So I got to work last night after 3 weeks of vacation and rather than any "welcomes back"s coming in, I get our team telling me the valet guy I sold a SAIK SA-9 to was pissed because his light quit. He wasn't there to investigate why, but he uses AAAs and I think I know why.
As I walked down the hall, an Engineer stopped me and told me his light quit working. I inspected it and found that it worked just fine, but the battery trays that came with his light (a AAA Q5 C8 mini) had fallen apart inside the light. This happened to at least two lights and I suspect the third as well.
Where can I get reliable, good-connection-making AAA holders? When I replaced one guy's, his beam seemed a touch dimmer due to not so good a fit. I need something that offers a good connection and where the head doesn't fall apart. It's kinda funny this happened to two of these lights in the exact same way. These guys use their lights more than I do and these trays aren't holding up. Suggestions are appreciated.
* I should mention the valet guy's SAIK may have a tray that has no spring connector on the head, so his may in fact not be working for some other reason.
First thing that came to me was... an engineer that can't diagnose simple circuitry?
Anyhow RustyJoe, for these guys, time to switch to Sipik SK68, single AA boost circuit, real XR-E, no moving connections, nothing to go wrong. And don't forget, 6 bucks for clone (UltraOK) on ebay.
Because the lights are uber-cheap throwers and they wanted AAA versions of the 18650 one I used, so I got them not knowing how reliable they'd be. Barring the battery trays, these little lights are great. Non-flashaholics are easily impressed.
They make several types. I believe the link above might work fpr you, but here is the link to the main page.
$2.00 each and Free Shipping that arrives to you in 3-4 days not weeks. It's worth a try. They make like 4 basic models, It might be worth it to get one of each and then decide which one is best for your application.
I checked the http://www.dorcydirect.com site, previous message link does not work with a customer number error, and the holders I see are $3 each and look essentially the same as the ones in $3 or free flashlights.
Checking on ebay I found a a few sellers, but essentially two versions, 53mm and 58-60mm in length, no “button” end and spring button respectively. Ebay prices varied from $3/8 to $8/1, but quality differences were not apparent.
I need to go and measure the length on my bad holders, but nothing is making me excited to buy any of them due to quality unknown.
HF free 9 LED, 3x AAA, slight button, 5.34 cm
Nexxtech, 3x AAA, short spring, 5.8 to 6.0 cm
www.manafont.com calls them a battery chamber, and only shows one for AAA (other is 3x 18650) 5.88 cm x 2.23 cm x 2.21 cm with a spring loaded button on top, $5.37 for 5 shipped. Looks like a good fit for my Nexxtech, so ordered a set.
I have a bazillion of the free HF lights, so maybe skipping replacements for the few of them with bad carriers (no mechanical failure, just forgetting to removing the super cheap batteries than come in them and start leaking).
I’m not too surprised. From my experience in engineering, most engineers don’t do ‘hands on’. For instance, most mechanical engineers couldn’t change their own oil if their lives depended on it. And many will reach for a cellphone rather than a jack and tire wrench if they get a flat tire!
