Anybody stuck a Luxeon in a Dorcy 1AAA?????

I was just wondering if anybody has modded a Dorcy 1AAA with a 1W Luxeon? Once I get my hands on a Dorcy 1AAA I would love to stick a 1W LS in it. The Walmart closest to me was sold out of them. I'm going to check another one today.

Before I go and get a 1W emitter I wanted to check and make sure this mod is worth while, and that the 1AAA circuit will power the LS. I want a 1AAA or 1AA powered LS flashlight, something that's around the same size as an CMG Infinity but brighter. Modifying a CMG Infinity or ARC AA appears to be beyond my capabilities. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Ben

I haven't done it myself but it is on my list of things that I plan to do. I have looked at it enough to see that I need some machining capability that I don't have. It will be on hold until I visit a friend of mine that has a Bridgeport mill. A luxeon will be underdriven on the circuit but should still be much brighter and efficient than the stock LED. I think this circuit would be particularly suited to a red, red-orange, or amber luxeon if colors are of interest.

Doug,

Thanks for the reply. What machining is needed for the mod? It looks like I need to get two: a white luxeon and a red one. I really like red leds!

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Ben H said:
Doug,

Thanks for the reply. What machining is needed for the mod? It looks like I need to get two: a white luxeon and a red one. I really like red leds!

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The reflector opening needs to be enlarged [a drill will do this OK] and to get the LED properly positioned for best focus in the reflector it will be necessary to shorten the reflector from the backside. I envision this being done as a plunge-cut with an endmill. I am assuming that I will need to work on the reflector in place. It might be possible, though, to heat the head and press out the relector/lens assembly. If so, it might not be necessary to use a mill.

The 3led AA works good, but how much power can you get out of the AAA circuit? If you remove the resistor what does it max out at?

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IsaacHayes said:
The 3led AA works good, but how much power can you get out of the AAA circuit? If you remove the resistor what does it max out at?

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For a low Vf white expect around 100mA at 1.3V in. A red, red-orange, or amber will be much higher due to their lower Vf, perhaps 200+mA. Increasing the output cap will result in more efficient operation of the LED even though it doesn't affect the Pout/Pin efficiency.

FWIW,

You can press the lens/reflector out the front without heat, but mine was fairly tight.

John

I did a 3-led AA Dorcy and it was quite bright, better than all the "regular" keychains out there (made a post on it with pictures and beamshots in the Homemade Lights Forum a week or so back). And Red Robby I believe, was already selling one (converted 1-led AAA to a Luxeon) on e-bay a few days back.

I am not sure what differences, if any, exist between the 3-led's and 1-led's circuit.

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Ben H said:
Doug,

Thanks for the reply. What machining is needed for the mod? It looks like I need to get two: a white luxeon and a red one. I really like red leds!

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ben,
no machining is needed, you'll have to file the board so the LS will fit in(be careful of the negative contacts on the edges), then drill out the reflector.
I've never been able to get the reflector out with out killing it...

Thanks for all the input guys. Now I just need for Walmart to get more Dorcy 1AAA's in stock. I have two Walmarts that are close to me and neither one has had any stock for a week.

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Doug S said:
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Ben H said:
Doug,

Thanks for the reply. What machining is needed for the mod? It looks like I need to get two: a white luxeon and a red one. I really like red leds!

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The reflector opening needs to be enlarged [a drill will do this OK] and to get the LED properly positioned for best focus in the reflector it will be necessary to shorten the reflector from the backside. I envision this being done as a plunge-cut with an endmill.

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Since Red Robby reports good results without milling the backside of the reflector, I decided to take a further look at this myself. In short, I have decided that if you don't have the means to cut down the reflector from the backside, don't worry about it. Simply drilling the hole to .213" or larger and pushing the Luxeon black plastic outer ring flush with the backside produces a very satisfactory result. You do gain some total output by milling the back of the reflector but it doesn't improve the beam pattern. I tried the arrangement of drilling only with a LD, HD, and SE. Of the LD and HD, I liked the LD result better. Unfortunately, my only white SE has become lost in the clutter of my lab so I had to test with a cyan SE instead. With the cyan SE, the beam is full of artifacts but it does throw more light forward. It looks promising enough to want to try it with a white SE if mine ever turns up. I have noted in the past that white SEs in reflectors give a bit smoother beam pattern than colored SEs. A white SE combined with a diffusing film might be just the thing for this mod. BTW, I have just done testing with the head/reflector assembly, I haven't done a completed mod with this light. I can see from the testing that I have done that I am going to like this mod.

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Ben H said:
I was just wondering if anybody has modded a Dorcy 1AAA with a 1W Luxeon? Once I get my hands on a Dorcy 1AAA I would love to stick a 1W LS in it. Ben

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Ben, I just completed this mod tonight. I *really* like the results. Details here:
Dorcy 1AAA with 1W luxeon mod.