I want a DIY project...but have no clue

[aim54x]

As a relative newb to flashlights in general, but also a keen tinkerer I am currently considering a DIY light. As this will be my first try with a DIY light I was wondering if anyone can help me by suggesting components (from DX as they are the ones that have gotten me interested in DIY lights).

Basically what i want to come out with is:
-single AAA or AA form factor (so small)
-moderate - long runtime
-two mode if possible (hi and low)

I have essentially no tools (other than some small screwdrivers and a multimeter but no dremel or soldering iron) and a want to keep this at a relatively small budget (30-50 AUD).

Also, does anyone know if there are any good empty torch bodies that you can buy from DX? Seems pointless for me to go out and buy a working light to cannibalise the body shell.

Thanks in advance

EDIT: I should have been more clear in what my aim was. Ultimately I would like to make a small, long running torch (similar to a Fenix E01, but with a hi mode that has more grunt). Why not buy a L01 (or iTP A3/maratac)?? I want a bit of project to work on for myself

 

[rayman]

If the small size is not that important you can go with a C/D Maglite mod. Like a P4 or a P7 mod that's always a good start into the modding world :twothumbs.

rayman

 

[old4570]

Well , an easy DIY 2xAA ...

Get a 9P host from ?

This could be a Ultrafire 501C or 502C ..
Then a empty P60 pill ..
A driver and a emitter ..

And viola , a 2xAA P60 host multimode .

Host Body
THis driver
This P60 pill

As for the emitter , 16mm base or smaller -
Diamond dragon , Luxeon K2 TFFC , SSC P4 , Cree XR-E Q5 or better
XP-E R3 - XP-G R5 ,

Im thinking of doing one more , possibly Luxeon K2 TFFC

Ooops , no soldering iron , pop in a Solarforce 3 mode low voltage drop in .. And its simply screw together , 2xAA

 

[Lumencraft (Matt)]

This may not be the suggestion you are looking for, but it would make a huge difference in your options to mod a light if you get a soldering iron. You dont even have to spend a lot of money to get one. I purchased a 950 degree wood burning tool from wal-mart for about 9$. If you wear the tip out just by a brass machine screw, file the tip down and you have a new one.

If you are just looking to get more light out of something, one thing you could do is get a 2AA minimag LED a 14500 li-ion cell ( READ THE LI-ION SAFTIES AND HANDLING IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR) and one dummy AA. The runtime is only about 35-45 min but its about 50% brighter.

 

[aim54x]

If the small size is not that important you can go with a C/D Maglite mod. Like a P4 or a P7 mod that's always a good start into the modding world :twothumbs.

rayman

Thanks Rayman, I dont really like the larger formats. But I do know what you mean by the Maglite C/D mods being a good entry point.

Well , an easy DIY 2xAA ...

Get a 9P host from ?

This could be a Ultrafire 501C or 502C ..
Then a empty P60 pill ..
A driver and a emitter ..

And viola , a 2xAA P60 host multimode .

Host Body
THis driver
This P60 pill

As for the emitter , 16mm base or smaller -
Diamond dragon , Luxeon K2 TFFC , SSC P4 , Cree XR-E Q5 or better
XP-E R3 - XP-G R5 ,

Im thinking of doing one more , possibly Luxeon K2 TFFC

Ooops , no soldering iron , pop in a Solarforce 3 mode low voltage drop in .. And its simply screw together , 2xAA

Thanks for the links, I have never used KD before but I guess there is no harm. No soldering iron will probably change though.

This may not be the suggestion you are looking for, but it would make a huge difference in your options to mod a light if you get a soldering iron. You dont even have to spend a lot of money to get one. I purchased a 950 degree wood burning tool from wal-mart for about 9$. If you wear the tip out just by a brass machine screw, file the tip down and you have a new one.

If you are just looking to get more light out of something, one thing you could do is get a 2AA minimag LED a 14500 li-ion cell ( READ THE LI-ION SAFTIES AND HANDLING IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR) and one dummy AA. The runtime is only about 35-45 min but its about 50% brighter.

Thanks mate, I am not really looking to get more light, but in many senses, more runtime out of the small batteries.

