LED Upgrades for 1AAA lights?

[StoneDog]

Hi Everyone,

I picked up a couple of little Brinkman Nexstar 1xAAA lights at a dollar store a while ago. They've been sitting around new-in-package waiting for an appropriate project or upgrade.

Does anyone make a small 1xAAA compatible LED upgrade? These are bigger than the M*g Solitaires so there is more room in the head, but only the single AAA battery for power.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Hi Everyone,

I picked up a couple of little Brinkman Nexstar 1xAAA lights at a dollar store a while ago. They've been sitting around new-in-package waiting for an appropriate project or upgrade.

Does anyone make a small 1xAAA compatible LED upgrade? These are bigger than the M*g Solitaires so there is more room in the head, but only the single AAA battery for power.

If a solitaire upgrade would fit it is probably the only drop in available otherwise you would have to scavenge a circuit from another light to work. IMO dropins for incans are not cost effective as you tend to end up with a light that doesn't perform any better than lights designed from the start with LEDs. Some people have modded solitaires with 10440 lithium ion + dropping resistors and modded the reflector to fit an LED.

 

[StoneDog]

Are there decent Solitair drop-ins? I see one for a "tektite lf3" (or similar) but the reviews are mixed.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Are there decent Solitair drop-ins? I see one for a "tektite lf3" (or similar) but the reviews are mixed.

buying dropins for solitaires are a waste of money unless you are absolutely stuck on the light. A $5 solitaire +$8 dropin will be stomped by a $13 fenix E01 in almost every category.

 

[deadrx7conv]

If you already have the Solitaire, there are a couple LED drop-ins on ebay.

If the Brinkmann is similar to the Maglite, maybe one of the Solitaire drops-in can be modded to fit.

http://www.tek-tite.com/src/product_info.php?id=2958
http://www.led-replacement.com/lt-3.html
http://cgi.ebay.com/110712897044
http://cgi.ebay.com/330586488084
http://cgi.ebay.com/390329048124

 

[leon2245]

It's time for maglite to quit experimenting with Wii-controller lights & get to making an LED solitaire already. COme ON PEOPLE.

:thumbsdow

 

[Matt7337]

Come on, we know that's never going to happen don't we? Just stick with Fenix or Liteflux

My Fenix L0D (mine is the now discontinued Q4 model but similar current models are available) cost me about £30 in 2008 and has lived on my keys for almost 3 years. It's never let me down once and gets used a lot - it's 75 lumen output is very usable. It's not easy living on my keychain, especially for 3 years so it's one tough little light too.

Mags are a waste of time unless they are big enough (like C and D sized hosts) to drop a good upgrade into. Soli's are a total waste of time, money and effort as far as I'm concerned. I owned a few before I got my first high end LED flashlights and they are SO weak in comparison to even the smallest and least bright of my LED light collection.

 

[StoneDog]

buying dropins for solitaires are a waste of money unless you are absolutely stuck on the light. A $5 solitaire +$8 dropin will be stomped by a $13 fenix E01 in almost every category.

Maybe I'm too old-school (havn't been on CPF in 4 or 5 years) but the Fenix lights just don't do anything for me. Seems like there really isn't anything groundbreaking anymore (not like when the Luxeons came out) but only improvements in LED efficiency and lots more multi-mode buck circuits...

And, I don't have any Solitairs, but thought there might be something for them now that would work in the lights I have sitting around. These two solid, chunky little 1xAAA Brinkman Nexstars cost me a couple of bucks each and they're great hosts for some kind of mod.

To the Mag haters, I completely disagree. My go-to lights for 6 years now have been 2xAA Mini-mags with Dat2Zip "madmax" sammiches and Mag 2D and 2C lights with older Luxeon V mods. One is a 2D with a 6xAA carrier, Lux V, solid Al heat sink and DB700. The other is a 2C with 3x123 converstion and similar heatsink/LuxV/buck circuit. I'm guessing the components aren't even for sale anymore. Yeah, there are brighter lights out there now but so what. Now that I'm a few years out of my flashaholism it turns out these ghastly Mag-mods are actually efficient, handy and bulletproof illumination tools that get the job done.

Anyway, the drop-in on eBay is the Tektite LT-3 that seems to get mixed reviews. Maybe I'll just order a few 10440s and use a resistor to direct-drive plain old 5mm Nichias.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

Maybe I'm too old-school (havn't been on CPF in 4 or 5 years) but the Fenix lights just don't do anything for me. Seems like there really isn't anything groundbreaking anymore (not like when the Luxeons came out) but only improvements in LED efficiency and lots more multi-mode buck circuits...

And, I don't have any Solitairs, but thought there might be something for them now that would work in the lights I have sitting around. These two solid, chunky little 1xAAA Brinkman Nexstars cost me a couple of bucks each and they're great hosts for some kind of mod.

To the Mag haters, I completely disagree. My go-to lights for 6 years now have been 2xAA Mini-mags with Dat2Zip "madmax" sammiches and Mag 2D and 2C lights with older Luxeon V mods. One is a 2D with a 6xAA carrier, Lux V, solid Al heat sink and DB700. The other is a 2C with 3x123 converstion and similar heatsink/LuxV/buck circuit. I'm guessing the components aren't even for sale anymore. Yeah, there are brighter lights out there now but so what. Now that I'm a few years out of my flashaholism it turns out these ghastly Mag-mods are actually efficient, handy and bulletproof illumination tools that get the job done.

Anyway, the drop-in on eBay is the Tektite LT-3 that seems to get mixed reviews. Maybe I'll just order a few 10440s and use a resistor to direct-drive plain old 5mm Nichias.

I am not a mag hate myself, Their LED versions are decent but nothing spectacular but the incans are just outdated. You could also use 3-4 AG13 batteries and a spring to direct drive a 3 or 5mm LED but you may have to ream out the reflector hole to fit IMO the cheap 5mm mod for solitaires is a good bang for the buck. I don't have a fenix E01 but have an E0 and it is a well made light but nichia 5mm LEDs are IMO terribly ugly on the output side for my tastes.... tinted and splotchy.

 

[LEDninja]

StoneDog, before we go any further can you open one package and find out if the bulb is a bi-pin like in a Solitaire or a screw base bulb like in a penlight but 1.5V or some wacky flange style push in.

 

[StoneDog]

Definitely bi-pin.

Turns out this is a discontinued product which is probably why it was so cheap at the dollar store.

Here's a link to Grainger's page.