The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014

IhateDNS

Looks like a CPF post 8)

-Archie-

MarksMintness wrote:

I felt the need for more lumens...

Welcome to the never ending story!

-Archie-

Neal_ wrote:

thanks, I'll stick with cheap 2s2p packs

BTW, currently I can't judge on other separate packs from LM, as I've never tried them. But if teh're made from the same cells as the battery from Triple XM-L kit, it won't worth buying even despite of price...

But one battery you've linked to, is interesting one, though:
http://www.lightmalls.com/waterproof-4- ... -magic-bag
It looks like genuine MagicShine "2nd. generation" rubber battery - and if it indeed is, then it should be fine. They're using the 18650 cells from Chinese BAK factory, of really high quality.

Neal_

-Archie- wrote:

Neal_ wrote:

thanks, I'll stick with cheap 2s2p packs

BTW, currently I can't judge on other separate packs from LM, as I've never tried them. But if teh're made from the same cells as the battery from Triple XM-L kit, it won't worth buying even despite of price...

But one battery you've linked to, is interesting one, though:
http://www.lightmalls.com/waterproof-4- ... -magic-bag
It looks like genuine MagicShine "2nd. generation" rubber battery - and if it indeed is, then it should be fine. They're using the 18650 cells from Chinese BAK factory, of really high quality.

I'd imagine the cheapest pack is made from the same rubbish cells but it is that waterproof rubber coated pack that I was going to buy as it has a higher stated mAh and I'd already noticed it looks identical to the Magicshine pack so fingers crossed it turns out to be one with the BAK cells. I doubt it'll all arrive for a while and I've got no way of testing it all properly but I'll post up my run time findings eventually.

MrGrumpy

Anyone taken a punt on these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190728848143. Pricing up baskets on DX,LM and Manafont etc however there ain`t much in it just buying from the UK? Albeit I know that some of these sellers are based in HK but at least deliveries will be quick? Just too many torches etc to choose from and as for batteries I have several laptops in this house with knackered batteries so will be stripping these down once I buy in replacements. So anything such as what I posted above worth taking a punt on? Quite a few on the bay for a tenner as well and some loads more expensive!

Mark909

I was hoping to get some advice on which lights to buy for riding along woodland singletrack at night.

However this thread is massive!

Can someone recommend the cheapest light combination to buy that is actually usable at night?

bartimaeus

You need to start with "What Lights" and the link to "all you need". This is 'cheap torches'. I think DIY's post has these and the Magicshine clone options listed - see this.

wishitwasallflat

diy wrote:

Unless you can measure the amps on both it will be hard to comment, but I suspect your 501 is driving at 1.5A and your t60 at 2.5A or something like that. The problem with the ultrafires is that they are a non-brand, so you can buy from different sources and get different drivers.

I bought some from the same source last year and got 2 different drivers. I now have mine colour coded with tape to know which are my 2.5A ones and which are my 1.8A ones. I tend to use the 1.8A ones on the road bike.

I personally prefer to buy from suppliers who publish the currents per mode. The other thing I have found is that the naked eye finds it very hard to see the difference in output. You really need a camera with Manual mode to be sure. My 2.5A lights don't look much brighter than my 1.8A lights until you get them out on the road or look at the exposure data on a decent camera.

Thank you

roverthehill

Bartimaeus wrote:

You need to start with "What Lights" and the link to "all you need". This is 'cheap torches'. I think DIY's post has these and the Magicshine clone options listed - see this.

the standard torches are fab. Bought one of the smaller ones for helmet and larger one for bar - amazing difference with the one on the helmet!!!!

stellamandude

Just picked up a 2nd cheap china magicshine clone..............Under £18 delivered is a right ole bargain

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300677445326? ... 1497.l2649



However what I didn't spot in this picture is that the power lead is a "male" and not a "female" like my other, so a normal style Y-splitter wont work.
The plan was to run both lights of one battery pack, run time isn't a issue before you say anything, I just wan't more "Lumens"

Is there such a Y-splitter available for the job, or will the polarity be all wrong ?

And, does anyone know if you can buy just the "O-ring" mount on it's own, before I shell out on another hope style bracket (my OCD won't allow 2 different style mounts )

butcher of bakersfield

I wonder if anyone can help. Whilst explaining to the missus that the saucepan was a precautionary measure and my Ultrafire charger was, in fact, perfectly safe. At that moment I turned the plug on, to which followed a large flash (in the pan, funnily enough), cue the house falling into darkness. Bloody thing blew up.

