River Rock AA 1 Watt LED Runtime Test.

[Newuser01]

NICE~~~~!

Now that's what I call brave?

I can't see inside the pill. Could I assume that has some kind of boost circuit in it?

You might as well put a SSC in to it and make it more useable. I'm not implying that is is not already plenty nice as it come from the store. Nice enough light but just a bit dim for CPF'rs YAKNOW !!

Great pic's

Regards
NOOB

 

[bobski]

I can't see inside the pill. Could I assume that has some kind of boost circuit in it?

Well, given it's a 3+ volt LED running off of a single 1.5 volt battery, yeah. ^_^
I can't see much in there, either. I can make out what appears to be the top of an inductor, and what may be a surface mount electrolytic capacitor - it's tan with red ink, box shaped, has a band at one end an a + polarity marking on the board's silk screen.
The board itself is held to the bottom of the pill by the edges of the aluminum casing - it's sort of crimped in place. If I were to pry back the crimps, I would still have to de-solder the LED to get it open. Luckily the LED doesn't appear to be glued in place... It only has a little thermal grease between it and the pill housing.

I took a closer look at the remainder of the head assembly after my first post - the reflector unscrews and the lens is O-ring sealed. What's kinda strange is the way the lens is sealed. Normally, you see an O-ring that makes contact with the inner or outer face of the lens, so the reflector, retaining ring or whatever can push on it and make a solid seal. In this case, the lens is sealed around its perimeter. The outer face of the lens rests against aluminum, the inner face rests against the reflector, and the perimeter contacts the O-ring.
I measured the lens at 18.22 mm diameter with a dial caliper incase someone wants to take a shot at a glass replacement. A thicker glass lens would simply push the reflector, pill and such back down the tube (they wouldn't thread in as far) and compress the brass/copper spring washer a little more when reassembled.

 

[kramer5150]

Thanks bobski!!
Ive considered this light dozens of times (literally), as I wander through target... only to put it back on the shelf for 3 reasons:
1- plastic lens that can scratch easily - WRONG
2- can not be taken apart or modded - WRONG, looks like a seoul will fit nicely.
3- 42 Lumen rating is way over-rated - WRONG provided you use a 14500

I really like the build quality and feel of the 2 Nuwai lights I own, so no doubt this 1AA is equally stout.

thanks!!

 

[lumenal]

It made a sort of grindy noise and evidently ate through coating on the threads - my lockout function doesn't work anymore.

It sounds like you cross-threaded the tailcap. I almost did it the first time I installed batteries in mine. Very fine and tempermental threads.

But, as we can see, all is not lost!

Excellent photos of the inner workings of this light. Thanks!

 

[bobski]

1- plastic lens that can scratch easily - WRONG

No prob... Though the lens is plastic. I was just saying that, unlike the rayovac, it can be easily removed and replaced with glass if someone felt so inclined.

lumenal - I've cross-threaded plenty of bolts - this doesn't feel like that. A cross threaded bolt generally threads a turn or two and tightens up. From there it gets harder and harder to turn as you tighten it down... This just feels rough.
I cleaned off the threads again and I've kinda got lockout back - If I switch the light on and loosen the tailcap, the light cuts out for about the first 1/2 turn, then flickers the rest of the way out. Whatever... The switch is protected enough and batteries are cheap enough that it's not really a big deal.

 

[Jimmy H]

1- plastic lens that can scratch easily - WRONG

Correct! Mine has been sharing my pocket with a Swiss Army knife and my car keys for two months, and not a single scratch yet. A very pocket-friendly, and handy, light.

45 lumens or 25 lumens, I still like it.

 

[parnass]

Here is my experience with 3 River Rock 1AA 1 watt flashlights.

I bought the first used, but didn't care for the bluish tint.

The second flashlight was whiter, though still on the blue side. I grew quite fond of the flashlight, but it failed after only 2 battery cycles. It ran 2 hours 20 minutes on a freshly charged 2500 mAH NiMH battery, then shut off abruptly. I could not get the flashlight to work again with a new alkaline or NiMH cell after that.

I bought the third and newest flashlight just recently. It has about the same tint as the second light -- not bad. It ran 2 hours 23 minutes on the same freshly charged NiMH battery as the second light before shutting off abruptly. It continues to work -- for now.

 

[kramer5150]

question...

