Easiest Mod Ever...

When I ordered my bad boy several months ago now I picked up 2 brinkman flashlights as donors just for a spare and with plans to do something else to it. So far all I've used it for was to show how feeble the original is compared to the modded version It's fun to show people who are unconvinced at spending $40 for what is basically a new bulb is worth every penny!

So a couple of days ago I trimmed the leads on a nice white LED and pushed it into the bi-pin base of the brinkman. You have to do this from the front, taking the bezel off and leaving the reflector in there as an un modified LED will not fit through the hole in the stock reflector.

On regular AA's it barely lit at all, but once I put 2 lithiums in there it's at close to full brightness.

WIth all the luxeons and now my Mr Bulk super NexNeedle one forgets the utility of a single LED light sometimes Even my BB is too bright to use in the bedroom when my wife is already asleep. But a single White LED is plenty bright enough to navigate when your eyes are already adjusted to the dark.

nice mod!

the "overly bright syndrome", though uncommon on this board, happened to me pretty regularly until i got my palight onestar.

one click is plenty to navigate a dark house and read while my fiance is sleeping. and cranked to the max setting is plenty for navigating in the dark.

i really see the usefulness in dimmable LED's, and like the palight and aurora for this feature.
another benefit is very long runtime.

im currently considering an eternalight (still undecided because i fear the exposed LED's may backwash, which i find annoying) or maybe a shorelight VX2--which would be ~twice as bright as the palight, fairly small and still dimmable.

your little mod should have a very long runtime as well!

Bob

Originally posted by pedalinbob:
im currently considering an eternalight (still undecided because i fear the exposed LED's may backwash, which i find annoying)Bob

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I really appreciate my EternaLights. Experiencing the "overly bright syndrome", I decided to try an EternaLight Ergo 3 with the Green/White LED options. Default "on" are the two green LEDs and you can step down in brightness levels. I just ordered a PALight Selector with a green LED...so we'll see how they compete as a nightstand torch.

However I've got to say that having the two white LED option on the EternaLight makes that little package very versatile!! Of course they both have excellent runtimes! I give them both !!

It is amazing how useful a light like this is. I have a Minimag set up the same way and it's my most used light. On mine I drilled out the reflector to fit. Almost every night since I made it last June I've used it when I go to bed and don't want to disturb anybody. The same lithium cells I put in then are still going strong!

Overly bright? Not for me. No flash light is ever too bright for me.

I've modded a couple of cheapie wire-bulbed torches in a similar way using direct drive single LED's. It is the smallest torch I've modded. It tends to get used as a "get-me-to-the-john-in-the-middle-of-the-night" torch! Funnily enough, its true what people say about there being "too much light" and thiss decreases your night sight abilities somewhat. In areas of high light pollution I use a bigger more powerful torch; and in areas of low light pollution I can use a single LED torch to navigate around countryside with ease!
Recently I bought a minimag style torch on offer at my local petrol station which I might mod in a similar way to the brinkmann mentionwd at the top of this post! It's made in China and is imported by a company called G7. Its a very well made little torch!

I hang an eternalight on a towel rack above the toilet paper. It is always left on at its lowest setting. I use almost dead AAs from other electronics in the eternalight which last about a month. It is amazing how this small amount of light is perfect for navigating around nature's call at night.