Turns out it was the power lead. Must have been cut...wires touching....I guess. Whatever happened, it's now in two pieces. So I need another.

The charger is the same as this, and the mains lead has one end squared off. Does anyone know if you can buy these in the UK - just the lead? http://www.amazon.co.uk/UltraFire-WF-13 ... B003OCV000

I also notice there's another socket for a round pluggy type plug too. Excuse the technical jargon - I wouldn't be asking here if I knew the answers.

I'm not getting very much riding done so would appreciate any answers!

-Archie-

stellamandude wrote:

However what I didn't spot in this picture is that the power lead is a "male" and not a "female" like my other, so a normal style Y-splitter wont work.

This is pretty standard arrangement, used on majority of bike lights.

Is there such a Y-splitter available for the job, or will the polarity be all wrong ?

There's no such thing as "polarity" for Y-cable: they're just wires, with central contact(s) on male part connected to the central contact(s) on female. and the same for outer ones. Which contact connects to the positive or negative leads, is totally depending on particular system where that cable is used.

Standard MagicShine splitter is available on eBay or DX:
http://dx.com/p/5-4mm-male-to-dual-fema ... 25cm-32753

And, does anyone know if you can buy just the "O-ring" mount on it's own,

For example, here:
http://www.easy2led.com/index.php?main_ ... cts_id=187

Neal_

butcher of bakersfield wrote:

I wonder if anyone can help. Whilst explaining to the missus that the saucepan was a precautionary measure and my Ultrafire charger was, in fact, perfectly safe. At that moment I turned the plug on, to which followed a large flash (in the pan, funnily enough), cue the house falling into darkness. Bloody thing blew up.

Turns out it was the power lead. Must have been cut...wires touching....I guess. Whatever happened, it's now in two pieces. So I need another.

The charger is the same as this, and the mains lead has one end squared off. Does anyone know if you can buy these in the UK - just the lead? http://www.amazon.co.uk/UltraFire-WF-13 ... B003OCV000

I also notice there's another socket for a round pluggy type plug too. Excuse the technical jargon - I wouldn't be asking here if I knew the answers.

I'm not getting very much riding done so would appreciate any answers!

Use this as an opportunity to get a better quality charger, Xtar make about the best chargers before you get into very expensive hobby chargers and the WP2 II is probably the right one for you. £12 with UK plug from UK stock http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/XTAR-WP2-II-U ... 1c265f1708

Ouija

stellamandude wrote:

Just picked up a 2nd cheap china magicshine clone..............Under £18 delivered is a right ole bargain

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300677445326? ... 1497.l2649



However what I didn't spot in this picture is that the power lead is a "male" and not a "female" like my other, so a normal style Y-splitter wont work.
The plan was to run both lights of one battery pack, run time isn't a issue before you say anything, I just wan't more "Lumens"

Is there such a Y-splitter available for the job, or will the polarity be all wrong ?

And, does anyone know if you can buy just the "O-ring" mount on it's own, before I shell out on another hope style bracket (my OCD won't allow 2 different style mounts )

I think you'll also find that that's also a 8v torch, hence the reverse connector to stop you accidentally hooking it up to a 4v battery pack.

stellamandude

-Archie- wrote:

stellamandude wrote:

However what I didn't spot in this picture is that the power lead is a "male" and not a "female" like my other, so a normal style Y-splitter wont work.

This is pretty standard arrangement, used on majority of bike lights.

Is there such a Y-splitter available for the job, or will the polarity be all wrong ?

There's no such thing as "polarity" for Y-cable: they're just wires, with central contact(s) on male part connected to the central contact(s) on female. and the same for outer ones. Which contact connects to the positive or negative leads, is totally depending on particular system where that cable is used.

Standard MagicShine splitter is available on eBay or DX:
http://dx.com/p/5-4mm-male-to-dual-fema ... 25cm-32753

And, does anyone know if you can buy just the "O-ring" mount on it's own,

For example, here:
http://www.easy2led.com/index.php?main_ ... cts_id=187

Thanks for the O-ring mount link.
I've seen the splitter cable you linked too, however it won't work, due to one of my lights having a "female" end and the other light having a "male" end.
The battery pack (pictured in the ebay link) I intend to use, has a female connector , so one light will be able to connect to that splitter, the other light that I already have is completely the other way round, battery has the male, light has the female, thus my problem.
What I need is a splitter that has a male to connect to the battery and from that it has one male and one female to connect each light.
Failing that I guess I'll have to re-wire one of the lights, which was something I was hoping to avoid, my soldering skills are pretty naff LOL

stellamandude

Ouija wrote:

I think you'll also find that that's also a 8v torch, hence the reverse connector to stop you accidentally hooking it up to a 4v battery pack.

