*Beamshots-Post #36*Build yer own "Battery Vampire" with a P60

[Superdave]

Nice!

i made my own, used a Cree 15 degree 5mm and a 1K resistor with a old dead P60. Works like a champ.

[M@elstrom]

I will tomorrow. I've got an interview at 6:45 am and need to be sleeping.

Basically, the directions said that when you bust the bulb, grab the base of the bulb to pull it out.

With the R60 module, the base of the bulb is too far past the bottom of the reflector to grab it with needle nose pliers.

Ah... okay, might be more cost effective to get generic P60 style modules and 'hack' them, IIRC KD's got some for $3.73 USD (shipped)

BTW good luck with that interview!

i made my own, used a Cree 15 degree 5mm and a 1K resistor with a old dead P60. Works like a champ.

Sounds nice... beamshots?

[Search]

I've got the job. Interview is to make it official. So I just have to wake up early

I broke the bulb and turn the module upside down (facing table) and put an allen wrench down against the back of the bulb. Then I just took a pair of pliers and hammered down until the bulb popped out the front.

It's possible.

Now I've just got to figure out this negative and positive business.

[angelofwar]

I've got the job. Interview is to make it official. So I just have to wake up early

I broke the bulb and turn the module upside down (facing table) and put an allen wrench down against the back of the bulb. Then I just took a pair of pliers and hammered down until the bulb popped out the front.

It's possible.

Now I've just got to figure out this negative and positive business.

Nice sig..."The only 4 that still work...and wait...what's this...they're all surefire's!!!"...Sorry, couldn't resist .

As far as Pos and Neg, I bought some alligator clips, and hooked them up to some spare wire I had laying around, and used those to test for which lead was positive and which was negitive...but, the positive terminal SHOULD be the longer lead.

Still no UV LEDs at the shack though...I did manage to solder my Red LED into place on my P60 thoguh, making it a little more durable.

Keep 'em coming...good luck with the job search...no more ordnance???

[csshih]

I soldered the legs of a bright emerald green LED that I got in a trade to the filament posts and it worked. I did not want to remove the threaded part off of the base so I got it as close as I could and sanded the crap out of it. The thing puts out total green flood and I quite like it.
I even tossed a spare trit under the led for kicks and it makes the whole reflector glowy.
Anyone ever seen diffused 5mm LED's? The plastic is milky and they give perfect flood, even better results than sanding. I have a couple of white ones and I would love to buy more in different colors. Especially orange, red and warm white.

sounds familiar
wow, trits! those leds have never come close to one of those at all!
all the LEDs in the pinkish antistatic bags are nichias! to save space, I tossed some together , but the stickers tell you what part number.. I labeled the colors/diffused.

I believe you can buy them directly from nichia. I have a contact number in cali, if you need/want it.

ps: my side of the trade should be arriving tmrw!!! I'm excited!

On another note, I notice that those cheap keychain lights that use the 5mm leds are using 2 3v coin cell batteries. Couldn't you use 2 CR123s with this and enjoy the ridiculously long runtime? Are there any 5mm LEDs that use around 6V?

I don't think the keychain light LEDs will let you use 2xCR123A.. the voltage on the coin cells drop dramatically under load.. and then they dont provide much current... wheras, on a 123A.... they dont drop much under low loads...

[Search]

Nice sig..."The only 4 that still work...and wait...what's this...they're all surefire's!!!"...Sorry, couldn't resist .

As far as Pos and Neg, I bought some alligator clips, and hooked them up to some spare wire I had laying around, and used those to test for which lead was positive and which was negitive...but, the positive terminal SHOULD be the longer lead.

Still no UV LEDs at the shack though...I did manage to solder my Red LED into place on my P60 thoguh, making it a little more durable.

Keep 'em coming...good luck with the job search...no more ordnance???

LoL I'm just waiting for the hate mail.

Does the pos attach to the big or small spring? Obviously the neg would be the opposite.

