# Micro-Pill Powered Luxeon Mag Solitaire Mod



## lambda (Jan 5, 2005)

Yes, the Micro-Pill will aslo fit the Mag Solitaire. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

But, there is a little filing involved:







The top board needs to be filed from 11.85mm to 10.85mm, and the bottom + contact board from 10mm to 9.30mm. 






The body needs a new bore through it of 3/8 inch (9.50mm) and a second bore 25/64 inch (9.90mm) by 3/16 inch (4.78mm) deep. The second bore is to clear any possible conflict with components on the top circuit board. File off any anodize from the top edge of the body; it will be the negative contact for the pill.






The reflector just gets the hole enlarged to 7/32 inch (5.56mm) for the Luxeon LED.






The filed Micro-Pill and modified reflector fit nicely in the Solitaire head.






A small insulated spacer takes up the slack left from removing the stock switch. Note that this one is a little longer, as the tailcap on this Solitaire was shortened previously when used for a different mod.






The result is a very bright little Solitaire. This one is sporting a TW0J Luxeon and is very bright. Run time on one AAA NiMh 740mAh cell was two hours. I would expect about double that from the new AAA Energizer lithium cells.

On/Off operation is tighten the head down to turn on, loosen 1/4 to 1/2 turn to shut off.

While the filing takes some real work, and your fingers will hurt when you finish, it's well worth the effort. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif


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## andrewwynn (Jan 5, 2005)

Beautiful work... use a dremel with a sanding disk should speed up the sanding/filing process on shrinking the pill.. neat to see that it can be done though.. is the pill designed to fit into arc/peak head?

-awr


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## lambda (Jan 5, 2005)

[ QUOTE ]
*andrewwynn said:*
Beautiful work... use a dremel with a sanding disk should speed up the sanding/filing process on shrinking the pill.. neat to see that it can be done though.. is the pill designed to fit into arc/peak head?

-awr 

[/ QUOTE ]

ArcMania originally designed the Micro-Pill to fit in to the Brinkmann Legend 1AAA. However, it seems to fit a lot of things with a little modding. 

Let's see, so far I've used it in:

Legend AAA - Micro-Illuminator
Legend 2AAA - Mini-Illuminator
Key-Mate - Nano/Turbo-Mate
Mag bulb socket - Pico-Illuminator
Carabineer clip light - Carabineer Clip Light
Mag Solitaire - The mod shown in this post...


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## MrMimizu (Jan 5, 2005)

Guess I have only two questions.
How much is this?
or is it a DIY thing?
and 3rd. How long would I have to wait to get one?


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## TrueBlue (Jan 5, 2005)

Hmmm....I'd love to have a little one like that. That would be so cute. Great job Lambda!

Hmmm...last time I used the first line I ended up with a very nice MiniPro III! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif


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## Mags (Jan 5, 2005)

Alright, I would like to know the price of that thing this instant! My sister said she would buy me something as long as its not too much, and this doesnt look like too much... or is it?


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## Justintoxicated (Jan 6, 2005)

Lambda ! Nice work! I always wanted something like a solirare this looks not too complicated even! It amazing me these run decently bright of 1 AAA! very impressive, if you ever make a drop in I'm definately down for one, is modding the reflector very hard? makes more sense to me to have a 1 AAA soliare with the pill than a cut down AA. Nice work Indeed!


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## Hallis (Jan 6, 2005)

Thats just crazy! i love it. I cant wait to get my drop-in pill for my MiniMag, But since ive been waiting since september i imagine they are somewhat backordered. hehe.

Shane


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## greenLED (Jan 6, 2005)

Finally!! me want one, me want one!!!
I don't understand where the boring needs to happen, though.


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## modamag (Jan 6, 2005)

Me too, me too want one.


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## Icarus (Jan 6, 2005)

I want two of them. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


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## lambda (Jan 6, 2005)

MrMimizu - This light Not for sale
- If enough interest, it could be a DIY
- If I'm making it, it would happen after more MiniPros get made

Haveblue - Nice try, but notice I did not post this one in the B/S/T

Mags_despiser - Sorry, This light Not for sale

Justintoxicated - Because the battery tube gets so narrow inside where the stock switch goes, a drop in would have to be made without circuit boards (hand made dead bug assembly). To use the Micro-Pill, you need to bore out the battery tube as described, so no 'drop in' possible with the Micro-Pill.

The reflector is as much work drilling out as filing the Micro-Pill to size is; the reflector is very small, and the plastic soft. So too much pressure and the reflector bends/distorts in shape and the silver coating flakes off. It must be drilled by hand, using progesively larger drill bits until the correct size is reached. I destroyed many reflectors trying to use power tools on them. Again, the plastic is so soft that any more than light pressure will flex the reflector making the silver coating fleck off. 

Hallis - I'm working on those Mini-Pros, but still haven't received the reflectors I ordered before Thanksgiving :-(

GreenLED - See what I explained above to Justintoxicated

ensig - How good are you with drills and files?

icarus - Me too; but finding the time to make another will be hard..


