MiniMiniMag with MM+R2H and 3v Lithium AA

I've been meaning to do a writeup of this for awhile now and finally got to taking some beamshots and Lux readings so here goes. I have two MiniMiniMags courtesy of Rothrandir's awesome skills and have a MM+Q3 in one and a MM+R2H in the other. I have fitted one with a Kroll clickie and the other with a RAM clickie. Mr.Bulk introduced me to the world of the 3v AA Lithium batt when he gave me one after I showed him my MMM. It worked so well that I headed over to eBay to pick me up a few more of these. The following sequence shows how I split up the CRV3 (click on the thumbnails for a larger pic). Please excuse my excessive use of pics in this thread /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif --I wanted to give a thorough account of what I did here:

Duracell CRV3 Battery as it arrived:


"Made in Japan" text on back--don't know if all the Duracells have the 3v batts in them:


CRV3 with wrapper removed:


With some of the other crap removed:


Batts yanked apart:


After connector was clipped and rolled:


Final product:


Now the hosts:



And finally, the beamshots (R2H on left, Q3 on right):


The Lux readings on my LM691 came out to ~410 lux for the Q3 and ~770 for the R2H.

THhe R2H is whiter than the Q3 (slightly bluish tint, but not as blue as in the pic) and has better throw but the R2H is slightly off center. I like both of these and intend to EDC them when I get around to figuring out how I want to do that--will be adding either a clip or button or button and collar. We'll have to see how good my drilling/tapping skills are. Despite being slightly shorter than the standard AA alkaline batt, the 3v batt actually didn't need to have the connector rolled for it to work. The pics really don't do the beamshot justice--it's quite a bit brighter than the picture would imply.

Suffice to say I am pleased with every part of these lights. Special thanks to Roth for making me the MMM's (and then refitting them to take the RAM switch better), Mr.Bulk for giving me that first 3v batt and doing the RAM group buy, and dat2zip for the great work on the MM+Q3 and MM+R2H modules.

i agree...these batts are very nice! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
thank you so much for sending me one! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

thanks for the kind words /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif
i'm glad they're serving you well /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

ZENGHOST, that 3 volt battery is two 1.5 lithiums, right?

Bill

Certain CRV3 batts contain two 3 volt lithium batts (while others have only the 1.5v). This one is a 3 volt.

no prob, Roth /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I was thinking along the same lines when I first got mine. I was thinking two 1/2 AA NiMH cells, to get the full voltage & full brightness.

I still haven't aquired any though...


By the way, what kind of runtime are you getting on one of those? Do you know what the capacity is?

Energizer rates their CRV3s at 3000mAH, so each 3V cell should be about 1500mAH. I assume Duracells would be abt the same. (vs 1300 for a 123.)

Larry

Excellent,
I guess I can run my Stoplight in one cell mode with a BB500 R2H. Time to stock up on Duracell CRV3's and get out the scissors. Great report, Zenghost. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Yeah, BentHead, I think you'll like that R2H with this batt--the size to output ratio is terrific.

Larry--is there a way for me to measure the mAH, or do I have to depend on the manufacturer rating? And is the mAH rating more important than the voltage?

ZENGHOST,

The ampacity of all primary cells will be a function of the load and the cut-off voltage. Big difference between a 500mA load and a 5mA load. The manufacturers typically have test conditions on their data sheets. I'm sure one of the electronics guys here can give a much better explanation. Clk on the batt type on the left to see the data sheet: here

Larry

[ QUOTE ]
ZENGHOST said:
Yeah, BentHead, I think you'll like that R2H with this batt--the size to output ratio is terrific.

Larry--is there a way for me to measure the mAH, or do I have to depend on the manufacturer rating? And is the mAH rating more important than the voltage?

[/ QUOTE ]
Great thread.
I'm not Larry obviously, but all you can really do is to let a new cell run ( after you've taken a reading of the current draw with the new battery), and then see what the runtime is.
-Example..mA draw -900mA x 90 minutes running time might approximately equal 1350 mAh capacity. (900+450)

BTW-which mmm (the R2H or the Q3) had the Ram switch on it?
-I'm asking because I have found that the Ram switch definitely lowers the light output on mine! It has some extra resistance built into it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif I verified it over and over with a meter by comparing readings with the standard tailcap.

