LEDagent
Flashlight Enthusiast
FINALLY! After about a month of on and off work on my HID mag project, it is finally done. I've made battery holders for 8AA cells and it works just fine. This is my VERY FIRST mod EVER...so i'm somewhat proud of myself. I've recieved help from many of you on the CPF so i thank you so much!
I'm looking for a better way to power this light. with 8AA NiMH, the ballast only recieves ~10.8 volts, which is underdriving the bulb. at 10.8 volts, the light output is much bluer and slightly but noticebly dimmer than being run at 12V. Even when Alkaline cells are putting out 11+ volts, they are brighter than the NiMH at 10.6-10.8V and lower.
Here's what i want to do: I want to use the new rechargeabel Li-Ion 123 cells that are on pre-sale with JSBurly. I've been reading that each cell outputs about 4.1-4.2V off the charger. Here are my questions.
Since 3 cells can adequately power the ballast, [10.8V total @ 3.6V per cell or 12.6V @ 4.2V per cell]...
...Can the supplied charger charge cells individually or only in pairs?
...If the charger can only charge in pairs, will A MAHA 777+ charger charge these cells?
...is 4.2V the nominal voltage of these cells (compared to 1.2V with NiMH)?
...If so, will my desired operating range (11V-12.6V) be sustained for a good period of time? (at least 5-10 minutes)
NiMH fresh off the charger give me about 10.8V, but soon reach 10.2 down to 9.8V, which, by then is underdriving the ballast even more. I need these Li-ion battery to sustain their total voltage near 10.8-12.6V to give me the brightest light possible and to justify the cost. If they will quickly slump to less than 10V then I might as well stick with 8AA NiMH.
...also, i hear these cells have a capacity of about 800mah. From my knowledge of Lithium cells, even though the capacity is smaller, the seem to outlast higher capacity cells (like Alk. and NiMH) at the same voltage. I get about 1 hour with 8AA NiMH cells...what can i expect from these 800mah Li-ion cells?
So...what do you think?
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P.S.
Should I enter this mod in the contest? This is my first mod and i never sold one...so it would be classified as Class 2 right?
However, I did have a machine shop bore out the mag, so i didn't exactly use common tools to complete the mod. ALthough, all i used after that was a soldering gun and a Dremel.
Do i qualify?
I'm looking for a better way to power this light. with 8AA NiMH, the ballast only recieves ~10.8 volts, which is underdriving the bulb. at 10.8 volts, the light output is much bluer and slightly but noticebly dimmer than being run at 12V. Even when Alkaline cells are putting out 11+ volts, they are brighter than the NiMH at 10.6-10.8V and lower.
Here's what i want to do: I want to use the new rechargeabel Li-Ion 123 cells that are on pre-sale with JSBurly. I've been reading that each cell outputs about 4.1-4.2V off the charger. Here are my questions.
Since 3 cells can adequately power the ballast, [10.8V total @ 3.6V per cell or 12.6V @ 4.2V per cell]...
...Can the supplied charger charge cells individually or only in pairs?
...If the charger can only charge in pairs, will A MAHA 777+ charger charge these cells?
...is 4.2V the nominal voltage of these cells (compared to 1.2V with NiMH)?
...If so, will my desired operating range (11V-12.6V) be sustained for a good period of time? (at least 5-10 minutes)
NiMH fresh off the charger give me about 10.8V, but soon reach 10.2 down to 9.8V, which, by then is underdriving the ballast even more. I need these Li-ion battery to sustain their total voltage near 10.8-12.6V to give me the brightest light possible and to justify the cost. If they will quickly slump to less than 10V then I might as well stick with 8AA NiMH.
...also, i hear these cells have a capacity of about 800mah. From my knowledge of Lithium cells, even though the capacity is smaller, the seem to outlast higher capacity cells (like Alk. and NiMH) at the same voltage. I get about 1 hour with 8AA NiMH cells...what can i expect from these 800mah Li-ion cells?
So...what do you think?
----------------------
P.S.
Should I enter this mod in the contest? This is my first mod and i never sold one...so it would be classified as Class 2 right?
However, I did have a machine shop bore out the mag, so i didn't exactly use common tools to complete the mod. ALthough, all i used after that was a soldering gun and a Dremel.
Do i qualify?
