hi guys, i can't think of a ton of things to share here but i thought you would like this one.
i took a keymate a few months ago and modded it a bit.
first, i removed the clip. the easiest way to do this is take a large jaw comercial wire cutter(not tin snips) and put it around the plastic tail cap. chomp down and the plastic cap and clip will break off. i suggest you carefully wrap the back end of the tube with several layers of vinyl tape before you do this as to not scratch it. wrap up past the plastic part because the cutter will move down when you grip. if you do scratch it, a sharpie black marker can touch it up great! now you will have just the little shiny key loop left. two step epoxy it into the hole in the tube. remove the batteries first and the little rivet should fall out. throw it away. now the light will have a shiny silver back ring and a silver key loop with no clip. i think that is cool. plus it is really tiny now.
next, take a tweezers and insert it into the tube. pull out the spring! with the spring out cut the top 1 1/2 loops out of the spring. bend it back into the shape it was so it still makes contact. now put a dab of 2 step epoxy(just a dab) on the back end of the spring. hold it by the tweezers and reinsert it into the tube. it is a little tricky to get it in straight. it does not have to be exactly straight.
now go get a duracell 21/23(you knew this part was coming).
carefully open its casing with a #1 flat head screwdriver. remove all the 'baby' cells. throw one in your junk drawer.
take the remaining 'baby' cells and wrap them 6 times tightly with vinyl tape. observe the correct polarity!
insert them positive up into the tube. put silicone grease on the threads and close it. if it does not light, put your tweezers into the tube and gently stretch the spring. do not try to use all the cells out of the 21/23 they will not fit! it is now running at 10.5 volts! the internal resistance of these cells should keep it from cooking. the way the lamp is installed in this light actually uses the bezel as a heatsink so this works out great.
you wont beleive the output! don't look at the beam! it is a super tight beam, but way brighter than my e1e!
mine has lasted over 3 hours so far with no noticible drop off. it does not draw much current at this voltage so even though these cells have a low mah they should last a long while. i'd be more worried the led will die before the batteries because it does get hot. but i have had it on for 10 minutes and it did not warp the lens. anyways the light costs less than a lot of batteries we buy so it doesnt matter to me.
one thing i must say! all of this is done at your own risk! if you kill your little light dont blame me. it worked for me and if you are somewhat skilled it SHOULD work for you. please do not get mad at me if it does not work. i am just suggesting this, not forcing anyone to do it!
rob.
i took a keymate a few months ago and modded it a bit.
first, i removed the clip. the easiest way to do this is take a large jaw comercial wire cutter(not tin snips) and put it around the plastic tail cap. chomp down and the plastic cap and clip will break off. i suggest you carefully wrap the back end of the tube with several layers of vinyl tape before you do this as to not scratch it. wrap up past the plastic part because the cutter will move down when you grip. if you do scratch it, a sharpie black marker can touch it up great! now you will have just the little shiny key loop left. two step epoxy it into the hole in the tube. remove the batteries first and the little rivet should fall out. throw it away. now the light will have a shiny silver back ring and a silver key loop with no clip. i think that is cool. plus it is really tiny now.
next, take a tweezers and insert it into the tube. pull out the spring! with the spring out cut the top 1 1/2 loops out of the spring. bend it back into the shape it was so it still makes contact. now put a dab of 2 step epoxy(just a dab) on the back end of the spring. hold it by the tweezers and reinsert it into the tube. it is a little tricky to get it in straight. it does not have to be exactly straight.
now go get a duracell 21/23(you knew this part was coming).
carefully open its casing with a #1 flat head screwdriver. remove all the 'baby' cells. throw one in your junk drawer.
take the remaining 'baby' cells and wrap them 6 times tightly with vinyl tape. observe the correct polarity!
insert them positive up into the tube. put silicone grease on the threads and close it. if it does not light, put your tweezers into the tube and gently stretch the spring. do not try to use all the cells out of the 21/23 they will not fit! it is now running at 10.5 volts! the internal resistance of these cells should keep it from cooking. the way the lamp is installed in this light actually uses the bezel as a heatsink so this works out great.
you wont beleive the output! don't look at the beam! it is a super tight beam, but way brighter than my e1e!
mine has lasted over 3 hours so far with no noticible drop off. it does not draw much current at this voltage so even though these cells have a low mah they should last a long while. i'd be more worried the led will die before the batteries because it does get hot. but i have had it on for 10 minutes and it did not warp the lens. anyways the light costs less than a lot of batteries we buy so it doesnt matter to me.
one thing i must say! all of this is done at your own risk! if you kill your little light dont blame me. it worked for me and if you are somewhat skilled it SHOULD work for you. please do not get mad at me if it does not work. i am just suggesting this, not forcing anyone to do it!
rob.
