Dorcy 1xAA, 3 LED Review
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radellaf
Flashlight Enthusiast
Thanks for that review. I've been considering that light. That and the $180 Arc L4, but the latter will have to wait until I find another electrical engineering job... <sigh> So hard to find, but I see the economy is improving.
Any plans to do the 2 AA 4 LED? For one thing, I'm real curious why a slightly bigger body and one more LED costs $8 more than the $10 1AA3LED.
Your review gives me a clue, though. The 1AA may use the 1AAA's circuit, whereas the 2AA probably has a circuit capable of higher current levels. As I have an Arc AA, the 2AA dorcy would probably be more fun for me.
Any plans to do the 2 AA 4 LED? For one thing, I'm real curious why a slightly bigger body and one more LED costs $8 more than the $10 1AA3LED.
Your review gives me a clue, though. The 1AA may use the 1AAA's circuit, whereas the 2AA probably has a circuit capable of higher current levels. As I have an Arc AA, the 2AA dorcy would probably be more fun for me.
TrueBlue
Flashlight Enthusiast
You called it right, radellaf. The 1AA 3LED is very underpowered. It is so underpowered that the Dorcy 1AAA 1LED is almost a match in brightness. If you didn't need the extra runtime then just go with the Dorcy 1AAA. Shoot, the 1AAA might beat the 1AA runtime since the 1AAA is just running 1 LED versus the 1AA running 3 LEDs. The 2AA 4LED, on the other hand, with the voltage boost does a far job at lighting. I took one 2AA and leaving the stock electronics modded it to a 1-watt Luxeon with optics. The modded light is an impressive light with a spot beam and a very, very nice flood light. I now use the modded Dorcy for my walking light.
I suspect the electronics in both the 1AA and the 2AA are the same. They act like they are.
I suspect the electronics in both the 1AA and the 2AA are the same. They act like they are.
Quickbeam
Flashlight Enthusiast
I think Haveblue hit the nail on the head. Sorry for the delays in responding - very busy, higher priorities, you know how it goes...
Don't have a 2AA version yet, but I'll look into it.
Don't have a 2AA version yet, but I'll look into it.
TrueBlue
Flashlight Enthusiast
I really don't think it is just a matter of a resistor bypassing to bump up the lighting of the 1AA. There is just not enough voltage to spread around to light the 3LEDs. I bypassed the resistor on my 1AA Lux mod and I believe it is just a current limiting resistor and had no effect on the light. To get a brighter light with the stock set up would be to get a more efficient LED.
I'll have to rip into the electronics and see if it can be bumped up but I don't think much can be done to the electronics. So I'm exploring alternatives and trying to get the best of what is available. I have toyed with the idea of using two Dorcy electronic boards to double the current going to a Lux LED. In a parallel circuit the current would double and the voltage would remain the same. To put a second electronics board in the Dorcy would require either extending the body of the light since the electronics are in the body or, in a burst of inspiration /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/huh.gif, extend the head of the light to hold a second board. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Piggy-back booster boards to double the current. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
Hopefully, using two boards would have minimal interaction to each other on the boost side of the light. If the Dorcy manufacturing tolerances are good then the light has the potential with double the boards to output twice as much light at half the run time. I would estimate the run time with a Dorcy 1AA with two board about 2 hours and with the head of the light on a Dorcy 2AA to last about 4 hours. A double-boost Dorcy does have a potential to wow people and give off a great light. The Dorcy LED platform is a good light that has yet to reach its potential. I don't think Dorcy has realized what they can do with their lights.
But I don't expect a "wow-light" with a simple Lux light change.
