milkyspit
Flashlight Enthusiast
A very, VERY long time ago one of the most gracious, patient CPFers I've ever come across, DSimpson, sent me a Peak AAA (basically an unanodized Arc AAA clone) that he'd purchased from their "seconds" page (at least that's what I think he said... it really WAS a long time ago!). /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif The Arc AAA design, as we all know, is a perennial CPF favorite, even a classic in the history of LED flashlights. Trouble was, the LED in this particular light was absolutely terrible! The color was pregnancy test "uh oh!" blue, brightness was similar to an unlit lump of coal, and beam pattern... well, I don't type those words in public. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Anyway, I received the light with the very broad mandate to "make it into something useful." Then after pausing to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, and most recently, Valentine's Day, I got to work.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif
Turns out my extreme procrastination was a good thing, sort of, in that I'd meanwhile stumbled upon a particularly nice batch of 10mm LEDs... unlike most LEDs of this size, the ones I had found delivered great output with the typical 20mA rather than 100-150mA. Also, the beam pattern is superb! It won't win any awards against a Pelican Reflector anytime soon, but for this type of LED I was amazed to find a perfectly round hotspot that even threw for a decent distance. Incredible! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif
The one remaining impediment to my progress was my own ignorance of how all you other folks mod these little Arc AAA lights. They're really small! Plus the circuit is of course potted into the head, and in this case I wanted to PRESERVE the circuit, not destroy it. I posted about exactly that and gathered from the replies that it wasn't possible. But then a couple neurons actually fired in my lazy Milky brain, and I got a very interesting idea, muahahahhaaaaaaaaa. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif
Take a look!
It occurred to me that the existing LED had two leads, so why not drill DOWN from the FRONT of the head until I reached them? In theory it seemed like it would work fine, although my lack of metalworking tools basically meant that I spent WAY too much time drilling into the head. The procedure felt like doing an Arc AAA root canal! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Eventually I did indeed succeed in reaching the leads, then cleaned all the dust and aluminum fragments out of the head and ever so gingerly soldered a pair of wires onto the two leads. I snipped virtually the entire length of the leads from one of my 10mm LEDs, then gently soldered the wires to that as well. To add some insurance against ripping out the tiny little solder connections, I applied some super glue to each connection and waited for it to dry. Here's an overhead view of the operation...
Then of course, being a flashaholic, I had to fire up this bad boy to see if it would actually work. It did! Darned well I might add (although I'm biased.)
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/party.gif
The final step in the procedure was to apply some sort of super strong but rubbery Elmer's adhesive (sorry, forgot the exact name) in hopes of preserving the waterproofing of the light... the adhesive got squirted into the opening, spread around liberally... then I squished the LED into the head as far as possible and did my best to seat it so it wasn't crooked.
And now, my friends, the LIPSTICK AAA was born! (The name reflects the fact that the protruding 10mm LED kinda reminded me of a lipstick holder with the "business end" cranked up and out, ready for action.) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Let's light this candle! Hee hee hee. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif
As shown below, the beam from the 10mm LED is pretty different from its smaller cousins, probably due to the larger "optic's" improved ability to gather and focus the beam. It emits a fairly tight circular hotspot with an odd dark region around it, but then a very broad ring of light beyond THAT. Anyway, IMHO this particular beamshot looks kinda cool... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Finally we see the circular hotspot head-on, from a distance of about 1 foot. For an LED of this variety, it's actually quite nice. (BTW, those dark streaks in the background are shadows on the piece of white cardboard I was using as a target, mainly due to the fact that I took the beamshots during the daytime, hence the shadows.)
Voila! I present to you the oddly-named Lipstick AAA. Enjoy! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Anyway, I received the light with the very broad mandate to "make it into something useful." Then after pausing to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, and most recently, Valentine's Day, I got to work.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif
Turns out my extreme procrastination was a good thing, sort of, in that I'd meanwhile stumbled upon a particularly nice batch of 10mm LEDs... unlike most LEDs of this size, the ones I had found delivered great output with the typical 20mA rather than 100-150mA. Also, the beam pattern is superb! It won't win any awards against a Pelican Reflector anytime soon, but for this type of LED I was amazed to find a perfectly round hotspot that even threw for a decent distance. Incredible! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif
The one remaining impediment to my progress was my own ignorance of how all you other folks mod these little Arc AAA lights. They're really small! Plus the circuit is of course potted into the head, and in this case I wanted to PRESERVE the circuit, not destroy it. I posted about exactly that and gathered from the replies that it wasn't possible. But then a couple neurons actually fired in my lazy Milky brain, and I got a very interesting idea, muahahahhaaaaaaaaa. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif
Take a look!
It occurred to me that the existing LED had two leads, so why not drill DOWN from the FRONT of the head until I reached them? In theory it seemed like it would work fine, although my lack of metalworking tools basically meant that I spent WAY too much time drilling into the head. The procedure felt like doing an Arc AAA root canal! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Eventually I did indeed succeed in reaching the leads, then cleaned all the dust and aluminum fragments out of the head and ever so gingerly soldered a pair of wires onto the two leads. I snipped virtually the entire length of the leads from one of my 10mm LEDs, then gently soldered the wires to that as well. To add some insurance against ripping out the tiny little solder connections, I applied some super glue to each connection and waited for it to dry. Here's an overhead view of the operation...
Then of course, being a flashaholic, I had to fire up this bad boy to see if it would actually work. It did! Darned well I might add (although I'm biased.)
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/party.gif
The final step in the procedure was to apply some sort of super strong but rubbery Elmer's adhesive (sorry, forgot the exact name) in hopes of preserving the waterproofing of the light... the adhesive got squirted into the opening, spread around liberally... then I squished the LED into the head as far as possible and did my best to seat it so it wasn't crooked.
And now, my friends, the LIPSTICK AAA was born! (The name reflects the fact that the protruding 10mm LED kinda reminded me of a lipstick holder with the "business end" cranked up and out, ready for action.) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Let's light this candle! Hee hee hee. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif
As shown below, the beam from the 10mm LED is pretty different from its smaller cousins, probably due to the larger "optic's" improved ability to gather and focus the beam. It emits a fairly tight circular hotspot with an odd dark region around it, but then a very broad ring of light beyond THAT. Anyway, IMHO this particular beamshot looks kinda cool... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Finally we see the circular hotspot head-on, from a distance of about 1 foot. For an LED of this variety, it's actually quite nice. (BTW, those dark streaks in the background are shadows on the piece of white cardboard I was using as a target, mainly due to the fact that I took the beamshots during the daytime, hence the shadows.)
Voila! I present to you the oddly-named Lipstick AAA. Enjoy! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
