Red LED 2xAAA (or something in that ballpark)

[cratz2]

I have the desire to get something along the lines of a 2xAAA light with a red LED.

Not really wanting a 3xAAAA light or any AAAA light.

A clip would be nice, but not a requirement.

Brightness isn't really an issue... this is for astronomy use... reading charts at night.

Something like the Streamlight Stylus Pro.

Did any of the drop-in makers ever make something red for the 2xAAA Minimag? Seems like they did, but I haven't looked at those things

I know about the little Nite Ize 3 LED drop-in for the 2xAA Mags and I have a coupe of those, but I'd really like something slimmer and lighter weight.

Thanks in advance.

 

[CarpentryHero]

In a 2aaa mini mag or solitare, You could throw a super brite red 5mm nichia, not sure what the model number was, but a few years back I used to get the from a local electronics store. You could look in circuitcity ? Or online. The lil LED's handled 3 volts. Not very bright but a start.
There's a thread/sticky in the good deals section of the CPFmarketplace has vendors that give discounts

 

[Lynx_Arc]

If you have a 2AAA mini mag you could try to mod it with a red 5mm LED and put a resistor in the tailcap as red LEDs need lower voltage than 3V.

 

[kzb]

The TANK007 HM01R is a 1XAAA red-LED flashlight. It's tiny but not too expensive.

PEAK are another potential supplier.

Another suggestion was:
Get a Solarforce L2Ri (uses AAA's) and also get the red-LED Solarforce drop-in to fit.

I've done quite a bit of Googling on this red-LED flashlight topic, and the options do seem very limited, especially if you are outside the USA.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I remember my father making a red light for astronomy by buying some special red light bulb dip and wiring a bulb up with a resistor inline to reduce the output some.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

Rigel has lights designed for astronomy. They have a wide range of output. They run on 9V batteries.

Rigel lights may actually be ordered in red (660nm) as opposed to the red/orange (~630nm) that most companies call red.

 

[CarpentryHero]

PALight is a 9volt light and you can pick red for the led in some models

 

[cratz2]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I've actually done all those except the Rigel route though I've looked around their site. I actually modded a number of the Garrity (I think) stainless penlights with red 5mm LEDs, and no resistor and no substantial reflector. I think I still have one around there somewhere along with a green one and an R/G/B LED.

I definitely want to try to go with the 2xAAA form factor in a higher quality package than the Garrity with a better beam. I think I frosted/sanded a couple of the LEDs I used in the Garrity lights, but would prefer something different.

I know putting a red filter on a white(ish) LED cuts the output substantially, but I'm almost wondering if the standard white LED Streamlight Stylus Pro is bright enough to work with a red filter and allow a usable amount of light.

I also bought three 3-packs of 2xAAA LED lights (1 red, 1 black and 1 blue) from Lowes or Home Depot that were actually pretty decent. They all 9 of them worked 100% perfectly out of the box. Somewhere brighter than a Nichia GS but not as bright as a 0.5W properly driven. Kinda ugly colors, mostly. They aren't quite bright enough for my needs with a Maglite red lens cut down and placed over the existing lens.

I've actually been using a suggesting the Inova Microlights in red which are a redder red than many sources. I bought a bunch of them on closeout at Target a few years ago. Mine seem to last just about forever with limited use though folks that actually tend to leave them on during viewing... well... those little cells don't last very long in such conditions.

Anyway, thanks for the replies.

 

[Gatsby]

A Peak Eiger with the 2xAAA body would be the best choice I think - they used to sell them with colored LEDs you'd have to call RMSK or Peak directly I suspect and have one built as I don't see them listed as stock options any longer - but they definitely did Rebel color models at one point.

 

[Gregozedobe]

If you don't need a lot of lumens then a Photon Freedom Micro with a covert nose, red led and 1 x CR2032 might fit the bill. You can set the desired level of brightness with their useful UI (which helps with battery life), and you can even set them up with a 3 minute auto-off for "forgetful" people.


The PALights that CarpentryHero mentioned have a "Survival" red LED model that has 4 modes:

Locator Glow(very low)

Low

Medium (they call it "High Beam")

Slowish strobe

I'd be tempted to replace the focussing convex lens with a plain flat lens to give a slightly floodier beam for looking at charts etc.

 

[eg1977]

brightguy[dot]com has the Streamlight Polystylus with red LED on closeout for $3.

 

[glugo1969]

l.r.i. photon pro II runs on one aa :naughty: