Hi all,

My first post. I've been studying electronics in an effort to develop my own original product. One of the components of the product is a flashlight feature. It is powered by two CR123A batteries, which make up the bulk of the body of my product. I'd really like to shorten this thing up, but I'm worried that I'll make a mistake, being so ignorant about power sources. So the questions would be: Which battery type would be smaller than a CR123A (fatter is fine, need shorter), while still providing similar characteristics (expecting shorter battery life, but anything else?). ... and would a PCB board need to be altered if the power supply changes?

I've read enough first-time posting on forums to know that I've probably said something stupid already. Take it easy on me
Thanks all

 

Welcome to AAC!

You need to do a power budget.
What is the voltage and current requirements of your gadget?
What is the length of time you need to run the gadget before the battery runs out of deliverable power?
Have you considered using rechargeable batteries?

 

As MrChips noted, you can't select a battery until you determine all the requirements.

 

Hi all,

My first post. I've been studying electronics in an effort to develop my own original product. One of the components of the product is a flashlight feature. It is powered by two CR123A batteries, which make up the bulk of the body of my product. I'd really like to shorten this thing up, but I'm worried that I'll make a mistake, being so ignorant about power sources. So the questions would be: Which battery type would be smaller than a CR123A (fatter is fine, need shorter), while still providing similar characteristics (expecting shorter battery life, but anything else?). ... and would a PCB board need to be altered if the power supply changes?

I've read enough first-time posting on forums to know that I've probably said something stupid already. Take it easy on me
Thanks all

Coin cell CR2450, stack them as many as you want to get the length you need, just need to bring down the voltage before entering the light emitter as every coin cell will add 3Volts. You can do this with a proper controller, assuming the emitter will be LED.