Dorcy 3AAA 1W, Lots of room inside...

I bought a Dorcy "Super 1 Watt" 3AAA from Target. It is quite nicely made, but IMHO underengineered. There is a lot of extra room inside. Some used well, like the reflector - nearly an inch deep, which produces a nice beam from the meager PXIK low dome (although it has a blue ring around it). And some not used well, the tail cap contains at least 1/2 inch of air, but has no lanyard hole. (Maybe its storage space for a spare Lux? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif don't laugh, read on)
Unscrew the reflector and body tube, pry off the rubber switch button (no worries, nothing will be damaged), and the switch and Lux holders can be pushed out. Carefull here as the switch module is symetrical and can be reinserted backwards, it won't work this way but I don't think it will be damaged.
There is a three piece plastic holder that holds the Luxeon Star in a "pill" manner. But the plastic effectivly traps the heat!?
Behind that is the switch circuit, also neatly housed. Dorcy uses an unmarked (custom?) IC and pass transistor to control the ON/BLINK/OFF switching modes. The light would have been better served with a switching or linear regulator to control current. With fresh alkalines, the circuit's pass transistor dropped about 180mV while allowing over 600mA to the Lux. Its sad to see a Lux abused like that... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

Surely there is something that can be done with this light, but I'm not sure how cost effective it would be.
I think a 18600 LiIon would still leave room for a linear current regulator and heatsink... well, just food for thought.

Wouldn't a switching regulator be a bit more efficient than a linear? Switching losses instead of resistance losses, etc...

Ah, blink - the omnipresent, lest-used mode in every low-end light with some switching transistors and "multiple operational modes." I wish they'd figure out how to do a good momentary mode along with continuous-on using the one momentary switch - I don't imagine logic that simple requires a microprocessor.

600mA to a poorly-heatsinked LuxI? Look for a high return rate on those lights... I hope that current drops quickly after the sharp initial voltage drop with alkalines. I don't imagine that the light would be too happy with 3x NiMH cells?

Here's the battery discharge analysis made using NiMH cells.



Runs for about one hour 40 minutes to the 25% intensity point.

Sorry about the right hand side of the chart not being fully-formed. The flashlight did not last two full hours, so the software used to create the chart did not draw the lines on the right hand side. I fixed the chart by adding the final reading three more times to the end of the original .ME1 file, then running the plotting program on it again. The red line running horizontally to the end of the chart may be ignored.

Is the light made of metal or plastic. If it's metal, it sounds like a dynamite host for a DD mod.

The light is made of metal. It reminds me a lot of the Nuwai ALX-1113A. I think the reflector is the same size and length in both the Dorcy and the ALX. If the Dorcy reflector is the same and just as good as the ALX then it would make a great light for throwing a beam once a emitter was changed. And the Dorcy light would be easier to find than the ALX.

Like the mod 4sevens did to the ALX?

YES...EXACTLY. The 4sevens mod of the Nuwai ALX-1113A would work equally well with the Dorcy. Since I seem to be one of two people that have the ALX-Mod, for now, I can see the reflectors on both the Dorcy and the ALX look surprisingly familiar.

I know I'm going to break down soon and go to Target to get the Dorcy. I'm really trying to resist the temptation to buy it.

4sevens ALX-MOD

How much was the "super" at Target?

I believe $27.99. I'll be buying in an hour.

How thick is the back end of the light. I understand that the switch incorporates sort of a dimmer function, but is a PITA to deal with. I'd like to drill and tap the back end for a kroll. Then you could use the kroll for on/off and the original switch to choose brightness level.