LED_ASAP
Enlightened
Hello, everyone,
After some serious work, the Mag Solitaire Mod is finally finished! (for original posts, see This Thread)
Here are the parts needed to make the mod:
#1---a 0.6mL Eppendorf tube, used to cut out the casing (#2) for this mod. Just sweet talk to any university biology staff or hospital employee and they will be glad to give you a handful for free.
#4---a transformer/inductor made by winding two enamel wires on a ferrite bead---about 0.1mm wire, 7-10 turns.
#5---5mm white Nitcha from Paul
#6---SMD transistor, should have used FMMT617CT from DigiKey (NPN, 3000mA, 15V), but it "flew away" when I tried to solder wires to its lead and was never found again. So I used FMMT495CT instead (NPN, 1000mA, 150V). 617-mod would have been significantly brighter, I guess.
#7---1K ohm resistor, SMD. Anything from 10K to a few hundred ohms would work, The brightness level increases slightly when smaller resistors are used, but difference is not significant.
The circuit diagram can be found
Here
I didn't bother to use the diode and capacitor. The whole thing was crammed into the 8mm section cut from the Eppendorf tube.
After a test run confirmed the circuit was working, I sealed the unit by Epoxy glue.
Now solder a short wire off the negative lead of the LED so that it will touch the battery tube rim when the unit is in its ON position---it will act as the switch contact.
The tail cap in the Solitaire was filed down right to the thread, and a groove was filed through the thread for the contact piece. The original spring was replaced by a smaller one from a ball pen (so that when pressed down, the entire spring can fit into the cavity in the tail cap). A few mm of the contact piece was removed, along with the 4 "fingers". The hole in the reflector was enlarged to fit the 5mm LED, and the end of the reflector was reinforced by some Epoxy glue.
Sorry for the picture quality---my camera doesn't focus properly at close-ups.
Now it's time to put things together and see the results:
Left---my Solitaire mod; right---my old Photon I.
I don't have an Arc AAA to compare with, but I guess the beam brightness will be roughly comparable.
The power consumption was measured at 50mA, so I expect a good 10+ hour of battery life on alkalines. The light is not really regulated, but the Satcure circuit should maintain the current (either at the saturation current of the transistor or that of the inductor) until the battery drops below ~0.5V.
After some serious work, the Mag Solitaire Mod is finally finished! (for original posts, see This Thread)
Here are the parts needed to make the mod:
#1---a 0.6mL Eppendorf tube, used to cut out the casing (#2) for this mod. Just sweet talk to any university biology staff or hospital employee and they will be glad to give you a handful for free.
#4---a transformer/inductor made by winding two enamel wires on a ferrite bead---about 0.1mm wire, 7-10 turns.
#5---5mm white Nitcha from Paul
#6---SMD transistor, should have used FMMT617CT from DigiKey (NPN, 3000mA, 15V), but it "flew away" when I tried to solder wires to its lead and was never found again. So I used FMMT495CT instead (NPN, 1000mA, 150V). 617-mod would have been significantly brighter, I guess.
#7---1K ohm resistor, SMD. Anything from 10K to a few hundred ohms would work, The brightness level increases slightly when smaller resistors are used, but difference is not significant.
The circuit diagram can be found
Here
I didn't bother to use the diode and capacitor. The whole thing was crammed into the 8mm section cut from the Eppendorf tube.
After a test run confirmed the circuit was working, I sealed the unit by Epoxy glue.
Now solder a short wire off the negative lead of the LED so that it will touch the battery tube rim when the unit is in its ON position---it will act as the switch contact.
The tail cap in the Solitaire was filed down right to the thread, and a groove was filed through the thread for the contact piece. The original spring was replaced by a smaller one from a ball pen (so that when pressed down, the entire spring can fit into the cavity in the tail cap). A few mm of the contact piece was removed, along with the 4 "fingers". The hole in the reflector was enlarged to fit the 5mm LED, and the end of the reflector was reinforced by some Epoxy glue.
Sorry for the picture quality---my camera doesn't focus properly at close-ups.
Now it's time to put things together and see the results:
Left---my Solitaire mod; right---my old Photon I.
I don't have an Arc AAA to compare with, but I guess the beam brightness will be roughly comparable.
The power consumption was measured at 50mA, so I expect a good 10+ hour of battery life on alkalines. The light is not really regulated, but the Satcure circuit should maintain the current (either at the saturation current of the transistor or that of the inductor) until the battery drops below ~0.5V.
