500 Lumen - AAA Flashlight (photos) - Work In Progress

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Just be sure to let us know if that particular feature somehow reverses itself between now & production time cough DQG IIcough.

I wasn't in your feeler thread to lobby for a more moderate ~.3/3/30/300 distribution. Not that it would have mattered, because you seem to understand (& relish) the fact that 500l is beyond ridiculous! Something between 10 & 100 lumens especially would be have been nice for general use. Either way I have to fully support this project because I'm rooting for you to make it to round two: AA style. And by the way Toyota makes a nice car too, okay?


You see I ordered a torpedo from a guy with no name
Five hundred lumens is kind of insane
With the torpedo, it always tightens the same
Cause it ain't turning on in your pocket again
la la la la la la la...

Totally Insane!
Awesome Poem!!

I will definitely be publishing all final specs & details before accepting any orders,
and yes, Toyota's are good too

[the_guy_with_no_name]

@Cataract, @Smokelaw1

Very cool idea guys!

@Siuba, @brembo
Thank you.

@papageorgia
Maybe I can get my hands on some invisible ink

tgwnn

[Hiro Protagonist]

My daytime EDC lights are usually AAA lights. I'm in for at least one torpedo! I can't wait to see the finished product.

[jabe1]

I'm in. looking forward to the prototype.

please make a neutral version.

Subscribed!

[Art]

If it is able to do 1lumen for a really long time with NIMH and have more the 100lumens also with NIMH Im in!

I use a L0D for a long time mostly with 10440 now and what I miss is a low that wont make me blind in the darkness.

A lot of lumens in a AA will result in low run time so I prefer to have a mode that has a good efficiency E.G. 60-80lumens for 2h.

BTW , what would it be made off? Any titanium?

Subscribed to!

[Lighteous]

You see I ordered a torpedo from a guy with no name
Five hundred lumens is kind of insane
With the torpedo, it always tightens the same
Cause it ain't turning on in your pocket again
la la la la la la la...

Well done!

[JacobJones]

I don't THINK that's possible due to the required position of the TIR relative to the LED, but man....if it were, how cool would that be? Maybe even have it so it could slide in a pre-drilled storage compartment on the back of the light. Yeah......modular AAA 500 lumen light with alk usabilty, off to tighten, tailstanding.....ohhhhhh my........

It's possible. Just need to find a lense with the right focal length, and small enough diameter

[leon2245]

I suspect a free-machining copper (or better grade) version would be popular

Popular is an understatement...

Whoa I missed this awesome idea. Understatement is an understatement. Yes, if any way possible, copper please.

poem

sorry I thought the America song reference would have been obvious (to the tune/last verse of "Horse With No Name").

[the_guy_with_no_name]

@Hiro_Protagonist- Thanks

@jabe1- Thanks
Looks like there are a few requests for a neutral tint.
Might be the 2nd run, but I will check to see if we could get a few in the first run as we get closer to production time.

@Art
>If it is able to do 1lumen for a really long time with NIMH and have more the 100lumens also with NIMH Im in!
I believe that should be possible.

>BTW , what would it be made off? Any titanium?
For now, version 1 is Aluminium, Type III/HA,
and likely Black (matte).

After the first run, based on demand, I would welcome requests for additional materials such as SS,Ti, etc

Thank you,
tgwnn

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Whoa I missed this awesome idea. Understatement is an understatement. Yes, if any way possible, copper please.





sorry I thought the America song reference would have been obvious (to the tune/last verse of "Horse With No Name").

Great song [Horse with no name]
Maybe I could give a free battery to anyone who sings your poem to that tune

Copper eh?
I will check costs for each additional material to at least get an idea of minimum quantities needed.

tgwnn

[nbp]

sorry I thought the America song reference would have been obvious (to the tune/last verse of "Horse With No Name").

That made it 1000% better! Lying in bed singing Horse with No Name with flashlight lyrics...It's times like these I'm glad I don't have a Missus.

[stoli67]

I have almost every AAA light out there..... I will of course "need" one of these!

[Zvi]

I'm interested too. Nifty

[the_guy_with_no_name]

I have almost every AAA light out there..... I will of course "need" one of these!

Thanks stoli,
btw, whats your favorite AAA at the moment?

@Zvi
Thank you


tgwnn

[easilyled]

I'm also interested.

[SixM]

AAA lights are my favorites, you can bet I'll be wanting one of these. Neutral would be icing on the cake, Thrunite's neutral 1C xml is my current favorite EDC.
This light may change that.

[dajabec]

Wow great looking light! I knew you'd pull this off, where there's a will (and smarts) there's a way! I'd love to get one of these...

[joe1512]

This sounds really awesome. Good luck getting it to work. I personally have to add myself to the list of critics who don't think it is possible. As stated 500 lumens = 1.2 Amps at 2.9 volts assuming you use the U2 bin instead of T6 (which is 1.35 amps).

An alkaline produces 1.5 volts, so with a step up to 2.9 v, it would need about 2.5 amps of current draw. There is absolutely no way to make this work.
An eneloop with 1.2 V, would need to crank out almost 3 amps which is not possible either.

Even a 10440 lithium would struggle, since a 500mAh battery has a safe draw of 1.0 Amps at 3.7 average volts. Hence it would be operating at unsafe current for sure. People already use itp A3 EOS with 10440s which is dangerous. Fortunately the XM-L has a 2.9 Vf instead of 4.something Vf, so it isn't THAT far over spec which is good.

