The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014
Comments
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paultownsend wrote:i have these items
1 13820 OEM 2*18650 Lithium Battery Charger (110V~240V AC)
1 20392 TrustFire Protected 18650 3.7V True 2400mAh Rechargeable Lithium Batteries (2-Pack)
the auto charge on the batteries doesnt seem to be working. if i leave the cells for 5 hours charging, one of the cells maybe goes to green. the other not. however if i give the cell a poke it will go to green. is this safe?
i have the same charger and batterys, i have also seen this happen. to make sure it was fully charged i just left it untill it went green. it could just be coinsidence as i took the battery out and tested voltage. it was fuly charged so maybe moving it broke the connection for a split second then it would start charging as was already charged? either way it works fine and i havnt had a problem yet.
yes you can charge one at a time0 -
Well All 4 cells are charged between 4.13-4.14 volts. Dies this seem correct?
In future can I check the voltage while charging or is this dangerous while plugged into the mains?
Or as they are protected cells, do they shut off as soon as they reach their max capacity?
Paul0 -
Just saw this on Singletrack...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Magicshine-MJ ... 0936958269
Don't just banish night- murder it
Uncompromising extremist0 -
will one of these do the trick
http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product ... _id=112960
suppose some people must buy them :!:0 -
You can't really rely on cell voltage as an indicator of charge, as stage 1 gets the cell up to volts. a cell showing 4.1v just after charge could be 90% charged or it could be 60% charged. You can use a test meter during the charge to test if the charger is running stage 1 or 2. For stage 1 the voltage will be around 4.2v for stage 2 it wont settle.
That new magicshine looks pretty awesome. On the camera tripod example. Mrs diy has been using my XM-L 501bs to light her soft box and reflector for some recent winter weddings that she was doing. Seems to work very well coupled with her regular external flash.0 -
supersonic wrote:I guess this is the reason why not many people go for the laptop battery route - for some is too much hassle, especially if half the cells are dead and you have to condition them. For a tenner can get 4 perfectly usable protected 18650 cells.
Even for packs that have quite clearly not been charged for 2 or 3 years I rarely find more than 1 or 2 dead cells. I've also found quite a dodgy way of charging those that are below 3v. By connecting them to good cell in parallel during the charge, they charge fine. More often than not they will sustain volts after a few goes. The cells in better quality laptops retail at about 8 quid each. Not to be confused with cheapos that come from HK.
I appreciate not everyone can be bothered though.0 -
So shall I just leave the charger until the light goes from red to green, and trust that it won't over charge the cells?0
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No more than 3 hours.0
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Northwind wrote:Just saw this on Singletrack...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Magicshine-MJ ... 0936958269
Don't just banish night- murder it
Looks good - for the price you could get 3 FF 3 x XML's making up a 9 XML-T6 setup - but then again, my Road bike would double in weight - would be good to see Sonic's single FF v the new Magicshine though. Gonna be crazy in a few years when everyone's commuting and training with 1000-2000 lumens each. :shock: - Cree will have transformed Britain into a Christmas tree 0 -
if anybody is just looking for batteries then these took 14 days to come from ordering
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150688385897? ... 1497.l26490 -
Just want to say thanks v much to people who've posted advice and feedback on lights here...especially diy.
I ordered from Manafont on 11 November (see below)....and they arrived on 22 Nov....(though I'm still waiting for the mounts).
I have a 30 minute commute along an unlit cycle path and used them for the first time today with some diy mounts. Have to say the lights are a revelation, make the journey home a pleasure not a chore. Amazing for £30.
Couple of questions about the batteries.....
1 - about how should they last on a) full power b) medium.
2 - Is there any warning before the batteries run out of power, or do they just stop. If they do can I still click down to a lower setting?
3 - Should I charge them after every 30 min commute or wait till they (start to) fail.
I'm charging them in an old biscuit tin with a timer...just in case.
Thanks again for advice
Andy
[SKU:8461] 1 x Protected SKY RAY 18650 3.7V 3000mAh Rechargeable Batteries(2pcs/set) = $8.21
[SKU:3815] 4 x Universal Bicycle Mount (2.06cm~3.12cm Diameter) = $14.76
[SKU:8160] 2 x UltraFire WF-501B T6 5-Mode LED Flashlight (1*18650) - Black = $27.42
[SKU:6185] 1 x AC Lithium Battery Charger With 2 LED Indicators for 18650 (1-meter/100V~240V) = $6.970 -
The cut-off is usually now you see me now you don't however you will probably notice a slight dimming of the light before it goes of. My XP-G light usually dims about 2 minutes before it goes out completely.
I think you will be okay to charge them after each run because unlike AA batteries Li-ion batteries do not get a memory if short charged.
However, if I were you I would use 1 light for my journey and if that goes out then switch on the other one problem sorted.0 -
andygo This is just for protected cells: they will switch off when they are too low.
No real idea on runtime as there is no standard driver in the 501b. Its likely that it will be driven at something between 1.5 and 2.5A, so your cells will be 1-2 hours full, in Med probably 3-6 hours or more.