That's all my modules (I've got one working on I'm going to keep) and I'm waiting for the two 5mms to come in from China. I'm going to wait until the guys at the PD blow a few bulbs and I'll just collect a couple more. I want a UV to charge up my GITD some times.

[angelofwar]

Nice!

i made my own, used a Cree 15 degree 5mm and a 1K resistor with a old dead P60. Works like a champ.

How'd ya get a resistor in there? And where'd you get the LED?

[Search]

Got the job! I now work almost all day. 4 hours between off work to time to go to bed. At least it's 44 hours working 4 days a week

With the negative lead being the long one, that would mean the long or negative lead would be soldered onto the larger spring. With the shorter and positive lead being soldered to the small spring.

I'm guessing this because the battery touches the small spring and the large spring touches the body. Right?

[Superdave]

How'd ya get a resistor in there? And where'd you get the LED?

I cut the lead of the LED off pretty short and the same with the resistor and lap-soldered them together. It fit pretty much perfect.

The LED's came from digi-key: http://search.digikey.com/scripts/Dk...AN-CCACB151-ND

Those are the same ones i put in my A2, at the right drive current they are fairly bright.


M@elstrom; Maybe, i still need to swap out the resistor to get a little more out of it. I measured 1 lumen in my sphere today at work on 2 fresh cr123's.

[M@elstrom]

With the negative lead being the long one, that would mean the long or negative lead would be soldered onto the larger spring. With the shorter and positive lead being soldered to the small spring.

I'm guessing this because the battery touches the small spring and the large spring touches the body. Right?

The +ve anode/leg needs to contact to the top button of the cell

M@elstrom; Maybe, i still need to swap out the resistor to get a little more out of it. I measured 1 lumen in my sphere today at work on 2 fresh cr123's.

Perhaps how high a value did you use? how much voltage is reaching the LED?

[Search]

The +ve anode/leg needs to contact to the top button of the cell

Thanks! Without knowing what most of what you just said means, I do think the thumbs up meant I was right? lol

[R@ndom]

The socket that Koala is using will be great.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=199366

It means also that you can use the LED's with 2 CR123a's since you can replace the LEDs as fast as they wear out at a cost far lower than P60s. Exploding cells might be a issue though.

[M@elstrom]

Thanks! Without knowing what most of what you just said means, I do think the thumbs up meant I was right? lol

LOL yeah that's why I added the picture to my answer

[Search]

I did a 16000 mcd White and an 8000 mcd Green and I want to throw it out there that neither are bright enough to do most things.

There are a good bit of useful tasks one can do with these, but for me they will never be done with this light.

Until me and my fiance move in together, I don't think I'll even use it because it's easier to use the low mode on my E1B.

At the right I've used it, I'll have over 100 dead batteries for it before I use the first one I put in.

Hopefully something changes and I find more uses for it

[Kestrel]

I did a 16000 mcd White and an 8000 mcd Green and I want to throw it out there that neither are bright enough to do most things.

There are a good bit of useful tasks one can do with these, but for me they will never be done with this light.
Until me and my fiance move in together, I don't think I'll even use it because it's easier to use the low mode on my E1B.
At the right I've used it, I'll have over 100 dead batteries for it before I use the first one I put in.
Hopefully something changes and I find more uses for it

Sorry to hear that, different folks do have different preferences for an ultra-low level. Out of curiosity, what 'normal' lights do you like for low-level work? (For example, I usually found the low on my LD01 and my SF L1 (Cree) to be too high, and preferred the ~1 lumen low of my SF L1 (Luxeon).) I would definitely understand if you found a ~10 lumen low to work best for you, for example.

[Search]

Sorry to hear that, different folks do have different preferences for an ultra-low level. Out of curiosity, what 'normal' lights do you like for low-level work? (For example, I usually found the low on my LD01 and my SF L1 (Cree) to be too high, and preferred the ~1 lumen low of my SF L1 (Luxeon).) I would definitely understand if you found a ~10 lumen low to work best for you, for example.

I realized what I had been doing wrong.

