The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014

itguy2

Ok - tested and it seems like it is a PWM driven circuit on all modes, although I've only tested it with fully charged batteries so could be that it's dropping into direct drive when the voltage lowers.

diy

What you describe is normal. The only thing that is questionable is the amp readouts from your test meter. either you are sucking more than 1.4A @ 4.2v or you don't have 2.8Ah cells. Everything else is 100% normal.

itguy2

Excellent.

The batteries are reclaimed (dell pack) Samsung icr18650-28a

I understand these are 2800 but are a bit funny as they are supposed to charge at 4.3v, but operate ok at 4.2v charge rate, but with a bit of a lower capacity, so expecting circa 2600 when new and these are 2 years old (but came from a very well operating pack with 'normal' laptop battery life).

MrGrumpy

interesting I to have reclaimed some batteries from a Dell laptop pack however struggling to identify them. They are red with a light blueish ring at the positive end. They have LKRM4CA on them but cannot find out anything on that number, google suggest they might be sanyo but not sure?? Got some samsung ICR18650-22F which are 2.2mAh batteries and seem not too bad, was hoping the red one had a bit more oomph?

concorde

Does a unit with 3 T6 LEDs in give more lumens than a single led, running off the same battery pack?

i.e. Is the 3 LEDs max output around the 3000 Lumen mark compared to 1000 for the single LED? Or can they not pull enough current each from the battery pack to do this?

Thanks

adrenalinemunki

Concorde wrote:

Does a unit with 3 T6 LEDs in give more lumens than a single led, running off the same battery pack?

i.e. Is the 3 LEDs max output around the 3000 Lumen mark compared to 1000 for the single LED? Or can they not pull enough current each from the battery pack to do this?

Thanks

3 times as much light, 3 times as much power consumption

concorde

So the output wIll be brighter but the run time will be mega short?

jairaj

Yep assuming the battery pack can provide 3 times as much power, you will get 3 times as much light for only a 1/3 of the run time.

concorde

jairaj wrote:

Yep assuming the battery pack can provide 3 times as much power, you will get 3 times as much light for only a 1/3 of the run time.

Cheers, thought as much

KokaKona

jairaj wrote:

Yep assuming the battery pack can provide 3 times as much power, you will get 3 times as much light for only a 1/3 of the run time.

Ah, but... if you run 3 emitters at (say) 1A each vs 1 emitter at 3A, (i.e. to make the power consumption and hence the run time the same) the light output of the 3 emitters is theoretically somewhat better due to the higher lumens/W efficiency at lower current, right?

jairaj

Yes that is also true. I was only stating as rough guide / rule of thumb. There are probably a few other factors to consider if you want a accurate estimate of run time.

Ouija

KokaKona wrote:

jairaj wrote:

Yep assuming the battery pack can provide 3 times as much power, you will get 3 times as much light for only a 1/3 of the run time.

Ah, but... if you run 3 emitters at (say) 1A each vs 1 emitter at 3A, (i.e. to make the power consumption and hence the run time the same) the light output of the 3 emitters is theoretically somewhat better due to the higher lumens/W efficiency at lower current, right?

True, which is why those 3x lights really ought to come with brightness adjustment knobs (or modes), rather than the one, two or three lights on all at full power. I have a twin head Inton with both brightness modes for both LED's as well as a variable adjustment knob. Running both lights at medium output gives more light than just one of my T6's at full brightness for much the same consumption.

For this reason also it's better to have two 501/502 torches mounted on your handlebars running in medium than it is to have just one running at full brightness (also means you only have to change batteries every three hours, instead of every hour and a half).

arthur_scrimshaw

Got the Trustfire A8 yesterday and it's awsome, only niggle is that occasionally it switches to another mode when I hit a bump. Can anything be done about it, is it a fault or just the kind of issue with using a torch as a bike light?

bartimaeus

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

Got the Trustfire A8 yesterday and it's awsome, only niggle is that occasionally it switches to another mode when I hit a bump. Can anything be done about it, is it a fault or just the kind of issue with using a torch as a bike light?