 

[HarryN]

It has to be really difficult on you to be a handy person, but not own any tools. Flashlight mods use a lot of different tools and skills, especially LED projects. In some ways, incan projects have the potential to use fewer tools.

Your willingness to find and read product data sheets 3 and 4x is critical to your success. An example would be to read the data sheets on the battery sizes you are thinking about, the amount of power they contain, and how much power is consumed by an LED or incan bulb of interest to you.

Perhaps we can help you the most if you offer some examples of what kind of hobby projects you have done in the past, such as building plastic models, working on cars, painting, etc. With these examples, we can better offer advice that starts from where you are, and offers room to grow.

Hobbies like this take in everything from the more "brute force" projects to the "highly artistic", and everything in between.

 

[Lumencraft (Matt)]

If you are willing to deviate from the AA thing and go to a slightly larger host it will be far easier to get what you want for modes? There are very few drivers available (especially from DX) that are truly small enough to fit AA lights.

For example if you are willing to go to a single RCR123 host, and are willing to get the soldering iron, you could do a driver swap and have your 2 modes of super high and super low. With the driver I have in mind you would get about 1 hour run time on high, and 8-10 hours on low.

By going to a slightly larger host (1x18650) you could get the run time to about 3 hours on high, and about 24 hours on low.

 

[Ken_McE]

Basically what i want to come out with is:
-single AAA or AA form factor (so small)
-moderate - long runtime
-two mode if possible (hi and low)

What these specs suggest to me is LED.

 

[aim54x]

It has to be really difficult on you to be a handy person, but not own any tools. Flashlight mods use a lot of different tools and skills, especially LED projects. In some ways, incan projects have the potential to use fewer tools.

Your willingness to find and read product data sheets 3 and 4x is critical to your success. An example would be to read the data sheets on the battery sizes you are thinking about, the amount of power they contain, and how much power is consumed by an LED or incan bulb of interest to you.

Perhaps we can help you the most if you offer some examples of what kind of hobby projects you have done in the past, such as building plastic models, working on cars, painting, etc. With these examples, we can better offer advice that starts from where you are, and offers room to grow.

Hobbies like this take in everything from the more "brute force" projects to the "highly artistic", and everything in between.

In the past I have built model planes, but more recently I have been doing things on the larger scale, computer upgrades etc. However, on the flipside my Honours year saw me dealing with the VERY small, working with electron microscopes and all the preparartion (including cutting 70nm thin sections) associated with it. This is really something I am not 100% sure that I will succeed in, but at the same time something that I am interested enough to have a stab at.

If you are willing to deviate from the AA thing and go to a slightly larger host it will be far easier to get what you want for modes? There are very few drivers available (especially from DX) that are truly small enough to fit AA lights.

For example if you are willing to go to a single RCR123 host, and are willing to get the soldering iron, you could do a driver swap and have your 2 modes of super high and super low. With the driver I have in mind you would get about 1 hour run time on high, and 8-10 hours on low.

By going to a slightly larger host (1x18650) you could get the run time to about 3 hours on high, and about 24 hours on low.

After having a look at what was available on DX I am pretty convinced that the AA/AAA form factor will be pretty much impossible. I am willing to get a soldering iron (a cheap one...anyone know a DX sku??). I am not a fan of the CR123 form (exy batteries) but 18650 maybe another method, but then again I already have a great 18650 torch.

What these specs suggest to me is LED.

Yep, I was thinking LED.....but at the same time I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this spec.

 

[HarryN]

It sounds like you have all the skills needed, models work is a great background, and anyone that can make E Beam sections is more than patient. I have some experienice with E Beam (not transmission) via a project with UCB.

Back to your lights and goals.

LED is fine and a good starting point. Lets assume you want long runtime, and moderate output. Perhaps the best example is from member ( Milkyspit )
and his milkycandle. It is designed to such a CR123 cell down to the bone.

The challenge with a single AA or AAA cell is really the voltage available. Not only is is not enough to drive the LED, it is really close the lower limit of silicon electronics functioning. There are some circuits that are made to work in this voltage range, but there isn't much power and they don't always work well.

If you like the AA or AAA format, and want a quick, easy starting point for some bench learning, just put 3 cells in series, a 20 ohm resistor, and a Cree 5mm LED (digikey). They are surprisingly bright and already include optics built in. You can worry about packaging later.

