seemingly obvious idea: L1 extension

So we all know that the new L1 crees have proven to be decent lights after the initial disappointing regulatory malfunctions.

I see many people are taking issue with the fact that the L1 doesn't take 3.7v R123 without going into direct drive.

The issue is that the light doesn't work well with voltage above 3 volts.

So how about an extension tube ofr the L1 series such that it can take, the drum rolls.......








2 AAs?

I would certainly want one. I was amazed to see that no such product exists after the L1 has been out for so long. since the tail caps interchange, an extension tube that works for the lastest version would also work for the very fist L1, No?

I looked on Lighthound, there are dozens of products for various 18650, 18500, etc combo for C lights and E lights but nothing for the L1s.

Many CPFers have L1s, be it the very first one with the Lux I or the latest Cree model, I wish I could use AAs, here is a chance for a modder to make a killing. I will volunteer to be a beta tester :naughty:

Personally....i'm out on this one, i just prefer my lights to be as compact as possible, and anymore 2 quality AA's cost as much as a 123A, so i'll stick with what works.

But don't take this as me being negative, if someone makes this i know there's been a ton of threads wanting SF to make AA lights.

From my perspective the difficulties must centre on the fact that the two-stage switch used by the L1/L2/A2/K2 uses a difference in resistance to switch between the two modes. Any resistance introduced does impact the ability to reliably switch. That is why the body has a special contact ring - dirty or oxidised or just poor-quality contact materials introduce unnecessary resistance.
The implications of this can be observed when the batteries are getting really low and there is a '3rd stage' of low output incandescant output. This can also happen when the contacts are dirty or damaged or not in proper contact.

So an extension tube would need to at the very least introduce no more resistance than the electronics can deal with. This would require careful material selection - aluminium alloy just won't do.

Another difficulty I see is that the tube has to very thin, and the threads are ACME and as I understand it far more difficult to machine.

This family of flashlights is perhaps one of, if not the worst candidate for a body extension in my [non-technical] opinion.

Al

Something like that would probably work much better with a 3 cell E series body like the UBH and a McE2S for the two level switch. I'm not sure how well the KX1 runs on 2xAA, but I think the KL1 ran pretty well.