Second opinion on Solitaire mod

Just wanted to see if the proposed build here (Solitaire with a23 alkaline and a nichia led) is at all reliable: http://flashlightreviews.com/mods/solitaire.htm

"12 Volts which is 3 times as much as the max the LED is supposed to take. The LED will burn slightly turquoise, but the internal resistance of the battery will prevent the LED from frying"

How would the brightness compare to the new arc aaa premium?
Thanks in advance! :wave:

It is hard to argue with a successful build that will turn on. It would be nice if the battery was a little closer to the required voltage of around 3 - 6 volts, but the comment of internal resistance preventing complete overload is probably about right (see the Duracell data sheets)

It would be really nice if you could find a cell that is a little closer in size and voltage to the actual LED need, as it would run a lot longer.

Reliability - it is a mod - so sort of an "at your own risk" thing. It is notable that the light started to dead short in the reviewer's pants, which sort of takes it out of the mil spec catagory (smile)

Here's what i did, using a 26 Mcd, then 33 Mcd LED. The A23/21 cells are simply 8 1.5V button cells wrapped up. Peel the wrapper, take 3 of the button cells, give them a wrap of electrical tape so they don't move around. Then I got a longer tailcap spring for the battery, found one on the shelf at the hardware store that fit perfectly. Works great, it's my EDC pocket light.

How does the brightness compare to a new arc: with the entire a23, with the three buttons?

I've done several of these. The issue is not so much about how bright the mod is, but how long it runs. Those 12V batts don't have much juice in them. What I'm trying to say is, depending on the type of LED you use, it might start as bright as the ArcAAA, but will quickly dim (relative to the ArcAAA). Regardless, it's fun to do.

This is kind of a tangent, but if you were to cut down a solitaire and permanently affix the tailcap, can the battery be removed from the head? If not, can someone point me as to how you could maybe rethread the inside after a cutdown?

Nope, there's a "lip" that holds the switching mechanism that would prevent the battery from exiting on that end. You'll need some taps (I think that's what they're called) to rethread the tube. That's beyond my abilities/tool kit, so check the modders or the machining section.

phatalbert said:

This is kind of a tangent, but if you were to cut down a solitaire and permanently affix the tailcap, can the battery be removed from the head? If not, can someone point me as to how you could maybe rethread the inside after a cutdown?

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HaHA!! [thread hijack started by originator] That's what I want to do with the Arc AAA. Cut it down to 10280 size and get the head modded with appropraite LED :naughty:
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CromagNet said:

HaHA!! [thread hijack started by originator] That's what I want to do with the Arc AAA. Cut it down to 10280 size and get the head modded with appropraite LED :naughty:
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Click to expand...

Don't cut that Arc AAA yet !!! Some 10180 will be available soon...... I believe it will be the smallest LiIon cyclindrical cell in the world :naughty: :naughty: :naughty:

AW said:

Don't cut that Arc AAA yet !!! Some 10180 will be available soon...... I believe it will be the smallest LiIon cyclindrical cell in the world :naughty: :naughty: :naughty:

Click to expand...

:shrug: Can somebody fill me in?

Hey wouldn't using 3 of the 1/3 AA rechargeables work REALLY good on one of those solitaires? :-D

Soli uses AAA, not AA

I did that solitaire mod years ago when the 3mm white Nichias first became available. It was my second LED mod. My first was adding a 5mm led to a minimag

I added a 1/4 watt resistor wrapped in tape as a spacer and a current limiter. The resistor's leads were sort of balled up and blobbed with solder to allow better contact to the end of the battery and the solitaire's tailcap spring. It fit like it was designed for it.

It worked like a champ, even though it's deadly dim by today's standards. It was every bit as reliable as the original solitaire. I still have it in my computer bag (I think).

By limiting the current to the correct value for the LED (30 ma, IIRC) you really get quite a lot of run time. I recall it gave many hours between changes. That's one battery change a year, give or take.