I think you are taking this a little personally. First of all this thread is asking about AA lights, someone mentions that there was a design put forward that went nowhere. I simply gave my reasons why I think its hard to design and build, we all want different things. It sounds like you would be better with a driver than a light, then you could custom build your own light. You then gave reasons for non flashoholics wanting mega lumens and no lithium, most normal people wouldn’t know what 1000 lumens is or even care. Further more if you gave them 1000lm on an AA the runtime would be so bad that they would think the torch was useless.
As for NiMH vs lithium I don’t want to state the obvious here but lithium has way more power to weight, higher discharge etc etc. That is why to my knowledge you can no longer buy a cordless drill with NiMH.
One last thing, you should try searching harder. The reason I and many other have mentioned the S15r is that it is $22 not 40.
Taking it personally? I thought we all take our own flashlights personally! That’s why we’re on BLF! If you think I’m the only one that wants to push the limits of what our flashlights can do, you haven’t been reading any of the latest BLF SE threads! What they’re doing for 18650 is exactly what I and many others would like to see done for non-lithium cells. If we all just wanted to buy stock lights, why would we even be in this thread? By the way, I still don’t get why you’re in this thread. If you already know what you like in AA/2xAA format, then what do you want here?
1000 lumens on single AA? Not gonna happen. Nothing to talk about there. 1000 lumens on 2xAA Eneloop Pros or larger (more powerful) cells? Run-time is plenty long enough and for better run-time there can be lower modes. I never said it needed to be 1000 lumens forever!
Yes, I want to see better drivers developed for AA/2xAA lights. However, I don’t have much skill to build custom lights, so I want someone else to do it so that I can buy it. :bigsmile:
Probably you’re right that most people won’t know what 1000 lumens is and won’t care. But, you see, I don’t know most people. I know the people that I know. And, since I have bright flashlights that I’m a little bit excited about, they see that and hear about it and know a little bit about what it is. So those people want bright flashlights too. And they may not understand lumens, but they know that a 1000 lumen light is significantly brighter than a 300 lumen light just by looking at it. They don’t even have to read the labels!
There is a flashlight enthusiast ‘suburb’ of people that are not as far into it as we are. They aren’t familiar with lithium cells. But, because of knowing us, they are very familiar with bright lights, and they like it. And, they may want a bright light of their own. Or at the least, they may occasionally want to borrow one of ours.
Actually, there are lots of good reasons to want a bright light. But, we shouldn’t need to justify ourselves. It’s a hobby. We are always pushing the limits around here at BLF. Why shouldn’t we? And if we want to push the limits of AA/2xAA, why shouldn’t we do that as well?
Cordless tools have moved on to lithium, yes. So have cell phones, laptops, and lots of other things that run off of portable power. But you’re missing an important point about those. They all have proprietary designs that don’t allow a clueless person to hook up the battery the wrong way, charge it the wrong way, over-charge it, or over-discharge it, and most of them also have built-in thermal protection. But look at digital cameras, cordless home phones, flashlights that can be bought at most stores, and a lot of other items. Digital cameras are on the border. Some have proprietary lithium cells. Others use non-lithium cells. But none of these items use standard cylindrical lithium cells. Why? Because the public can’t handle them properly. There are actually 1000 lumen flashlights for sale at places like Lowe’s and Wal-Mart that use alkaline cells, like 6 or 9 of them. Yet, they won’t sell a 1000 lumen 18650 light, because it can be dangerous.
Search harder for an S15? Why should I? If I ever do decide I want one, I’ll just ask you where to get it!
Bottom line is that I want a powerful boost driver with a programmable MCU, in AA/2xAA format host for a low price and I don’t see that it exists, so I’m asking for it. I’m trying to not escalate this conversation to an argument, because there’s no need for us to argue. It’s ok for us to disagree here. I’m just trying to understand what your motivation is, and at the same time help you to understand mine. I am a bit frustrated that it doesn’t seem to be happening. Maybe we should just stop talking about it and let these nice people have their thread back.
@davidef. The reason I am here is because its a forum, I have my opinions on what makes a good AA light and you have yours, niether of us is right or wrong, and you are right it should not escalate into an argument.
You also misunderstand me, I love powerful lights I have lights at 3000lm and most of my single cell lights push 1000lm just not on NiMH. I do love my eneloops and the technology but I also understand their limits.
