neil.pritchard
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2011
- Messages
- 2
As a quick and dirty first mod I decided to cannibalize a Mag Solitaire and fit a 3mm LED while retaining the original reflector. For power I used 2 x A11 batteries which are more or less the same width as an AAA but nearly a third of the length and produce 6v each. To reduce the voltage, I soldered one end of a 510 Ohm resistor to the a round headed phillips screw, and covered them with heat shrink wrap, leaving the other end of the resistor out. The resistor is inserted into a longer spring (see below) which fits into the spare bulb holder that sits in the tail cap. The screw head then presses against the battery when the whole lot is assembled, reducing the voltage from 12v to 3v.
Now while this works fine and produces noticeably more light than a standard Mag solitaire using a single AAA and bulb, the power arrangement is not ideal. as the voltage drops a little on the cells, it drops significantly over the LED, so wasting the batteries.
I'd like to fit a voltage regulator instead, and while I'm at it, a brighter LED, with or without a reflector.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated for voltage regulation that will fit the tiny space of the solitaire, but what I need most advice on is which is the brightest LED that I can fit in there.
Cheers guys,
Neil
Now while this works fine and produces noticeably more light than a standard Mag solitaire using a single AAA and bulb, the power arrangement is not ideal. as the voltage drops a little on the cells, it drops significantly over the LED, so wasting the batteries.
I'd like to fit a voltage regulator instead, and while I'm at it, a brighter LED, with or without a reflector.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated for voltage regulation that will fit the tiny space of the solitaire, but what I need most advice on is which is the brightest LED that I can fit in there.
Cheers guys,
Neil