I had been using two batteries in my TK10 (before I traded). Once the voltage was too low to use high mode, I had been using them in low mode for a few days.

Well, I popped a battery out of my E2DL and threw it in the G2 and it was considerably brighter. I just had to use one with a higher voltage.

Another way was that I might have been using a dead battery from my E1B, which would have also been too low to use in the G2 or battery vampire.

So I just have to wait for a higher voltage, dead battery

BTW, I consider the rated 5 lumens of the E1B to be pretty good.

Although I have ran into one or two situations where lower would have been better.

When we have this baby and move out though I'm sure I'll have plenty of reasons to not wake anyone up hehe.

[angelofwar]

Yeah, it's definitely limited in it's use's, but then again, that's what it was intended for...I think it'll be more suited for people who spend alot of there time in VERY dark places...where that little bit of light is actually alot. Thanks for the feedback guys!

[Search]

I lied.

This is one of the best decisions I've ever made.

I've used it extensively throughout the night. Once I centered the bulb and re-did the wires it seems a little brighter now. Either way, I'm glad I did this now.

[Kestrel]

I lied.
This is one of the best decisions I've ever made.
I've used it extensively throughout the night. Once I centered the bulb and re-did the wires it seems a little brighter now. Either way, I'm glad I did this now.

Cool. I just got my L2mini & a shot SF lamp assembly. Now I just need a 5mm LED...

[M@elstrom]

Sorry guys I went the other route, I got offered an MTE mini (CR123a) light for the cost of postage (thanks eric242 ) that had some issues and decided to gut that for my 8,000mcd Super-bright blue LED, what makes this a great little host is the 2 stage tail cap switch which I retrofitted with a 150 Ohm resistor giving me another lower low

Running a depleted CR123a @ 2.92v (no load) high is juiced @ 2.83v, low sips @ 2.65v which is pretty good considering this LED supposedly has a Vf range of 3.1~3.5v


Here is the Blue LED MTE on low-low beside the Jet-III M @ 2Lm, one thing I did notice was the LED emiter had a broader beam profile especially compared to the Jet-III M's deep reflectored throw and subsequent hotspot




Now the compulsory white wall shot with the MTE on low-low (Jet-III M still @ 2Lm) followed by the MTE on high.






I'm pretty happy with the results now I have a sub 2Lm flashlight/torch to knock around with, I may just go for a 2K Ohm in the tailcap and see how low I can get the emitter, anyway here's the last bit of eye candy!




Now I really should get stuck into the Angelhead restoration project eh?

[Search]

I've got a little LED I pulled from a fan in my computer. It's brighter than the 8000 mcd green but is much smaller than a 5mm.

It works good, but doesn't sit in the module, it just flops over. I haven't found a decent solution to this yet

[angelofwar]

I've got a little LED I pulled from a fan in my computer. It's brighter than the 8000 mcd green but is much smaller than a 5mm.

It works good, but doesn't sit in the module, it just flops over. I haven't found a decent solution to this yet

Search, that green looks nice! Have you tried any of that thermal glue/compound to hold that smaller LED in? I know they sell it at RS, but they should also have it at home repair stores, automotive shops, etc.

Kestrel, do you have an RS nearby? If not, let me know, and I'll send you one of the high-output whites. Just PM me your addy, and I'll throw it in an envelope.

Nice one, M@elstrom! Have you tried a diffuser on that blue one? I frosted just about all my 5mm led's, cause those rings annoy the heck outta me! And yes, still waiting to see yer finished sngle head...I wanna see that orange one as well!!! I'm still not brave enough to start soldering resistors and stuff in...not quite up to par on that, but I'd like to learn.

I just realized, that my High out-put white on an RCR is brighter than the lowest low on my U2...so, while not alot, it is very useable! And staying at that level for 20+ hours on an RCR is what makes it really attractive!

[M@elstrom]

And yes, still waiting to see yer finished sngle head...I wanna see that orange one as well!!!

