The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014

YeehaaMcgee

diy wrote:

1. pretty sure its a two stage charger or possibly just a stage 2 charger, so a power supply will not work and will only bring the cells up to 70%, or it will make them blow up. Depending on the quality of the control circuit and the input amps.

Lithium ion batteries require a charger with a little intelligence. Otherwise things can get alarmingly dangerous, surprisingly quickly.

samsbike

Gents

So will this work as a package

http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-501 ... flashlight x2

Bar mount

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/universal- ... -844015342

batteries
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.ph ... set-p-7942

charger
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.ph ... 40v-p-5643

Works out to about £30, does this sound like a sensible solution or have I missed something.

Also I am not clear whether its worth having a helmet mount.

thanks

VWsurfbum

On that same site DIY Posted up, this is mental!
http://www.lightmalls.com/3600-lumen-3t ... -light-kit
I use two T6's already so to have 3 in one unit must be megga (and draining)

supersonic

samsbike wrote:

Gents

So will this work as a package

http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-501 ... flashlight x2

Bar mount

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/universal- ... -844015342

batteries
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.ph ... set-p-7942

charger
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.ph ... 40v-p-5643

Works out to about £30, does this sound like a sensible solution or have I missed something.

Also I am not clear whether its worth having a helmet mount.

thanks

All seems reasonable to me. Just use velcro for helmet mounts.

samsbike

Thanks SS

MrGrumpy

Hmm well 9 months with my XML T6 (MS Clone) from DX, its falling apart badly :shock: I suppose you pays your money etc, however having soldered battery connections in the spring I managed to keep it going but now the connector has parted company with the cable, so does anyone know if Maplin or RS have connectors to fit? Was thinking of even replacing all three which inc charger and getting something a bit sturdier?

YeehaaMcgee

What connector are you talking about? There's literally (at least) 37 different kinds of connectors in the world.

MrGrumpy

Yes sorry not very clear but its the connector from the head unit that fits into the battery pack.I may actually have an answer to the problem but will investigate in morning.

YeehaaMcgee

Again, there's lots of different connectors. Pictures - preferably with a ruler in shot to give scale - would help.

Ouija

samsbike wrote:

Gents

So will this work as a package

http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-501 ... flashlight x2

Bar mount

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/universal- ... -844015342

batteries
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.ph ... set-p-7942

charger
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.ph ... 40v-p-5643

Works out to about £30, does this sound like a sensible solution or have I missed something.

Also I am not clear whether its worth having a helmet mount.

thanks

Looks all right but i would probably lose the protected batteries and spend a little more on the charger. Protected batteries tend to be a bit longer and that can cause problems with some torches (too much pressure applied from the cap can damage the battery and cause the light to cut out unless you back of the tension somehow).

diy

I would upgrade to the U2 for 32p more. and agree with ditching protected cells. I'd also have a look to see if you can get a charger and mount on LM, so then its all the same supplier.

http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-501 ... ht-1-18650

diy

MrGrumpy wrote:

Hmm well 9 months with my XML T6 (MS Clone) from DX, its falling apart badly :shock: I suppose you pays your money etc, however having soldered battery connections in the spring I managed to keep it going but now the connector has parted company with the cable, so does anyone know if Maplin or RS have connectors to fit? Was thinking of even replacing all three which inc charger and getting something a bit sturdier?

Any + - connector will do, but you'll need two sets if you cant match as you'll have to replace the charger connector as well as the head, with the same connector and the cells with the other one.

MrGrumpy

What are these connectors called, phono connectors? Just looking on Maplins at the moment?

YeehaaMcgee

MrGrumpy wrote:

What are these connectors called, phono connectors? Just looking on Maplins at the moment?

:roll:
again... (sigh) Pictures would help.

jairaj

is it a magicshine light? If so you can buy the connectors from DX or if you want it quicker buy a magicshine extension cable from UK supplier and just cut the connector off and solder to your light.

UnworthyPapaLazaru

What do the experts make of this bundle?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Twin-Torchy-X ... 4607664751

Its maybe a wee bit more expensive than others that have been linked too, but its a Scottish seller,for a scottish buyer and from the graphs the guy has printed out the Torchy batteries seem to have a better life than the ultrafire. It would also avoid the risk of buying fake ultrafires...

Grateful for any opinions!

Cheers

jairaj

That looks familiar, I think someone linked to that a few pages back.

Its a reasonable set should get you through most stuff no problem. Could be had for a bit cheaper if bought from the far east but for a UK based seller that's good value.

cooldad

That's Torchy the Battery Boy. I've bought batteries off him - good guy. IMO worth a bit extra to save waiting, and he will supply back up if anything goes wrong.

diy

UnworthyPapaLazaru wrote:

What do the experts make of this bundle?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Twin-Torchy-X ... 4607664751

Its maybe a wee bit more expensive than others that have been linked too, but its a Scottish seller,for a scottish buyer and from the graphs the guy has printed out the Torchy batteries seem to have a better life than the ultrafire. It would also avoid the risk of buying fake ultrafires...

Grateful for any opinions!

Cheers

Those clamps are junk, the cells pretty basic/cheap and I didn't really see what the benefit of zoom did to the beam, based on the pics.

beerglass007

diy wrote:

UnworthyPapaLazaru wrote:

What do the experts make of this bundle?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Twin-Torchy-X ... 4607664751

Its maybe a wee bit more expensive than others that have been linked too, but its a Scottish seller,for a scottish buyer and from the graphs the guy has printed out the Torchy batteries seem to have a better life than the ultrafire. It would also avoid the risk of buying fake ultrafires...

Grateful for any opinions!

Cheers

Those clamps are junk, the cells pretty basic/cheap and I didn't really see what the benefit of zoom did to the beam, based on the pics.