You've lost me there buddy ?

-Archie-

stellamandude wrote:

Thanks for the O-ring mount link.

You're welcome! Also, you can buy it in the UK, if the price doesn't looks fantastic to you:
http://www.magicshinebikelights.co.uk/m ... &p=1&so=0#

What I need is a splitter that has a male to connect to the battery and from that it has one male and one female to connect each light.

So, in other words, you actually need ordinary Y-cable with two male and one female connector? It shouldn't be hard to find in any electronic store, or eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/270987871147

Make sure the connector sizes, battery voltages and polarity of your lights are identical before ordering it.

stellamandude

-Archie- wrote:

stellamandude wrote:

Thanks for the O-ring mount link.

You're welcome! Also, you can buy it in the UK, if the price doesn't looks fantastic to you:
http://www.magicshinebikelights.co.uk/m ... &p=1&so=0#

What I need is a splitter that has a male to connect to the battery and from that it has one male and one female to connect each light.

So, in other words, you actually need ordinary Y-cable with two male and one female connector? It shouldn't be hard to find in any electronic store, or eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/270987871147

Make sure the connector sizes, battery voltages and polarity of your lights are identical before ordering it.

Yikes, £9 for that tiny bit of plastic, that's more expensive than the Hope style mount, looks like a Hope mount will be ordered

Looks like a trip to the electronic store is in order, thanks for the link once again, but alas that still won't work.
I'm obviously not great at trying to explain exactly what type of splitter I need.
I'm now starting to think I will need a Y-splitter and some sort of other extension to make this work, however your comment about the polarity has me worried, I have an awful feeling that the two lights I have are wired differently

stellamandude

Right, just had a quick visit to maplins and as I presumed the polarity of each light is different, so looks like I need to brush up on my soldering skills.......gulp, the good news would be that a standard Y-splitter will work once I've changed the polarity.

Ouija

stellamandude wrote:

Ouija wrote:

I think you'll also find that that's also a 8v torch, hence the reverse connector to stop you accidentally hooking it up to a 4v battery pack.

You've lost me there buddy ?

It's simple, one of your lights runs at 8 volts, the other runs at 4 volts. They switch the style of connector around so that you can't accidentally use a four cell, 8 volt, battery pack with your 4 volt light (the 4 volt light typically comes with a 2 cell pack wired in parallel), unless you want to fry it.

stellamandude

Ouija wrote:

stellamandude wrote:

Ouija wrote:

I think you'll also find that that's also a 8v torch, hence the reverse connector to stop you accidentally hooking it up to a 4v battery pack.

You've lost me there buddy ?

It's simple, one of your lights runs at 8 volts, the other runs at 4 volts. They switch the style of connector around so that you can't accidentally use a four cell, 8 volt, battery pack with your 4 volt light (the 4 volt light typically comes with a 2 cell pack wired in parallel), unless you want to fry it.

I'm with ya now, I just tested (before seeing this post) the 2 cell pack, and your right, it's only reading 3.7v, which implies what you've said.
The 4 cell pack reads over 8v.

I guess my next question would be..........

Is there any way I can get both these lights to run at 8v off a single battery pack ?

I tried the 4v light at maplins with the aid of a "male to male" extension lead and the light didn't work, so I presumed it was due to polarity. Would I need to change the driver of this light in order for it to operate at 8v or just the polarity ?

apreading

stellamandude wrote:

Is there any way I can get both these lights to run at 8v off a single battery pack?

I think the answer is going to be that there is no way to do this that would make any sense. Cheaper and easier to buy another head unit already designed for 8v than adapt the one you have - however easy or hard that might be. They are so cheap anyway.

stellamandude

apreading wrote:

stellamandude wrote:

Is there any way I can get both these lights to run at 8v off a single battery pack?

I think the answer is going to be that there is no way to do this that would make any sense. Cheaper and easier to buy another head unit already designed for 8v than adapt the one you have - however easy or hard that might be. They are so cheap anyway.

