The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014

leaflite

wakou wrote:

Hi guys. I have a light which takes 3x AAA baterries. If I use non-rechargeables it is very good, if however I use rechargeable batts it is TBH feeble. I guess this is because 3 x AAA rechargeables only give 3.6V and the non-chargers would give up to 4.5V .
Is there a Li-On rechargeable battery that would fit and give 4.5V? The 3x AAA are in a standard holder.

PS (edit) CREE Q5 240 lumen LED ... Like this
http://bit.ly/yo51ZO

You would probably be better off just buying a new ultrafire 501b torch from manafont. Mine cost £9. It will be much brighter than your current light and takes widely available and long lasting lithium 18650 batteries.

In answer to your question, common sizes such as 16340 and 18650 are larger in diameter and so are unlikely to fit. There is a size 10440-these: http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultra-fire-10440-3-6v-500mah-2pack-974 which are identical in size to an AAA battery. These, however, run at 3.6v each so when wired in series(as I assume your torch is?) will probably blow the led.

leaflite

I would like something like this:http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=31366 for my trustfire 3t6 bar torch to allow me to change torch modes without taking my hand off the grip. However, the above is stupidly expensive( like all exposure stuff )and wont fit the torch. Is it possible to bodge one, say using this:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=7379
and this:
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/3t6-remote-pressure-switch-for-model-5009001200-p-7878?

Thanks

diy

You should be able to mod the tail switch to put a remote push to break switch e.g. http://www.maplin.co.uk/push-to-break-2494 inline between the -ive and the tail switch. It might mean drilling a hole. Basically you'd need a plastic disc about the size of a 5p glue 1 wire one side on the 18650 end, another the other side on the spring end and connect the two wires to the switch. Insert the disc between the cell and the tail spring. One switch could do multiple lights this way. You'd need to mount the switch to a rubber strap and smother it in silicon sealant.

boothuk

What do we think of this?

http://www.dinodirect.com/ultrafire-c8- ... y-GBP.html

Think it ships out of China.

cooldad

Too many flashing lights and bullsh1t about RRP for my liking.
I

cooldad

Just bought on of these XM-L type jobbies from a UK Ebay seller - needed it urgently as the offsprings school commuting light died. Still only cost £23 all together including a charger, bar mount etc and arrived in 2 days.
Unbelievable - I almost blinded myself testing it out at work (you are supposed to check it by shining it into your eyes, aren't you?).
Recovered enough to drive home and try it out in proper darkness.Scared some small furry animals.
I want one.

bartimaeus

cooldad wrote:

XM-L ...Scared some small furry animals....I want one.

Be careful, I think they may be addictive... I have 3 (and an XPG, and a P7, and an XRE). DIY has about 40, I think.

night_porter

boothuk wrote:

What do we think of this?

http://www.dinodirect.com/ultrafire-c8- ... y-GBP.html

Think it ships out of China.

Honest opinion is the Ultrafire C8 is a great light and a very good thrower and great heat dissapation, fitted with a Q5 LED also makes it an even better thrower providing it is driven hard enough. I have one that draws about 1500mA and it out throws my 2.8A XM-L C8 so all in all I like the light you have linked to.

However, I bought mine from ebay and yes it was shipped from China but a reasonable time to receive it (11 days in total) especially as I bought it just before Christmas so the Post Office probably took longer than normal for the UK leg of the journey.

Now for the IMPORTANT part of my post:

I paid $7.94 which PayPal converted to £5.28 for mine and if you pay £21.89 for the one linked to then you are being ripped off big time!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Waterproof-3- ... 415bcb627b

I have never bought anything from DD and at those prices I can't imagine anybody ever does.

diy

I think you are experiencing an optical illusion with your Q5. It is a spotty LED due to its small size, the darker ring gives the illusion of a brighter more focused beam. At a 5er they are not a bad buy, but for bike lights you really want something as bright and small as possible. XPGs are twice a bright for the same runtime and cost about 9 quid, XML a few quid more. I think the Q5 (given its a 5 year old LED) is not something I'd recommend today even at a 5er.

night_porter

I didn't say that it is brighter than the XM-L but it definately throws further and I do not use it as a bike light. To be honest I bought it because it was so cheap and I fully intended to mod it but it is such a great thrower that I haven't changed it.

It is used for long distance spotting in a field to find the wifes horses at night to feed them, I do agree that the XM-L is a much better bike light but it does not throw nearly as far as the overdriven Q5.

My post was just to point out that the one from DD was a huge rip off.

diy

night_porter wrote:

I do agree that the XM-L is a much better bike light but it does not throw nearly as far as the overdriven Q5..

