Maglite Solitare / 3mm LED compatibility?

I need a very small robust flashlight for military purposes, and as a result i bought a Mag solitare, however i've got two probs: ideally i would like the batteries to last longer and particularly i want red light. Would it be possible to fit a 3mm red LED to a solitare thus solving both problems at once, or is there a better solution? Many thanks.

You really should ask this question in the modders forum...their a great bunch of people and will be happy to help you. If you decide not to mod it, come on back here and ask for some suggestions on a differant light. Oh, and WELCOME!

Ken

/me jumps in before the fanatics /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

An Arc AAA or CMG Infinity Ultra would be a good choice. The Arc AAA is smaller than the Solitaire (around the same length as a tube of chapstick and thinner) while the Infinity Ultra is around the length of the Solitaire, but thicker. The Infinity Ultra uses AA batteries and is brighter, while the Arc uses AAA and costs $ 10 less.

And, to answer the question, yes, I beleive a 3mm LED will fit in there. You might have to slightly enlarge the reflector where the bulb passes through, but that would be it...

Opps, sorry "is there a better solution"...I think there is...at least a simpler solution. How about a red Photon 3? 3 brightness settings and very small?

Ken

Hugh,
Welcome to CPF!
I recommend a different light. The ARC AAA is best quality
http://www.pocketlights.com/flashlights.asp
The CMG Infinity is cheaper and uses AA batteries.
http://www.brightguy.com/detail_int.html?cart=10692767562501067&sku=CMGINFW
Both of these are water proof and durable beyond belief.
I recommend you make your choice based on size and battery preference. The ARC AAA would be my choice (because of size) unless you prefer AA batteries or Lithium batteries in which case I would recommend the CMG Infinity. Both of these are available with red LEDs.

You could just put in a red 3mm direct drive off of the 1.5 cell if you want to mod it. It wont be super bright as it needs around 2volts usualy for red leds to work... You could use a resistor and put in a 12v car remote battery too.

I believe it was yclo who managed to stuff a bare-bones SatCure circuit in to the head of a Solitaire. That circuit would easily power either a single red or white LED off a 1.5V cell. The problem is building such a small circuit is really delicate work. Then there were other modders who managed to put in (IIRC) a Zetex circuit and run a LS in there.

But for simple bare-bones modding, a 3mm red LED, a 12V (MN21/23) battery, a spacer/ extended spring and a 0.125W current limiting resistor should be fine. I just don't like it because the 12V battery is harder to find, and I think the run time suffers too. (Someone jump in here and give the runtime??)

Your best and simplest choice would be to buy the Arc-AAA, or if you don't mind it a little dimmer but with incredible run time, buy the CMG Infinity. The CMG Infinity Ultra, recommended by Mark, is as bright as the Arc-AAA but comes only with a white LED, IIRC.

Arc-AAA: bright, AAA cell form factor, approx 5hrs bright before moon mode kicks in, moon mode for easily 5hrs more.

CMG Infinity: about half as bright, AA cell form factor, approx. 20hrs before output is equivalent of moon mode (doesn't actually have step change in brightness), should keep going till 40th hour.

My only grumble with these 2 lights is that I would like the option of having a protective lens over the LED that I could change out when needed.

I don't like button cell lights like the Photon II or similar for military purpose. They can survive dunking, but are not actually water-resistant. The cells are hard to change in the field. The runtime for actual useful light is a lot less than either the Arc or Infinity. Since they are push-on, they can come on at inconvenient times like when you are prone on the ground with a pack strap digging in to you. That said, I do keep a Photon II in a emergency pack (carefully positioned so as not to acidentally light up) because the lithium cells have an incredible shelf life and the light is very compact.

I agree with the others: getting an Arc or an Infinity is probably the best way to go if you want a small red LED flashlight. However, you should know that Arc is discontinuing many of their colored LED models. You can read about it here:

AAA and LS LED colors discontinued

Directly driving a red LED with one 1.5V cell is not going to be too useful, because the brightness will be toooo low. You can build a boost circuit, either SatCure or ZLT variant will be fine, and both have been stuffed into the bulb socket portion of the Solitaire.

People have also used various buttom cells in a Solitaire body to drive a LED. The run time at full brightness will be short, but at reduced brightness, you can go a long way.

For true military use, I would suggest go with the buttom cell solution. Because the boost circuit inevitably will give out very distinct RF signals, which can and will be used by the enimies to find and kill you /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif This means none of the single-cell lights on the market (Arc, Infinity, Dorcy, etc) should be used in sensitive situations.

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Because the boost circuit inevitably will give out very distinct RF signals, which can and will be used by the enimies to find and kill you /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

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Wow, that's something I never thought of. However, is there really any significant risk of being detected from a small aluminum flashlight? I would think that being trapped in darkness would be more of a risk.

I'm not in the military though, so I can't answer this question myself.

I get good results with a 5mm led in a mini mag with 3 N cells and a spacer with a resistor. I have a 12,000mcd white in there right now.

Hugh, if size isn't too much of a factor i'd go AA or minimag sized. Your run times will double and there are more options in that size.

LEDMASAP: I never thought about RF emission. I thought a unit that small, with such little power disipation should not have any serious RF leakage. I use it around radio equipment all the time and never noticed any buzzing or noise from operating the Arc.

Do you think it poses that much of a problem? I would have thought the light produced would be a bigger giveaway. Especially since the bad guys would more likely be hunting with night vision gear rather than signal trackers.

Which brings up a point. Although red is considered best for preserving night vision (please don't go in to a debate about the colour, ok?), infrared is generally used by NV gear to help illuminate objects when the light level is especially low. Is the red in LEDs out of range so that it would not be easy to detect with NVD? If not, is any LED colour less detectable?

Actually, RF emission can be a very usefull tool for finding your enemy; a Superhet receiver uses one or more oscillators in it which can easily "escape" the product and be detected

In England where you pay a license to own a TV, there are cars that drive around looking for illegal TV sets

Also keep in mind that the Arc and Infinity use step-ups and they suck power...150~1160 ma...maybe more...and the led itself. The Arc infinity in white will stay brighter than a white Photon running 2 thin 2016 (3x2=6 volt)batts. But things change when running red. The bigger 3 volt 2032 running a red/yellow/orange (3 volt LED`s) in a photon will stay bright for a long time. In a light like the Arc AAA the step-up sucks so much power that it will only run the red for about the same time as the white/blue/green 5~6 hours. I think the red Photon will be brighter, longer and...win all the way around.

Ken

Cars looking for TV sets? Just think, the FCC has the same technology. They just haven't applied it to finding all of the sources emitting higher than legal radio (RFI) waves here. Of course, that includes almost any power line, area lights, etc. especially if it is close to an industrial area. RF emitting flashlights at just below the legal level might be a good way to drive them nuts......Oh wait, do any of the FCC feds work after dark?

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Steelwolf said:
I never thought about RF emission. I thought a unit that small, with such little power disipation should not have any serious RF leakage. I use it around radio equipment all the time and never noticed any buzzing or noise from operating the Arc.

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Many lights, Arc AAA included, donot use any battery by-pass capacitor, so the pulses from the boost converter---in the 500mA(single Nichia LED) to 2000mA (normal-driven LS) range---will flow through the entire battery tube, which works like a RF antena. I don't know the frequency spectrum of the RF generated, but I expect it will be fairly broad. I remember a report that a warlord in the middle-east have lost his life to a radio-seeking missile when he used his cell phone (no more than 1w RF output). In a similar tactic, a radio-seeking missile could be programed find and kill a general who pulled out his beloved LED flashlight.