I'm beginning to think the same thing, just have to wait another 3 weeks for the light to arrive though, that's the annoying part :roll:

jairaj

You could replace the driver with something that can handle 8v but unless you do this kinda thing all the time its probably not worth the money / hassle and you might as well order a different light.

In theory its straight forward but could be mush harder in principle. Might be better off asking over in Candle Power Forums?

adrenalinemunki

Hi guys,

I've bought all the stuff from DX that supersonic recommends in his "everything you need to get started" thread... and I've read through about 15 pages of this thread but I would like to be clear on something... Everyone is talking about modding and about safety issues, can I just get on with using what I've bought or are there some things I have got to be very aware of?

leaflite

adrenalinemunki wrote:

Hi guys,

I've bought all the stuff from DX that supersonic recommends in his "everything you need to get started" thread... and I've read through about 15 pages of this thread but I would like to be clear on something... Everyone is talking about modding and about safety issues, can I just get on with using what I've bought or are there some things I have got to be very aware of?

I would read up on the lithium batteries-storage, voltage at which you should stop using them etc. Charge them in a metal tin or similar. Use quality cells such as SenyBor 2800 mah from Torchy on ebay. Its a good idea to dissasemble the torches on arrival, coat any o rings in silicon grease and wrap the reflector in tin foil to aid heat dissipation. Apart from that you should be good to go.

roverthehill

leaflite wrote:

adrenalinemunki wrote:

Hi guys,

I've bought all the stuff from DX that supersonic recommends in his "everything you need to get started" thread... and I've read through about 15 pages of this thread but I would like to be clear on something... Everyone is talking about modding and about safety issues, can I just get on with using what I've bought or are there some things I have got to be very aware of?

I would read up on the lithium batteries-storage, voltage at which you should stop using them etc. Charge them in a metal tin or similar. Use quality cells such as SenyBor 2800 mah from Torchy on ebay. Its a good idea to dissasemble the torches on arrival, coat any o rings in silicon grease and wrap the reflector in tin foil to aid heat dissipation. Apart from that you should be good to go.

u have me scared now too!!!!!

altitude10

roverthehill wrote:

leaflite wrote:

adrenalinemunki wrote:

Hi guys,

I've bought all the stuff from DX that supersonic recommends in his "everything you need to get started" thread... and I've read through about 15 pages of this thread but I would like to be clear on something... Everyone is talking about modding and about safety issues, can I just get on with using what I've bought or are there some things I have got to be very aware of?

I would read up on the lithium batteries-storage, voltage at which you should stop using them etc. Charge them in a metal tin or similar. Use quality cells such as SenyBor 2800 mah from Torchy on ebay. Its a good idea to dissasemble the torches on arrival, coat any o rings in silicon grease and wrap the reflector in tin foil to aid heat dissipation. Apart from that you should be good to go.

u have me scared now too!!!!!

I charge my laptop cells in a tin on a timer set for 3.5 hrs just in case the charger doesn't stop when it should. Also make sure the cells are not over discharged in use which as I understand it, can alter the chemical structure and increase the chance of the cell overheating and possibly "venting flame" on recharge. And I bought these to store them in http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8-UltraFire-1 ... 1c17084510

diy

butcher of bakersfield wrote:

The charger is the same as this, and the mains lead has one end squared off. Does anyone know if you can buy these in the UK - just the lead? http://www.amazon.co.uk/UltraFire-WF-13 ... B003OCV000

I also notice there's another socket for a round pluggy type plug too. Excuse the technical jargon - I wouldn't be asking here if I knew the answers.

I'm not getting very much riding done so would appreciate any answers!

Bs 363 power cable will do otherwise know as a figure of eight cable. The other port is for 12v dc input. It shouldn't matter which way around the cable goes in. I'd be worried about the bang though - don't you have rcd / Mcb breaker installed? I've never had much luck with these chargers I prefer the high amp oem types. But others have given links to better chargers. If I were buying again I'd try an 18650 power pack instead. Since its more useful.

E.g. http://www.suntekstore.co.uk/product-14 ... rger_.html

adrenalinemunki

Are there any alternatives using up-to-date technology for similar money? I like the idea of lighting on a budget but charging in tins and timing the charge? Seems archaic and dangerous, and with two small kids in the house not worth the risk.

If you guys are being serious and not crazily over cautious then I'm going to have to cancel that order and just spend the extra later on proper (over-priced) kit...