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## Hallis (Jan 6, 2005)

Id be on somebody about those reflectors, lol. Ive got a Haveblue minimini mag just begging for your pill to cure its ills. Already with a 14500. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Is there a complete "list" of people or are you just sifting through the thread andn picking them out one by one as you get them complete?

Shane


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## Raindrop (Jan 6, 2005)

I have several Solitaires sitting in a bag along with some AAA MiniMags. I would be in for the Solitaire mod as well, but would be REALLY interested in one that would work with the AAA Mag /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

~Greg


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## cy (Jan 6, 2005)

ARCmania's pill is also used in TNC N-cell & TNC AA.


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## pokkuhlag (Jan 6, 2005)

[ QUOTE ]
*Hallis said:*
Id be on somebody about those reflectors, lol. Ive got a Haveblue minimini mag just begging for your pill to cure its ills. Already with a 14500. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Is there a complete "list" of people or are you just sifting through the thread andn picking them out one by one as you get them complete?

Shane 

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you talking about Minipro pill or this solitair pill? I'm getting confused/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif. Cause I don't think this will fit in miniminiMag? Is there a list already for this pill? 

Lambda, do you have any beamshots in comparison to the Micro Illuminator? To see the difference in Lux and hotspot size. Maybe you could update a new revision of micropill that fits both solitair and Legend AAA. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif


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## Mags (Jan 6, 2005)

Well isnt it possible for you to grind down the reflector and micro pill for a little money? I mean, I really think that this is a great light and I dont get many chances of buying things. Especially lights.


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## shiftd (Jan 6, 2005)

i am interested also (both DIY and finished pill)

Question, will this work on Arc AAA head?


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## bjn70 (Jan 6, 2005)

Where could a person buy the basic parts to build a pill? I searched Lambda's website and it appears that all of the kits and so forth are out of stock.


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## greenLED (Jan 6, 2005)

Thanks for the clarification, I see what you meant by a "new bore through it".


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## Justintoxicated (Jan 6, 2005)

still close enough I think I could have a friend bore the solitare a little /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


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## Mags (Jan 6, 2005)

Oh please just this once Mr Lambda? Please? Cant you sell a few completed modded solitaires?


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## lambda (Jan 8, 2005)

Hallis - I've talked to the vendor and they say they shipped 23 Dec. This is normally a reliable vendor, in fact I placed a couple oders since and got those without delay.

Raindrop - Then you should check out the MJLED in the B/S/T forum. It will fit the AAA MiniMag and is very bright with an extended run time.

cy - Yep, those are a couple more, yet 'custom' applications for the MicroPill

pokkuhlag - I'll give it a shot later, but my camera doesn't do to well. In the Solitare it's not a sharp and well defined spot because the reflector is so small, but still the same Lumens out the front as a Micro

Mags despiser - How much money yo got? Seriously, I just have too much right now to do, but will see if I can squeeze a couple in. 

shifd - I don't have an Arc AAA to check fit

bjn70 - I'll soon have some complete Micro-Pills on the web site

greenLED - It's just the front 1/2 inch or so that needs bored out, not too hard. Could be done with a drill press.

Justintoxicated - Go for it, this is one nice mod

Mags despiser - Begging won't help, but never hurts either. It's possible I 'might' get a few TK units done..


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## Mags (Jan 8, 2005)

Okay I guess. May I ask some other time then?


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## Former_Mag_User (Jan 8, 2005)

I would also be very intersted in one if you ever offered them! I'm too lazy...I mean busy to do it myself. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif


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## pbarrette (Jan 9, 2005)

Hi Lambda,

A quick measurement on my empty ArcAAA head shows an ID of 9mm (0.35") and a depth of roughly the same. Though I did bore out this head a little bit on my lathe, so true ID and depth of an ArcAAA is a bit less. Probably closer to 8mm dia and depth. I'm sure that Cy can give you the dimensions of an unspoiled head if you ask.

The good news, though, is that there is still more room to bore in the Arc head. If you are careful, it looks like you can get a ~10.3mm inner diameter without punching through to the threads. So depending on how much more of the board you can trim down vs how much you can bore out the Arc head it seems like it could be readily done.

pb


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## TrueBlue (Jan 14, 2005)

I got my little drop-ins today and they look very well made. Now it is time for me to start working on the little Solitaire.


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## Bimmerboy (Jan 15, 2005)

Hi Lambda,
Say, for argument's sake and hypothetically of course /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif, you decided to release some number of these as turnkey modded Solitaires. I have a natural HA III Solitaire on it's way to me that will yell at me for a mod like this, but I don't have the tools or skills to go boring into things I paid too much money for. I therefore have a couple questions.
Does the boring leave enough metal on the tube to retain strength for EDC? Not that I'd want to EDC it EVERY day (yeah right).
Will you be putting up some beamshots, even if it's just to tease us?
Say, for argument's sake and hypothetically of course, what would you imagine a ballpark cost estimate for this mod to be if I sent you my HA III?
These questions are for educational purposes only... hehe.


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