The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014

diy

Great pics, one small tip, you need to set your camera to manual mode so that each photo is taken in the same conditions as the other. Your camera is auto adjusting the exposure for each pic, so its hard to compare.

We can however see the difference between the 501 and the mini XM MS clone.

What do you think of the diffuser?

nil1121

ok, will try and take some more on manual mode.

I will be keeping the diffuser in as it makes the white spot more elongated but does not change the spread of the light. I think its worth the £3.50 it cost.

pilsburypie

The wide angle lens really makes a massive difference. As said previously the magic shine clone is quite a focussed spot but the lens really helps spread the light.

What is the quality like of the wide angled lens? Is it gonna vibrate off or is it a secure fit? Do you recon you loose any light output from the lens?

Might have to get one of those when I place my light order later.....

Good pics which show the light pattern well. Cheers for your pic review.

nil1121

it seemed quite a good fit, didnt really notice any difference between fit of the original lense and the replacement. have not tried it out yet but might be giving it a go this weekend so will let people know.
dont see any light lose at all from the wide angle lense.

pilsburypie

I've just pulled the trigger on my shopping list above and also ordered one of the wide angled lenses from ebay - 3 weeks here we come! 8)

supersonic

Well my multimeter is ballsed! Seems intent on telling me my torches are drawing 0.9a when I know that is not the case!

jairaj

replace the batteries on your multimeter.

My one was playing up the other day claiming an AA battery had 125V coming out of it!

supersonic

Ah, those foreign AAs, must watch them

Will have a try at that, cheers for the heads up.

snownrock

I'm interested to know if anyone on here has purchased a T6 XML bike light from one of the 'UK' eBay sellers (registered in China) that have appeared recently for around £35. Do they live upto their delivery times, I'm waiting to see some feedback from light buyers then I may get one myself. Still awaiting a refund/replacement from DX for my DOA light.

xand_xand

Just to say i purchased off ebay:
Cree led 900lms ultrafire 501b xml t6 from ebay seller rambos-uk, came with charger, uk adapt, recharge battery for £24.00.

And:
Bike mount lamp bracket for cree p7 etc from ebay seller stormled-uk for£2.74

Ordered saturday and arrived tuesday.

Hit the trails 2 nights running and im blown away with the light.. Having the best night riding of my life right now.

J273

Has anyone got one of these yet that SS posted:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire- ... 8650-57007

Or am I better to go with the cheaper 501b XMLt6 from DX

Would use either hemet mounted.

Thanks

supersonic

I know of those that have them - work fine!

Is up to you - do you want the brighter, but shorter runtime of the T60, or the less bright, but more efficient 501b?

pilsburypie

J273 wrote:

Has anyone got one of these yet that SS posted:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire- ... 8650-57007

Or am I better to go with the cheaper 501b XMLt6 from DX

Would use either hemet mounted.

Thanks

Dunno if their claims are correct, but the T60 which is over twice as bright (1200 lumen) is claiming 2 hours run time on high while the 510 lumen T6 claims only 1 hour run time.....

Also DIY mentioned about the heat - I thought the 510 lumen torch got hot on high.... the 1200 lumen must glow! I suppose I will find out in 3 weeks when my 510 lumen ones appear from DX

supersonic

The T60 will be about 800-850 lumens at the current it states, and will last just less than an hour on fresh cells.

The 501b is about 450 lumens, and 2 hours.

bamba

TAKING THE PI55 OR WHAT ?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 188wt_1185

£99.99 for a ten pound torch surely a misstake, hope no body decides to get one from this seller

pilsburypie

supersonic wrote:

The T60 will be about 800-850 lumens at the current it states, and will last just less than an hour on fresh cells.

The 501b is about 450 lumens, and 2 hours.

Cheers for clearing it up - the DX website is either wrong or far from clear.....

supersonic

Yeah, the DX website gets almost all of them wrong! But they are starting to clear them up at last.

diy

The 501 seems to manage the light output well, giving a fairly useful large spot and flood beam. The t6 being a single core is not particularly floody, so seems to benefit from a small head, allowing more of the light to bounce on the way out.

I would say 450 Lumen is a good-low estimate for stable running at ~1.4-1.8A.

Its worth remembering that the higher the Amp current draw from the unit, the lower Ah the battery will deliver. its just the nature of the chemistry.

e.g. a typical cheap 3Ah cell will deliver 3Ah at a draw of 350mA, but will drop to about 2.6Ah at 2A and 2.1Ah at 3A.

IMO few batteries will deliver more than 40 mins run time at 3A,

jairaj

supersonic wrote:

Well my multimeter is ballsed! Seems intent on telling me my torches are drawing 0.9a when I know that is not the case!

Also another thought. If its a switching regulator then measuring at the driver output will give false results. If its a linear regulator then I think you will be fine to measure at the driver output.

