I have no idea. I suppose it depends on the interpretation of modding. OL was not impressed with the latest (led) ones to mod but I dont believe that is what Bunnings have on special. I'll have to snap some pictures next time.
I just seem to recall there being a serial number on Mags D cells that was not suitable to modding, if youhad the one without that serial beginning you were good to go, if not it was some major work.
Still, $30 is a good price for a decent light. I own one of the older stock LEDs, great for throwing in the back of my 4by. I hate the donut ring but Ill get over it. I think they are XPE, they trow pretty well.
Dont feel too bad, it ended a couple of hours after I posted in Qld, probably an hour in the southern states with their curtain fading, cow confusing daylight savings time. It was for Aus day only it seems.
I have both here, one is on the PC to charge it fully. The led goes from red (30% or <) - orange (30-60) - green (60 - 100) as it charges. Cant say whats inside, there are no screws to pull it apart etc, I assume its glued or internal clipped. Not that I would know how it works even if I could pull it apart.
The instruction booklet states it has Overcharge, Overcurrent and Over discharge protection along with abnormal temperature detection. Apparently it can be placed on an IQ pad to charge too.
The head comes off, has fixed to it the std USB plug, and a short cable neatly fitted and wound in a slot with the Micro USB. You can pull the head and plug the USB to PC, and the micro lead into the side of the unit to charge itself from the PC/USB port. The head is them placed back on, the USB plugging into the unit, and the micro now being the output to the phone item being charged.
The lead wraps neatly around the head. Theres a power button along with the LED too and thats about it on the outside. Its a clever enough design… but I cant find any info about how it charges the li ion inside for example.
Internal battery max voltage is 4.35, max charge rate is 0.95a
Rated input is 5v, 0.50a/1.0a
Rated output is 5v 1a, or 1.5a if the 203 model and using both terminals (Ill assume it has dual outputs). This is the 103 model though.
Not with any confidence, but I bought two anyway if that helps. Its Panasonic, and Eneloop branded (though I have no idea why), how bad can it be? It seems to know what state of charge the li ion is so it must have some smart features in it.
Edit: Its taking a while to charge though using the supplied cable and head (plugged into a USB3 port on my PC). Been going about 3 hours and the light is orange. However reading between the lines of the manual/specs, it might do better with another cable to recharge itself with. The wording seems to indicate the cable is limited to 0.50a. Its not a unsurrmountable issue if Im right, the cable is just a USB to Micro cable anyway. Ill try to charge the other one with a USB cable I have here I know is rated for at least 1.0a.
I got both boosters delivered now. They are solid. Well worth the $10. First attempt at trying to crack one open, it is sealed pretty well. Damaged the corner trying to get a wedge in. Not sure if I’m going to keep trying as I do like it. It is on par with sealed laptop battery packs in terms of being glued tight.
I put it on Qi charging pad and voila! It charges!
I’ve tried charging a phone and charging the booster at the same time. The wall charger is only rated for 1.2 A max, infact it is the charger for a N900, which I’m charging at the other end from the booster and it pulls 500mA during a charge (edit, the N900 reports that it is a wall charger so max rate). I don’t know what the booster is doing when it is plugged into the wall and charging another device but the green light turned to a yellow light during the process. I think when you have it plugged into charge another device, the booster stops charging from the wall
will play around with it more but it makes me want to look for a good USB light, maybe the xtar u1
Damn, do I or don’t I? The two I have are great I have to admit. One permanently has an Ikea USB light on it and is used as a bedside light, the other, I’ve used it it once to top up my phone.