Dorcy 1AA 3-LED Mod

I wish this post was to tell everybody how I was able to mod this light, but the truth is I got it today from jenks of Canada (Thanks Kev!) and the head is one solid piece!

So I looked inside the head from the bottom and it appears there is a ring of solder all around the circuitry. The inside is threaded so I stuck a pair of needlenose pliers into the solder ring and turned, and it DID turn!

But a bunch of turns later, the assembly was still in the same place and did not back out along the threads. Hmmm, gotta get some rest now but will explore more tomorrow. I really want to mod this light without destroying anything, so not sure what step I'll take next short of tearing into it from the lens end, but feel like I'd compromise the circuitry...

Re: Dorcy 1AA 3-LED Mod *DELETED*

Post deleted by red_robby

red_robby: "what do you see now"

So is the boost circuit between the spring and the battery under the black plastic cap in the main section of the light or up in the head with the LEDs? I'm reluctant to remove the cap... looks like it might not go back in too easily. If it IS there, it shouldn't be too hard to drop a Luxeon in the head.

The next question is how much current the boost circuit can provide. Even if underdriven, a Luxeon would likely be quite bright.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif
Red LS Mod? I will keep watching this one...
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif

i've got a red LS coming from wayne, you'll see the light
next week /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif

Red,
Are you going to put it in the Dorcy 1AA? If so, I would be really interested in how it all comes along. Having the Red LS in a light that uses a single AA would be perfect for next spring. I plan on going to another part of the world that does not have those pesky lights to screw up the flashaholic fun time. Hopefully I won't need the red, but if I do... I will be ready.
I wonder if baggage security will wonder about those 8 flashlights?
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

BentHead
i'm going to put the first one in the 1AA, i really like
the size, and most of all the one AA cell , it's the cheapest cell out there...
i only wish i could get my paws on a few fraens /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif
but those are like gold, it would seem /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
i'm also waiting for an orange LS to arrive, i can't wait.

Red,
Sounds like a great plan...I have a red LS sitting in a box waiting for the Dorcy 1AA. Do you think a Fraen LP would fit in the Dorcy 1AA head? From what I understand, red LS's don't like to cooperate with colimating optics. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif I wonder how the stock reflector would work in photon management?
Have a red LS, Fraen optics, Dremel, soldering iron and aluminum heatsinks laying around...I just need a Dorcy 1AA to start the project. I will call around tomorrow to see if this one store (not wal-mart) has them.
Think the Dorcy should push around 200mA into the low voltage LS?

[ QUOTE ]
red_robby said:
MR BULK,
I'll give you a hand then, remove the clear plastic
retaining ring that holds the "lens" in the front.
(I used a very small precision screwdriver)once you
do that, just use a pen/pencil to push the guts up...
it will all come up pretty easily.
oh yeh, one more little detail, once you have the head off
do your self a favor and look at the top of the battery tube
do you see a little spring sticking out through the plastic cap ?
remove the spring(just pulls out), then you can remove the
plastic cap(do this one carefully), what do you see now
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

[/ QUOTE ]


Red Robby,

Thanks for this very interesting info. It will make modding the light that much easier since all the circuitry is in the body which can be left alone as I intend to use the driver exactly the way it comes. The only things to figure out now are the placement/fitment of the Luxeon and optic in the head. I predict that everything presently in there will be gone!

Thanks again.

I'm not sure how these mods are progressing, but maybe some epoxy putty would be useful to secure the LED and optics in the head.

Photon, got yours yesterday, thank you. Hmmm, now what to send...?

I did a quick pic of the Dorcy next to a Baby Pin:





Actually the Pin is a bit shorter as well as slimmer, but it is in front of the Dorcy in this picture and thus closer to the camera lens.

Sooooo...if the Baby Pin:

1) is smaller than the Dorcy, and

2) has a front lens to retain the optic which the Dorcy does not, and

3) IMHO looks cooler than the Dorcy, and

4) likely has a much more powerful circuit board, which

5) will produce more light than the Dorcy ever will,


then why my (and everybody else's) interest in the Dorcy anyway?

Two words: cheap.

Well okay, one word. If the Dorcy (IF they ever get here in quantity) is going to be like under $7 bucks at Wal-Mart (the 1AAA/1-LED model is only $5.97), then as long as the circuitry will drive a 1W Luxeon and you can put a Fraen LP over it (it fits, I tried, and have already worked out a lens retaining system), this light will cost like <$30 to build in parts alone. Of course it won't match the BP's output, but the anticipated focused cone beam produced by a combination of Fraen and quality high-binned 1W HD will still meter quite brightly and be very useful indeed, and if preliminary reports of the circuit's efficiency prove true (still produces usable light with a battery so spent it would not light up other lights known for their efficiency such as the Arc AAA, etc.), this will make for the brightest, longest-lasting keychain torch in existence.

I just need to make some heatsinks now -- stay tuned...

MR BULK,
maybe you just missed it, but I did this mod about 2 months ago...
why would you bother taking LS off it's heat sink, and onto
another ?
seems like a "make work program" to me...

Ahh, sorry about that, unaware of your mod. Mine is going to use the Fraen Low Profile, just to measure max attainable output from this package. Also using a Q3J HD, again just to measure max output. Also the Q3J will remain on its star, but I will need additional heatsinking to get the height right for the Fraen-retention system I am using in the head...

Is there a link to yours? So that I don't reinvent the wheel? Thanks.

i used a Q2J cause that's all i had, same goes for the optics(i'm sure fraens will be better)
there is the link
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB8&Number=349026&Forum=All_Forums&Words=4710&Match=Username&Searchpage=2&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=348855&Search=true#Post349026
i can post more pics if you like...

Pics of the internals? Thanks Rob.

I finally gave in and popped off the black plastic top and found this:


The item marked 470 is a coil.

The white blobs on the head scan are that tacky stuff that you use to put paper on walls; the head wanted to dance off the scanner when I scanned it.

VERRRRY interesting...

There has been some speculation about whether the 1AA-3LED would use the same circuit as the 1AAA-1LED. There is not enough resolution in the photo to tell, but if it is the same circuit it at least uses a different value for the inductor. This one is 47uH while the 1AAA-1LED that I looked at uses 22uH. Are higher resolution photos of the board available? Is the board easily removable from the body? Are there any components on the backside?

[ QUOTE ]
Doug S said:
Is the board easily removable from the body? Are there any components on the backside?

[/ QUOTE ]
Doug,
if you are gentle enough, the board is removeable.
there are no components on the backside.