The big LIGHTS thread 2011-2014
Comments
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Guys, been looking at this thread............
viewtopic.php?p=17265285#17265285
I already have the bar mounts listed by sonic, I'm a little concerned about the size of the torch in the above link working with these mounts.
The "body" is 37mm and from measuring my mounts, with the top part only clicked down one "step", at best it looks to be about 33mm.
Can anyone confirm 100% that this torch............
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire- ... 8650-57007
Will fit in this mount................
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/flashlight-mount-792
before I order a pair
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That is not the body, that is the head diameter. The bodies are all the same around 24-26mm. Anything that takes a 1*18650 and not AAA has the same body. So it will fit. It wouldn't be my recommendation though as there are cheaper XM-L t6 lights that will perform the same for less money.0
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Recieved this:
http://www.lightmalls.com/solarforce-l2-cree-xml-t6-5-modes-led-flashlight-black-2-18650
on friday. Lightmalls delivery is excellent-I ordered it the previous Wednesday evening, so just over 1 week.
First impressions are that it seems very bright, well made, appears to be fairly waterproof-has lots of o-rings inside, even on the extender tube, and that as the extender tube is removable, it can be run with either 1 or 2 cells for light weight or long battery life. I have a 501b on order from manafont, which was ordered on the same day as the solarforce and still hasn't arrived. I will compare the two and post again.0 -
diy wrote:That is not the body, that is the head diameter. The bodies are all the same around 24-26mm. Anything that takes a 1*18650 and not AAA has the same body. So it will fit.
So it's a typo on the DX website.diy wrote:It wouldn't be my recommendation though as there are cheaper XM-L t6 lights that will perform the same for less money
Oh really, I have a couple of T6 drop in's for my 501b's, i was under the impression that the larger head of the above mentioned torch would give me more more light, or is that wrong ?
Larger head = more flood
Smaller head = more spot
My drop in's are smooth and not textured if that makes much difference ?
One of the drop in's i took out to replace with a T6 is still much brighter than the T6, It's has no markings on it but the light that comes from it is VERY white, compared to the "off white" of the T6, any ideas on what this could be ?0 -
Just a thought with people mentioning the LED's / torches getting hot...... My 510 lumen XML torches and the 1200 lumen Magic shine XML T6 light stayed perfectly cold on high during my 1 hour ride.... not even warm.... I thought they would get hot?0
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"Larger head = more flood
Smaller head = more spot"
Depends on the depth of the head, and the texture of the reflector two. These larger torches seem better made, and more able to cope with the heat from larger outputs. (than the 501 type)0 -
There are some good tests that show the XM-Ls punch through the larger head with minimum reflection, so you get more throw. The smaller head reflects more, so it fills better. Look in my sig for beam shots, you can see the XM-L's are not spotty at all. Head size does not affect light output by much. Its driven amps which is key to output differences.
My 501bs run at 1.7A and don't get hot at all. If I rant them at 2.4+A they probably would get warm and need some modification to improve heat sinking.
given the feedback on lightmalls - the t6 or u2 (see sig for link) would be my recommendation currently. Its a 3A light, but since its 5 mode you can probably run it on medium with out any problems. As super has said before, you then have the option of more light if you need it. For me run time is important and since I have over 10 of these lights, I can always run 6 if I want more light.0 -
If you want a great light set-up then just get 3 of the 501b. 1 for the helmet and 2 for the bars. This is more than enough light .
I ride with all my family in the dark and that includes my 11 year old girl and she is more than happy with the light produced from 2 501b's , 1 on helmet and 1 on bars.0 -
I've got a single UltraFire 502b (510 lumen 1.4a) (and a cateye flasher) on the front of my Road bike - perfectly adequate for unlit Road riding (whereas the cree Q5 wasn't imo - the Q5 was nearly ok, but not quite..) - off-road, I'd go for a minimum of 2 of these 501/502 torches bar-mounted with a 2.8a xm-l T6 head lamp.
Just bought a UK 18650 charger with UK Plug for 4.95 on Ebay - only 3 days delivery. (not tried it yet though).0 -
I'm after a lighter torch for the helmet ideally from a supplier other than DX. any recommendations?
Else i might just chance getting one of the 501B XML U2 http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-501 ... ht-1-18650
same weight as what i have but with a few more lumens - now what about these running hot due to higher amps and run times any advice? or is the 1300 lumen quoted well over and they actually run at more like 2amps?
current setup is as below:
Ultrafire 501B Cree XML T6 (510 lumen one) a good light indeed and used on my helmet but i'll place it on the bars if i can find a lighter alternative. Although i had some issues with it chaning modes n a steep downhill section the other night
And on the bars: T6 Smooth Crown Water Resistant XML-T6 3-Mode 1200-Lumen set with a wide angle lense from ebay as it was far too spotty and i'm please also with this
A question regarding batts: the recommended are the trustfire protected 2400mh which i have and use
any one used these? seem cheap:
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.ph ... set-p-79410 -
The Q5 is a really old LED about 6 years ottomh Its about a 230 Lumen/A light. Current tech is about 420 lumen/A
Most of the comments about heat were aimed at the other smaller light which did not have a large crown.
The 501b will get hot ran at 2.4+ amps, so yes 3A will be a problem if you are not moving and have it on high for more than say 15 mins. But, you really can't rely on the info in the adverts. So without using a dc amp meter you wont know what the driver is at. If you find it runs too hot on full then wrap some foil round the drop in to improve the conductivity to the crown and maybe just run it on medium?