If its a switching regulator you may be able to check the power draw at the battery end and take off ~20% for driver efficiency and what not and find out what the power output is. Then use the data sheets for the emitter to roughly work out the current. It won't give you a super accurate figure but should give you a ball park figure.

moggy82

J273 wrote:

Has anyone got one of these yet that SS posted:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire- ... 8650-57007

Or am I better to go with the cheaper 501b XMLt6 from DX

Would use either hemet mounted.

Thanks

I got this as my second XML as the 501B XML got too hot too quickly, i used to be a 501 lover but had a few problems with them. I have a MJ-872 and a 1200 Lumen (800) XML bike light (the £32 one, with geoman battery) and find this setup perfect. I could mount extra torches on bars and helmet as i have a selection (Q5,R2,R5,P7,MCE,SST50, XML) but find the two lights just right.

souljacker

I ordered a light form DX at the end of september, today i received the extension ccable for it in one small package, having looked on the website the light was shipped in two seperate packages, this lead was shipped on 6/10/2001 yet the light was supposedly shipped on 29/09/2011.

Does this look like the light is lost or will it turn up? anyone had any simlilar experiences with DX?

supersonic

DX sometimes say 'shipped' when they mean processed. After 28 days from order I'd drop them a line.

souljacker

supersonic wrote:

DX sometimes say 'shipped' when they mean processed. After 28 days from order I'd drop them a line.

ok thanks, bit annoyed that a $3 extension lead has turned up but not the actual light and battery :evil:

there is two seperate tracking numbers on dx so ipresume it was shippede when they said it was

PHeller

Well I've spent the last week making friends on budget LED light forums and finally made an order.

I knew that I'd be annoyed running the XML-T6 Bike Like Kit with the wires on my helmet, but I'll still get one and add the "wide" lens for my bars.

But I wanted a torch for my helmet. They thing was it had to be something light and bright. I liked lots of lumens like the 501b XMLs, but 400grams would probably be slightly noticable. I'd have to run them on medium setting anyhow. Might as well get something smaller, but run it on high.

I spent a little more, but this is a light that has gotten good reviews just as a basic "keep in the car or nightstand" light.

The Shining Beam S-Mini XM-L ($40) is a 400 lumen, 2 hour run time, 90g!

At 90 grams I could run two of these and still be half the weight and same lumens as a more powerful 501 torch.

Oh, and order this morning (thursday) and will be able to ride on Monday.

supersonic

Hmm, even the larger torch I list only weighs a claimed 120g.

PHeller

I dont doubt it, but I was having trouble finding something that lightweight stateside that could get to me in a few days.

That said, I'll probably order UniqueFire UF2100 to try as well (800 lumens) when I make the DX order for the bike light kits.

diy

jairaj wrote:

supersonic wrote:

Well my multimeter is ballsed! Seems intent on telling me my torches are drawing 0.9a when I know that is not the case!

Also another thought. If its a switching regulator then measuring at the driver output will give false results. If its a linear regulator then I think you will be fine to measure at the driver output.

If its a switching regulator you may be able to check the power draw at the battery end and take off ~20% for driver efficiency and what not and find out what the power output is. Then use the data sheets for the emitter to roughly work out the current. It won't give you a super accurate figure but should give you a ball park figure.

I thinky they are switching regulators - basically high frequency strobes to get the power down. You take the tail off and run the tester between the tube and the tail (-iv circuit).

scoobywrx

PHeller wrote:

I dont doubt it, but I was having trouble finding something that lightweight stateside that could get to me in a few days.

That said, I'll probably order UniqueFire UF2100 to try as well (800 lumens) when I make the DX order for the bike light kits.

I can reccommend the UF 2100. Stormin light, very light and lasts perfectly for my night riding. Can I recommend this to fix it to your lid
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/universal- ... sers-12000

its a perfect lid/torch mount
Just to add I use 2 ultrafire C8 from manafont on my bars. Great torches and perfect flood and throw.
Always carry a spare 18650

BlueAdvocate

souljacker wrote:

I ordered a light form DX at the end of september, today i received the extension ccable for it in one small package, having looked on the website the light was shipped in two seperate packages, this lead was shipped on 6/10/2001 yet the light was supposedly shipped on 29/09/2011.

Does this look like the light is lost or will it turn up? anyone had any simlilar experiences with DX?

I reckon your light is sat next to mine; where ever that may be :roll:

souljacker

BlueAdvocate wrote:

souljacker wrote:

I ordered a light form DX at the end of september, today i received the extension ccable for it in one small package, having looked on the website the light was shipped in two seperate packages, this lead was shipped on 6/10/2001 yet the light was supposedly shipped on 29/09/2011.

Does this look like the light is lost or will it turn up? anyone had any simlilar experiences with DX?

I reckon your light is sat next to mine; where ever that may be :roll:

Have you been waiting a while then?