When you force the head open and break-free of the epoxy, is the head difficult to thread back on? Does the epoxy residue gunk up the threads?

I'm considering it for a mod-host.

thanks

 

[bobski]

Well, I scraped the epoxy out of the head using a pocket knife. Apparently none of it had made it up onto the threads, only the flat section for the O-ring. I left the epoxy on the body threads alone. After that fairly mild clean up, the head and body thread together as if there had never been epoxy involved.

 

[gunga]

Just wanted to bump thread. Has anyone replaced lux with seoul on this? I have a Nuwai X1 I'm tempted to open up but can't get past the epoxy. Would heat help?

ALso, can't see how easy it is to access the led leads. The picture shows them going into the pill...

 

[bobski]

ALso, can't see how easy it is to access the led leads. The picture shows them going into the pill...

The emitter is soldered to little wire stubs at surface level of the pill... You can actually see the solder globs in the above pics. With a fairly fine soldering iron tip and some braid, you should be able to de-solder the old emitter and install a new one.

 

[gunga]

Thanks bobski. I don't have access to a vise and the correct wood bits, so I'm unsure I can open mine up. Maybe heating it up carefully? The reflector is aluminum right?

That and the logic of opening up a cheapie light I had around.

But I just can't resist... I also wanted to swap out the lense.

:naughty:


BTW, that's an extra short boot right? Can't be swapped for a glow boot?
Gotta thanks Ernsanada for the fine pix too!

 

[bobski]

The reflector is aluminum right?

No... It appears to be vacuum-metalized plastic.

 

[bob4apple]

I just tried mine with a 14500 battery, and now this thing rocks! It was sort of uninteresting with a NIMH.

I guess I'm spoiled. :shakehead

 

[superflytnt]

Hmmm, I recently bought an Energizer branded 1W Lux I AA light from Target for under $15 that has that exact same clip. The clip now rests on my NC D10 and is a perfect fit! I think the Energizer is made by Nuwai but it looks different from this, the knurling is huge and looks like a pineaple grenade sort of while the tint is beautiful creamy white, the beam is nearly perfect and I'd guess it's 25 lumens. The Energizer, however, has a forward click switch.

 

[Fletch888]

I have this light, and it's very handy.
I'd love to brighten it up with a 14500.

Anyone used a 14500 in the light consistently with no ill effects?

I hate killing my nifty light toys by trying to up the gee-whiz factor.

 

[riversedge]

I have this light, and it's very handy.
I'd love to brighten it up with a 14500.

Anyone used a 14500 in the light consistently with no ill effects?

I hate killing my nifty light toys by trying to up the gee-whiz factor.

I've used split CRV3s(3.0v vs 3.7v) in them to no ill effect.

 

[flashlife]

Sorry to Hijack, but...
The Streamlight Microstream is just as bright, lots smaller, runs 4hr off a 1AAA lithium. It has a smaller, brighter hotspot, and throws farther than the RR1AA. Clips into your shirt pocket like a pen. ~$16.
http://www.brightguy.com/products/Streamlight_MicroStream_LED_Flashlight.php

 

[parnass]

Sorry to Hijack, but...
The Streamlight Microstream is just as bright, lots smaller, runs 4hr off a 1AAA lithium. It has a smaller, brighter hotspot, and throws farther than the RR1AA. Clips into your shirt pocket like a pen. ~$16.
http://www.brightguy.com/products/Streamlight_MicroStream_LED_Flashlight.php

Amen. I have both lights and the Streamlight Microstream is a better performer in a smaller package.

I am on my 3rd RR 1AA light and it is intermittant (see my post from 10 months ago in this thread) .

 

[Fletch888]

The Streamlight MicroStream looks attractive.
I might have to pick that up too because I can't stop playing with FF'N flashlights.

But the RR1AA is 1W and the Microstream is a 0.5W, so the RR should stomp it easily if it can handle being run on a 14500.
I wouldn't try running a 10440 in the 0.5W Microstream.

Plus, I think they're in different categories of use.
The Microstream looks great if you want to have a decent torch with you, but don't use it much, and don't want it to take up a lot of space.
It's a contingency.
The RR1AA is a really handy size to use a lot.
I reach for mine all the time.

The only thing I don't like about it is that the spring clip lost its tension.
I bent it back a few times, but to no avail.
I keep losing the light in the driver's seat .... or in the couch .... or wherever.