The same LED and resistor setup can be used with a single CR2 or CR123 size cell. If you stay with the CR123 size, your life will be easier, as this cell is pretty compact, available from various suppliers in quality and decent price, and also in recharge type cells. Stay with brand names on these cells, as there are some junk ones out there. (lots of info in the battery / electronics section)

I use tape a lot on the test bench, but digikey also sells very handy battery holders.

 

[herulach]

My first mods were simple emitter swaps, you can do this with any cheap soldering iron from your local hobby store and a bit of thermal glue.

Drivers are no harder, you just have to look harder to find them.

A good start would be P60 sized drop in mods, you can get hosts and drivers to suit nearly every kind of battery going. Something like the solarforce L2r (2aa) or L2i (3aaa) might suit.

 

[aim54x]

It sounds like you have all the skills needed, models work is a great background, and anyone that can make E Beam sections is more than patient. I have some experienice with E Beam (not transmission) via a project with UCB.

Back to your lights and goals.

LED is fine and a good starting point. Lets assume you want long runtime, and moderate output. Perhaps the best example is from member ( Milkyspit )
and his milkycandle. It is designed to such a CR123 cell down to the bone.

The challenge with a single AA or AAA cell is really the voltage available. Not only is is not enough to drive the LED, it is really close the lower limit of silicon electronics functioning. There are some circuits that are made to work in this voltage range, but there isn't much power and they don't always work well.

If you like the AA or AAA format, and want a quick, easy starting point for some bench learning, just put 3 cells in series, a 20 ohm resistor, and a Cree 5mm LED (digikey). They are surprisingly bright and already include optics built in. You can worry about packaging later.

The same LED and resistor setup can be used with a single CR2 or CR123 size cell. If you stay with the CR123 size, your life will be easier, as this cell is pretty compact, available from various suppliers in quality and decent price, and also in recharge type cells. Stay with brand names on these cells, as there are some junk ones out there. (lots of info in the battery / electronics section)

I use tape a lot on the test bench, but digikey also sells very handy battery holders.

Thanks mate, Electron microscopy can be a *****, Scanning prep is so much easier than transmission but still very fiddly. Shame I cant find work in this field now that I have graduated.

I am very glad I posted this thread, as now I am finding more and more problems with what I want....so basically I guess I will have to re-evaluate what I want to build, and possibly throw it into "do later" pile.

My first mods were simple emitter swaps, you can do this with any cheap soldering iron from your local hobby store and a bit of thermal glue.

Drivers are no harder, you just have to look harder to find them.

A good start would be P60 sized drop in mods, you can get hosts and drivers to suit nearly every kind of battery going. Something like the solarforce L2r (2aa) or L2i (3aaa) might suit.

Thanks for the advice....soldering iron looks like it will be def added onto the list of things to buy and then it is time to look at the P60 hosts and dropins.

Maybe I can mod my Romisen RC-N3....but I guess it makes more sense to buy a SB version of this light with 2 modes.....

 

[HarryN]

Where are you located? I might be able to at least give you some ebeam people to contact.

Drop-ins will get you a light faster. Building on the bench will get you knowledge faster. Just buying a light will get you there cheaper. If you really want to stay within $ 50 and do the learning, 5mm LEDs are cheapest, followed prob by Lumileds K2s. K2s are being phased out, but they are so tough that you almost cant break them.

Frankly, step 1 is to get a volt / amp / resistance meter, which will consume a good chunk of the budget.

With any luck you will be lucky like I was, and find a CPF hobbyist not far away. Gadget_lover helped me so much you can't imagine.

 

[aim54x]

Where are you located? I might be able to at least give you some ebeam people to contact.

Thanks HarryN, I'm currently located out of Sydney, Australia so quite a fair way away from you.

Thanks for the tips...I think there is a multimeter in the house somewhere from when my sister was studying Computer Engineering. I'm starting to believe that I will be investing a lot more into this project.....or will be putting it on hold until I have more funds to play with

 

[aim54x]

I think there is a multimeter in the house somewhere from when my sister was studying Computer Engineering./QUOTE]

Multimeter found and tested...seems to work nicely!