The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014

Big dave 3

Well another one of my torches finally came today:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shi ... 26364.html

Its OK- better than the old 501bs I have, but nothing on the Kai Domain C8. But to be fair it does say 500 lumens & 1050mA .

The C8 is so good I ordered another one plus 2 of these:

http://www.kaidomain.com/Product/Details.S021228

I wonder wether it will be as bright as the C8

johnmcl7

I'm surprised you're finding the 502B doesn't compare to the C8 you've got when they have similar LEDs in them, either the 502B doesn't have the emitter it's claiming or is it just the C8 has a much narrower beam than the 502B's?

I want to order a couple more XML2 based 502B's, Lightmalls are proving to be a waste of space so still trying to find if there's any stores that are definitely selling 5-mode 502B's with an XML2 LED? The Kaidomain page looks a bit suspicious as they're' claiming their lights come with XML2-U2 emitters whereas others are saying they're XML2-T6's.

I was looking at the higher rated Panasonic 3400Mah 18650 batteries which are around £8 each so I'm thinking I'm probably as well buying 2600Mah batteries for around half the price and taking spares unless the Panasonics are a lot better in practice?

John

Big dave 3

on my old 5 501b I changed over to torchy 3400 mAh cells and they were noticeably better than the trustfire 2600mAh cells . the torch was brighter. I have by co incidence just ordered 2 x ncr / Panasonic 3400 mAh cells, I'll be interested to see how they compare to torchy ones.

I've just shined the torches down my garden and the c8 has a very bright central spot whereas the 502 is not so bright but has a bigger centre area of illumination if that makes sense.

Ouija

Why keep buying new torches when you already have 501/502 bodies. Just replace the drop in emitters. Often cheaper and allows you to get what you want (most pil style drop-ins state the modes and ampage).

johnmcl7

Ouija wrote:

Why keep buying new torches when you already have 501/502 bodies. Just replace the drop in emitters. Often cheaper and allows you to get what you want (most pil style drop-ins state the modes and ampage).

Where would you recommend buying the emitters from?

Given additional torches are cheap I'd prefer a couple more so I can separate them out, keep three L2's for the mountain bike where better power efficiency is convenient, a couple of backups (I'm down a couple through loaning them out at the moment) and another couple kept clean for the other bikes as on the hybrid/road bikes I pop the lights in my helmet with the gloves and at the moment the MTB lights are getting pretty mucky which rubs off on the other stuff. It may be worth upgrading the current ones as well anyway though.

John

Big dave 3

Ouija wrote:

Why keep buying new torches when you already have 501/502 bodies. Just replace the drop in emitters. Often cheaper and allows you to get what you want (most pil style drop-ins state the modes and ampage).

For a few more quid, I might as well get a new torch. These torches are so cheap anyway, it is just a pain to wait for them as they take so long.

It is also intersting for me to find the best one. If one is crap, then I have wasted a fiver & I'll just keep it as a torch in the car or as a spare & I know not to buy anymore the same.

However, I would be interested to know what drop in to get for the 4 year old 501bs I have with the old LEDs. If I could take the LED out of the KD C8 XML-2 then I would like a few of those. I haven't seen any of those for sale though?

Ouija

Kaidomain (as well as Lightmalls and DealExtreme, Manafonts etc) all sell drop in modules for 501/502 style torches. Just lookup 26.5mm drop-ins.

Where possible, try and get ones that are direct drive in their brightest mode as they will tend to run as bright as your battery is capable of (depends how many amps the battery puts out, which is why some batteries run a light brighter than others) rather than ones that limit the amount of maximum amp draw.

Always useful to read the user reviews for the drop-in too as this can give you an indicator of any problems (and if it uses PWM etc).

Big dave 3

How do you know which drop in is good? They all seem to mention 1A.

Also, for a dollar more, you can get the torch with that LED in? Unless that explains why the torches that I have bought are rubbish?

johnmcl7

For a couple more pounds I'd rather just get the full torch.

What is the difference between 'SMO' and 'OP' LEDs? It seems to refer to the reflector:

http://kaidomain.com/product/details.S021231
http://kaidomain.com/product/details.S021233

John

cooldad

It does. Smooth and orange peel I think.

Ouija

Big dave 3 wrote:

How do you know which drop in is good? They all seem to mention 1A.