Well once I've finshed this run of night duty & there's time left from the duties for the 'minister of finance' I'll get stuck into it

I'm still not brave enough to start soldering resistors and stuff in...not quite up to par on that, but I'd like to learn.

Ah... it's easy just remember the golden rule...

#1 Don't burn yourself!

I just realized, that my High out-put white on an RCR is brighter than the lowest low on my U2...so, while not alot, it is very useable! And staying at that level for 20+ hours on an RCR is what makes it really attractive!

Yeah they've got ultra bright white LEDs at our local hobbyist store too but I figured I liked blue better cause I've already got a tonne of white LED lights, I asked for 16,000mcd but I'm sure they gave me a 8,000mcd as it came loose without specs, the 16,000mcd 2.1v red LEDs look promising too!

[NE450No2]

I am new here on CPF, so bear with me...

As I under stand it a "Battery Vampire" is a flashlight that will "suck" the last little bit of "elecricity" our of a battery, in this case a 123.

This is a great idea, and I have kinda discovered it a little for my self.

ie, I recently bought a P60 LED bulb.

I knew form using my SF A@ Aviator, that after the batteries would not light up the incandescent, they would still light up the LEDs.

Also a buddy gave me a single 123 light with an incandescent and LED's and the same thing happens, ie the LED's burn long after the incad. bulb will not light.

So My question is How many lumens should a "Battery Vampire" produce.

I have found that the 3 lumens of the SF A2, with the white LED's is more than enough to;
Get up in the night and go to the bathroom.
Look in your pack for stuff.
Walk around a known area.
Read a map, book, etc.

If I wanted to do more general stuff I would want a few more lumens.

While I AM a Flashaholic, I am not a High Tech One.

So I would suggest this, since the P60 series type bulb lights are so prevelant, some Company should make a P60 LED "Vampire Bulb" at X amount of lumens [to be determined by you techies, but I would guess from 3 to 15 lumens], so we could get a little extra from our spent 123's and help save the environment.

I know I would get a dedicated SF G2 or 2 to use.

One for the house, and to take on trips for the motel, and one for the car to read maps.

Or maybe a drop in for the E series SF lights.

Then I could save the batteries on my A2 for "serious stuff".

These "spent" batteries would probably light up the low settings on the current E1L and L1. You guys with those lights let us know.

[M@elstrom]

A Nichia GS should produce around 10Lm, in a revamped (pun intended) P60 module it would produce a slightly better beam (due to larger reflector) than a Fenix EO1

As these are too easy to 'whip together' I couldn't imagine anyone actually wanting to pay for one? good environmental/economic thinking though


BTW you're correct the used batteries from my 6P incan' were still sufficient to power up my old gen L1 on both high and low... that light is a bit of a battery vampire itself

[jchoo]

I've got a Nichia GS in a P60 LA running direct drive off of an 18650... boy, talk about a great power outage light!

[M@elstrom]

I've got a Nichia GS in a P60 LA running direct drive off of an 18650... boy, talk about a great power outage light!

Sweet!


So any pictures, beamshots?

[Sgt. LED]

Keep track of your ON time.
If the low voltage circuit doesn't kick in it'll kill your cell won't it?

[jchoo]

I'm not using this cell for actual usage, just testing. I measured the current draw at just about 45ma, but that is without soldering the leads of the LED to the spring. I will have to go through the stash of resistors I've got to try to find one that I can use to run this light off of 2 fresh CR123s (I don't need it as a vampire, but I want a looooong running power failure/emergency light). I guess I'm looking for something around 20-33 ohm, maybe 1/4 watt. I've got a couple hundred resistors hanging around in a box in the shop, I just need to dig around for what I want.

[Illum]

Keep track of your ON time.
If the low voltage circuit doesn't kick in it'll kill your cell won't it?

chances are the cell protection won't kick in if your drawing like 20ma, sensors are not that sensitive to such low current draw in particular if it was designed to allow transient current flow

There has been ruined batteries in the past from uber low current draws spread over a fat load of time.

Why would you use a battery drainer on a rechargeable is a complete mystery to me