So I would think for safety you would require IMR batteries. Which is fine and dandy, but even then the heat will be significant. Anyone who owns an itp A1 with an RCR123, or a Quark MiniX with RCR123 (I have both), will tell you that they heat up fairly quickly. This light will have about half the thermal mass as those CR123 sized ones, so I'd expect it to temp spike pretty fast.

I love the idea of auto-stepdown based on temperature though. That is a great safety feature. So anyways, you are the expect so if you think it can be done, I am really looking forward to seeing it. Good luck!!!

[Bigmac_79]

This looks excellent! I just got an iTP A3 for my keychain, but am now regretting it. As long as the price doesn't go much above $65, I'd love one!

In my opinion, no need to make it reach max output on alkalines or NiMh, as long as it works safely with them.

I don't currently have any 10440 lions, but of course, if I get this light I'll have to acquire some. I think someone mentioned that 10440's aren't available with protection circuits, so will this light have protection built in, or will we just have to keep a close eye and judge when output seems to drop?

[the_guy_with_no_name]

I'm also interested.

Thanks easilyled!
I remember you from the real reason for throw thread thread.

a couple of others too..

[the_guy_with_no_name]

AAA lights are my favorites, you can bet I'll be wanting one of these. Neutral would be icing on the cake, Thrunite's neutral 1C xml is my current favorite EDC.
This light may change that.

Thanks. No matter the outcome, I'm working hard at it and the end result will be a step forward for sure.

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Wow great looking light! I knew you'd pull this off, where there's a will (and smarts) there's a way! I'd love to get one of these...

Thank you.
Haven't pulled it off just yet, but its great to see so much support and feedback.
Makes it all the more worthwhile!

[the_guy_with_no_name]

This sounds really awesome. Good luck getting it to work. I personally have to add myself to the list of critics who don't think it is possible. As stated 500 lumens = 1.2 Amps at 2.9 volts assuming you use the U2 bin instead of T6 (which is 1.35 amps).

An alkaline produces 1.5 volts, so with a step up to 2.9 v, it would need about 2.5 amps of current draw. There is absolutely no way to make this work.
An eneloop with 1.2 V, would need to crank out almost 3 amps which is not possible either.

Even a 10440 lithium would struggle, since a 500mAh battery has a safe draw of 1.0 Amps at 3.7 average volts. Hence it would be operating at unsafe current for sure. People already use itp A3 EOS with 10440s which is dangerous. Fortunately the XM-L has a 2.9 Vf instead of 4.something Vf, so it isn't THAT far over spec which is good.

So I would think for safety you would require IMR batteries. Which is fine and dandy, but even then the heat will be significant. Anyone who owns an itp A1 with an RCR123, or a Quark MiniX with RCR123 (I have both), will tell you that they heat up fairly quickly. This light will have about half the thermal mass as those CR123 sized ones, so I'd expect it to temp spike pretty fast.

I love the idea of auto-stepdown based on temperature though. That is a great safety feature. So anyways, you are the expect so if you think it can be done, I am really looking forward to seeing it. Good luck!!!

Thanks for your support & great point about the U2 bin. Every bit of juice counts at this size.
IMR's are definitely the recommended option.

Safety is an important issue that I'm keeping a close eye on, and yes as you mentioned,
that's part of the reason for implementing the auto-stepdown.

Without auto-stepdown, its essentially a well timed fuse / heat trigger. You could just turn it on at high, and run.....
I will update once I get more details and the first production prototype (still a few weeks away) in my hands.

tgwnn

[the_guy_with_no_name]

This looks excellent! I just got an iTP A3 for my keychain, but am now regretting it. As long as the price doesn't go much above $65, I'd love one!

In my opinion, no need to make it reach max output on alkalines or NiMh, as long as it works safely with them.

I don't currently have any 10440 lions, but of course, if I get this light I'll have to acquire some. I think someone mentioned that 10440's aren't available with protection circuits, so will this light have protection built in, or will we just have to keep a close eye and judge when output seems to drop?

Thank you.

I too currently have an ITP A3 on my keychain too, except that...
...its only 35mm long and runs on a 10180 cell. I chopped it!
I should post a photo somewhere.

over-discharge protection is definitely in the core spec for this light.
Im still checking if/how we can implement it and still support 1.2/1.5V.

Current spec plan is:
Over Discharge Protection (auto switch off or flashing, when voltage output is between 1.8V & 2.8V (this is to prevent unprotected Li-Ion from over discharge)

Price...
With enough demand, I should be able to keep it at the $65 mark, for now, there sure seems to be enough interest.

[Pugaciov]

Damn you anonymous, you made look my humble E05 like a piece of useless junk.

[Acid87]

Meant to reply to you Guy With No Name but I agree with a mailing list as I would most defiantly love one of these bad boys.

Cheers steven

[Bimmerboy]

Great song [Horse with no name]
Maybe I could give a free battery to anyone who sings your poem to that tune

Hold onto the battery... I'm gonna' try this just for fun!... and because I've been meaning to record some flashlight music for a few years now.

Might take me a little while to get it right, and the key is not in my singing range, but will give it a shot.

[JS_280]

Thank you.

I too currently have an ITP A3 on my keychain too, except that...
...its only 35mm long and runs on a 10180 cell. I chopped it!
I should post a photo somewhere.

Please do! Did you literally chop the original body or turn a new one?

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Please do! Did you literally chop the original body or turn a new one?

The tailpiece of the body was chopped using a pipe cutter,
then filed down so I could get one to fit into the other,
then used various things to get them to stick

here is the photo



tgwnn

[qtaco]

I like that porsche analogy. If you can pull this off I'm in for one to.