How many different Killers?

[The Coach]

Here's a dumb question. How many different Killers are there? I just ordered a AAA Keychain light and there seem to be at least three different lights with that name. Does the name apply to the head and the different body styles make different classes?

[PhotonFanatic]

Here's a dumb question. How many different Killers are there? I just ordered a AAA Keychain light and there seem to be at least three different lights with that name. Does the name apply to the head and the different body styles make different classes?

There are now two Killers--the original La Petite Killer, which is a small keychain light, .56" diameter by .91" length, and powered by a Renata 357 battery. Drive current is 12mA. Used intermittently, one could expect over 12 hours from the 357 battery. These were originally offered in bare Ti and some in anodized colors; now, there are only bare Ti Killers for sale, although that may change, once I get more converters.

Then some folks lobbied for a AAA battery tube to fit the Killer, and 50 pieces were made and the battery tube alone is offered for $70.

Recently I decided to also sell the Killer as just a AAA light, using the original Killer head and the Ti AAA battery tube. Diameter is still .56" and length is 2.48". The LED, i.e., Nichia 5mm GS, W bin, and drive current remain the same. With the eneloop battery at 800mAH, the runtime, again used intermittently, would be over 60 hours.

As for brightness--I don't have any measured readings, but I'd guess the lumen output to be around 20 lumen or less. Plenty for use as intended, i.e., a keychain light. Personally, I use mine as a night light to visit the bathroom, and it is plenty bright enough, almost enough to upset the sweetie, if she's awake.

[Nitroz]

Personally, I use mine as a night light to visit the bathroom, and it is plenty bright enough, almost enough to upset the sweetie, if she's awake.

Keep that up and I'm sure you'll end with a .

[The Coach]

Good thing it's waterproof.

Thanks for the info Fred.

[mr.squatch]

Hmmm, brings up an interesting question... Can I use a 357 battery without the aaa body on the aaa light I just bought?


g

[PhotonFanatic]

Sure, if you use a battery spacer.

Just don't use more than one Renata in the AAA tube.

[mr.squatch]

No, I mean can I take off the battery tube and use the original short killer parts to make the uber tiny light with a 357 battery? Also, what's the voltage range for the led? is it best to use a 1.2v rechargeable or can it take an alk 1.5? I have a couple 3.7v aaa's around the house somewhere. lol. I know I know. Just curious. Thanks for the help shipping, can't wait to get home and see it. Hope nobody in the office hijacks my package.

g

[PhotonFanatic]

No, I mean can I take off the battery tube and use the original short killer parts to make the uber tiny light with a 357 battery? Also, what's the voltage range for the led? is it best to use a 1.2v rechargeable or can it take an alk 1.5? I have a couple 3.7v aaa's around the house somewhere. lol. I know I know. Just curious. Thanks for the help shipping, can't wait to get home and see it. Hope nobody in the office hijacks my package.

g

Yes, all the Killer parts work together, so you can swap out the AAA battery tube and install the 357 battery tube.

The driver can accept a Vin of 1.2 to 1.8V.

Unbelievable as it may seem, I do know of the theft of a custom light within an office. Funny thing is that the light had the recipient's name engraved on it, so the thief must have been a tad disappointed.

[mr.squatch]

Our shop is a bit more creative than that. Photos of someone's belongings being rubbed on undesirable body parts, glued to tabletops, encased in a block of cement with an xray view photo taped to the top... etc. No biggee most of the time, I'm just as guilty of pranks as anyone, but with a ti light that most people would have no idea what it's worth. I'd rather not take the chance. My roomy says he'll guard the front door with his life trying to intercept the mailperson. haha. I really gottu stop playing pranks. Thanks for the info.

g

[Peter Atwood]

I can't get any rechargeable batteries to to work in the AAA body. Alkalines are good but neither the enveloop or energizer NiMH will get it to go on. Any ideas?

BTW, love this little light with the button cell. It's riding on a bead chain around my neck right now. So darned cute!

[GVS_Lakers]

I sure hope Eneloops work in the AAA, I thought that was the size it was designed for?

[PhotonFanatic]

I can't get any rechargeable batteries to to work in the AAA body. Alkalines are good but neither the enveloop or energizer NiMH will get it to go on. Any ideas?

