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UER Forum > Private Boards Index > Flashlights, Torches and Light Painting > Interesting 1xAA lights (Viewed 10347 times)
AnAppleSnail 


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Interesting 1xAA lights
< on 10/22/2010 9:51 AM >
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Backup lights are a must. These days 1xAA lights are small enough to stash in your bag (or in your pocket every day) and powerful enough to be a primary light.

$21, and a teardown thread on CPF. A budget light with a low-low!




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-insertnamehere- 


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"...We're taking photos" ... "PHOTAHOES?!?!?! ?!"

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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 1 on 10/22/2010 10:21 PM >
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That light is seriously tempting me. I need to get one small enough to throw in my pocket for random scout trips that seem to come up during everyday errands. I have found myself without a light in the strangest of places, and I always feel guilty using my cell phone.

That brightness settings are rather intriguing as well, especially the very low setting. I'll have to do a few calculations to figure out how long that would run...

Thanks for pointing this light out! it might just be the newest addition to my collection.




metawaffle 

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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 2 on 10/23/2010 2:00 AM >
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Posted by -insertnamehere-
That light is seriously tempting me. I need to get one small enough to throw in my pocket for random scout trips that seem to come up during everyday errands.


Definitely! You never know when you'll find an open door into darkness while you're wandering around




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AnAppleSnail 


Location: Charlotte, NC
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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 3 on 10/23/2010 5:08 PM >
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Posted by -insertnamehere-
That brightness settings are rather intriguing as well, especially the very low setting. I'll have to do a few calculations to figure out how long that would run...


Low lows are the bee's tits. If you somehow wind up on low batteries, they run for ages like that. If you have to creep around, it's perfect.




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alphie 


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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 4 on 10/24/2010 6:48 AM >
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I actually have a light very similar to this and obviously LOVE it. It's rather small and easily conceivable. Unfortunately, I just lost mine.




-insertnamehere- 


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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 5 on 10/24/2010 7:03 AM >
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...And I ordered one. I am such a sucker for Chinese products, especially with free shipping.
I'll let you all know how well it works once it arrives!




AnAppleSnail 


Location: Charlotte, NC
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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 6 on 10/24/2010 3:18 PM >
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...And I ordered one. I am such a sucker for Chinese products, especially with free shipping.
I'll let you all know how well it works once it arrives!


Please do - I think you'll like the 1-lumen level. Although sublumen's far better...




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unlisted 


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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 7 on 10/27/2010 2:06 AM >
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Posted by AnAppleSnail


Please do - I think you'll like the 1-lumen level. Although sublumen's far better...


Anyone know of a place to find 1 or sub lumen option flashlights... dirt cheap?

Poor student over here wants dim light.. lol.




AnAppleSnail 


Location: Charlotte, NC
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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 8 on 10/27/2010 2:34 AM >
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Posted by unlisted


Anyone know of a place to find 1 or sub lumen option flashlights... dirt cheap?

Poor student over here wants dim light.. lol.


I'll show you the one I built, and you can consider adapting it to your needs. The way you'd do it (And I'll try this myself). Put a resistor in series with the LED and you limit current.

Buy a washer.
Electrically attach a resistor to it. The resistor body will lurk in the washer hole. The other resistor wire will be free. Cover one side of the washer with tape - make sure the resistor and one wire are on the other side of the tape from the washer. Now wind that free wire into a new contact. Put this modded washer behind (easiest to fit) or in front of (most secure) the AA battery, and you've made a cheap light extremely dim. IMPORTANT: The edges of the washer must be insulated.


V=IR. Given a high R and Vbattery, I is forced to remain low. This will work for any light. LEDs work better than incandescents when underdriven. In theory a single- or double- alkaline/NiMH light could be damaged by it, but I've run my Hatlight like this for dozens of hours with the cheapest driver known to man.

If you're handy with soldering you could make this permanent and neater, or add a selector switch to a one-speed light. NEVER EVER put a resistor between a complicated circuit board and the LED. It has to be before the drive circuit.

Consider my Hatlight: It has almost no attempt at waterproofing. The drive electronics are sealed in hot glue, and the sliding switch self-cleans. Now if I dropped it in mud I'd have to hose it off and pray. I have a 1-ohm and a 100 ohm resistor on the Hatlight.


Edit:
The point of all this is that you can make ANY kind of LED light into a low-power critter. Even the UER lights, if you can squeeze a resistor in there. Vadder likes the Nebo CSI Luma35 a decent light that you can find in hardware stores. I'm partial to the nicer LEDs, but that'll emit photons. Any AA light wants at maximum a 14mm washer - again, insulate the edges of it.



[last edit 10/27/2010 2:48 AM by AnAppleSnail - edited 2 times]

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metawaffle 

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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 9 on 10/27/2010 2:47 AM >
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That's a neat idea. Did you list a suggested rating for the resistor in there?




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AnAppleSnail 


Location: Charlotte, NC
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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 10 on 10/27/2010 2:54 AM >
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Posted by metawaffle
That's a neat idea. Did you list a suggested rating for the resistor in there?


Yes, but it's buried. I used 1 (high) and 101 (low) ohms to get about 60 lumens and 0.1 lumen.

