Is MJ led the answer?

I'm still pretty new around here so I have a lot to learn, nevermind the fact that I know next to nothing about electricity, but I've been searching the web and the forum and would like a little confirmation for what I'm trying to do.

I have a Maglite Solitaire that I would like to convert to LED yet still run on a single AAA (LSD NiMh which I have plenty of). I've seen some drop-ins online but don't really want to pay $20-30 to upgrade a $5 light. If I understand correctly, I can also not just drop in a Nichia 3mm or 5mm led as there are not enough volts. Am I correct so far? But if I get an MJ (or SMJ) led I can just plug it straight in? I've found very little info on these and it's all years old so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

No the MJ won't work on a single cell. The MJ has a lower Voltage then most 3mm or 5MM and will fire up on ~2.8-2.4v. Still much higher than 1.5v. The solitaire is a pretty much a dead end light for modding unless you're willing to get a AAA sized li-ion which will give out 3.7v. With the money spent on upgrading it you might as well get the Fenix E01.

tebore is correct, but not completely. There is a solitaire drop-in SMJLED for the solitaire available.

If you already have the solitaire and don't want a whole new light, just a new life for an old light it is probably ok. I have a 2AA MM with the SMJLED drop-in and its great. But honestly, for $15 shipped you can get a Fenix E01 with 11hrs of fully regulated 10 lumen output and another 10hrs of non-regulated, decreasing output, IPX-8 waterproofing and HAIII anodizing.

Buck91 said:

tebore is correct, but not completely. There is a solitaire drop-in SMJLED for the solitaire available.

If you already have the solitaire and don't want a whole new light, just a new life for an old light it is probably ok. I have a 2AA MM with the SMJLED drop-in and its great. But honestly, for $15 shipped you can get a Fenix E01 with 11hrs of fully regulated 10 lumen output and another 10hrs of non-regulated, decreasing output, IPX-8 waterproofing and HAIII anodizing.

Click to expand...

Right I completely forgot about the actual drop-in thanks for the reminder.

Thanks for the responses. Yes I will probably be getting the E01. The Solitaire was actually a Christmas gift from my wife who knows nothing about flashlights. Because we have 3 Christmases to go to we opened our gifts Saturday night. She had asked me just a few days ago for some additional ideas to the ones I had already given her and I mentioned a new flashlight for my keychain. I told her about the E01 but she did not have time to get it sent by then, so she picked up the mag on the cheap and told me if it wasn't good enough I could always still get the Fenix.

I'm never one to turn down a flashlight (a low power incan is perfect for checking my sock drawer early in the morning with my poor night time color vision) so I went ahead and kept it, while still also considering the option to convert it.

Thanks again, I'm learning.