Also, for a dollar more, you can get the torch with that LED in? Unless that explains why the torches that I have bought are rubbish?

It's not about the LED, it's about the driver. Most of my XM-L U2 LED's put out more light than my XM-L2's (of which i have seven). A lot of the XM-L2 drivers seem to be erring on the side of running the LED at lower amp draws to yield longer runtimes, relying on the more efficient XM-L2 design to keep the brightness similar to that of a older XM-L T6 running at a higher output (but not an XM-L U2).

For maximum brightness you'd need a XM-L2 U2 running at maximum ampage (which will be dependant on what battery you use as well). So, if you want a ultra bright XM-L2 U2 501/502 style torch then look for something that is powered by 8x 7135 driver and fed a top spec (high ampage, high drain battery) such as made by Panasonic or Senybor.

The 7135 driver tries to run the LED at 3040mA (battery permitting) in it's highest mode so will push the LED as hard as it can go (though the one linked above is OP so will scatter the light somewhat... though SMO reflectors can be bought). It's also a configurable driver, allowing you to determine what modes you want by soldering links to one of the star shaped jumpers on the back.....



If your no stranger to a soldering iron you can just take the driver off the back of the drop in you've already got and replace it with one of these (which can work out cheaper than hunting for a torch with one built in).

diy

When you take account that you can sell an old torch for a couple of quid, then it makes no sense to buy drop-ins. Yes lots of fun can be had with the better drivers, you can kill the SOS and strobe mode for a start, but personally I treat these as commodity lights. Buy for a couple of seasons and upgrade with the fancy takes me.

Big dave 3

Do you know of any torches with 7135 driver in and a xm-l2 u2 led? that would save a lot of messing around

Ouija

Big dave 3 wrote:

Do you know of any torches with 7135 driver in and a xm-l2 u2 led? that would save a lot of messing around

I linked to one above......

Big dave 3

I already have that torch & it isn't that bright. In theory it pulls 1A.

I will attempt to take current readings on my torches later & see what current they are pulling.

OK, what I am after then is something like that with an XM-L2 LED that pulls more like 3A.

Ouija

My bad. Short of buying a Kaidomain 8x7135 board and fitting it yourself it's pretty much pot luck as to what driver you'll get as most companies don't state what's driving the LED.

Big dave 3

if anyone is interested the KaiDomain C8 XML-2 is pulling 1.7A from a Torchy 3400mAh battery that I would guess is about half charged. I just tried it with a freshly delivered NCR 3400mAh which come semi charged from factory & that was putting out 1.95A. So if the cells were fully charged then I would guess more than 2A would be pulled. I could try again with the 2 cells charged up.

The 502B I bought was pulling 1.03A with both cells

diy

easiest option is to check the voltage on the cell after testing. The Amps drop quite rapidly as you drop off 4.2v .

Personally I think 2-2.5A is best as at 3A you are starting to create a fair bit of heat vs. light. Though on a commuter 1A would be fine.

Big dave 3

diy wrote:

easiest option is to check the voltage on the cell after testing. The Amps drop quite rapidly as you drop off 4.2v .

Personally I think 2-2.5A is best as at 3A you are starting to create a fair bit of heat vs. light. Though on a commuter 1A would be fine.

I don't understand the first part. What does checking the voltage on cell after testing do ?

I just came back from riding with the 502b and the c8, the c8 has drained the cell more and is now noticeably dimmer, so the lower current led has it's advantages

johnmcl7

Ouija wrote:

Big dave 3 wrote:

Do you know of any torches with 7135 driver in and a xm-l2 u2 led? that would save a lot of messing around

I linked to one above......

Sorry which link was that? I'm seeing the one for the driver but missed the one with the torch.

John

Ouija

Johnmcl7 wrote:

Ouija wrote:

Big dave 3 wrote:

Do you know of any torches with 7135 driver in and a xm-l2 u2 led? that would save a lot of messing around

I linked to one above......

Sorry which link was that? I'm seeing the one for the driver but missed the one with the torch.

John

I deleted the link as it was incorrect. However. If you want a XM-L2 U2 501/502 style torch that runs the emitter at a fairly high ampage then Kaidomain's 501 at 2.5 amps looks pretty good. Also available with a smooth reflector for more of a spot.

