Which 1AA Blu-Ray Host?

I am stuck on deciding which host to use for a mini Bluray - i want to get something from DX, and i have a choice of 3 so far. If you could, would you comment on if they are easy to open up, if you think they look good, and if someone else has already used them before (don't want any arguments!!):

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3762



http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2070



http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1120



http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5352



http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2098



I am leaning towards the last one, want to know what you guys think.

Thanks for your time

Edit: i can't get the pictures loaded directly from DX - i have put the link to which ones i want, and put them in the tags, but they won't show. Any ideas?

i like the last one to, might have lil more room for ur br project

robjdixon said:

I am stuck on deciding which host to use for a mini Bluray - i want to get something from DX, and i have a choice of 3 so far. If you could, would you comment on if they are easy to open up, if you think they look good, and if someone else has already used them before (don't want any arguments!!):

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3762

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2070

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1120

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5352

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2098

I am leaning towards the last one, want to know what you guys think.

Thanks for your time

Edit: i can't get the pictures loaded directly from DX - i have put the link to which ones i want, and put them in the

tags, but they won't show. Any ideas?

Click to expand...

I just ordered the 5352 model. I hope it works! I'll let ya know but you probably don't to wait 6 weeks. ;D

i think the second one has a boost driver.
Look at this
http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1200348298

All of them have a boost driver..

I tested all of these except the powerlight...

- With SKU 3762 the head doesn't unscrew.
- I wanted to use SKU 3760 for my Blu Rays, as when i ordered it for the first time, the head did come off, but once i ordered a large quantity, all of them came with the head in one piece with the body.
- The 1120 (and other colors) is a good flashlight. I modded one to a CREE LED, but i'm not gonna use them for a laser. They would offer enough space for a heatsink for an open can tho. The build is good, most of the guts can be used to hold something or mount something.
- SKU 5352 (SAIK) is what i ended up using for my Blu Rays after the host screwup. It's a good flashlight, but there is very little room in the head. I had to redesign my CC boost driver completelly, to make it fit (had to make it double sided).

Also, when you order the SAIK, you can get a mixture of SAIKs and Rominsens. The SAIK is a bit darker in color but they look almost identical. The build is the same.

But...With the SAIK, the gray UltraFire batteries don't fit! With the Rominsen, they do. The SAIK can take a blue TrustFire protected Li-Ion but it's tight. I actually stripped a Ni-MH when trying to push it in - It's also a very good flashlight btw... That's why i even tried a Ni-MH. But the circuit dies with a Li-Ion.


If you can fit all the parts into the tiny room in the head (18mm dia, 26.5mm depth after the PCB), it's also a very nice laser. But you can't use the original guts (for mounting) and battery contact PCB, because they are in a big long chunk of aluminum. You'd have to cut that off just above the PCB, and then you also need to fit a heatsink in there. And you can't fit an entire AixiZ module in there.

The "SAIK" is what i'm using for my Blu Rays now (with heatsinks, that make the AixiZ module fatter), and will be using from now on, as DX obviously cycles manufacturers, and i can't rely on getting unscrewable heads with other models. I asked DX to only ship me the Rominsens only, so the batteries don't get stuck or stripped..


The one thing all of them have in common is the VERY limited room. You have to plan the use of the space down to a fraction of a milimeter and there is no room for error. In fact, the ones where the head does not unscrew have much more room (much more = 3mm more.. At this point 1mm of extra room means a lot to me...), because the threads of the body don't go into the head - it's all one piece. But this also means you can't just screw the module in place.


Oh, and i hope no one gets the idea to use the boost circuits inside to power a laser. Those circuits are completelly unregulated and unfiltered, and blink the LED very rapidly (at the switching frequency). LEDs can take that sort of abuse easily, but LDs can't.

With filtering and a series resistor it is possible to make it work, but the current would change with the LD heat and the battery voltage, meaning you have to drive the LD lower, to make sure it doesn't go over the top. With a full battery, the current would climb at first, with heat, and drop with the battery voltage.

The only thing you can safely do with the internal boost circuit is, put an AMC after it (with or without a bypass resistor, depending on your diode), and drive a red from a single alkaline or Ni-MH (unless it doesn't fit )...


P.S. Oh, and i also ordered 6 of the UltraFires (with GITD tailcap), that have the same shape as SKU 3762. Ni-MHs and Li-Ions don't fit in there AT ALL. It's worse, than with the SAIK. I ordered them with express shipping, and i'll have to return them all...
The cheap ones have large battery holes, but you never know if the model you get will unscrew at the head or not.

I ordered this one
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2992
Well see how it goes...

Did you order the SAIK, like you said, Maelstrom? If so, i hope you get the Rominsen.. ;D

Maelstrom said:

I ordered this one
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2992
Well see how it goes...

Click to expand...

That looks like a good one.

+1 rep igor.
Thanks!

Thank you.

That last one Maelstrom posted could be interesting.. It looks like the head is a little bigger with more room.
You could probably fit a LavaDrive in there, if you cut the AixiZ shorter..

Then you just need some kind of heatsink, to hold it all. And if possible, depopulate the driver PCB, and use it for battery contacts, and reverse polarity protection diode (unless the LavaDrive is already protected)... Some of the parts might be usefull for mounting your finished module into the head. Sometimes, when a reflector is made of aluminum, it might actually be massive enough for use as a heatsink, if you drill it out a bit, so the AixiZ fits.


Good luck, and show pics, when you're done.




P.S. Does anyone want SKU 3760? I have loads.. But the head doesn't unscrew.. :

How much??
are they good torches?

How much??
are they good torches?

No, they are very bad torches... And with the non-unscrewable ones, the lens is plastic, scratched and just horrible. It's all mounted in from above and held down by the lens, which is somehow stuck in.

When i first got one like that, i didn't have a clue, how to take it apart. I kept trying to unscrew it for days.. ;D

Then i decided to pierce the lens and pull it out. That's how i do it now. And i don't understand, how they get it in.


When i ordered samples from different ones, the 3760 did unscrew, and the quality of the body was very decent (the light still wasn't tho). As i only wanted to use the body, i thought it would be good, and made several orders of 6, but when they came, i realized in horror, that i was sent a different model or manufacturer torch.

The modular one could be a great torch if modded to a cree. But here, you can't even mod it, as you wouldn't have a way of mounting a glass lens in.


I had to improvise A LOT, to turn some of these into lasers.. But i'm returning most of them. I was just kidding..
I hope i can convice DX to send me the ones from the original manufacturer. Those were cool... In the pictures, you can see it in three pieces, but during the entire last month i've been getting the non modular ones, and the worst part is, 12 are still on the way!

I actually canceled the last 12, but DX had an issue with their system, and they said they already sent them, and canceled my cancel request instead. Then, when they fixed their system, they saw, that they didn't send them yet, and sent them!

This screwup lost me a lot of time and money.. :'( And it'll take a month, before i get replacements or more for a refund.

Thanks Igor, I really have no clue how I am going to fit it all together, but my dad has more than enough tools, I have plenty of time, and if it doesnt work I'll just build a box or something

Haha. Well, if it doesn't work, the SAIK is still a great torch! And waterproof.. Just don't ruin the guts..

The CREE LED is a good one, and the driver seems to give it a good amount of juice.

have you tested this one:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2098 ?

i couldn't find it on the list