Uh oh...math is involved /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif. How do I take a reading of the current draw?

The kroll was on the Q3 and the RAM was on the R2H (for this post anyway). Shankus had that same problem, but when I tested my RAM vs. my Kroll, the lux readings came out really close so it didn't appear to be making a difference, but it's not an exact science.

[ QUOTE ]
ZENGHOST said:
Uh oh...math is involved /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif. How do I take a reading of the current draw?

The kroll was on the Q3 and the RAM was on the R2H (for this post anyway). Shankus had that same problem, but when I tested my RAM vs. my Kroll, the lux readings came out really close so it didn't appear to be making a difference, but it's not an exact science.

[/ QUOTE ]
Seems like you have a normal Ram switch then. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Assuming that you have a DMM, just set it for DC mA and with the tailcap off (and the mmm barrel in the "on" position), touch the BLACK lead/probe to the neg. of the tailmost cell...-while at the same time touching the RED lead to the threads inside of the barrel.

The light should come on and your meter will simultaneously give you a reading in amps or milliamps. (With the Madmax module it should be somewhere in the 900 mA range.

Do all DMM's have the DC mA option? I have that free one and I have DCV, OHM, hFE, DCA, ACA, and ACV. Sorry if these are all real basic questions, but electronics was never my strong suit.

[ QUOTE ]
ZENGHOST said:
Do all DMM's have the DC mA option? I have that free one and I have DCV, OHM, hFE, DCA, ACA, and ACV.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yup-your DCA function will do nicely, IF the meter has at least a 1 Amp range. Most of the DMMs have a 10A option in addition to the 10-50-100-200mA range. Look closely on the post options of the selector.

vcal, I am confused. Dat2zip (silver-tongued devil that he is) reamed me for testing my amperage that way, said I'd only get a reading of current BEFORE his boards worked their magic. Said I should insert the DMM leads *between* the output lead of the board and the Luxeon's input lead. Am I miscomprehending his comments?

Mr Bulk - Depends what you want to test. With the meter between the output of the board and the input of the Luxeon, you are measuring the current of the Luxeon. With the meter between the battery and the barrel of the flashlight, you are measuring the current going into the board. Since the board is changing the voltage form that of the battery to that applied to the LED, and since energy is conserved, the current reading will be different if the two voltages are different. Actually since the board is not 100% efficient, more power goes into the board than comes out of it, so the current is not the same even if the input voltage is the same as the output voltage of the board! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[ QUOTE ]
MR Bulk said:vcal, I am confused. Dat2zip (silver-tongued devil that he is) reamed me for testing my amperage that way, said I'd only get a reading of current BEFORE his boards worked their magic. Said I should insert the DMM leads *between* the output lead of the board and the Luxeon's input lead. Am I miscomprehending his comments?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not knowing very much about the technical pecadilloes of the circuit...I am inclined to think Wayne was right.
These circuits are pretty easily insulted.

From what you described in your post, I'd be real careful-about $42. worth. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

That's why I am only suggesting that the entire load be measured in the very basic simple way-by using the flashlight, (circuit and LED together), -rather than trying to measure off of the board itself. I may be a little over-cautious, I suppose....

Edit/p.s.-Charlie, would you happen to have an extra Ram switch for the minimag that you could turn loose of?

A great big "ahhh-so" goes out to Phyhsuts and vcal, and aside from ultimate brightness, you now know another reason why I like to build direct drives! Plus they feature 100% efficiency!

vcal, if Sonic doesn't come by and pick up this (one last remaining) RAM switch, I'll let you know. Hey Darryl, ya reading this???

Charlie,
I think we just talked about this on the phone. I'll email you a list of what I think I was supposed to pick up from you, hope it helps. I know how busy you are right now.

Zen,
Nice, I like it! Do you know if other brands of CRV3 batteries have two 3 volt batteries inside? I can get some cheap, but not sure which ones would work.

Darryl