(a) wrap your cells in electrical tape so they fit really snugly in the tube - diy's video shows this

(b) especially if you use shorter unprotected cells you can space them out to make them fit more snugly lengthwise

I bought some 'rare earth magnets' off eBay and with one of these attached to the tail of the cell the problem *may* have been fixed... I need to try a really rough line to be sure. I think you have to be careful attaching to the nose of the cell as I believe it is theoretically possible to short it.

EDIT: Arthur, you're local to me, aren't you? If you want to try the magnet-spacers then let me know - I can spare a couple. You are also welcome to a couple of ex-laptop 18650s if you' need some spares.

arthur_scrimshaw

Hi Bartimaeus - the A8 uses a single 26650 cell which is already a snug fit in the case, any tighter and I couldn't get it out. The end cap with the click switch has a sprung metal contact, is the problem that the battery is momentarily losing contact with the contact at the lens end? Would the magnet work in this situation ? Sorry for all the daft questions and thanks for your very kind offer.

diy

The other tips in my video may still be worth a look. Like tightening the end cap, spring etc. also on the 3 x 1a XML vs 1 x 3a it's at least 20% more output. Most Crees perform best at 750ma

bartimaeus

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

is the problem that the battery is momentarily losing contact with the contact

Yes... the clicky-clicky mode change works by momentarily interrupting the current... if you take off the tailcap and make the circuit with a volt meter (or anything else) you can change modes just by a tap of one of the contacts. So, check diy's video (tightening the end cap is important - mine do work loose), but the spacer trick may work if the cell is moving enough to lose contact.

arthur_scrimshaw

Great, doesn't sound too complicated. Many thanks both.

Ouija

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

Got the Trustfire A8 yesterday and it's awsome, only niggle is that occasionally it switches to another mode when I hit a bump. Can anything be done about it, is it a fault or just the kind of issue with using a torch as a bike light?

Yeah, my A8 did that once over a really big bump. Wrapping tape around the battery until it's reasonably tight inside the torch fixed it (tight enough that you have to point the torch upwards and give a little tap to get it out....... like getting ketchup out of a old glass style bottle). Make sure that the ring around the spring with the two indentations next to it is tight. If you can shake the tail cap next to your ear and hear a rattle it's worked it's way loose. Pretty much standard procedure in all clicky style tailcap torches as they work by cutting the power momentarily to signal a desire for the LED driver to change modes. If you get a momentary interruption in power due to the battery banging about inside the tube and sliding back and forth or a loose inner tailcap mechanism then your going to get an accidental mode change.

Excellent light by the way. Runs very cool. Saw these mounts the other day that looks like it could deal with that fat body (just have mine ducktaped to an electron light bracket at the moment).

Ouija

Just noticed a load of these in different colours being touted on ebay.



They mount to your quick release skewer to allow you to run handlebar lights down at the axle of your wheel.

Only one question.... how the hell do you turn the light on and off or change modes when it's right down there.?

kenan

Anyone know if the magishine chargers: http://www.magicshine.co.uk/accessories ... 012uk.html

Work the the ebay lights XML T6: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CREE-XML-XM-L ... 0068030%26

KokaKona

diy wrote:

Has anyone AMP tested one of these:
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-501 ... ht-1-18650

I need some drop ins for a project I am doing and its cheaper to buy the above. But I don't want it with a 1AMP current otherwise I will go for the variable voltage version instead.

Any test results for the above its says 3A. Ideally I'd like current by voltage on low, med high, but current alone will do.

thanks

Those are the puppies I have.
These measurements were at 4.04V:
High: 1.67A
Med: 0.87A
Low: 0.11A

Quite conservatively driven really aren't they? I was a bit surprised, because to my untrained eyes they do seem pretty bright.
My only frame of reference really is my mate who has one of these L&M Seca 700s http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?q=seca+700&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUK337&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bpcl=39314241&biw=1600&bih=845&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=9374368797070738679&sa=X&ei=3927UPymA-Xb0QXB1oEI&ved=0CFYQ8wIwAA - and just one of the torches on high is visibly brighter.

