Albert (aka fivecircle15 on the stickboard) got me thinking about DIY glow solutions. I figured LEDs have gotten much better recently, and there has got to be some good solutions. The answer is a resounding yes; however, there are almost too many options. Basically, you want to get an LED that is ~2V and attach it to a CRXXXX 3V battery which puts out ~2V.
1) If you are trying to play under the radar glow golf then I would recommend the Radio Shack part 276-1622 LEDs with a CR1225 battery (~5 mcd).
- The CR2025 battery will also work. It is bigger, brighter (which can be bad ), and will last longer (~10 mcd).
2) If you are playing legal glow golf (Scarboro, Druid, Middletown, Woodsboro) and you really want to watch your disc fly, then get something 1000mcd or greater. A good location to get these is digikey.com.
3) Disc Golf Beacons are also nice because you can tape them on, and leave them on for a few rounds (~5 mcd). The cheapest online supply I have found is GGGT. I am sure DOF will eventually stock these too. However, I am a DIY convert. These lights can also be purchased from places like Dick's Sporting Goods in the fishing department.
If you are looking for cheap & bright: Get a Red 3MM LED with a CR2025 battery for .71 cents a piece! That LED is excellent because it is 2.2V and it has a 45 degree viewing angle, I would estimate it is 10x brighter than the Beacons. You will be able to see it in the air for at least 400 feet, and find it on the ground very easily.
The Orange LED and the Yellow LED both performed just fine. We compared the orange with the red pre-flight, and the orange was brighter straight out the front but it was clearly more focused. The red and orange both performed about the same, and the red LEDs are cheaper.
Final summary: the yellow and red are nice for different color choices. The green is good too, but they are pretty pricey.
NOTES:
If it does not light, then turn the LED over. The short lead on the LED goes on the + side of the battery.
We tried a CR1025 battery which barely lit the LED. It is not listed on WIKI, but I expect it just could not deliver enough current. It may also have been a dead battery.
Not recommended: If you want to use Glow-in-the-Dark Discs be sure to bring a light to recharge them with.