Big dave 3

Well, I liked my C8 so much & I saw another thread on a light forum praising one, so I thought I'd go for it:

http://budgetlightforum.com/node/27531

This is highly recommended:

http://www.banggood.com/Convoy-C8-AK47- ... 08245.html

For £10.47

johnmcl7

Ouija wrote:

Johnmcl7 wrote:

Ouija wrote:

Big dave 3 wrote:

Do you know of any torches with 7135 driver in and a xm-l2 u2 led? that would save a lot of messing around

I linked to one above......

Sorry which link was that? I'm seeing the one for the driver but missed the one with the torch.

John

I deleted the link as it was incorrect. However. If you want a XM-L2 U2 501/502 style torch that runs the emitter at a fairly high ampage then Kaidomain's 501 at 2.5 amps looks pretty good. Also available with a smooth reflector for more of a spot.

That's a relief as I was wondering how I couldn't find it. So an OP reflector gives a wider throw while an SMO one gives a narrower, brighter spot? It also looks like it's best to go for the 5 mode one to get the efficient mid range power on the XML2, annoying the three mode one is high, low and flash rather than high, medium, low without doing any soldering work on the driver.

John

diy

Big dave 3 wrote:

diy wrote:

easiest option is to check the voltage on the cell after testing. The Amps drop quite rapidly as you drop off 4.2v .

Personally I think 2-2.5A is best as at 3A you are starting to create a fair bit of heat vs. light. Though on a commuter 1A would be fine.

I don't understand the first part. What does checking the voltage on cell after testing do ?

I just came back from riding with the 502b and the c8, the c8 has drained the cell more and is now noticeably dimmer, so the lower current led has it's advantages

As the voltage drops so does the current. You wont notice it too much, because frankly 500 lumen does not look that different to 700 lumen, but as the cell voltage drops to 3.6v say, the amps will be fall at a similar level. The same goes with an increase in voltage as long as the circuit can take the amps

Ouija

Johnmcl7 wrote:

That's a relief as I was wondering how I couldn't find it. So an OP reflector gives a wider throw while an SMO one gives a narrower, brighter spot? It also looks like it's best to go for the 5 mode one to get the efficient mid range power on the XML2, annoying the three mode one is high, low and flash rather than high, medium, low without doing any soldering work on the driver.

John

Noticed that but the 5 mode ones don't state ampage and the stated lumens is the usual Chinese fibbing . Thisone states 3000mah output but is an older XM-L U2 (so isn't going to be much brighter than a XM-L2 U2 at 2500mah, just drain the battery quicker and produce more heat).

Ouija

On a side note. The XM-L2 U2 comes in two flavours. The "XM-L2 U2 1A" and the "XM-L2 U2 1B". I'm guessing a lot of people are taking the "1A" to mean "one amp" in listings but that's not decided by the LED at all, but by the driver.

Also. A 7135 chip puts out 350mAh, so three of them on a driver board would give you a 1050mAh driver. Six would give you 2100mAh and eight would give you 2800mAh. Hence the reasong to keep an eye out for products that state 8x7135 etc, rather than just "7135" without stating the number or the ampage.

Here's what looks like a nice one....

8x7135 driver, XM-L2 U2 1A LED and two group settings (five mode or three mode).

Or with a larger reflector....

jairaj

Hi All, this is not a buying advice question but as this thread is pretty much a general discussion about lights I thought why not.

I have a faulty bike light I need some help with. Its powered by a 32600 battery rated at 3.7v, 5000mah according to the label on it. When I try to charge the battery the power adapter flashes to indicate charging for a second and then indicates not charging. The light does not work. Testing the battery with a multimeter shows the battery only has 0.3v. I am guessing the battery has become over discharged and the charger thinks its a faulty cell? The battery is only a few months old is there a way I could rejuvenate the battery back? or is it a case of simply replacing the battery?

apreading

Depending on the charger/electronics, when it indicates not charging it may still be performing a trickle charge that may revive an over discharged battery if left long enough. That happened with my Blackberry Playbook and others have had the same thing with that device. I think I have had it with AA cells too, but my AA charger has a special mode to revive/soft charge those.

Of course, the battery could be knackered and this might not revive it or even if it does it may not hold the charge it used to.

KokaKona

I don't think there's any way back from a voltage that low. Although Easter is coming, so miracles are possible...

Ouija

Might be worth investing in a protected 32600 battery to prevent over discharge in the future.