I'll have to rip into the electronics and see if it can be bumped up but I don't think much can be done to the electronics. So I'm exploring alternatives and trying to get the best of what is available. I have toyed with the idea of using two Dorcy electronic boards to double the current going to a Lux LED. In a parallel circuit the current would double and the voltage would remain the same. To put a second electronics board in the Dorcy would require either extending the body of the light since the electronics are in the body or, in a burst of inspiration /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/huh.gif, extend the head of the light to hold a second board. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Piggy-back booster boards to double the current. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
Hopefully, using two boards would have minimal interaction to each other on the boost side of the light. If the Dorcy manufacturing tolerances are good then the light has the potential with double the boards to output twice as much light at half the run time. I would estimate the run time with a Dorcy 1AA with two board about 2 hours and with the head of the light on a Dorcy 2AA to last about 4 hours. A double-boost Dorcy does have a potential to wow people and give off a great light. The Dorcy LED platform is a good light that has yet to reach its potential. I don't think Dorcy has realized what they can do with their lights.
But I don't expect a "wow-light" with a simple Lux light change.
TrueBlue
Flashlight Enthusiast
If you consider using the Dorcy 2AA 4LED light the potential is much better for a very nice light. Here is a beam shot of my Dorcy with a 1 Watt Lux, NX05 optic and the stock electronics versus a Craftsman (Turtlelite II body and faceted reflector) with 4AA and an EverLED. The Dorcy just smacked the EverLED. The spill light on the Dorcy was brighter than the EverLED. The second picture shows an underexposed picture showing the Dorcy has a more powerful spot.
I had to be pushing the the 1 Watt Lux in the Dorcy to the safe limit or very possibly overdriven. The Dorcy head after a run time test of 2 hours was warm so my heat sink worked well in drawing the heat out of the LED and on the case.
You can see the electronics in the cheap Dorcy really has the potential for some great lighting.
I had to be pushing the the 1 Watt Lux in the Dorcy to the safe limit or very possibly overdriven. The Dorcy head after a run time test of 2 hours was warm so my heat sink worked well in drawing the heat out of the LED and on the case.
You can see the electronics in the cheap Dorcy really has the potential for some great lighting.
IsaacHayes
Flashlight Enthusiast
If you get a low Vf, say a LuxIII with a J bin, then the vF to run it at 350ma or lower is really low, and thus you get a brighter light.
TrueBlue
Flashlight Enthusiast
I never could make 'heads or tails' out of the Luxeon ratings. I've read charts but none of the charts ever had a real example with a rating chart to go by so I just...guess a Lux to use? Yes, chancy roll of the dice but I haven't broken one yet.
But the Lux I used was a 1 Watt Luxeon, LXHL-PW01 (Bin Q). I guess that is good because it is bright and did not give off the ghostly puff of LED death.
But the Lux I used was a 1 Watt Luxeon, LXHL-PW01 (Bin Q). I guess that is good because it is bright and did not give off the ghostly puff of LED death.
I just got one from another CPF'er. I compared it with a CMG Ultra-G. The Dorcy has a larger hot spot of about the same brightness as the CMG, but the Dorcy's spill beam is much dimmer because of the silly metal disc that they put in front of the LED's, blocking some of the spill light. A ceiling bounce test shows the Dorcy puts out somewhat more total light than the CMG. Maybe not 2x as much, but maybe 50% more. It's a reasonable little light. It looks more like a normal flashlight and it's easier to operate than the CMG because of the pushbutton and the nice wide twist tail.
I think removing that metal disc from the bezel would both widen the beam and increase the total output (it's an opaque metal disc with a hole drilled for each LED, directly in front of the LED's). It's really stupid that the disc is there.
The head does unscrew from the body, revealing the backside of a PC board with a solder blob that contacts a spring terminal sticking out of the front of the body. I haven't tried taking the light further apart than that. Looking into the bezel, there's a press-fit plastic lens, then the aforementioned metal disc, then the LED's. I may just pry out the lens to get at the metal disc. If I can't get the lens back in, no big deal, the CMG doesn't have a lens and does fine without it.
I like to think that within a year or two, they'll be making these things with plastic bodies and selling them in the $5 range. That will become the standard cheap pocket light instead of the silly disposable incandescents we see all the time now.
I think removing that metal disc from the bezel would both widen the beam and increase the total output (it's an opaque metal disc with a hole drilled for each LED, directly in front of the LED's). It's really stupid that the disc is there.
