And your stuff was some of my incentive for changing this one out originally….
My thought here is to stick with the AAA format as it is already in production, the form is small, AAA’s can be salvaged from remotes in almost any situation, and spares take up less room than anything but coin batteries.
The AA would be interesting, and perhaps we could talk the manufacturer into that later, after this works and is selling well.
The idea would be a bright color or two to set it apart as the extended runtime version and make it visible, maybe a white anodizing would be good as well…
Same here, and Mhanlen has volunteered some time to check output, I should have the first modded light with the 270uH inductor off to him tomorrow and in a week or two, we should have some better light readings.
I really love how you guys can craft custom runs like this, the many unique group buys, ReyLight stuff and his custom runs. BLF is truly special! Can we put some BLF labelling on it? Just too cool.
this reminds me of a mod i did to a 2-dollar twistie AA light some time ago. >> The Ultimate "Budget" EDC light, for LESS than 2 bucks. **UPDATE with MOD INFO**
I did an experiment with one after, by adding a resistor to to the boost driver get it to a low of roughly 4 –5 lumens with the a W/W version of the Luxeons i swapped in them, and it would run for a few days on a single AA alkaline like a candle.
ReManG - please inform us regarding updates in OP with new post here ;)!
Regarding different colors - well, one could look at it like at different tints, so that could be possible!
It would be great if this light could be made in neutral white, if thats feasible and economically viable?
Also, red LED would be cool, but for comparable output that means that it would have to output more lumens and consume more power, thus making this option far less desirable from manufacturers stand point as I presume that not many would like to have one with the red LED?
If you just put the red LED into standart GB light, it would give out considerably less light, no?
vēer, I don’t know how much light you’d need to get from a red LED, but the idea behind this light is to extend run-time by reducing the output from the driver to the LED. The original white LED is putting out at least three times the suggested amount of light for this “downgrade”. If enough people wanted it, it would be just as easy to keep the driver output higher if need be, to run a red LED, at the expense of some run-time. Or, look at it another way. The suggested ~5lm output from a white LED is still a bit high already. Put a red LED in it and let the lumens go down, if that’s what happens. It would still be bright enough to be useful to a lot of people.
It is a shame that the Fenix E01 does not come with 2 modes as for me this is the almost ideal emergency light. I have a gold coloured one that I keep in the emergency box. It will last for 16 hours on one battery but with the option of a second lower setting it would have been perfect for the role you guys have in mind. Personally I do not think the Manker is a great base torch as it can’t stand up at either end and the bulb stands proud of the body making it more likely to scratch or damage than one that is recessed. The one I purchased when it was on offer recently has not charmed me at all.
I would like the red LED be comparably as bright as the white version, but if that sacrifices runtime, Id rather not to, still, if at the same runtime there is still some usable red light, Im in.
It should be more than what those coin 2xCR2016 keychain lights put out, not alot more, but more usable, even though with full batteries they are nothing to sneeze at. Beam profile might have something to do with it?
This might be a perfect candidate for getting started making interchangeable battery tubes with matching threads.
One AAA for pocket, one AA for room lighting
I mean, if someone’s capable of making matching threads.
By making the circuit as efficient as possible and lowering further the end voltage might give us a very long running light. Not good for rechargeables though and high chance of alkaline leaks due to over discharge.
Wow, good read, thanks for the link. I know this is not something new to get a long run time out of a single LED, but with the single AAA 5mm LEDs flashlights, most of the other type of lights do not lend themselves to fairly easy mods, they usually cram everything onto a single board and crimp it into the head.
I agree, and a two mode Fenix would totally negate this thread. I also agree that the Manker Boney is not ideal, but it is modable, and they are willing to do this (at least at this time). I intend to work on the projecting LED issue and address the tail standing ability as well. I am wondering if anyone would be able to find a more efficient 5mm LED for this, perhaps even a shorter one like a straw hat version. HERE is the data sheet for the stock LED.
If we can get this to go with just the original LED, I will be happy. I would also like other colors, green, aqua, red and amber all come to mind. I think with the different vF of the different colors, we may have some substantial changes to keep light and run time near the white one. The warm color doesn’t seem to be available in a 5mm LED, at least I cannot find it. The stock one greatly benefits from a sanding with very fine steel wool or scrubpad, it makes it much more warm than the blueish tint of the original.
I would be up for another color that is close enough to the specs of the original that we do not have to change anything to keep it close, but I do not have time to research that….
Another good read, thank you DBSAR… I am going to look at adding a resistor mod to this if Manker can get me some “open” pills… Other wise, I will have to crack another one open (gonna hate this ) but then I have some figuring to do on the combination of resistor and inductor….
So far so fun! Please feel free to chime in if you have any ideas on the development.
Here are some Strawhat LEDs that are warm white. I just did a quick search in eBay, and this is the first thing I found. Just to show that they do exist. In other words, there may be better options than this one, but this one would work too.
The unglued pill makes this guy makes it look pretty interesting to play around with. & thus I’d be down for 2+ of these lights to fiddle around with.
I recalled I liked modding lights such as the Fenix e0s & e1s. But I also recall the part I hated the most of those were the glued heads. What a royal PITA those were!
Ok, so we have had some setback with the original idea. I am an awful estimator of lumen, it appears what i thought were five lumen in reality were less than two, closer to one lumen.
Question: How many lumen would you need in a long run time light would you consider minimum? 1, 3, 5? Lets try to get a consensus on this so we can proceed….
) but then I have some figuring to do on the combination of resistor and inductor….