut apart the whole front end. It is really bright and cheap if you use disposable batteries.

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mastershake916 on August 21st, 2007 at 12:01 am said:

I saw this on edge-i.hacked a while ago, neat.

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MazinBenny on August 21st, 2007 at 7:04 am said:

Specifically on this flashlight hack, he’s basically overdriving the rated voltage of the bulb by 3x. Sure, this will make the bulb glow very bright and hot, but it will also make it burn out in about 10 minutes. There is a _reason_ that bulbs have a rated voltage…

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japroach on August 21st, 2007 at 7:47 pm said:

Mazin: KPR112 which he is shown using is 6V 650mA. So he is overdriving it by ~50%.

http://www.radioshack.com/sm-6v-650ma-replacement-krypton-lamp–pi-2062383.html

They have a 7.2V as well, I’m sure you could find a more suitably rated bulb if you want the thing to last longer than a set of batteries.

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dansdata on August 22nd, 2007 at 11:32 am said:

I did a quite extensive survey of Kipkay’s videos, including this one, a while ago.

It is my considered opinion that, an awful lot of the time, Kipkay is just a God-damned liar.

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johned on August 22nd, 2007 at 12:03 pm said:

Do not fall for this. The biggest false statement is that you can get 3 Duracell 123 Lithiums for $4.00. Not possible. Retail they are $5.50 to $9.99 each. On line you might find 2 packs for $10.00 to $13.50 but then there’s shipping.

I hate when sloppy or dishonest people make us have to waste our time clarifying their mistakes. Oh well, bad Karma for him!

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Tim on January 10th, 2009 at 3:24 am said:

I agree. This project is a waste of time and money. The parts cost around $20, not $10. The flashlight ran approximately 10 minutes before the reflector melted and it stopped working. There’s a reason good flashlights cost $100: design and testing.

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