Yep that was my point really, there isn't any logical reason for that to be true. All that is happening is that less of your q5s light is touching the sides, resulting in a tighter beam with darker edges (donut). An LED's ability to throw (in the same host) is based on Lumen per surface mm. Its true that a lot more of the XM-L light touches the sides as its a bigger die than the XPE, so the donut is brighter, but despite this it is still pushing 40% more light in to the spot. if this was a p7 or MC-E then the arguement would hold, but the XPE Q5 has a max 72 L/mm2 vs an XM-L T6 at 103L/mm2 (both at 1A). So all things being equal the XM-L will throw better as well as flooding.

My guess is that your pupils are dilating less with the Q5, which makes it appear a better thrower. I'm happy to be convinced that this is not the case, but I think you'd need to take light meter readings.

prawny

Morning chaps,

I've picked up an Ultrafire XM-L T6 jobbie but it's got a problem with changing modes over bumps, I've tightened all the bits I can see to tighten, doesn't seem to have made much difference, anyone have any idea how to fix it? Seems to be worse with protected cells over unprotected but I would have thought the problem would be the other way round :-/

Help!

jairaj

have to checked the link on DIY's signature?

diy

watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJpQAvum0bM
its highly likely to be a case of tightening everything and then taping the cell as per the vid.

prawny

Cheers chaps will have a look tonight.

paultownsend

Some bugger nicked my 500 lumen 5 mode xmlt6 501b's.
Can anyone recommend a pair of lights that will rival my friends magicshine 808. As I have the chargers and batteries etc I'm wanting to stick with torches. Something over 500 lumins a torch with as few modes as possible. I'm ok with on/off

Paul

bobpzero

http://troutie.com/

Neal_

paultownsend wrote:

Some bugger nicked my 500 lumen 5 mode xmlt6 501b's.
Can anyone recommend a pair of lights that will rival my friends magicshine 808. As I have the chargers and batteries etc I'm wanting to stick with torches. Something over 500 lumins a torch with as few modes as possible. I'm ok with on/off

Paul

501B Cree XML U2 1300 Lumen 5-Mode > http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-501 ... ht-1-18650

If they are 3amp then you'll get close to 1000 lumens but in reality you may not notice a huge difference over your old T6 501b's. Lightmalls deliver faster than DX though so worth a punt.

paultownsend

Is the C8 body a better bet when looking at a torch running over 1000 lumin?
Will the head transfer the heat better?
Some cracking deals on the 3 mode 1200L C8 xml's

supersonic

Yes, the larger head will radiate heat better.

paultownsend

so i have narrowed it down to these two

UltraFire C8 CREE XML T6 1000 Lumen 5-Mode
http://www.lightmalls.com/c8-cree-xml-t ... ht-1-18650

Steel Head TrustFire C8 Cree XML-T6 5-Mode 1000LM this one states 3A current
http://www.lightmalls.com/steel-head-tr ... ht-1-18650

Ultrafire 501B Cree XML U2 1300 Lumen 5-Mode
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-501 ... ht-1-18650

im swaying towards the C8 for heat spread. and the steel head at least gives the suggestion of a good current draw

Neal_

The C8 has a more focused beam and less flood than the 501b so how about one of each?

paultownsend

ultimately, what body gives the best flood?

this seems very similar to C8
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire- ... 8650-57003

diy

The bodies are all the same its the heads that are different

The 501b will give better flood having a smaller head, which means more light will bounce off the reflector as it comes out. 502b is slightly larger than the 501. C8 is good for bar mount, but is more spotty. big head = better heat sink.

Ideally you want one that does 2-2.5A

Avoid smooth reflectors and warm tints if possible. Orange peel manages the rawness of the LED better

paultownsend

last question. i promise

what is the U2 version of the XML? it seems to be a higher output?

Neal_

The U2 LED is approx 10% more efficient than the T6 LED so for the same current draw will be 10% brighter which in fairness would be hard to notice.

diy

Couple that with the fact that they look identical, and given the suppliers, I would not be 100% certain that having paid for a U2, a U2 actually arrived. Personally I struggled to see the difference between 450 Lumen and 600 Lumen out of a t6. It was only visible at some distance using a light meter.

nodman7

Hi, i borrowed a xl-m t6 bike light off my mate for a few days to see what there like before buying, was better than my exposure maxx-d, while it lasted

riding home from work today, in the rain, with the light on flash, it just went off within 10 minutes, got it home and had a quick look, no water inside by the looks of it, checked with a multimeter and no voltage coming from the battery plug, plugged the charger into it and thats now blew a fuse internally, i don't really want to rip the battery part to bits to check as its not mine

so any ideas/advice before i proceed

supersonic

XML T6 is the name of the LED, and nothing more - what is the model of light?

leaflite

supersonic wrote:

XML T6 is the name of the LED, and nothing more - what is the model of light?

Im guessing that it is one of the £30 magicshine copies?