5W with ONE CR123 ...

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MR Bulk

Flashaholic
Joined
Aug 12, 2002
Messages
6,059
City & State/Province
Hawaii
Inspired by Lambda's mod of Harbor Freight's tiny single-123 flashlight with 1W Luxeon, as well as McGizmo's mod of the same light with a dat2zip sandwich, I decided to get my hands on one of these things and, with the aid of a top-secret developmental boost circuit, commenced to build a mod that drives a 5W HD Luxeon at FACTORY SPEC (690 mah!) using just one CR2. This is not a misprint, I did say CR2, the 3V lithium battery that's smaller than a 123, the same one used in tvodrd's little keychain light.

Below is the circuit, already potted in a thick white coating of Arctic Alumina to help spread and shed the copious amounts of thermal energy it will no doubt produce:

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Here it is further potted into my exquisite, elegantly crafted "C-Can" (Copper Can) because the circuit was way too tall even for Don's E-Can!

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Dropped into the HF light's diminutive body tube:

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Cinching up the heatsink and waiting for the CW2400 to set:

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Almost ready to rock:

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aaaaaaand...Rocking:

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The light produced was so intense it upset the camera's auto white balance and the light beige benchtop became a dark yellow.

I did not spin on the head for output tests because of a mysterious short somewhere that I just discovered, caused by the pressure of screwing on the head. Unscrew head, light goes back on. Hmmm...

Oh well, time to turn in for now, gotta work tomorrow (Labor Day -- double overtime and-a-half, can't be late..), then a mad dash back home late at night to get it all apart and reconstruct. See? That's what I get for rushing by being so excited...

If all goes well, tomorrow's title will be, "Introducing...the Baby Pin!"

PS. Get it? Space Needle -- Baby Pin? Heh heh...
 
Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

where will the madness end? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

hideo
 
Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

Madness? Eventually I want not just a keyring light, but a true ring light. One that I wear on my ring finger. Press the back of the ring band with your thumbtip and a 5W-equivalent beam shoots out the top! Now which comic book super hero was it that had that?
 
Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

Green Lantern? pretty sure

Hey, Nice light!!!!!!!!!
 
Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

Yeah, that's him. We'll make it with a Cyan 5W and call it the Green Lantern ring! Maybe even sell a few thousand to Marvel Comics as a promo item...
 
Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

Anybody watched Spaceballs? "The Schwarz"! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif
 
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Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

[ QUOTE ]
MR Bulk said:
Madness? Eventually I want not just a keyring light, but a true ring light. One that I wear on my ring finger. Press the back of the ring band with your thumbtip and a 5W-equivalent beam shoots out the top! Now which comic book super hero was it that had that?

[/ QUOTE ]
That's a real sweet dream, Charlie.

Personally, I've been dreaming of a one man rocket suit--that has a 1 hour fuel supply...sure would go nicely with that little ring too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

Wow, Charlie! That light has some definite potential! Can't wait to check it out for myself...It just might be the tiny 5 watt that we all have been looking for.
Darryl
 
Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

that has got to be the fugliest curcuit i've ever seen! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

very nice mod man! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

Does that look like it says "MJ Design" on the board? ArcMania?
 
Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

I'm still holding out for the invisible suit (the Kevlar- reinforced one) so I could pay late nite visits to Bulk Labs and McGizmo and DSpeck and LEDs ASAP and Slick and Kevin (lambda) and both Wayne's and ...

AHEM!

just kidding of course /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

hideo
 
Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

It's actually a very beautiful circuit board (not mine of course), but all the seamlessly soldered tiny components have been, er, professionally potted by yours truly which gives it its -- "unique" look. But once the board gets worked out as a regular production item it will be as small and flat as Wayne's or anybody else's, and I will no longer have to use a CR2 since I lose about a quarter inch inside the light tube at the present time with this tall circuit, and a 123 would fit perfectly.
 
Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

Charlie,

Very interesting! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif So if the 5W is running at spec, does the baby pin get a bit warm to the touch?

- Don
 
Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

Now THIS is definitely a nice advance. I hope your hard work is rewarded greatly!

EDIT:

I was just thinking of the heat factor. Is this something you would need to keep in your hand to help dissapate some of the heat?
 
Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

There is just the one small thing that puzzles me, will it get too hot to hold first or run out of battery first? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

Very nice. Man I love this place. All these mods just inspire other mods and it's a never ending cycle.

Beam shots? Run time? (I gotta ask /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif)

CM
 
Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

NICE!! How big did you drill out the reflector to accomodate the 5W? I have a 1W mod of this light (will post soon) that gets pretty warm at 500 mA, I can imagine that this will be a short run time light, especially with a CR2.

As always, Great Work.
 
Re: MicroNeedle? Naw, BABY PIN!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mecry.gif

why does nobody in UK do anything like this. ive just done a solitare mod and looking to mod my 4C m@g, but this is so beyond me and sooooo coooolllll /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
 
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