Small, inexpensive light with tight beam?

[tastewar1]

My 8th-grade-science-teacher wife likes to do a demo of the sun shining on the earth, and she has a bunch of small earths (maybe 2.5-3" diameter), and would like a flashlight that can project a beam smaller than that (yes, I know that's not how the sun works...) and be able to show some effects based on the angle that the light is hitting the earth, etc. In any case, the desire is a light that can throw a pretty narrow beam from maybe a foot away. And again, please focus on that aspect and not the accuracy of the science. Let's assume that I am doing a poor job of explaining the *how* but not the *what*

Can you think of any small (say 1 AA or AAA) light that is inexpensive (can be AliExpress or whatever) that would fit the bill? Thanks for any help!

 

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

A Convoy T3 with an XP-G2 will set her right. Even better if you can message the store's owner Simon and ask for an Osram flat white emitter (CSLNM1.TG) instead. The throw on the Osram is totally bonkers.

 

[tastewar1]

Thanks for the link and recommendation! I've been looking around for beam pics of that unit, and the best I can find is on this Reddit post: and the guy actually said he was going to try to post a beam pic from about a foot away, which would have been very helpful for me, but it seems he didn't :-( Anyone able to point me to a good pic of what the beam looks like around that distance?

A little more searching around CPF lead me to this: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/t...h-tight-beam-little-spill.407121/post-4723537 which looks just about perfect, but it doesn't say what light that is. Anyone able to identify? (then would come the question of whether a light from 7 years ago is still available, and if so, what the cost is...)

 

[bykfixer]

Zbattery still has 37 lumen Maglite Solitaire LED lights. That one has a tiny beam. Or you can use an incan flashlight since most of those have a very narrow hot spot.

 

[tastewar1]

Somewhere I do have an old incandescent solitaire. But she wants like a dozen of them, so they have to be reasonable. Actually, I am seeing that the incandescent solitaires are not unreasonable. Will have to see if I can track that down and test...

 

[desert.snake]

Here a flashlight with a movable lens would be more suitable. They give a thin and uniform beam. Convoy T3 is an excellent flashlight, but it is reflex, these are extra rays of light, the sun shines more evenly. In stores they are usually called "zoom flashlight", price from 5-7 dollars, power supply 3*AAA or 18650 recently.

They usually look like this

There are also suitable laser lights LEP or more power and expensive lens lights, such as "deerelight", but this can be dangerous for children's eyes.

 

[tastewar1]

Thanks, everyone! Gonna try some zoomable lights. Appreciate the ideas and discussion!

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

Just get a cheap zoomy light. It'll allow a focused beam and be ideal. An Sk68 if they still exist would work. 1xAA or 14500 for more output. Check out eBay/Amazon or if not in a hurry KD, Banggood and Aliexpress.

Failing that. A 2AA Mini Mag would probably do the job too.

 

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

[...] But she wants like a dozen of them, so they have to be reasonable. [snip]

Oh, now I see. Yea, if you need multiple lights, cheap zoomies are the way to go.

 

[tastewar1]

Just to follow up here, thanks for all the helpful advice. Ended up purchase 6 of these 2-packs: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QHG8FXK/?tag=cpf0b6-20 and they worked a treat.