1xAAA with Flash/Beacon Mode

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ThirstyTurtle

ThirstyTurtle

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Messages
1,736
So I recently started taking my dog out at night off leash. He's getting of an age where I can trust him pretty well off-leash so when I let him out at night to use the bathroom, it's a good way to help reinforce "come" when he's done. Anyways, I don't think he'd just run off but there are a few cats in our neighborhood and I could see one night him seeing one and chasing it. For that reason, I'd like to put a flashlight on him at night on some sort of "beacon" or "flash" mode so I can see him even if he runs off. I would simply hang it from his collar pointing straight down at the ground. Obviously I always have my own light for pointing at him but it'd be even better if he was self-illuminated.

He's a 95lb German Shepherd so size isn't a big deal (he'd probably be alright if I hung my MM15vn from his collar when it gets here :devil:) but I was thinking the cheapest/easiest thing would be a 1xAAA light that I could just leave attached to his collar all the time, and turn it on the "flash" or "beacon" mode whenever we went outside in the dark. The ideal mode would be the "Flash" mode like on my D25A Ti (3rd of the hidden strobe/flash modes) which is a full-brightness flash on/off/on/off at ~0.5 second intervals. However, that's my EDC and don't want it on the dog, I'd like a cheaper and smaller light.

I'm not aware of any 1xAAA lights with any "beacon" or "flash" modes but I'm hoping someone on here knows of one or a couple.

For the time being I'll just use my iTP A3 and that may be permanent if there aren't any lights that small with flashy modes. I'm secretly really excited to strap a flashlight onto my dog and leave it there full-time...I'm sure you all understand how exciting that is. I'm thinking when I have a baby it may have a light clipped to it's diapers...IPX-8 of course haha.

Thank you!
 
On a separate but similar note, if anyone knows of a high-quality collar with built-in LEDs, I would consider that.
 
kj2 said:
http://flashlights.parametrek.com/index.html

4Sevens Preon P1 :)
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Okay, WHAT THE HECK AND WHY HAVE I NEVER SEEN THAT WEBSITE?!?!?!?!

That is the most incredible thing I've ever seen in my entire life. Do you know if it gets regularly updated with new lights?

As for your recommendation, thank you very much! Unfortunately, after some digging it seems that the "beacon" mode only flashes once every 10 seconds...I'd be needing more of a flashing every second or so. However, after some further thinking, I'm wondering if a constant light wouldn't be better?

Maybe I could get some opinions on whether a flashing light or a constant light would work better? Because if a constant light will suffice just fine I could use either my Trustfire Mini-01 (stainless steel and probably indestructible) or either of my iTP A3's...
 
NiteIze SpotLit has worked very well on our dog. They're cheap to purchase if one gets lost and CR2016's are fairly cheap in bulk. Haven't found better yet. Be aware our friends dog managed to get it in his mouth and ate everything including the battery. Ours has never paid it any mind though, so I guess it depends on the dog. :)
 
calipsoii said:
NiteIze SpotLit has worked very well on our dog. They're cheap to purchase if one gets lost and CR2016's are fairly cheap in bulk. Haven't found better yet. Be aware our friends dog managed to get it in his mouth and ate everything including the battery. Ours has never paid it any mind though, so I guess it depends on the dog. :)
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Thank you for the suggestion, I'll look into that!

I was really wanting to utilize my existing plethora of AAA Eneloops if possible. Plus I don't think even my dog could EAT an aluminum or steel tube but who knows haha.
 
ThirstyTurtle said:
Okay, WHAT THE HECK AND WHY HAVE I NEVER SEEN THAT WEBSITE?!?!?!?!
That is the most incredible thing I've ever seen in my entire life. Do you know if it gets regularly updated with new lights?
Click to expand...
AFAIK they were planning on doing so :)
 
In the UK they are cheap and easy to find and sold in various outlets.Children have them for walking to school when the mornings are not fully light and many outdoor pursuit characters use them.
 
Bicycle red flashers using one or two AAA work well, lots of those around
 
Yamabushi said:
AAA Glo-Toob Size: 19.5mm x 72mm, Waterproof to 200 ft, Modes: 100%, 25%, and flash, Available colors: Red, Blue, Green, White, Amber

http://www.glo-toob-usa.com/#!aaa/c13t2

Available directly or through several other on-line sellers.
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Okay, Yamabushi, you may have hit the jackpot!!!

That's even better than a flashlight with a beacon mode because instead of just casting light down at the ground it will actually cast an area light and probably be MUCH easier to see.

So my question for you is have you ever used those? I'm having trouble finding much information about them. Read some reviews on Amazon which were very positive except for a couple people who said it was very dim. I wonder if the AAA model is a lot dimmer than the other models since it's only getting 1.4v instead of 12v I think on the smaller batteries?

I'd love any feedback you could give me, primarily some type of rough lumen estimate...10 maybe?

I used the iTP A3 last night on high (80 lumens) and it worked quite well except that my dog moves so much and so quickly that it was flailing up and down and pointed right at my face a few times, ruining my night-adapted eyes. Other than that it worked pretty well, although again, I don't think pointing straight down is the most effective way of marking my dog.
 
Also I was just thinking that a 4Sevens Atom A0 or AL might work well (not blinky) because they're mules and would cast a WIDE beam of light downward as opposed to a tight little circle of light. Lots to consider here...
 
Fantastic thread and video, I'll be ordering one I think! Just have to choose which color...I'm thinking white or green...
 
ThirstyTurtle said:
Okay, Yamabushi, you may have hit the jackpot!!!

That's even better than a flashlight with a beacon mode because instead of just casting light down at the ground it will actually cast an area light and probably be MUCH easier to see.

So my question for you is have you ever used those? I'm having trouble finding much information about them. Read some reviews on Amazon which were very positive except for a couple people who said it was very dim. I wonder if the AAA model is a lot dimmer than the other models since it's only getting 1.4v instead of 12v I think on the smaller batteries?

I'd love any feedback you could give me, primarily some type of rough lumen estimate...10 maybe?

I used the iTP A3 last night on high (80 lumens) and it worked quite well except that my dog moves so much and so quickly that it was flailing up and down and pointed right at my face a few times, ruining my night-adapted eyes. Other than that it worked pretty well, although again, I don't think pointing straight down is the most effective way of marking my dog.
Click to expand...

At a very rough guess, the AAA Glo-Toob is 5ish lumens with a fresh eneloop on low. It suffers from pretty bad PWM. High and strobe modes are probably a bit excessive for your intended purpose.

I've a German pointer who's approx 26" at the shoulder and 30kg (68lbs) weight. An AAA Glo-toob hanging from his collar looks a shade big and I'd be worried about it getting caught in the undergrowth in the woods; I suppose it would be reasonably easy to make up a holder to clip it parallel to the collar which would solve the dangling issue.

For a rough idea, it's almost exactly the same size as an 18650 cell plus the plastic lanyard post.

I've seen that cnqualitygoods.com have recently started making what looks like an AAA Glo-toob for $8usd, I can't post a direct link, just click on new products. Not an idea what the light outputs or quality are like... but it's only $8...

You could have a look at the eGear Guardian, it runs on 2*2032 cells but would be very low profile on the collar.
 
Just get an Olight i3s, an Eneloop, or Energizer Lithium Ultimate AAA and clip it to his collar and put it on the blinky mode, or put it on medium. He'll never know it's there.

Chris
 
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