What cells would you recommended please ? Do they need to be protected ?

Thanks

jairaj

diy wrote:

... I didn't really see what the benefit of zoom did to the beam, based on the pics.

Really? It was quite obvious to me, you can clearly see on the spot beam it has increased the throw showing up more detail further down the trail compared to the flood beam.

While I think the spot is too narrow I believe you can adjust the beam to be a bit wider and still keep a good length of throw.

leaflite

diy wrote:

UnworthyPapaLazaru wrote:

What do the experts make of this bundle?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Twin-Torchy-X ... 4607664751

Its maybe a wee bit more expensive than others that have been linked too, but its a Scottish seller,for a scottish buyer and from the graphs the guy has printed out the Torchy batteries seem to have a better life than the ultrafire. It would also avoid the risk of buying fake ultrafires...

Grateful for any opinions!

Cheers

Those clamps are junk, the cells pretty basic/cheap and I didn't really see what the benefit of zoom did to the beam, based on the pics.

Whats wrong with the cells? They look pretty good IMO

andyrr

I'm looking to possibly buy a new light for road commuting having used DX Magicshine 82150 (supposed 1200lumen) lights for a couple of years now.
That lightset out put is probably about 75% of what I would really like - fine for when speeds don't top 20Mph but over that the ability to better pick out potholes etc would be a plus.
Does anyone have one of those lights or similar and know what these triple T6 lights that Lightmalls have for < £40 would bring to the party for me ?
http://www.lightmalls.com/3600-lumen-3t ... -light-kit

I'm not going to splash a load of cash for a marginal improvement but if these do offer a reasonable upgrade then I'll order a set before the nights draw in even more.
I've been throiugh I think 3 of the battery packs and I see that the basic packs of these new lights and the older MS ones is the same (4 x18650) so that does worry me a little since that is an area of weakness.

diy

leaflite wrote:

diy wrote:

UnworthyPapaLazaru wrote:

What do the experts make of this bundle?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Twin-Torchy-X ... 4607664751

Its maybe a wee bit more expensive than others that have been linked too, but its a Scottish seller,for a scottish buyer and from the graphs the guy has printed out the Torchy batteries seem to have a better life than the ultrafire. It would also avoid the risk of buying fake ultrafires...

Grateful for any opinions!

Cheers

Those clamps are junk, the cells pretty basic/cheap and I didn't really see what the benefit of zoom did to the beam, based on the pics.

Whats wrong with the cells? They look pretty good IMO

Sorry I only had a quick look and miss-identified them - I stand corrected - they are fine. (I thought they were ultrafire)

diy

jairaj wrote:

diy wrote:

... I didn't really see what the benefit of zoom did to the beam, based on the pics.

Really? It was quite obvious to me, you can clearly see on the spot beam it has increased the throw showing up more detail further down the trail compared to the flood beam.

While I think the spot is too narrow I believe you can adjust the beam to be a bit wider and still keep a good length of throw.

You get a natural spot with an XM-L any way, so while the wide beam helped to defuse the spot, the result was very dirty looking:

Ouija

jairaj wrote:

diy wrote:

... I didn't really see what the benefit of zoom did to the beam, based on the pics.

Really? It was quite obvious to me, you can clearly see on the spot beam it has increased the throw showing up more detail further down the trail compared to the flood beam.

While I think the spot is too narrow I believe you can adjust the beam to be a bit wider and still keep a good length of throw.

True, but you only need that awful square spot on a second torch because the fisheye shaped adjustable lens creates a flood that is a doughnut shaped corona with no central spot. With a regular Ultrafire 502b XML-T6 style torch with plain reflector and lens that's not the case. And you can pick those up for less than a tenner.

diy

andyrr wrote:

I'm looking to possibly buy a new light for road commuting having used DX Magicshine 82150 (supposed 1200lumen) lights for a couple of years now.

What is this - is this the old P7 or the mickey mouse? was 82150 the sku number?

It may be better to complement with a helmet mounted light.

Jomox

I'm liking the look of some torches posted on here recently like this: http://www.lightmalls.com/3600-lumen-3t ... -light-kit

But no mention of warranty and they look like none branded ?

Edit:

This is the site: http://www.flashaholics.co.uk

Actual manufacturer torches not none branded ones, will go manufacturer only now. (Some offer over 8 years warranty)

andyrr

diy wrote:

andyrr wrote:

I'm looking to possibly buy a new light for road commuting having used DX Magicshine 82150 (supposed 1200lumen) lights for a couple of years now.

What is this - is this the old P7 or the mickey mouse? was 82150 the sku number?

It may be better to complement with a helmet mounted light.

Yeah, sorry, not sure where I dredged that number up from- it's this I think :
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ha-iii-ssc ... -set-25149
think I got that around a year ago after battery/charging issues with battery packs for the previous similar light. Checked recently and it's still working fine, hasn't been used in anger since last winter so IF there is a decent improvement from these more modern lightsets I could have that as helmet-mounted and the new light is gets bar-mounted.

UnworthyPapaLazaru

diy wrote:

jairaj wrote:

diy wrote:

... I didn't really see what the benefit of zoom did to the beam, based on the pics.

Really? It was quite obvious to me, you can clearly see on the spot beam it has increased the throw showing up more detail further down the trail compared to the flood beam.

While I think the spot is too narrow I believe you can adjust the beam to be a bit wider and still keep a good length of throw.

You get a natural spot with an XM-L any way, so while the wide beam helped to defuse the spot, the result was very dirty looking:

Thanks for all the replies. So, the batteries look decent, the clamps are rubbish and the spot/flood mix is up for debate...!

I may have another look at this...