The head does unscrew from the body, revealing the backside of a PC board with a solder blob that contacts a spring terminal sticking out of the front of the body. I haven't tried taking the light further apart than that. Looking into the bezel, there's a press-fit plastic lens, then the aforementioned metal disc, then the LED's. I may just pry out the lens to get at the metal disc. If I can't get the lens back in, no big deal, the CMG doesn't have a lens and does fine without it.
I like to think that within a year or two, they'll be making these things with plastic bodies and selling them in the $5 range. That will become the standard cheap pocket light instead of the silly disposable incandescents we see all the time now.
Quickbeam
Flashlight Enthusiast
Paulr - interested to see if you get the head apart - I didn't realize it would come off. It took some very hard twisting but mine came off too.
FYI - review related - I found the problem with my slightly intermittent switch. The problem wasn't the switch, but dirt on the positive contact inside the light body! A pencil eraser applied to the contact deep in the body removed the offending gunk and now it is a really sweet operating light. This is a little gem for the price.
FYI - review related - I found the problem with my slightly intermittent switch. The problem wasn't the switch, but dirt on the positive contact inside the light body! A pencil eraser applied to the contact deep in the body removed the offending gunk and now it is a really sweet operating light. This is a little gem for the price.
TrueBlue
Flashlight Enthusiast
The Dorcy head does come apart easily if you know that the retaining ring is set in a groove on the head. I've taken the heads apart a couple of times now. The lens serves a triple purpose of protecting the LED, acting as a spacer for the LED lights chrome cover and it also centers the LED lights. Really ingenius design. And tight fitting too.
PhotonBoy
Flashlight Enthusiast
If you don't mind the cost, a lithium AA gives the light a lift in output (1.7V v 1.5V). The boost circuitry amplifies the voltage difference.
gadget_lover
Flashaholic
The 1AA 3 LED is not as bright as many other lights simply because it does not overdrive the LEDS. As a result, the beam is not as blue as many of the other 1 to 4 LEd lights.
The circuit is the same one used in the 2AA-4LED model. I've opened both to compare.
The circuit is adequate with 1.5 volts. It does produce more light with a lithium AA. The circuit does a very good job with 3 volts. It can push 30 lumens out of a TV1K Lux III. That's significantly brighter than an ARC LSH-P. I've 5 more to mod.
Daniel
The circuit is the same one used in the 2AA-4LED model. I've opened both to compare.
The circuit is adequate with 1.5 volts. It does produce more light with a lithium AA. The circuit does a very good job with 3 volts. It can push 30 lumens out of a TV1K Lux III. That's significantly brighter than an ARC LSH-P. I've 5 more to mod.
Daniel
[ QUOTE ]
Quickbeam said:
FYI - review related - I found the problem with my slightly intermittent switch. The problem wasn't the switch, but dirt on the positive contact inside the light body! A pencil eraser applied to the contact deep in the body removed the offending gunk and now it is a really sweet operating light. This is a little gem for the price.
[/ QUOTE ]
I found the same thing on one of my Dorcy 1AAA (1LED)s - I just blamed the unreliability on the tail-swicth, until I did further tests and realized logically that it had to be at the positive end - cleaning the +ve spring terminal inside the head cured the problem.
Here's the thread:
Dorcy 1AAA tail-switch Problems?
Quickbeam said:
FYI - review related - I found the problem with my slightly intermittent switch. The problem wasn't the switch, but dirt on the positive contact inside the light body! A pencil eraser applied to the contact deep in the body removed the offending gunk and now it is a really sweet operating light. This is a little gem for the price.
[/ QUOTE ]
I found the same thing on one of my Dorcy 1AAA (1LED)s - I just blamed the unreliability on the tail-swicth, until I did further tests and realized logically that it had to be at the positive end - cleaning the +ve spring terminal inside the head cured the problem.
Here's the thread:
Dorcy 1AAA tail-switch Problems?