With most LEDs, you get about 1 lumen with 10 mA, but 1 lumen is pretty damn bright in the dark. Grab a multipack of resistors and play. Experimenting with tailcap-switch lights is easy, you just put the resistor between battery- and the flashlight tube and see what you get.

For seeing in pitch-dark: You'll want the LED to be just barely visibly glowing. Sit in a black room for 5 minutes and try it, it'll be plenty (or too much)

For seeing in dim without being obvious: You'll want the LED to be distinct but not casting much light in a lit room.




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bonnie&clyde 


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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 11 on 11/14/2010 1:33 AM >
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Posted by AnAppleSnail
Backup lights are a must. These days 1xAA lights are small enough to stash in your bag (or in your pocket every day) and powerful enough to be a primary light.

$21, and a teardown thread on CPF. A budget light with a low-low!


Do you own this light? The CPF link isn't working for me.

clyde




The question is not when are we gonna stop, It's who's gonna stop us?

AnAppleSnail 


Location: Charlotte, NC
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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 12 on 11/14/2010 2:02 AM >
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Posted by bonnie&clyde


Do you own this light? The CPF link isn't working for me.

clyde



I don't. An interruption in employment equals an interruption in shiny toys. Even more sadly, I can't remember the name of the light to dig up the thread on CPF. That site has database issues sometimes. Worse still, DX stopped selling the right Akoray-106, which was hard to beat aside from occasionally dying.




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metawaffle 

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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 13 on 11/14/2010 2:05 AM >
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Posted by AnAppleSnail
hard to beat aside from occasionally dying.


That is such a good summary of DX lights




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-insertnamehere- 


Location: CO
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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 14 on 12/4/2010 11:43 PM >
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Woohoo! I finally got it in the mail!
I ordered it in the mail on October 24th, but hey, you can't argue with free shipping.

I'll throw up a short review on here once I get a chance to play around with it a bit and figure out the convoluted instructions. First impressions are good though




bonnie&clyde 


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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 15 on 4/16/2011 5:36 PM >
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Posted by AnAppleSnail
Backup lights are a must. These days 1xAA lights are small enough to stash in your bag (or in your pocket every day) and powerful enough to be a primary light.

$21, and a teardown thread on CPF. A budget light with a low-low!


I ended up purchasing one of these. Garbage. I was 1st suspect when the package was for a similar but different light. Then when I opened it to find the owner manual in ??? & for a scale & a money counting machine. OK? Light was correct tho. Crap. It only works for 5-7 minutes in any mode, then fades out. I E'd them & want me to return, registered & insured & they will exchange. I will take it as a loss & just throw it in the drawer. Gonna stick with the good stuff.

C




The question is not when are we gonna stop, It's who's gonna stop us?

metawaffle 

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Location: Brisbane!
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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 16 on 4/17/2011 12:23 AM >
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Posted by bonnie&clyde
I will take it as a loss & just throw it in the drawer.


I know that feeling




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-insertnamehere- 


Location: CO
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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 17 on 4/27/2011 5:45 AM >
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I totally forgot to put up a review....doh.

I will take it as a loss & just throw it in the drawer. Gonna stick with the good stuff.


Well, I had a similar experience at first, but with A LOT of fiddling, I got mine to work surprisingly well.

It takes a rolled up napkin inside the casing to center the driver chip, a little of heatsink material to keep it from overheating, and a couple rings made of a paperclip to ensure good contact on the threads.

If you would like a little more detail on all of this, let me know...


This light now interminably sits in my glovebox for my large amount impromptu scouting trips. It works quite well for that purpose.

Otherwise, if you're not inclined to mess around with this light for quite a while...Don't get it.




bonnie&clyde 


Location: 510 & 415
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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 18 on 4/27/2011 6:27 AM >
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Posted by -insertnamehere-
I totally forgot to put up a review....doh.



Well, I had a similar experience at first, but with A LOT of fiddling, I got mine to work surprisingly well.

It takes a rolled up napkin inside the casing to center the driver chip, a little of heatsink material to keep it from overheating, and a couple rings made of a paperclip to ensure good contact on the threads.

If you would like a little more detail on all of this, let me know...


This light now interminably sits in my glovebox for my large amount impromptu scouting trips. It works quite well for that purpose.

Otherwise, if you're not inclined to mess around with this light for quite a while...Don't get it.



Just got me a few quarks. Problem solved.




The question is not when are we gonna stop, It's who's gonna stop us?

Cardinal Awol 


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Re: Interesting 1xAA lights
< Reply # 19 on 4/30/2011 9:20 PM >
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I'm looking for a good 1xAA keychain light. Recommendations?

I had a tiny little keychain light that you had to twist to turn on, but it was prone to twisting open by itself so it drained batteries, and now the head's fallen all the way off and gotten lost. So I'm looking for a design that won't turn on or fall apart accidentally. Also, it used some weird flat battery, and I want one that uses something more ubiquitous. AAA is common and smaller than AA, but all my other lights are AA, so I'd like my keychain to be AA as well in order to keep things simple and standardized.

How's the Quark Mini? Fenix LD15? Others? Are they even small enough to qualify as "keychain" lights? I keep my keys on a caribiner on a belt loop so it doesn't really have to be tiny.




UER Forum > Private Boards Index > Flashlights, Torches and Light Painting > Interesting 1xAA lights (Viewed 10347 times)
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