QCG 1xAAA 1x5mmLED: mini review / first impressions

[Fallingwater]

Rheslip: Could you tell me about this Zetex stepup converter? Where do I get it, or how do I build it?
What part is the transistor you used in place of the existing one?
Also: where did you get the Arc clones?

Edit: oh good, I broke one of the inductor wires as I was installing the pellet in the plastic sleeve.
Now I have the broken pellet inside the plastic sleeve. I need to remove it to resolder it without completely ripping the inductor off.
As if that wasn't bad enough, some cyanoacrilate glue (which I used to keep the positive metal contact of the sleeve in place) trickled down to a wire and how the thing doesn't want to come off.
Argh!

Edit2: I'll have to drill through the wire. It'll have to wait for tomorrow, as the dremel is a bit noisy to run at 3.30 am.

 

[rheslip]

Rheslip: Could you tell me about this Zetex stepup converter? Where do I get it, or how do I build it?
What part is the transistor you used in place of the existing one?
Also: where did you get the Arc clones?

There was a huge thread on here someplace about the Zetex ZXSC300 which dates back a couple of years now - might have been archived. I think Digikey still sells them and the FMMT617 transistor that goes with it. I built mine from scratch out of .015" raw PCB material and the required 4 or 5 parts. This is pretty tricky - dinky little SMT parts on a PCB smaller than a dime. For the transistor swap mod I think I used the FMMT617 but I don't remember now. The key is to get an NPN with low saturation voltage so minimum power is wasted as heat when the transistor is on.

Seems to me I saw a thread on optimizing the "Joule Theif" circuit here a few months back. It involved adding some transistors or something to make it switch faster, which improves efficiency.

The ARC clones were from a group buy a year or so ago. Said "Sona FL319" on the packaging. I put Nichia CS in both mine. Hard to imagine a AAA light getting smaller than these little guys.

Too bad about the broken pill. Been there, done that

Rich

 

[Fallingwater]

The ARC clones were from a group buy a year or so ago. Said "Sona FL319" on the packaging

I googled, but it only finds the group buy thread here and a useless UPC site

I put Nichia CS in both mine

Where did you buy the Nichia CS?

Too bad about the broken pill. Been there, done that

I ain't giving up. Tomorrow I'll drill through the glued wire, resolder the inductor, clean it all up and try again.
Would lengthening the inductor wires impact efficiency? I'd like to have some leeway inbetween it and the tiny board...

Oh, and on a side note, Lighthound is out of the UV version of this light.

 

[Marduke]

I googled, but it only finds the group buy thread here and a useless UPC site

Also search for FL319, SE FL319 (SE for Sona Enterprises), and "Chinese ebay clone" 1xaaa

Lots of pictures and info, but no one selling them still, unless SE still is, but I don't feel like creating an account with them just to view their website.

 

[Fallingwater]

Success!
My first real flashlight mod is now complete!
It's not much of a mod, really, but my previous mods were just emitter swaps in existing LED lights. This one is the first radical mod, so to speak, and I'm pleased at how it came out.
I'm usually content with throwing together a bunch of parts, establishing the result works as intended and calling it a day. This results in hodgepodge messes of wires and parts that work but look horrible and feel dodgy.
In this one, however, I put some more effort and got it done as neatly as I could.

I drilled through the wire and finally got the pill back out. I resoldered the inductor wire that broke and melt-glued the two parts together so I don't have to deal with that particular problem again.

I then removed the incandescent bulb from the plastic holder, drilled two holes on the back of the holder, soldered two wires to the contacts on the pill and inserted the pill in place of the bulb, with the wires coming out from the back.
I clipped the new LED's legs and soldered them on the old one's remaining stumps, then melt-glued the pill in the holder.

Here are some piccies:

Original flange fitting globe in holder (ewww!):



Pill inserted and negative wire coming out the side (this was before I broke the inductor wire):



LED soldered and pill glued to the holder:



Holder assembly screwed into reflector:



Back view, with negative wire soldered to the switch-contact ring:



Everything put together:



The smoke test - it works!



Glamour shots:



I now have my very own 1-AA 1-5mmLED flashlight

The only thing I don't like about it is that the plastic cheapie doesn't have very good threading. I often have to wrestle with the head to get it screwed correctly to the body. Oh well.
I left the led unglued, so when the Jeled 55cd emitters I got on eBay get here I can swap the existing LED out with one of those. A Jeled should improve output considerably.

Beamshots to come soon!

 

[mmmflashlights]

Good Job, you've made a functional light out of one of those otherwise nearly worthless 1 AA incandescent lights. I had 2 or 3 of these cheap plastic 1 AA lights a couple years ago, I threw them away though. After I ran across this cheap keychain light, I probably would have done the same with 1 of the pills just to make a usable light out of a junker. Even though it's not very bright and the circuit isn't very efficient, you're still looking at probably around 12 hours or so of runtime on a single AA, not bad at all.

 

[rheslip]

Where did you buy the Nichia CS?

I bought them from somebody in the dealer forum, I've forgotten who now. CS are pretty bright and rugged but very blue/brown in tint.

Congrats on the mod ! I've had tons of fun making little flashlight mods like that. I made a PR base gizmo with the Zetex converter and an SSC led - really bright, white beam and since its way underdriven at about 150ma it'll run 20hrs or more in a 2AA light. Much nicer than my PR base SMJLED !

Rich

 

[Fallingwater]

Small update: I've swapped a Nichia GS (out of a DX fauxton) in place of the generic LED in the modified 1AA light. The output has improved greatly. It's presently running from a relatively clapped out alkaline AA (measuring 1.3V open circuit), drawing 200mA at power-on, and outputting an amount of light that wouldn't impress me if it was running an underdriven high-flux emitter, but which definitely impresses me considering it's a 5mm LED.

I'm actually using it as my main going-around-at-night, finding-stuff-in-boxes, working-on-the-computer indoor light.

As for the original QCG 1xAAA... I can't decide whether I should mod it or not. The output would improve, but its stock led has a bluish tint that I really like...

Perhaps I'll order another one and mod that.