Hi there. Glad to see this monster of a thread is still going strong!

My Vistalite 2200mAh battery just died. It had been suffering for some time now, providing only 40+ minutes of burn time with a 10w MR11 halogen. So me and mechanically inclined friend put the old battery out of its misery yesterday, tearing it completely apart to see what it was made of. I was surprised to find only 5 cells inside the stick, as I always imagined Vistalite's "HOT" technology basically meant overvolting. Does not seem to be the case here, this thing provided the nominal 6V.

While we were at it we also cannibalised an old plastic frame pump, which is now being converted to a battery holder. I cannot use the sleek nightstick housing, because there's not enough room for AA batteries (rechargeable NiMH) I plan to use. Besides, the old battered Zefal looks ueber-geeky to me .

If all goes well, I will be able to velcro the Zefal into Vistalite's frame mount, use original wiring and connectors between battery and lamp, and as a bonus be able to charge each cell individually. This will hopefully increase battery life, as I now seem to go through 1 battery setup every 2 years or so (our cold winter may have something to do with this).

If this fails, I will try out a bottle dynamo / dynohub -setup. The dark autumn nights are already here, and currently I am relying solely on my backup white LED, so I need to get this done fairly quickly. Today I'll go to store to buy what little I need - a couple of rechargeable AA's, some sealant for housing and perhaps some wire. I'll post pictures of the project later.

--J