BTW, love this little light with the button cell. It's riding on a bead chain around my neck right now. So darned cute!

Peter,

There are only two reasons why any battery would not work with your Killer: 1) You put the battery in backwards, or 2) It is too short to make contact with the board and the bottom of the battery tube.

Does the battery rattle when it is inserted? If so, it is too short. You can add a bit of solder to the converter, or use a small magnet attached to the battery's head.

As for the eneloops, 99% of them seem to fit fine. For the one or two that didn't, I just needed to add some more solder to the converter. Problem fixed.

[jch79]

An NiMH Eneloop AAA worked fine in my Killer - inserted backwards.

john

[Peter Atwood]

Hey backwards works! How about that...

[jch79]

Fred's always been a little backwards...

[The Coach]

Duracell primary works fine in mine (backwards, no solder).

[PhotonFanatic]

Fred's always been a little backwards...

Ain't that the truth!

But at least I've managed to survive so far--nothing that eating, drinking, carousing, sleeping, etc. won't do for you.

[paulr]

Yes, that's logical, the AAA cell has to be inserted with the + button towards the back end of the battery tube, the opposite of the more common Arc AAA setup. That's because of how the 357/SR44 button cell works, with the + terminal on the outside. I think the new "reverse polarity" setup with the + side of the battery in contact with the battery tube is much more sensible and reliable than the old setup that relied on an insulating sleeve around the battery. At least, my current understanding is that it works like that. If I'm wrong, someone is sure to speak up .

Also, regarding lumen output, while the LPK is wonderful, it is subject to the laws of physics like any other light. 12 mA to a Nichia GS should produce around 3 lumens at the led die, or maybe 2 lumens out the front of the light. This is consistent with a ceiling bounce comparison I did against a CMG Ultra-G (an old popular light of about 3 lumens) and against an original Infinity (about 1 lumen). It is a very useful level output as most of the LPK owners can attest, and the runtime should be pretty good (I'd like to see a runtime graph) considering the tiny power source.

I'm looking forward to getting an AAA version (I guess I'll wait to see what coatings are offered) and as much as I'm a fan of Eneloops in more powerful lights, I don't see much point to using a rechargeable in a 12mA light unless it's going to really be used for many hours at a time. A standard alkaline cell should run it for 24+ hours, lithium even longer than that.

[PhotonFanatic]

paulr,

Nice explanatory post, but I must say that the PEEK sleeve solution for the normal polarity drivers works just as flawlessly as the RP driver solution. It is just as reliable, although certainly not as sensible.

The runtime of the Renata 357 in La Petite Killer is anywhere from 45 minutes to 60 minutes (reports from the field, and my personal measurements as well) when used continuously. At that point, the batteries voltage has dropped to about .90V, which is the minimum the driver needs to be able to light the LED. If one lets the battery recover for 15 minutes, then the 357 will once again be able to power the driver. With intermittent use, a 357 should deliver close to 12 hours of use from a single 357.

I only offer the eneloop rechargeable in the Killer AAA since it is a popular battery and is eco-friendly, but, sure, other batteries will work just fine. Continuous runtime is about 25 hours, but intermittent use should provide at least double that, before the eneloop needs recharging.

[paulr]

The forward voltage of a Nichia GS led at 12 mA is going to be around 3.1 volts which means that with a 100% efficient converter (unattainable of course), a 1.5 volt battery with zero sag (also unattainable) will need to deliver around 25 mA to the converter. The 357's capacity is supposed to be 190 mAH so that would be close to 8 hours--wow!! Realistically 5 hours of regulated output with enough intermittent battery rest might be possible, anything more than that will be out of regulation with a diminishing "tail". Still, that is pretty impressive, again in basically the same league as the original Arc AAA which used a much larger battery. Anyway, even 45-60 minutes is pretty good for a light this tiny. I don't think a M*g Solitaire produced useable light for that long.

Actually if Peter Atwood has a reverse-polarity driver, I'm a bit baffled about how an alkaline battery lit it up in the forward-polarity position. Some weird characteristic of the converter circuit, that allows putting in the battery either way if the voltage is high enough?

[PhotonFanatic]

Peter could not get his RP driven light to work because he was putting them in the normal manner, i.e., with the positive terminal toward the driver's solder slug. The LED only lit when the battery was reversed.