Neat little project

[Go Go Gadget Flashlight]

I completed my first real project tonight.

Due to the many pics, I put it on my web server.

Check it out here...
http://members.sigecom.net/igadget/ledproject.htm

Let me know what you think.

 

[vcal]

Looks like nice job, Gadget
I did a similar thing with that
same exact flashlite about 18 months ago using a PLW-3 LED array.
Also did something very similar
with the 1-AA little Lumilite.
Congrats on your batt. choice too.
I decided a couple years ago, that I had to have a rechargeable
power supply,(really SMALL), and
finally found the "telephone" 1/3AAs. (I crammed 4 of 'em into
the Lumilite and powered a 3-LED
homemade "mini-blaster"), that I
still have :-D

 

[Chris M.]

Great project Gadget! (like the target too but not the funky colours much- but hey, you`ll never lose it!)

I have a CMG 04 and it`s brighter than my white Photon and Streamlight Stylus (which many say is much brighter than the white Photon but mine`s only a little brighter- bad batts?) so your light must be blinding for its size! Nice pure white colour too- where`d you get the LEDs? Might try that one myself sometime, Nice one!

 

[Go Go Gadget Flashlight]

They are Nichia's.

The triad of LEDs pulls 67ma on the NiCd, whereas the single LED I tried pulled about 40ma and was getting bluish.

It's pretty bright for its size, but I haven't checked run-time yet.

 

[Chris M.]

Also did something very similar
with the 1-AA little Lumilite.


Just saw that bit.

I`ve got one of them, but it`s got to be the worst light I have. The switch is terrible- it`s very flickery. It seems the little red rubber cover presses down on it too hard preventing it coming back up properly and turning fully on. And an LED would flicker even worse too.

So did I get a duff light or are they all like it?

 

[snakebite]

now to drill a hole and put in a charging jack!going to add one somehow to the easy 4 led dorcy conversion i posted earlier.
lots more room but still tricky.

 

[Chris M.]

I just went and found my 1AA lumilite, took it apart (the blue side bit pulls off) and cleaned the switch (scraped the contacts free of any oxidisation) plus slightly stretched the spring so they press harder together. It`s a lot better and doesn`t flicker any more. Careful you don`t lose any parts though if you open up the switch- it`s not easy to get it open and there`s a hard-to-lose spring in there that wants its freedom all too easilly...


By the way for some reason there`s a good half inch of wasted space in the tail of the 1AA Lumilite where you could fit a charging socket and reverse current blocking diode, all you`d then need is an extra wire to reach up inside to the + terminal of the battery, probably not hard to do. This, of course, assuming my Lumilite`s poor switch was a one-off or they`ve got better in the last year. Otherwise find a better 1AA light to do the conversion with!

Now to find some of thise 3x1/3AA NiCd packs.

 

[Go Go Gadget Flashlight]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Chris Millinship:
...
Now to find some of thise 3x1/3AA NiCd packs.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Cheapest I've found online so far is this one... http://www.dialabattery.com/8-9htm.htm
And they want $4 per cell or $17 for the 3 cell pack.

Mine (already packaged in 3 cell form) was only $8.

The part # on it in COMP-39-2P. It's made by Dantona and is a computer battery (bios backup).

 

[vcal]

Chris,
Do you have Radio Shack or similar shop in the U.K.?
(the 1/3AA are usually sold as replacement batts in
some brands of cordless phones)

 

[Badbeams3]

Nice Gaget, the Nachia`s you used have a nice white beam. Well done. Like the fact that it`s rechargable

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Gadget,

Excellent project. Nice white light. Looks bright too! Rechargable is a big plus. How long do you think it'll run between charges?

Brad

 

[Go Go Gadget Flashlight]

Thanks for all the comments.

Now I (like kc8adu) have to figure out a charging jack.

As for the 1/3AA's, strike my previous post.

Digikey has them in single cells with tabs for $2.26 ea or $2.04 ea for 10 or more. No 3 cell packs, but a little heat shrink tubing and you're good to go.

 

[Go Go Gadget Flashlight]

Well Brad,

Math-wise, I ought to get about 2 hours out of it. 67ma from a 110 mah battery. May get more than that as the voltage drops. Of course, the brighness will go down too.

I'm gonna run the test tonight. Will let you all know how long it goes.

 

[Go Go Gadget Flashlight]

Apparently, my 3 cell 1/3AA pack is no good.

After 17 minutes, it dimmed a bunch and stayed there. One of the cells had reversed voltage while the other 2 held strong at 1.21 v.

I'm reconditioning the cells individually, but I may have to return it.

Longevity test is inconclusive for now.

 

[vcal]

An old trick:
Connect the BAD cell in series,
(but with the sick cell reversed) and with at least 2 other good batteries-AA etc.for about 2-3seconds-i.e.the bad cell's positive terminal to positive terminal of the next cell it's connected to. This, in many cases, will "Jolt" the
battery back into the proper polarity, and will almost always
re-start cells that have gone completely dead.
batteryguy

 

[vcal]

My Lumilite 1AA doesn't even have a switch-it's just a "twist for ON" &is at least 6 yrs. old.

 

[Chris M.]

Are we talking about the same 1AA Lumilite then I wonder? This is mine, sorry it`s so dark but, er, it`s dark in here...

<center>

</center>

I got this about a year or so back, hardly ever used it. There were loads of other sizes too up to a 3D but being dissapointed with this one, I never got any of them.

 

[vcal]

Chris,
Totally different flashlight...
you have one of their relatively
new jobs.
Mine isn't too much longer than
the AA batt. itself-I bought it a long time ago..
I have your model Lumilite also, and for that one I use 3-2/3AA Nimh cells to power up a 4 LED array borrowed from my Lightwave 2000.

 

[snakebite]

what was the charging current and time when you first charged them?if these came from a surplus house the may have sat around a while.
they may have been at different states of charge when you got them.
a 24 hr charge at 1/10c may do the job.
several cycles till they wake up is normal.

 

[Go Go Gadget Flashlight]

Thanks guys. I'm trying all that now.

Reconditioning by taking each cell down to 1 v. Then charging at 5ma (C/20 for 110mah cells).

I will run it up and down several times to see if it "wakes up" or not.