AA mini-maglite knockoff: $1.00 - How to modify???

reviewum

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Hi CPF Friends,

On the way home I had an impulse and I stopped by my friendly neighborhood "Dollar Tree" (I have a weakness for dollar stores). Boy was I glad I did.

I have visited a few dollar stores more frequently since learning of this forum. I have found quite a few cool things to modify, tap lights, flashlights, and a portable AA fan (ripped out the motor to put in some LEDs). I have found flashlights there of varying quality, from horribly cheap to well worth my $1.00 purchase¡K

Well, as I was saying, I am very glad I was "inspired" to go last night. While strolling through my favorite isle (tools, flashlights, etc.) I found a bunch of AA mini-maglite knockoffs. They looked almost exactly the same as the real thing, but looks are often deceiving, especially in the dollar store. I grabbed one, ran over to the batteries section and grabbed some AAs and opened the packages (don't worry, I was going to at least buy this stuff). Boy was I surprised, it worked great! The weight and quality are definitely not to the specs of the real thing, but hey, for a buck, I am not complaining!!!

So, to my wife is chagrin I bought about 20 of them.

Here is one I brought to work:
mini-mag-1.jpg

mini-mag-2.jpg


When I got home I simply stuck in a 3mm white LED (from my eBay friend cwithk) in place of the existing bulb. It was definitely not very bright (3.0 volts doesn't cut it) but I was amazed that I could just stick in this LED without any cutting, drilling, or modifications to any of the parts.

Now, I just have to find a CHEAP way to modify them so they really work. Here are my options:
1) Use 3-4 of the smaller batteries.
2) Use a boost circuit.
3) Connect the body of two of the lights together.

So, any other suggestions? I am not about to spend $30 to modify a $1.00 flashlight and thought I'd call upon the masters of the mods that dwell here!

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
 

Slick

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Is there a separate "bezel ring" - (that retains the lens & reflector), that can be unscrewed? Thanks..
 

reviewum

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Thanks for the replies!

Slick: Unfortunately I scratched the heck out of the head on this one trying to unscrew the ring off the top of the head. It REALLY looks like it should come off, but found out (to my dismay) that it doesn't. The good news is I can still pop out the lens and reflector from the top, but it's not the same as the mini-mag.

I've been wondering if I should look into getting / making some kind of "SatCure circuit" or "Joule Theif" type circuit and fitting it into a AA shell. This way I could replace the bulb with a bright LED and use a single AA battery with my satcure circuit AA cell.

I'm not up to par to make one of these yet. Is there somewhere I can buy a few of these circuits cheap? I'm thinking something simple like the ones here:
http://www.emanator.demon.co.uk/bigclive/joule.htm
and here:
http://tyapo.tripod.com/2t_regulated_led.html

Thanks again!
 

Ferrous

Newly Enlightened
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B\'ham WA
Please, tell me more. Are these about as sturdy as m#glites? I'm not clear on how the lens and reflector are held in place. Is the bulb socket the same?
 

shiftd

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I got one of those lights and IMHO, it is better to get one MAG rather than having 9 of these. The built is not at all that great and the finish is not up to par, either. Well, you get what you paid for.
 

reviewum

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I'd have to agree with shiftd that they are not up to par with mag, but I sure like the price. For cheap lights to keep around they work great, and to practice my modding (I'm very new) I'd rather drill into and cut apart a $1.00 light than a $9.00 light.

The two main downsides of these cheaper versions are:

1) The lens and reflector seem to be held in place simply by pressure.

2) The bulb socket doesn't seem as easily removable as some of my old mags.

I guess these two issues make it a bit more difficult to mod, but hey... it's a $1.00 aluminum light!

As far as modding goes, it is much easier to work with these than the other crappy $1.00 - $5.00 lights that I've found.

Happy Modding!
 

Negeltu

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Oregon, USA
Re: AA mini-maglite knockoff: $1.00 - How to modif

This light is good for small 5mm arrays running on 3 n cells.

You know I actually saw a guy selling these on ebay for $4 a piece NOT including shipping... LOL.
 

paulr

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Mar 29, 2003
Messages
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Re: AA mini-maglite knockoff: $1.00 - How to modif

I think putting in a boost circuit is not really in the right spirit for these cheap lights. Using an amber or yellow LED with a resistor limiter is probably the best solution if you want an LED mod. The suggestion of using three N cells is also good, if the length works out correctly (I'm not sure). Or you could use two L91 lithium AA cells or the new oxy-whatever cells (either is 1.7 volts per cell) for somewhat more output with the white led. Or maybe there's a way you can get three AAAA's in there (AAAA's are found inside 9 volt rectangular alkaline batteries if you pry them open). Finally you could just leave the flashlights alone--they are perfectly useful as incandescents and you can leave them around or give them out as-is.

