AA Flashlights - "Cockroach" / "Vampire" / "Drain-me-till-I'm-empty"

Yeah count me in for a couple! Maybe 3-4 unless you need more to help fill a quantity.

you have to be careful of one thing: alkalines are much more likely and fast to leak when completely discharged

if you let it run down, and then forget for some reason it is sitting there discharged, it might make a huge mess…

wle

Alright, looks like there’s a bit of interest. So I’ll establish some pricing and get a list going. After gathering a list for a few days, I’ll order the parts to assemble however many I get on the list. I’ll try to keep this post updated.

Pricing: $4 per driver including spring and wires (TLV61220 version) or $3 (ZXLD381 version)
Shipping: $3.50 for US, $14 for International

When making your request, please specify:

  • Driver size (15mm or 17mm… or if there’s another you’d like)
  • Desired LED current and/or lumen output (I’ll try to guess about how much mA it will take to get the desire lumen output)
  • Special considerations (such as if you want to use 2AA… I will make sure to test this)

Request List (as of 2020-05-18 10:44 AM CDT):

  • MascaratumB: 2×17mm and 2×15mm, specs here
  • buck91: 2 0.5-1 lumen and 2 in the 3-5 lumen range (all 17mm for T2)

Sweet! Thanks again :wink:

To specify the order:

  • All to use with 1 x AA/Ni-MH batteries

- 1 x 17mm x TLV61220 version (0.3-0.5 lumens)

  • 1 x 17mm x ZXLD381 version (5 lumens)

- 1 x 15mm x TLV61220 version (0.3-0.5 lumens)

  • 1 x 15mm x ZXLD381 version (5 lumens)

Are these values (lumens for the specified driver) reasonable?

Please do so I can see if I can source the parts and attempt to build myself or if I’m better off ordering from you!

I just added the BOM to Post 72. It’s a pretty easy assembly and the only specific item to locate is the boost IC which is widely available.

Also… bump in case there is any more interest out there

Thanks gChart!

Funnily enough the sense resistors are the hardest things for me to source in small quantities for a reasonable price.

So I’ll probably do the same as MascaratumB and buy four (one of each combo) direct from you.

Output wise I’m thinking of 0.1-0.5 lumens and 3-5 lumens with sliced SST-20 2700K JA3 and 4000K FB4. Would it be possible to buy extra sense resistors from you at the same time? Will be useful to tweak output in the future based on LED.

Based on my limited knowledge it looks like this driver doesn’t really have any brains so I assume additional modes are out of the question? How about lit tailcaps?

Thanks for sharing this driver gChart!

I stumbled across this board recently when I was poking around OSH Park looking for joule thief drivers for 5mm LEDs and I’ve been meaning to ask you about it.

You’ve come up with some really great stuff lately. After you sent me some booster tail boards I ordered your LVP version. I finally got around to assembling it a few days ago (my first PCB assembly) and now I’ve got some of your indicator boards on the way.

Would this driver work with a red LED, or would the lower voltage be a problem?

Do you think it would be feasible to make a 10mm version for AAA lights? A couple of times I’ve purchased really cheap single mode AAA lights just to put the driver in a (slightly) nicer host that came with a high/low/strobe driver.

Typically what we call sensor resistors are low-Ohm, high-wattage buggers that are expensive and less common. In this driver, though, a run-of-the-mill 0805 1/8 or 1/16 watt resistor like you can get in bulk kits from places like Banggood, AliExpress, eBay, or any electronics supplier for like $0.01 each will work just fine.

I can definitely build them and send them your way. But if you can locate the parts locally, it’ll probably be considerably cheaper to do so.

Nope, this was designed to be extremely simple with no modes… just extended runtime. Running an MCU would require extra power and would decrease runtime. Lit tailcaps are also a no-go (unless perhaps my “booster tails”) as they would still be seeing the ~1.2 volts of the battery, no enough to run a typical tailcap.

Lower voltage shouldn’t be a problem. It should operate LEDs with a vF anywhere between 1.3 and 5.0 V.

I think so. I can play with the layout and see if 10mm will fit. Some AAA drivers have lobes on them. Are you thinking completely circular, or odd-shaped like that of the Astrolux A01 or Lumintop Worm or Tool AAA? Do you have a specific host in mind?

Ah ok thanks, let me look into the resistors again.

For the capacitors I found 6.3V and 10V, does it matter which one or will both work?

Either is fine.

I’d probably go with 2 0.5-1 lumen and 2 in the 3-5 lumen range. Let me know when you are ready!

Ok. Diameters?

Do you have an Oshpark link and BOM for the ZXLD381 version as well?

Yup, here ya go

https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/eRMnLVjU

BTW, I found some 381’s on AE. Granted, it’s for 30 pieces. So yeah… I’ve got 30 of these sitting around unused. :frowning:

My SpiderFire C-013 used to work down to 0.7 Volts. However, it needed something like 0.9 Volts to turn on first. I actually fed it weak AA batteries. IIRC, the one I had was advertised as a 3-mode but ended up being a 5-mode.

@ gchart

In case you need payment in advance to get materials for the drivers or something related, please let me/us know!

And thanks in advance for your work :+1:

Hey buck91, were you wanting all 4 in 17mm?

Shouldn’t need payment up front, but I’ll let you guys know via PM before I ship them out to arrange payment.

Have you been able to locate what you need? Or do you think you might have me build them?



@All: It’s been ~5 days… Do I call it at this point and order the parts? Any more interest out there?

I’d go with 17mm for the T2 host.

Struggling to find CDRH5D28 inductor locally atm. Looks like a specific brand/type of inductor? Can it be substituted with a standard case/package? Ideally I’d like to buy from RS .

I think I can find all the other parts so this will be a nice little project.

Will you be uploading the 15mm versions in the future? Do you know the safest size it could be shaved down to?