Hondo
Flashlight Enthusiast
I had been eyeing what appears to be a relatively new 2xAAA penlight from Dorcy at the local K-mart, for $7.49. What I had liked was the relatively nicer finish compared to my Eveready 2xAAA penlight, and that the nose has a little reflector cone to it so that you won't catch the glare of the LED from the side.
When I brought it home, I first just dropped in a pair of near-new alkies from the bench, right at 1.5v open circuit. I was pretty disappointed with the output and thought that I may have to put one of my Nichia DS's in it. But first I checked the draw at the tail - only 16 mA! Well, I then put in a brand new pair of alkies, and it was nice and bright, I think it does use a DS (not GS, no oval hotspot). The current was up to 28 mA, so still hardly using anything compared to most lights. I then figured that that was just like I get when I make my own direct drive PR2 bulbs by soldering in a DS, MJLED or SMJLED to a gutted bulb. So I pushed the pill out, and sure enough, it is just a little piece of plastic with the LED legs pushed through, the neg. out the side and the pos. out the back and flattened over.
I really like DD lights for their efficiency, so I don't mind having this thing, but it does seem like a bit of a cheat having no electronics in a 2-cell flashlight. What they have done is take advantage of the new, lower forward voltage of the Nichia DS LED, which will run at a nice mild overdrive on the supplied alkaline batteries, just about the same as the MJLED/SMJLED's do. Likewise, it will remain sufficiently bright for such a long time, that most folks will think that they have gotten great use out of their batteries. What they won't know, is that when it finally starts to seem a bit dim, the batteries are still mostly full, and can still be run in other devices for a long time yet.
I also tried a pair of Eneloops for fun, and that is a bit pathetic in output, and at only 11 mA, will run for days. Might be just the ticket for some applications. I then thought I would find out if it could handle Energizer lithiums. Fresh out of the package, they are pushing the LED at 70-80 mA, which is nice and bright, but even the very durable DS will have a rather finite life at that drive level. The only 5mm's that are known to take that sort of drive are the MJLED/SMJLED's. I don't have any partially discharged lithiums, but I doubt they will get down to a very comforatable drive current much before they are ready to die. As much as I look for alternatives to avoid the potential leaking issue, this light will stay loaded with a fresh set of alkalines. I don't have the enthusiasm to build a dummy AAA with a resistor to allow the proper drive from a single 10440, but that would be pretty slick.
To comment on the only other feature of the light, since it is just a tube, an LED and a switch, the switch is easier to operate than the one on the Eveready penlights, almost to the point of concern for accidental activation, but not really. It suffers in feel a bit when you start to detect the twist of the little part inside that rotates with each click. The clip attached to the switch cap is just as nice as the one on the Eveready penlight, which I have always liked for shirt pocket carry.
There you have it, very attractive, ultra-long running user friendly classic penlight, with absolutely NO regulation.
My guess is most folks wanting this form factor will opt to pay $1.50 less at Target and get the Eveready with a boost circuit and live with the side glare of the exposed LED.
When I brought it home, I first just dropped in a pair of near-new alkies from the bench, right at 1.5v open circuit. I was pretty disappointed with the output and thought that I may have to put one of my Nichia DS's in it. But first I checked the draw at the tail - only 16 mA! Well, I then put in a brand new pair of alkies, and it was nice and bright, I think it does use a DS (not GS, no oval hotspot). The current was up to 28 mA, so still hardly using anything compared to most lights. I then figured that that was just like I get when I make my own direct drive PR2 bulbs by soldering in a DS, MJLED or SMJLED to a gutted bulb. So I pushed the pill out, and sure enough, it is just a little piece of plastic with the LED legs pushed through, the neg. out the side and the pos. out the back and flattened over.
I really like DD lights for their efficiency, so I don't mind having this thing, but it does seem like a bit of a cheat having no electronics in a 2-cell flashlight. What they have done is take advantage of the new, lower forward voltage of the Nichia DS LED, which will run at a nice mild overdrive on the supplied alkaline batteries, just about the same as the MJLED/SMJLED's do. Likewise, it will remain sufficiently bright for such a long time, that most folks will think that they have gotten great use out of their batteries. What they won't know, is that when it finally starts to seem a bit dim, the batteries are still mostly full, and can still be run in other devices for a long time yet.
I also tried a pair of Eneloops for fun, and that is a bit pathetic in output, and at only 11 mA, will run for days. Might be just the ticket for some applications. I then thought I would find out if it could handle Energizer lithiums. Fresh out of the package, they are pushing the LED at 70-80 mA, which is nice and bright, but even the very durable DS will have a rather finite life at that drive level. The only 5mm's that are known to take that sort of drive are the MJLED/SMJLED's. I don't have any partially discharged lithiums, but I doubt they will get down to a very comforatable drive current much before they are ready to die. As much as I look for alternatives to avoid the potential leaking issue, this light will stay loaded with a fresh set of alkalines. I don't have the enthusiasm to build a dummy AAA with a resistor to allow the proper drive from a single 10440, but that would be pretty slick.
To comment on the only other feature of the light, since it is just a tube, an LED and a switch, the switch is easier to operate than the one on the Eveready penlights, almost to the point of concern for accidental activation, but not really. It suffers in feel a bit when you start to detect the twist of the little part inside that rotates with each click. The clip attached to the switch cap is just as nice as the one on the Eveready penlight, which I have always liked for shirt pocket carry.
There you have it, very attractive, ultra-long running user friendly classic penlight, with absolutely NO regulation.
My guess is most folks wanting this form factor will opt to pay $1.50 less at Target and get the Eveready with a boost circuit and live with the side glare of the exposed LED.