The only real risk is that the driver is too powerful on full and too underpowered on Medium, in which case you would have been better with the 1.4A version (which according to my dc-amp meter run at 1.5-1.8A)
So in summary, based on the long DX lead times, I say go lightmalls as they are 1 cheaper and quicker0 -
yes I did - took 10 days but this was back in aug/sept.0
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steviemidnight wrote:A question regarding batts: the recommended are the trustfire protected 2400mh which i have and use
any one used these? seem cheap:
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.ph ... set-p-7941
I've just got some Xtar 2400mAh cells and they're great, they are all I'll be buying UFN. You can get them very quick from TorchyTheBatteryBoy's ebay store or join in to this groupd buy and get them cheaper with a longer wait http://budgetlightforum.com/node/24760 -
Recieved the 501b from manafont today.
Comparing with the solarforce I recieved from lightmalls on friday, the anodising on both seems identical, as are the lanyards. The dropins also appear identical, apart from one having an OP reflector rather than a smooth one. I would therefore assume that both torches are from the same manafacturer. However, the solarforce's body seems better designed and fits together better, and has less sharp edges. The tailcap also seems nicer and allows the torch to tailstand.
The weight of each seems similar.
I would reccomend the solarforce for either bar or helmet use, especially as it has the added versitality of being able to run 1 or two cells.
I seem to be having a small problem with the 501b-if the tailcap is screwed down fully, it doesnt work? If I losen it a bit it does, but what could be causing this to happen? Is there any fix that makes it work when the tailcap is screwed down fully?
Thanks0 -
tighten the tail cap, tighten the drop in spring, tighten the reflector. that sounds like a lose switch. see how to fix vid...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJpQAvum0bM0 -
Just a heads up BOB are claiming to have a 3 mode T6 which is High - Med - Low. If true it will be worth a look, but not at their current price and also my gut feel is its High - Low - strobe. But here's the link any way:
http://www.bestofferbuy.com/ultrafire-w ... 71019.html0 -
diy wrote:Just a heads up BOB are claiming to have a 3 mode T6 which is High - Med - Low. If true it will be worth a look, but not at their current price and also my gut feel is its High - Low - strobe. But here's the link any way:
http://www.bestofferbuy.com/ultrafire-w ... 71019.html
I have two 3 mode Ultrafire XM-L T6 drop-ins - both High - Med - Low from Manafont so they do exist. That link seems expensive but the drop-in alone is about $17 on Manafont so $24 including the body is maybe about right. Expensive compared to the 5 mode but I was happy to spend the extra to get the 3 modes with no flashy nonsense.
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^^^^ sounds perfect then and worth the cash if you have old XRE based 50x units to upgrade. I would say 2.4A is the ideal max output for this unit. Any idea what the draw is on med and low?0
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diy wrote:^^^^ sounds perfect then and worth the cash if you have old XRE based 50x units to upgrade. I would say 2.4A is the ideal max output for this unit. Any idea what the draw is on med and low?
I'd really need to check again but off the top of my head medium was around 0.8 - 1A and low was very low at around 0.1/0.2A. Good spread between the modes and to be honest 2 torches on medium is fine for me with the option of more light if it's needed. Plenty of people reporting around 3A on high on Manafont but that's not been my experience.
I can charge up a fresh cell and check this properly tomorrow (out tonight straight after work) if anyone is interested?
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I currently run 3 torches 2 x UltraFire WF-501B CREE XPG R5 and 1 x UltraFire WF-501B SSC-P7-CSXO 3-Mode 900-Lumen on my lid...Ran this setup all last year with no problems.
Only thing which is a pain is battery life.
Im considering the magicshine MJ872 .will i see a significant improvement using this on the bars compared to the 2 WF-501B's torches im currently using?
Does anyone have the MJ872 is it suitable for both bars and lid mounting?
Thanks0 -
I think I'd be tempted to go for the £30 XM-L mini magic shine, to complement your XPGs, then perhaps retire the p7, which I think will have the lowest run time.0
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Could someone recommend a decent budget set-up for XC MTB? I have only just bought my bike (being delivered Tuesday) but due to work restrictions, the majority of my riding will be in the dark.
I would be looking to spend £100.00 maximum at this stage.
Thanks in advance.
Reg. Chris.0 -
See recommendations in my SIG.
3 of these 501b in a u2 or t6 from lightmalls
batteries either from an old laptop or from one of the links. and one of the linked chargers.
run two on the bars (using the mounts) and 1 on the lid, will give you something around 1500 Lumen for 50ish quid.
you will need a loop of velcro or elestic to mount the torch to your helmet. Thats it. Will blow away any other set-up for reliability, price, flexibility and performance.0 -
Thanks pal, I originally signed up to PM you based on another post you made in 2010 but it wouldn't let me. I'll be sure to take a look.0
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Received my http://www.lightmalls.com/ultrafire-501 ... ht-1-18650
torch yesterday. Seems really good. My P7 has gone a bit wonky - switches off by itself a bit.
I'll get to test this on the trails next week, but it looks a great little unit.0 -
Just got my latest pair of 502b xml t6'S form lightmalls, ordered on the 28th last month,much quicker than dx, there online tracking that does work compared to dx's show they arrived in the UK on the 4th of November, so they took longer to get from the airport to my house than it took to travel halfway round the planet !
Packaging much better than dx's too, arrived in a proper box rather than a bubble wrap envelope.
Having said that one torch was poorly on arrival, faint flickering that would work ok with a whack, swapped some parts around and was found to be a faulty switch.
A poor soldered joint was found on the clicky switch where it is mounted to the small pcb (this is found by fully unscrewing the lock ring in the tail cap) sorted.
both measuring 2amps on full power,0.8 medium, 0.1 on low
Replacement tail caps are available from manafont i noticed.0 -
unfortunately the forum only allows 11 links per post, so I'm going to have to re-think my stcky via sig idea.0
