What's the DIMMEST flashlight?

What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

People keep asking what the brightest one is, but I don't remember anyone asking about the dimmest. I'd like something just bright enough to check my wristwatch with in total darkness, holding the light next to the watch.

What I've tried so far:

CMG Infinity: forget it, this thing lights up a whole room when you bounce it off the ceiling. Compared to what I want, it's practically a HID searchlight.

Arc4+ Second at level 16: dimmer than Infinity but still awfully bright, especially in the hot spot, which it easily casts across a room.

Countycomm coin cell light, white LED but underdriven with a single CR2032 3-volt cell: I like this, comparable total output to Arc4 level 16, but wider beam. Still I'd like something dimmer.

Arc4 "trick": set the lockout mode on the Arc4. Then press and hold the button. The light doesn't turn on, but draws a little current through the led as the microprocessor listens to the button to see if you're triple-clicking it. This makes just about the right amount of light, though very directional because of the Arc4 reflector. Much more problematically, 1) when you first press the button, you get two enormous blinding flashes that indicate that the light is in lockout mode; 2) you have to keep the button held down to remain in the dim mode after that, which is difficult; 3) You can cover up the bezel to suppress the initial two big flashes, but if you let go of the button for even an instant, you get blinded by another pair of flashes; 4) the amount of power the microprocessor uses fluctuates, so the light appears to flicker. So this scheme is sort of cute but not really that useful.


(haven't tried Rigel Systems Skylite, adjustable light, I'm told that at dimmest setting it's around 1/4 of an Arc AAA, measured current at 2.5 mA to two LED's. That sounds comparable to the Countycomm or Arc4, so too bright. But maybe it can be modded.

(haven't tried): PALight in "constant on, locator" setting. This maybe has some promise, though it has an optic that makes a big hot spot.

Anyway, it looks like it may be time for a home-made light with an LED and a volume control potentiometer (logarithmic taper). Other ideas?

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

What about the Swiss Light III, in its dimmest setting?
It can be left in any brightness setting, and turned on & off in that particular one every time.

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

Perhaps you could do a simple mod to a light using a diffused 3mm LED and a resistor? I wouldn't think it would be overly complex if you did mind something around ARC size. Nothing stock comes to mind either.

-Mike

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

Shankus, Swiss Light is an idea, I haven't seen one of those in action. I doubt if I'd buy one though, it's just too specialized.

Xrunner, yes, I might try something like that. Not sure what light I'd mod. I do like the idea of adjustable brightness and was interested in the Rigel Skylite til I found out that its dimmest level was 2.5 mA (I'd hoped for 0.1 mA or so). I have the idea of modding a PT Attitude, changing its internal resistor from 27 ohms (or whatever it is) to 2K or so, letting through about 1 mA to the LED's. That should give a useful but ultra-long-running light.

Or I might try just popping an infrared LED into a Countycomm coin light. Those leds give off some visible red light.

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

a broken flashlight is the dimest /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

I have an old SL keychain light that is incand. Now they are LED I think, but my old one is just a little dimmer than a match. I don't know how it compares with a Mag Solitaire.

Jerry

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

Hi Paulr:

Maybe a little off-topic, but do you carry any phones, PDAs, and so forth? Because you could use the light from the screens to illuminate your watch... but then again, even in total darkness, a colour PDA screen can be a little too bright /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif

Or, how about a tritium glowring? That might work?

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

Hmm, think a Solitaire's probably a contender. Though I have got one which is for some obscure reason about 5 times brighter than the other two...so maybe the two I'm comparing too are broken.

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

a tritium vile.

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

Glowring is an interesting idea. I've been meaning to order some glow-discs, so maybe will get a glowring too.

I have a Casio watch with a backlight, and it's incredible how bright the thing is in a really dark room. It lights up the room almost like a flashlight.

The sensitivity of dark adapted vision is absolutely amazing. My bedroom window faces the back of the building but still picks up some random light from outside at night. It looks pitch black when I first shut the light off, but after a few minutes I can see around the room easily. A couple nights ago I covered up the window with a towel so now it's completely dark. That makes a big difference in dark adaptation. Last night I found I could easily read the glow-in-the-dark markers on my Seiko 5 wristwatch 24 hours after charging it up with my Arc4. (But that watch is mechanical and had run down by then). Before covering the window I don't think I could have read the watch markers after that long. Just after charging the markers and for a few minutes afterwards, I could easily see around the room with them.

One of these days I guess I'll get one of those Marathon watches with tritium markers.

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

.

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

I bought one of them flashlights you shake to recharge on ebay.. one of the better models. It's a pretty dim light, although it seems to run forever on just a few shakes.. at least 20 minutes for 20-30 seconds of shaking.. I fell asleep waiting for it to run out... you can get it really dim by just shaking it once or twice, but it'll be brighter if you shake it much more then that.

A green glowring X2 is bright enough to read text with when eyes are fully dark adjusted.

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

Hi Paul - the PALight on always-on glow is substantially dimmer than the Arc4 on level 16 - just checked it out in our windowless bathroom - I wasn't sure that the PALight was on when I tried a side-by-side with the Arc. I've become a fan of the PALight.

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

A flashlight with dead batteries? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hahaha.gif

In all seriousness, it probably doesnt get much dimmer than a Mag Solitaire. I think a 5mm LED is brighter, smooth, and has more spill than it.

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

If you put the arc4 in semi-tac mode, then activate the lock, it does not flash twice but still comes on super dim while holding the button.

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

My Derringer on the low setting appears to be one third to one fourth as bright as my standard Infinity. A Shorelite on lowest setting is also quite dim, but the Derringer's beam is much nicer.

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

The PALight's "always on" mode produces a very dim light, just enough to find the light in a dark surrounding, but it's not designed to illuminate unless you activate it's other settings.

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

Oh, that brings another thing to mind.
The 70° diffused milky white LEDs at www.whitelightled.com .

You could put it into a Photon II. I think I've seen one light at 3V, from a single cell.

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

[ QUOTE ]
Cosmic Superchunk said:
The PALight's "always on" mode produces a very dim light, just enough to find the light in a dark surrounding, but it's not designed to illuminate unless you activate it's other settings.

[/ QUOTE ]


And you could also reverse the lens to spread out the light further if the "hotspot" is still too bright. I place mine right in front of the power strip's on-off switch in the workshop to find it easily in the dark.

Re: What\'s the DIMMEST flashlight?

I put a few coats of red nail polish on the 222 lamp in a pen light for evenings when I use my telescope. It's quite dim - more so than a Solitare.