why no 9v flashlights ???

Why is no one seemingly making a "9v" LED pocket-size light ???

It seems ideal to me, the 9v requires no "step-up" circuit ... only a "regulator" to control the voltage. (unbelievably simple to design, incomparably simpler than a power-wasting step-up circuit)

And since the voltage starts at 9v .. the run time seems like it could be very long since it could still power the led down to 1/3 it's original voltage; (compared to only 1/2 of the 123).

The Lithium variety are easily available; and has more than DOUBLE the watt/hours of a 123.

I personally would like to see a DUAL power level 5W Luxeon; (with a "VERY" DIM low-level for long-lasting option).

And of course a very effective variable SPOT (1' circle diameter @ 100'distance); to FLOOD zoom; (and removable for a "candle" mode for inside tents, etc.) !!!

(and I wanted it yesterday)

Do you mean 9V Luxeon lites? There is the Palight but it's a SM or 5mm LED.

-LT

I think 9 volt is less capacity power for operated luxeon for long time. But I found fome led flashlight use 9 volt battery.

I thought the mAh of 123as and AAAs were longer than that of 9V batteries.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Edit - according to Quickbeam's page, an alkaline 9V has an mAh of 595 which is the same as an AAAA (4 As - a 9V battery contains 6 AAAA cells). 123s have an mAh of 1300. When I got back into flashlights about two years ago, I noticed that there were very few 9V lights. The PAL light is the ONLY one I can name at this moment though I know when I was younger (basically the 80s) I had several 9V-based lights... Two or three anyways.

http://flashlightreviews.com/qa.htm#batteries

Joe, the PALight and the slightly controversial Paklite use 9V batteries. Note that 9V batteries including the lithium ones are designed for low-current uses. They would not be good for driving 5W Luxeons.

What paulr said.

For times when you need a small, dim light that will run for a VERY LONG time, 9V lights work really well.

9V Lithium batteries are rated at around 1200mAh, 123 Lithium batteries are rated between 1300 to 1500mAh. Therefore the 9V Lithium batteries have slightly less output.
The size, shape, and (limited) Ah output of the 9V Lithium battery limits its usefulness in flashlights.

I have only come accross one and that is the Palight
It only has an 8mm Led. I quite like it with its many functions

I have a couple versions of the Palight, and they are nice little lights /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Another 9v light that hasnt been mentioned is the Rigel Systems Skylight. It uses 2 red or 2 white leds (It is made to be used in astronomy, where preserving night vision is important) While the Skylight is considerably larger than the Palights, it does have a feature which is very useful... It has a dial which allows you to control the brightness. You have either the 2 red leds, or the 2 white leds on at any given time. (you cannot light up all 4 at once) In its brightest setting, it is brighter than the palight. Its lowest setting is not quite as dim as the always on setting of the palight, but it is bright enough to read an lcd display if you have dark adapted eyes.
I have not seen any luxeon 9V lights.

Lights that 3 x 123 are running at 9v; given runtime and what the single 9v batteries cost, it does seem that the 123s are more cost-effective... and the boxy 9v batteries would impose design restrictions.

[ QUOTE ]
paulr said:
Joe, the PALight and the slightly controversial Paklite use 9V batteries. Note that 9V batteries including the lithium ones are designed for low-current uses. They would not be good for driving 5W Luxeons.

[/ QUOTE ]

let me see if i can expand on this a bit.

my understanding is that a 9volt is six 1.5v aaaa bats wired in series. six times 1.5 = 9.

the issue is that those tiny bats cant deliver much current (as paul stated), so driving a luxeon to spec may not be possible.
that said, they do drive a little 5mm led nicely.
very small and long running light.

the original poster stated watt-hours, which (i think!) is found by multiplying volts by amps. 9v x .6ah = 5.4wh (dont know if i expressed that correctly...where is Doug Owen when you need him?)

a 123 is 3v x 1.3ah = 3.9wh.
if you place bats in series, it doubles the volts, but not the amps.

Bob

edited to fix HUGE math goof! thanks Turbodog!

Do you mean 9V Luxeon led? Hmmmmm.......Does a 9P+KL3 counts?

Hoya, he's talking about those small rectangular 9 volt batteries with the clips on top, like transistor radios used to use. These days they're mostly used in smoke detectors.

oic, sorry! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sssh.gif

[ QUOTE ]
pedalinbob said:
[ QUOTE ]
paulr said:
Joe, the PALight and the slightly controversial Paklite use 9V batteries. Note that 9V batteries including the lithium ones are designed for low-current uses. They would not be good for driving 5W Luxeons.

[/ QUOTE ]

let me see if i can expand on this a bit.

my understanding is that a 9volt is six 1.5v aaaa bats wired in series. six times 1.5 = 9.

the issue is that those tiny bats cant deliver much current (as paul stated), so driving a luxeon to spec may not be possible.
that said, they do drive a little 5mm led nicely.
very small and long running light.

the original poster stated watt-hours, which (i think!) is found by multiplying volts by amps. 9v x 600mah = 5400wh (dont know if i expressed that correctly...where is Doug Owen when you need him?)

a 123 is 3v x 1300mah = 3900wh.
if you place bats in series, it doubles the volts, but not the amps.

Bob

[/ QUOTE ]

Minor correction. Watt is volts * amps. Not volts * milliamps.

You need to divide your numbers by 1000. So a 123 is 3v * 1.3ah = 3.9wh

If a 123 really WAS 3900wh NOBODY would be complaining about runtime. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

First off all, it has an odd shape. So you're gonna have a weirdo flashlight. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Last of all, impractical. You have to connect the battery connectors to the battery terminal. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

It's easier to use:
AA, CR123A, etc. just drop it in...Done /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I've got an early Palight and it's great, the always on moon mode helps find it and the full power setting gives real throw. It's not so handy for close lighting as it's such a tight spot.

pop out the focusing lens and you will essentially have a similar beam to an infinity ultra.
very nice!

i removed mine, and cut down an old minimag lens to fit.

Bob

Here's sthe 9v Paklite...notice that it is switchable between two power levels. They are a bit on the costly side, but I got mine without the Li battery which made it a bit cheaper.

One other thing to mention... some lithium 9v cells have a circuit in them that limits current output to 120ma, so using those is impossible for driving a luxeon near spec and running above about 20ma current drops the mah rating from 1300mah downwards but if you consider their ratings end at around 6v you could probably sip more out of the lithiums beyond that. I am not sure how far dead a 2v lithium battery is.