LED_ASAP
Enlightened
After nights and nights of brain-grindingly hard modding, now I am proud to introduce what might well be the brightest Solitaire mod available to date.
It drives a 1W LS at 170+ mA, which produces plenty of light for most close-up tasks like going around the tent, night reading, checking the games, fixing minor car problems, and the alike.
I don't have a lightmeter to give the actual lumine or lux number, I simply made a rough test using the lightmeter on my camera. I hung a piece of Letter-sized paper on the wall and zoomed the camera so that the paper fills the viewfinder. I then shone the light onto the paper, adjusted the distance of the light if necessary so that the main spot could fill the paper. The distance doesn't seem to affect the reading too much once the hotspot is within the paper. I recorded what aperture and shutter (fixed at 1/15sec) combination will allow a correct exposure. Here are the numbers (for those not farmiliar with photography, aperture goes as f4, f5.6, f8, f11, f16, f22, and each higher level means the object doubles in brightness)---
Arc-LS (grey kit): half level between f16 and f22
Inova X5: f11+ (the needle leaned slightly towards over-exposure)
Solitaire LS Mod: f11
Yes, you read it right, the total light output of this Solitaire mod is close to an Inova X5 (and if you hold a NX05 lense in front of the LS, it also appears so). I couldn't find a suitable optic that will fit in the space between the LS and the cover lense to make a focused beam, and I didn't want to have a protruding acryllic ball in the front. Although it is possible to put an epoxy lense in there to give a brighter hotspot, you do lose some of the total light output as even the "clear" epoxy is slightly yellowish, and it tends to become yellower as it ages. Another drawback for a clear epoxy lense is that it is not as strong as real optics and it can easily become scratched, especially when it's not fully hardened.
The color of the beam is slightly greenish, a typical result from an ordinary LS. But it doesn't really affect the usefulness of this light. If you can find high BIN emiters (like the Q2H I got from Lambda), the color is indeed very good.
The current drawn from a Ni-H AAA is close to 700mA, which means just about one hour run time. It is not so good for a primary light source, but for a backup/emmergency use that should be plenty. The efficiency of the step-up/regulator circuitry is moderate, and unfortunately there is not much anybody can do---the 0.3ohm MOS-EFT driving transistor, when forced to take the 1A peak current, will eat 0.3-0.4V, which is already a 30+% efficiency penalty in a single-cell setup.
I am offering the Solitaire mod in several different flavors:
No. 1---the Luxeon Star options:
I buy the LS from Future Electronics and you take whatever they send me
OR
You send me whatever LS you can find, and I add the electronics
No. 2---the beam pattern
Broad, bare emiter beam at full brightness
OR
A "clear" epoxy lense on top for a brighter hotspot. You can even give preferences like "tighter beam" or "more flood". I will TRY to accomodate your request by varying the size and shape of the epoxy lense (to a certain degree).
No. 3---the Solitaire body
You can buy your own Solitaire and put things together yourself. You only need to drill or file or bore the top of the battery tube and take out the stock reflector. I will mail you step-by-step instructions with graphics with the kit.
OR
I can do the mod and ship the completed light.
Here are the dollar signs (in US$):
I provide the LS (lucky draw from Future): $50
You provide the LS: $40
If you want an epoxy lense, add $2
If you want me to put things in the Solitaire, add $10
Plus any postage (check your rate at www.canadapost.com or www.usps.com) depends on how you want the package be delivered. Calculate for a 200g-package for now.
Please send email/PayPal to [email protected] regarding your order---please specify the following:
1) what LS option you want
2) what beam type you want
3) If you want the mod kit or the completed mod
4) shipment method
Please bear in mind that I have only one pair of hands and working with small parts is not easy. I will also need to order various parts and sometimes it takes a long time to get LS from Future. So the turnover rate may be slow, and please don't order too many at a time.
It drives a 1W LS at 170+ mA, which produces plenty of light for most close-up tasks like going around the tent, night reading, checking the games, fixing minor car problems, and the alike.
I don't have a lightmeter to give the actual lumine or lux number, I simply made a rough test using the lightmeter on my camera. I hung a piece of Letter-sized paper on the wall and zoomed the camera so that the paper fills the viewfinder. I then shone the light onto the paper, adjusted the distance of the light if necessary so that the main spot could fill the paper. The distance doesn't seem to affect the reading too much once the hotspot is within the paper. I recorded what aperture and shutter (fixed at 1/15sec) combination will allow a correct exposure. Here are the numbers (for those not farmiliar with photography, aperture goes as f4, f5.6, f8, f11, f16, f22, and each higher level means the object doubles in brightness)---
Arc-LS (grey kit): half level between f16 and f22
Inova X5: f11+ (the needle leaned slightly towards over-exposure)
Solitaire LS Mod: f11
Yes, you read it right, the total light output of this Solitaire mod is close to an Inova X5 (and if you hold a NX05 lense in front of the LS, it also appears so). I couldn't find a suitable optic that will fit in the space between the LS and the cover lense to make a focused beam, and I didn't want to have a protruding acryllic ball in the front. Although it is possible to put an epoxy lense in there to give a brighter hotspot, you do lose some of the total light output as even the "clear" epoxy is slightly yellowish, and it tends to become yellower as it ages. Another drawback for a clear epoxy lense is that it is not as strong as real optics and it can easily become scratched, especially when it's not fully hardened.
The color of the beam is slightly greenish, a typical result from an ordinary LS. But it doesn't really affect the usefulness of this light. If you can find high BIN emiters (like the Q2H I got from Lambda), the color is indeed very good.
The current drawn from a Ni-H AAA is close to 700mA, which means just about one hour run time. It is not so good for a primary light source, but for a backup/emmergency use that should be plenty. The efficiency of the step-up/regulator circuitry is moderate, and unfortunately there is not much anybody can do---the 0.3ohm MOS-EFT driving transistor, when forced to take the 1A peak current, will eat 0.3-0.4V, which is already a 30+% efficiency penalty in a single-cell setup.
I am offering the Solitaire mod in several different flavors:
No. 1---the Luxeon Star options:
I buy the LS from Future Electronics and you take whatever they send me
OR
You send me whatever LS you can find, and I add the electronics
No. 2---the beam pattern
Broad, bare emiter beam at full brightness
OR
A "clear" epoxy lense on top for a brighter hotspot. You can even give preferences like "tighter beam" or "more flood". I will TRY to accomodate your request by varying the size and shape of the epoxy lense (to a certain degree).
No. 3---the Solitaire body
You can buy your own Solitaire and put things together yourself. You only need to drill or file or bore the top of the battery tube and take out the stock reflector. I will mail you step-by-step instructions with graphics with the kit.
OR
I can do the mod and ship the completed light.
Here are the dollar signs (in US$):
I provide the LS (lucky draw from Future): $50
You provide the LS: $40
If you want an epoxy lense, add $2
If you want me to put things in the Solitaire, add $10
Plus any postage (check your rate at www.canadapost.com or www.usps.com) depends on how you want the package be delivered. Calculate for a 200g-package for now.
Please send email/PayPal to [email protected] regarding your order---please specify the following:
1) what LS option you want
2) what beam type you want
3) If you want the mod kit or the completed mod
4) shipment method
Please bear in mind that I have only one pair of hands and working with small parts is not easy. I will also need to order various parts and sometimes it takes a long time to get LS from Future. So the turnover rate may be slow, and please don't order too many at a time.
