Since I haven’t been able to find a flashlight that meets my needs, I’d like to build one myself. However, I have no experience. The flashlight needs to be no longer than 3 inches, and it’s diameter cannot exceed 0.6 inches. Its luminous flux must be a minimum of 200 lumens. The viewing angle should be no more than 15 degrees, and the optical pattern should be spot. I’d appreciate all the help that people have to offer.
So that’s 7.62cm long by 1.524cm diameter.
Given AA/14500 cells are 15mm diameter, and 5cm long, that pretty much limits you to single AAA/10440 celll lights.
If you’re willing to sacrifice width, the Manker E05 pocket thrower, running on an 14500 cell does 400lm, and should have a reasonably focused spot.
Or gut a ’348 and rebuild.
10440, contact-board with only a 7135 on it, cut the optix from a narrow-angle triple for a single TIR lens, and epoxy the whole mess together after wiring it up and making sure it works.
For both of these options, I would also be able to modify the switch to make momentary, correct?
How would I go about doing this? As I mentioned before, I have no experience. So, I don’t know what a “10440, contact-board with only a 7135 on it” is. I also don’t know which “narrow-angle triple” I should use to make a single TIR lens or even how to cut one. Additionally, I need the tailcap switch to be a momentary one. I only need one mode, namely the 200 lumens. If you would let me know, I’d really appreciate it.
Building something that small is very difficult. You can find what you're looking for if you search google for "10440 lens flashlight" or "10440 zoom flashlight" or "AAA zoom flashlight" or something with those words. For example https://www.ebay.es/itm/1000Lumen-R3-LED-AAA-10440-Lamp-Clip-Flashlight-Pocket-Torch-Mini-Penlight-/162794055202 Keep in mind that the 1000 lumen rating is BS for this particular one.
Thanks!