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[OM] S-OT Torches, flashlights, LCDs & batteries

Subject: [OM] S-OT Torches, flashlights, LCDs & batteries
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:40:33 -0800
I'd be very surprised if I found that more than a few list members don't 
accumulate, among their other gear, flashlight/torches.

I seem to accumulate them all too easily - and frequently. ;-)   The 
various 1, 3, 9 & 40 LED models I've acquired are fine in many ways. 
They provide a lot of light compared to a hodgepodge of incandescent 
predecessors with much better battery life.

These arrays of small, low output LEDs are particularly good relatively 
close-up, where they throw an even, diffuse light. At longer distances, 
they give the impression of good light, but somehow don't make details 
very clear. Still, the 3 & 4 cell Maglites did the long stuff quite well.

Then there's the battery thing. I've got all these eneloops and a couple 
of good chargers. But put 1.2 v batteries in either the incandescent or 
LED lights, and the light output goes down a lot - like in half. Then a 
couple of impulse purchases led me down the path of LED flashlight 
knowledge.

All those lights that use three or more cells, tiny button, 357 size 
button, AA or AAA in holders that drop into the flashlight body, no 
name, Maglite, whatever, are direct drive, the batteries simply are 
connected to the LEDs. As voltage drops with age and use, brightness falls.

But the two cell lights use a DC-DC inverter to up the voltage. And they 
generally are fairly well regulated, so as voltage drops, they draw more 
current from the batteries to maintain the output voltage. Sooooo..., 
with NiMh cells, they only lose about 5% of the output, which isn't 
visible to our eyes.

The Mini Maglite AA was a revelation. Amazing, focusable light output, 
with no drop that I could see using rechargeable batteries. I'm 
particularly interested in small flashlights. I keep my study/computer 
room/library/stuff room dim, day and night, so image editing doesn't 
vary. So I always have at least a couple of flashlights on my desk to 
assist with rummaging. I also tend to keep then in places like glove 
compartments.

I could, of course, just replace them, but these are high quality tools, 
and the idea of putting them aside was unappealing. Another impulse buy 
had been an LED conversion kit for Maglite AAs. No brighter than with a 
fresh incandescent bulb, and the three LED light didn't focus any more, 
but the light was much whiter, a nice pattern for desk use and batteries 
last much longer.

Now that I'd seen the amazing light out of the Maglite AA, I started 
looking into other conversions. Wow, everything I needed. I had one each 
of Maglite AA and AAA, two AA Legends, one labeled Eddie Bauer and one 
Brinkmann, a AAA Legend and a AAA plain Brinkmann.

Now I have all of them but one AAA converted to LED and working fully on 
the eneloops. The items I tried are:

1. Nite-Ize three LED upgrade. This comes either with or without a 
switch for the tail end. I really like having a switch. It's one of the 
reasons I preferred the Legends to the Maglites, a tail switch so I can 
turn them on and off without changing the focus and using only one hand. 
Nice white light.

2. Nite-Ize 1 watt single LED upgrade. This is much brighter than the 
tungsten bulb, although not quite as bright as the Maglite LED AA. 
Yellower light than LED Maglite or #1. Again comes with or without a 
tail switch, but a fancier one. Successive presses of the button give 
full, half, 1/4 power, then slow or rapid flashing. There is also a tiny 
LED in the transparent push button that flashes every few seconds. Not 
sure yet how I like that. It makes the light easy to find, but I wonder 
how much battery it uses.

Both these upgrades just drop right into either brand of flashlight and 
#2 focuses as well or better than the original bulb.

3. TerraLUX TLE-20 upgrade. This is a 1/2 watt single LED with 
replacement reflectors for both AA and AAA Maglites. I wouldn't get it 
for AA, as the Nite-Ize 1 watt is brighter. It just drops into the AAA 
Maglite, focuses well and is a bit brighter using eneloops than the bulb 
with alkalines. Very slightly warm white.

In the AAA Legend, the replacement reflector doesn't quite fit, being 
just a tiny bit too big in diameter to drop all the way in. However, if 
one is willing for the front bezel to not screw on quite all the way, to 
center the reflector when almost tight and to insert the bulb only half 
way at first, the reflector presses on the light assembly to push it 
almost all the way in, plenty of contact, and rest against the light 
assembly. Voila! Focus works, although not quite as tight as on the 
Maglite.

It would also be possible to reduce the reflector diameter just a bit. I 
wouldn't want to do it by hand, as that could leave it uncentered. I 
thought about a mini lathe approach, spinning it in the Dremel, but the 
above approach works very well without violence. :-)

A couple of very useful resources about flashlight preformance are 
<http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews_index/reviews_by_mfgrs.htm>
and <http://www.cpfreviews.com/reviews.php>

They disagree in a couple of cases I noticed and don't always agree with 
user reviews on the web, but are extremely informative.

The three D cell LED Maglite is distinctly brighter than the three cell 
regular, maybe a bit brighter than the four cell and whiter than both. 
So far, I haven't found the upgrades for them as compelling as for the 
smaller units.

One upgrade that looks interesting for some uses is the Nite-Ize upgrade 
"bulb" for C & D size Maglites. It compensates for voltages from 3 to 9 
volts, so works with 2 to 6 cells. Not particularly bright with few 
cells, its strength is amazing battery life - like 92% of original 
output after 24 hrs with two D cells.

A. Bright Moose

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