I don't know if the driver is doing this or my shonky reclaimed laptop batteries, but at something between 4.0 and 3.9V I lose the higher modes (high plus the silly flashy ones) and at 3.7ish (IIRC) the medium mode goes off the menu too. So on the plus side there's no need for me to run the stopwatch in order not to brick my unprotected cells, but on the minus side my runtime would be a bit longer if they would only drain a bit lower before going into limp home mode...

diy

Thanks for that, not much use to me then.

arthur_scrimshaw

Ouija wrote:

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

Got the Trustfire A8 yesterday and it's awsome, only niggle is that occasionally it switches to another mode when I hit a bump. Can anything be done about it, is it a fault or just the kind of issue with using a torch as a bike light?

Yeah, my A8 did that once over a really big bump. Wrapping tape around the battery until it's reasonably tight inside the torch fixed it (tight enough that you have to point the torch upwards and give a little tap to get it out....... like getting ketchup out of a old glass style bottle). Make sure that the ring around the spring with the two indentations next to it is tight. If you can shake the tail cap next to your ear and hear a rattle it's worked it's way loose. Pretty much standard procedure in all clicky style tailcap torches as they work by cutting the power momentarily to signal a desire for the LED driver to change modes. If you get a momentary interruption in power due to the battery banging about inside the tube and sliding back and forth or a loose inner tailcap mechanism then your going to get an accidental mode change.

Excellent light by the way. Runs very cool. Saw these mounts the other day that looks like it could deal with that fat body (just have mine ducktaped to an electron light bracket at the moment).

I tried tape but that wasn't successful, but then took a leaf out of Hope's book, my Hope 1 has a lump of dense foam on the threaded back plate which presses against the battery pack so I made a doughnut shaped spacer out of some foam pipe lagging which sits around the switch contact, this seems to have done the job.
My mount is this from DX



which says it goes up to 32mm but is barely holding it at that diameter, I've taped mine up with electrical tape and it actually looks quite smart.

KokaKona

XM-L U3 bin emitter in this one (allegedly):
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf-501b-cree-xm-l-u3-1400-lumen-5-mode-led-flashlight-1-18650
Not bad for ~9 quid!

mik82

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110923965729

Bought one of these for amusement. It's an XML T6 - ridiculously bright for the size (65mmx20mm). Would probably make a good emergency light that could be put in a back pocket (or a strobe to disorientate all oncoming traffic).

bartimaeus

KokaKona wrote:

XM-L U3 bin emitter in this one (allegedly):
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf-501b-cree-xm-l-u3-1400-lumen-5-mode-led-flashlight-1-18650
Not bad for ~9 quid!

I've just had some fun trying to order from Lightmalls - the only option online is to pay for FedEx tracked which nearly $20. Via email I think I have sorted 'SG post' (whatever that is) for $4.55... so items are still cheap, but £3 more than they seem. I may still get one of those for £12

Ouija

mik82 wrote:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110923965729

Bought one of these for amusement. It's an XML T6 - ridiculously bright for the size (65mmx20mm). Would probably make a good emergency light that could be put in a back pocket (or a strobe to disorientate all oncoming traffic).

That's exactly what i use mine for. Just stretch a yellow balloon over it and then set it on strobe and stuff it in the mesh pouch of my backpack.

KokaKona

Bartimaeus wrote:

KokaKona wrote:

XM-L U3 bin emitter in this one (allegedly):
http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-wf-501b-cree-xm-l-u3-1400-lumen-5-mode-led-flashlight-1-18650
Not bad for ~9 quid!

I've just had some fun trying to order from Lightmalls - the only option online is to pay for FedEx tracked which nearly $20. Via email I think I have sorted 'SG post' (whatever that is) for $4.55... so items are still cheap, but £3 more than they seem. I may still get one of those for £12

"SG post" is probably Singapore airmail.

jairaj

Has any one spotted any lights using the new Cree XPG2? It has increased efficiency very similar to the XML but smaller die size so should produce a longer throw. Although can't handle as many amps as the XML so maximum brightness isn't as much.

It was released few months ago, I was hoping the manufacturers would come out with some products by now. As it should have been a simple swap with the old XPG.