PhotonBoy
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2003
- Messages
- 3,304
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- Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada http://tinyu
Ahhh, what the heck! That's what hobbies are for.
Dorcy 1AAA Beam adjustment
- Thread starter UnknownVT
- Start date
gadget_lover
Flashaholic
I modded one to put into a 2aaa micro mag. It was rather disapointing as I needed a new tailcap and it did not fit well. I'd do it differently next time.
Daniel
Daniel
voodoogreg
Flashlight Enthusiast
tear a guys heart jeez..... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif that's cool. i was wondering, i have made a bunch of soli "easy mods" i enjoyed perfecting, and didn't know if i could boost it with some N cell, or button cell's, or resistor down the 21/23 12V batt and have a little brighter, better runtime package. VDG
PhotonBoy
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2003
- Messages
- 3,304
- City & State/Province
- Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada http://tinyu
Good question, Everett, I don't know the answer, but it's still a nice light!!!
pbarrette
Enlightened
Hi Everett,
Acutally, I've found that the LED quality isn't the main issue with the Dorcy beam color. The issue there is that it is being overdriven by a large margin and thus exhibits the "overdrive blue" that is standard on 5mm whites with too much current.
I'm sure a nichia would put out more light, but you're almost better off drilling the reflector on it a bit and retrofitting with an underdriven Lux-1. Then you get a significantly brighter light and a much better beam color.
I probably spent ~6-8 hours making my first solitaire pill from the dorcy circuit which, if it were billable time at work, would have paid for my lathe. After the initial learning curve, though, I could get the time down to ~2 hours.
If the dorcy circuit is properly shrunk it can easily fit in the existing, unmodded solitaire. You do need do drill out the reflector though, or use a 3mm LED or grind down and polish a 5mm. It will then easily fit the standard AAA battery.
The problem with just adding more Vin to this circuit is that since it's voltage regulated (not CC) the current to the LED will be far too high unless you're driving a Lux or other high current LED.
I've been considering taking a look at the new Luxeon based "flash" LED's since they are a lot smaller than a standard Lux and have a slightly lower continuous current rating.
A standard Lux is just too large to fit in a solitaire without significant modifications to both the lux and/or the solitaire. The little smt flash lux, however, would fit with room to spare.
It's designed for use as a camera-phone flash at high pulse currents, but is also rated for continuous "flashlight" use at lower currents. The beam pattern would likely need some help, but the size makes it a great candidate for 1xAAA lights.
pb
Acutally, I've found that the LED quality isn't the main issue with the Dorcy beam color. The issue there is that it is being overdriven by a large margin and thus exhibits the "overdrive blue" that is standard on 5mm whites with too much current.
I'm sure a nichia would put out more light, but you're almost better off drilling the reflector on it a bit and retrofitting with an underdriven Lux-1. Then you get a significantly brighter light and a much better beam color.
I probably spent ~6-8 hours making my first solitaire pill from the dorcy circuit which, if it were billable time at work, would have paid for my lathe. After the initial learning curve, though, I could get the time down to ~2 hours.
If the dorcy circuit is properly shrunk it can easily fit in the existing, unmodded solitaire. You do need do drill out the reflector though, or use a 3mm LED or grind down and polish a 5mm. It will then easily fit the standard AAA battery.
The problem with just adding more Vin to this circuit is that since it's voltage regulated (not CC) the current to the LED will be far too high unless you're driving a Lux or other high current LED.
I've been considering taking a look at the new Luxeon based "flash" LED's since they are a lot smaller than a standard Lux and have a slightly lower continuous current rating.
A standard Lux is just too large to fit in a solitaire without significant modifications to both the lux and/or the solitaire. The little smt flash lux, however, would fit with room to spare.
It's designed for use as a camera-phone flash at high pulse currents, but is also rated for continuous "flashlight" use at lower currents. The beam pattern would likely need some help, but the size makes it a great candidate for 1xAAA lights.
pb
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PhotonBoy
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2003
- Messages
- 3,304
- City & State/Province
- Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada http://tinyu
Oooh, this sounds promising!!!
rwolff
Enlightened
[ QUOTE ]
I didn't want to start a new thread because I just have a brief question about the Dorcy AAA. How much is it?
[/ QUOTE ]
According to Dorcy, the 2 main retailers of this product in the Toronto area are Loblaws and Home Hardware. When I went to Real Canadian Superstore (part of the Loblaws family) at Dufferin&Steeles, they said they're redoing their flashlight section, and will be bringing in this product. No idea of pricing, time frame is somewhere between a week and a month.
As for Home Hardware, any of their stores can order it (SKU 5326-364), and it's $9.99. I bought mine yesterday at the Danforth&Pape outlet (went through the phone book, this was the first one that had them in stock), and (as of my departure) they have 4 left.
I didn't want to start a new thread because I just have a brief question about the Dorcy AAA. How much is it?
[/ QUOTE ]
According to Dorcy, the 2 main retailers of this product in the Toronto area are Loblaws and Home Hardware. When I went to Real Canadian Superstore (part of the Loblaws family) at Dufferin&Steeles, they said they're redoing their flashlight section, and will be bringing in this product. No idea of pricing, time frame is somewhere between a week and a month.
As for Home Hardware, any of their stores can order it (SKU 5326-364), and it's $9.99. I bought mine yesterday at the Danforth&Pape outlet (went through the phone book, this was the first one that had them in stock), and (as of my departure) they have 4 left.
moraino
Enlightened
You can't go wrong to swap it with a 26000mcd led. It's even brighter than Dorcy 3AA stock.
Henry
Henry
[ QUOTE ]
moraino said:
You can't go wrong to swap it with a 26000mcd led. It's even brighter than Dorcy 3AA stock.
[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
RonM said:
That's what I did with mine. Love those 26K's.
[/ QUOTE ]
OK....
Any hints about finding the "optimal" position for the LED?
Is it just the LED base flush with the circuit-board (edge) as on the stock LED -
or could a little height/off-set possibly get a better/smoother/less-ringy beam?
What's the side-spill like?
Is it as wide and bright as the stock Dorcy 1AAA?
What's the differential brightness of the side-spill like compared with the hot-spot?
Thanks.
moraino said:
You can't go wrong to swap it with a 26000mcd led. It's even brighter than Dorcy 3AA stock.
[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
RonM said:
That's what I did with mine. Love those 26K's.
[/ QUOTE ]
OK....
Any hints about finding the "optimal" position for the LED?
Is it just the LED base flush with the circuit-board (edge) as on the stock LED -
or could a little height/off-set possibly get a better/smoother/less-ringy beam?
What's the side-spill like?
Is it as wide and bright as the stock Dorcy 1AAA?
What's the differential brightness of the side-spill like compared with the hot-spot?
Thanks.