The only way for sure is to measure the current while on using an amp meter or to check the volts on the cells after say 30 mins of use and work out how much is left.0 -
What's so special about the xtar wp2?0
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Anyone ever used a 14500 rechargeable in a single AA 3w Luxeon cheap torch (or similar)? I wanted something small and light as a '' be seen'' light for my helmet (I'm a roadie only) - I've already got a pair of XML-T6 502b's, but, just wanted something ''high up'' to guard against ''roads from the left'' in the daytime - so, just wondering if anyone thinks a 3.7v 14500 would blow the 3w luxeon led anytime soon? (I'm currently running a 1.2v rechargeable single AA in it).0
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It will blow it if the led circuit is setup to bump the voltage up to a higher rating. But then again the led might be capable of taking the higher voltage, do you have any more info on it? There are plenty of 3w cree lights on DX you could check them out in comparison to yours.
Of course the real question is why do you want to run it with a different battery than you are currently using? Is it for a longer run time or a brighter light?0 -
It will depend on the driver, but I think it will blow it, as the driver will be "expecting" max 1.5v and you will be doubling that at least, so likely to double the amps. Don't forget this is DC, so the circuit may not be up to the current generated by a (what will ultimately become a 4.2v cell).0
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Thanks guys - yep, it was just to get a brighter light - with cheap torches, its hard to get a light-weight light for a helmet that's quite bright - a ''7w'' Cree Q5 would be great brightness-wise for a road-helmet, but its too heavy (for me) helmet-wise. I'm out training at 5.00 am 3 or 4 days a week and the XML-T6 502b's are excellent for the dark mornings (love them) - but with ''SMIDSY'' daytime training it'd be quite handy to have a high up helmet that's quite bright - tbh, the 3w Luxeon is ok-ish on a single 1.2v AA rechargeable and its very light-weight - its definately brighter though on 1.5v alkalines (probably sufficiently brighter tbh) - its just the cost with 1.5v alkaline AA's. I'll just mull over the likelihood of a blown led (it only cost £3 delivered), but yep, at 4.2v (and such a cheapie torch it might get wrecked). Thanks for the info though.0
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Mettan wrote:Anyone ever used a 14500 rechargeable in a single AA 3w Luxeon cheap torch (or similar)? I wanted something small and light as a '' be seen'' light for my helmet (I'm a roadie only) - I've already got a pair of XML-T6 502b's, but, just wanted something ''high up'' to guard against ''roads from the left'' in the daytime
You sure you want a torch for this job? A quality bike-specific light will usually have better visibility, especially from the side. I use a couple of torches on my commuter to see with, but I've added a couple of standard bike lights to be seenUncompromising extremist0 -
Have you tried one of the 502's on your helmet?
They are quite small albeit slightly heavier than a 501 but should be an acceptable weight on your head, also running it in medium or low will extend the run time even longer.
I would imagine in medium it would be much brighter than the cheapy 3w light???0 -
Northwind wrote:Mettan wrote:Anyone ever used a 14500 rechargeable in a single AA 3w Luxeon cheap torch (or similar)? I wanted something small and light as a '' be seen'' light for my helmet (I'm a roadie only) - I've already got a pair of XML-T6 502b's, but, just wanted something ''high up'' to guard against ''roads from the left'' in the daytime
You sure you want a torch for this job? A quality bike-specific light will usually have better visibility, especially from the side. I use a couple of torches on my commuter to see with, but I've added a couple of standard bike lights to be seen
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My 501b's don't do this. I have the standard DX XML-T6 torches that have been linked on here, with 2 trustfire protected 2500mAh grey batteries, and 6x 2650mAh laptop batteries to choose from.night_porter wrote:The cut-off is usually now you see me now you don't however you will probably notice a slight dimming of the light before it goes of. My XP-G light usually dims about 2 minutes before it goes out completely.
After 30 mins on low, I put them on full power and only get around 10-15 mins before they drop to a low setting with a brief flicker off. But they will still run happily on medium for 30 mins to get home. It is the same for 3 torches and all the cells.
Any ideas why?0 -
paultownsend wrote:What's so special about the xtar wp2?
It's well made, charges the cells better and cuts off properly when they're full.
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/4148
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/51340 -
Bobbygloss wrote:After 30 mins on low, I put them on full power and only get around 10-15 mins before they drop to a low setting with a brief flicker off. But they will still run happily on medium for 30 mins to get home. It is the same for 3 torches and all the cells.
Any ideas why?
what voltage at the start, after 30 mins etc. also if you can measure the amps too that would help.0 -
Just added a youtube on how to turn laptop batteries in to batteries for these torches.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjtwE41PX1g0 -
diy wrote:Just added a youtube on how to turn laptop batteries in to batteries for these torches.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjtwE41PX1g
Great video, just like the others you have done. Thanks for sharing DIY0 -
Since the cells out of the pack were fairly new, I decided to boost one to 4.3v and after an hours rest it was holding 4.28v. It is at this point that I realised that one of my 501b (the one that cycles in a different order) is actually a 2.4A unit. All purchased from DX at the same time on the same order
Here are my results:
4.28v
2.5A High
1.5A med
0.08A Low
the others
1.8A high
0.6A med
0.08 Low
Importantly I haven't actually noticed the extra light other than the high amp one has a sharper brighter hotspot. I just assumed it was a better binned LED. Its only when you know and line them up side by side you can see the difference. I will do a proper camera test of the two to see the output difference.0 -
Anyone see the new twin XML at on-one?
Looks pretty good - I like the way it grips the handlears either side of the stem with a proper mount * 2. Almost tempted but decided to hold off for now.
http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/LICREXMLT6LED/cree_1600_lumens_xm_l_t6_led_bike_light_kit0