So I do understand your point, but I just think the kind of light you propose may not be too viable as it is a little too ‘specialist’ shall we say.
I will end this by saying good luck and I hope you get your light.
1000 lumens from XML2 U3 takes 8.36 watts.
8.36W / 2.5 Volts (2AA nimh at best) = 3.34 Amps.
A ‘dream’ boost driver may be 85% efficient at best with this current….
3.34 x 1.15 = 3.84 Amps draw from batteries.
Not including losses from springs, switches, contacts, etc, 2400mAh battery will get you 37 minutes runtime at 1000 emitter lumens. ….at best
Ni MH have about the same energy storage as 14500s, so with a good boost driver there is really no advantage to taking Li ion cells. It needs room for a large induction coil, and it should shut off at more than 2 V. But see below.
A boost driver has intermittent output current. Unless the frequency is so high that that can be smoothed out with a capacitor, one can’t ask for truly constant current. Modes should work by increasing the fraction of the time it outputs, to reduce the average current.
I still think that ideally, one would use clay, but I agree that would be too ambition for this discussion. I think clay is better than CAD because one has more direct control and can feel what one is doing. It matters as much how the finished light feels as how it looks. Maybe more important, the designer should look at, and preferably feel, pottery. When designing for an NC lathe, one should not ignore the thousands of years that people have been searching for more pleasing bodies of revolution with pottery wheels.
With a larger coil & cap it can get to 1Amp out from 2AA. (input current must stay below 2 Amps)
I use the DX SKU 25505 single mode with modest output for 1 & 2AA. Within spec it will do 80-90% efficiency. (for my use here, run time is more important; top bin Cree LED’s will now get to 500 lumens at 1 Amp.)
For sure there are better higher current 2AA drivers out there from Fenix, Olight, Eagletac, etc.
As stated earlier, the key is to get the driver.
Happy Hunting.
Hmmm, give every person a lump of clay to put over a dummy battery tube, and hold in a comfortable grip — then laser scan that and use it to make a perfect hand-fit flashlight?
Nah, that’d be over budget …
I have a weak spot for a good AA/2AA light. I’m actually tracking down a 2AA host to mod with some older AA drivers I had apparently stashed away for a rainy day. I’m anxious to see where this goes since I’m already looking at other AA options to my EA11 and Thrunite 1A. The Manker T01 is certainly promising, but i would MUCH rather support this build than a production light. I’m not too particular about the shape, but the usability and programming is key. Oh yeah - the “wow” factor is important to.
I’m also curious to see what CalvinIS has in store…
I think after reading through this thread and digesting much of what has been said I would like to see the BLF X5 (In type 3 black aluminium) with a longer 2 AA cell body as light for this GB. The X5 seems to tick all the boxes and size and looks wise it would kind of be what the Mini maglite should be if they kept up with the latest technology. I would presume it would be doable in the $20-25 level too which always seems to get a lot of interest in GB’s.
I have one in 2AA, but have been unable to purchase a single AA tube for it. I would love to find a single AA tube, used with a 14500 it would be a great little light. They are very well made, I like it better than the Solarforce L2r.
The other issue is that there do not seem to be any really good driver out there. I have a couple of older AA lights that could use a bump, but really need a driver with the new LED.
There are more new members every day and some have EE knowledge so keep asking and sooner or later it will happen. Remember it took several years to get a programmable 17mm buck driver. If someone were paid to do it then it would get done sooner but as it is you have to wait for someone with a hobby interest to take it up and run with it. Testing, boards, and parts costs money so setting up a way for people to pitch in could accelerate the process but you first need to find your EE. Then there’s always the DIY method and you might find lots of help where you might not find volunteers.
One of those (kinda) new members here, although I’m not an EE. Sorry. Just wondering, how did the other drivers get designed? Obviously some smart folks have put in the effort here before, folks like Wight or Alex Wells, maybe. Those are names I’ve seen but know nothing about. Are they not up to this job? Do they just not want it? Have they left the community?
If you think I’m the only one that wants to push the limits of what our flashlights can do, you haven’t been reading any of the latest BLF SE threads! What they’re doing for 18650 is exactly what I and many others would like to see done for non-lithium cells. If we all just wanted to buy stock lights, why would we even be in this thread? By the way, I still don’t get why you’re in this thread. If you already know what you like in AA/2xAA format, then what do you want here?