Edit: L91 cells are probably the best answer if you want white LED's and you don't mind the L91's expense. They're not really more exotic than N cells and you should get tremendous runtime from them, like 100 hours or more. They have enough shelf life that the combo would make a great emergency light.
 

paulr

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Re: AA mini-maglite knockoff: $1.00 - How to modif

BTW, Reviewum, do you have any more of those 3mm white led's and do you think I could buy one or two of them from you? I'd like to try that same mod in a Minimag. Thanks.
 

reviewum

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Re: AA mini-maglite knockoff: $1.00 - How to modif

paulr,

I suggest you check out this company on eBay and pick some up. I contacted the seller directly and placed a special order (my first one with them) of 20 each of 5mm and 3mm blue and white. I was so impressed that I put in another order of 50 - 100 each.

Here is their eBay page:
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/cwithk/

From what I hear they are not as "good" (bright) as the Nichia, but they look great to me, and for the price... I'll stick with these for now!

Rob
 

paulr

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Re: AA mini-maglite knockoff: $1.00 - How to modif

Yes, trouble is that the guy is in Hong Kong and I really don't want 20 or 50 of the leds. I was hoping you could part with one or two so I wouldn't have to place such a large order and pay for international shipping.

Edit: actually I'd be interested in buying one of the dollar lights from you too, if you're willing. (I'll even pay a reasonable markup). I see that putting a 3mm led into a Minimag will require drilling out the reflector to make the center hole a little bigger, and I'd rather leave my Minimag intact, at least for now. Thanks.
 

reviewum

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Re: AA mini-maglite knockoff: $1.00 - How to modif

Gotcha!

I can shoot you a few. Just shoot me a private message with where to send them.
 

Big_Ed

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Re: AA mini-maglite knockoff: $1.00 - How to modif

A friend of mine checked those same lights out a while back. Apparently the lenses like to fall right out when you twist the head to turn it on. He went back to the store and showed the manager. They both opened up several of them and tried to turn the head with the same results. After going through about a dozen, they finally found one that didn't fall apart. Typical Chinese quality.
 

Negeltu

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Re: AA mini-maglite knockoff: $1.00 - How to modif

Ah, but the chinese sure make one hell of a tractor! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I actually find many products that are made in china to be very good.
 

reviewum

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Re: AA mini-maglite knockoff: $1.00 - How to modif

Yeah, but did I mention these were are a buck?

You are right, I've been noticing that when I stick in a mod the lens has a tendency to be pushed out, but the unmodded ones look like they are fine. I like the suggestion paulr made that they actually make a good light the way they are. I bought enough to have a ton for mods and a ton for regular lights.

Oh... and have I mentioned how much I love the dollar store? :)
 

WildRice

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Re: AA mini-maglite knockoff: $1.00 - How to modif

I just picked 3 lots of 3mm's 50red, 50blue and 100 true green(3.6v). the green ones are pretty bright. green is good for night vision too. Rob, send me a PM and I can send ya a few to try also.
Jeff

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 

milkyspit

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Re: AA mini-maglite knockoff: $1.00 - How to modif

reviewum, I don't suppose a 123 cell would fit in the battery tube? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 

reviewum

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Re: AA mini-maglite knockoff: $1.00 - How to modif

milkyspit - I hate to admit it, but I'm totally a NIMH AA guy! I may have a 123 somewhere to try, but I don't think it will fit (aren't they a bit fatter than AA's?)
 

milkyspit

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Re: AA mini-maglite knockoff: $1.00 - How to modif

reviewum, NiMH is nothing to be ashamed of. Yes, a 123 cell is a little fatter than a AA. To be specific, a AA cell is 14.5mm in diameter, a 123 cell is 17.0mm, and a CR2 cell (another type of lithium cell) is 15.6mm.

If the battery tube JUST fits the AA cells, then there's no hope of getting anything else in there. However, if you can push the AA to one side and see at least a millimeter of free space in there, maybe the CR2 could fit, which would open some possibilities as far as driving an LED with those cheap flashlights.

If you can only use AA cells, I know there are some super high brightness red 5mm LEDs out there that operate on just over 2 volts. That ought to work nicely.

If you can slip at least the CR2 lithium cells in that battery tube, you could drive anything you like, even a Luxeon, using a resistor to limit current flow to some level that wouldn't generate too much heat.
 
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