Disassembled the Radioshack with tri-Fraen

I recently put a tri Fraen optic, triple 3 watt LED setup in a Radioshack Aluminum flashlight. This is the 3C flashlight that was discontinued for sale. Well, I got it finished, and it seemed to work well for a bit, but it has developed a flicker. I'm going to have to take it all apart again and figure out where the flicker is coming from. But at any rate, here's the picture:




*New info below*

Re: Newly created Radioshack with tri Fraen 9 watts

What did you use for a heatsink? And, um, beamshots? Please?

Re: Newly created Radioshack with tri Fraen 9 watts

I have no beam shots, but they'd be pretty much like any out there, such as on Elektrolumens site, . . . although, mine is a little bit warmer. Must be the TWAKs in it.

Heatsink consists of an Elektrolumens heatsink, connected to the body with the aluminum spacers from old disgarded PC harddrives, the pieces that hold the platters apart.

Now, I don't know for sure what the exact wattage is, I just added up the 3 watts figure of each for the "9 watt" statement. May be more, could very well be less.

I can say right now, that the triple 3 watts [with tri Fraen] in my variable light is brighter than the Radioshack. Of course, I'm running that one on 6 AA's and don't really know what the LEDs are running at the least amount of resistance.

Anyway, I hope to be able to find the problem with the flickering on this.

Re: Newly created Radioshack with tri Fraen 9 watts

Two things you can do to measure the wattage: First, you need to know the Vf of the LEDs. Since you are using TWAKs, that would be somewhere between 3.51v and 3.75v. We'll split the difference and say it's 3.6v. Of course, if you're overdriving the LS on 3C's, this number will be higher when the batteries are fresh, then drop off accordingly.

Next, you need to know what kind of current you are getting. An easy way to do this is with a DMM. Take the tailcap off and turn the light on. Set the DMM to it's amperage setting, then touch one probe to the exposed Al on the body of the light, and touch the other to the battery. Read the current off of the DMM. This will give you a pretty close value. Another good way is to use a .1 ohm resistor between the battery and the Al body and just measure the voltage across it, then multiply that number by 10 (same as dividing by 0.1). Easy and very accurate.

Re: Newly created Radioshack with tri Fraen 9 watts

Thanks, LEDmodMan, I will try that out as soon as I get the flickering problem fixed. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Re: Newly created Radioshack with tri Fraen 9 watts

I may have the flickering problem fixed. If so, I think this may be the best mod I've done with the Radioshack flashlight! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: Newly created Radioshack with tri Fraen 9 watts

Much better then the mod I did with the same light. I think ill buy by that optic and give it a go. could you post more pictures of the internal mounting of the leds ?
I used the same flashlight for my first mod, i just stuck in a 1 watt with optics and wedged it in.

Re: Newly created Radioshack with tri Fraen 9 watts

Well, GBaz, I just placed the LEDs on one of the heatsinks from Elektrolumens, and hooked up the wires on it. As far as the flashlight itself, that's a different problem. I thought the flickering problem was solved, but it has not been. I tested the theory that it may have been my current triple 3 watt setup by removing it and hooking up one 1 watt LED. It is doing the same flickering. I believe the flashlight has a faulty switch. I have the positive and negative wires attached to where they need to be on the flashlight, but I still get the flickering. When I push and hold the button down hard, the flickering seems to be less present. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif I may have to put the triple 3 watt setup in another flashlight. Probably a Maglite.

I have no way to fix the switch on this flashlight, so it is, in essence, a paper weight. It's really a shame too, because it looks real good with the tri Fraen in there, as can be seen above. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Re: Newly created Radioshack with tri Fraen 9 watts

Sure it's not the solder points onto the switch? Is the tail cap spring and all that making good contact? The tailcap to body connection? ...

Re: Newly created Radioshack with tri Fraen 9 watts

Hmmmmm, didn't think about the tail cap. Perhaps I'll give it a cleaning and see if there is any improvement in it. I hope I can fix this because it makes for a nice light. IsaacHayes, thanks for the suggestion! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Re: Newly created Radioshack with tri Fraen 9 watts

No problem, glad to be of any help. Hope it works!

Re: Newly created Radioshack with tri Fraen 9 watts

Well, Isaac, it did not. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif It still flickers. I can't resolve it, so last night, I put the whole thing in a 3D Maglite. Now it works fine. Just doesn't fit as well now. Because I cut the tri-optic down a little [to fit the RS], it is too small for the Mag head. I'm really bummed about this whole thing because it looked really good in the RS. Now, for the Mag, I have to use the plastic lens to keep the tri-fraen in the head. I hate to have to spend another some $20-ish [with shipping] for another one. At any rate, it works in the Mag.

What a shame, too, because now I have a flashlight that looks great that I can't even use. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Oh well. At least I now have a working Tri-Fraen that puts out a good amount of light, and with the D batteries, should last a decent length of time. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Actually, this is the flashlight that was originally moddified by Wayne [Elektrolumens] at the beginning of the modding craze. It had one white Star/O in it. Does pretty well, for an older LED, but of course, no where near as bright as the new setup, with the Tri-Fraen and three 3 watt LEDs. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif