Spec me an LED Torch
- Thread starter support_bae
- Start date
Soldato
I'd check this thread for links to genuine ones, instead of going for the cheapest you can find like I did. Mine had a plastic lens that was covered in scratches and the rubber seals twisted up and fell apart after removing the end cap a few times.
I've just bought one of those 'LOL, 3W 270 lumens MAX CREE LED!!!1Z' £4.99 specials off Amazon. You might think I'm crazy because the reviews all say there are no seals inside and it just unscrews and comes to pieces, no good in the rain etc. This is exactly what I want because I'm converting an old dynamo powered bike light. The LED is mounted on a threaded aluminium disc and comes out as one unit without the reflector. Perfect for what I need and will be 100x brighter than the little bulb in there. Now I just need to measure the dynamo output and load up with a suitable resistor if it needs it!
The new Petzl looks extremely interesting! Glad to see them trying breaking new ground.
Comes out in July and has a list price of €125 though so not exactly cheap, hopefully adjusting the light level for you actually works well and doesn't blind you now and again.
Soldato
The varying light output would probably annoy me.
Could be a custom battery and charger which is a negative point.
Well Ive had my Lamp and Batteries a few weeks now and WOW how I have managed to cycle to work and back without one of these bad boys lighting my way I will never know! Awesome Pitch black going down the cycle path at 5am on a monday morning this thing bangs out so much light I can see very clearly and am thinking about getting another so as to run them in tandem.
The only downside is the charger for the 18650 batteries feels very nasty and liable to break at a seconds notice either that or catch fire! are these chargers the real deal or just cheap copies?
The only downside is the charger for the 18650 batteries feels very nasty and liable to break at a seconds notice either that or catch fire! are these chargers the real deal or just cheap copies?
Soldato
I can also see that headlight being extremely annoying. For that sensor to function you will need to over-exaggerate head movement.
Soldato
I took delivery today of four Trustfire 3000mAh 18650 cells.
I was hoping for a capacity of at least 2500mAh from them.
Fat chance.
1A discharge current down to 3v
Cell 1: 2325mAh
Cell 2: 2153mAh
Cell 3: Testing
Cell 4: Testing
I think it's time to spend more and invest in some quality cells, such as these.
I was hoping for a capacity of at least 2500mAh from them.
Fat chance.
1A discharge current down to 3v
Cell 1: 2325mAh
Cell 2: 2153mAh
Cell 3: Testing
Cell 4: Testing
I think it's time to spend more and invest in some quality cells, such as these.
I took delivery today of four Trustfire 3000mAh 18650 cells.
I was hoping for a capacity of at least 2500mAh from them.
Fat chance.
1A discharge current down to 3v
Cell 1: 2325mAh
Cell 2: 2153mAh
Cell 3: Testing
Cell 4: Testing
I think it's time to spend more and invest in some quality cells, such as these.
Dude!
You know full-well that there are only two manufacturers in the world who make 3000mAh+ cells - Samsung and Panasonic
I'd go for the AW cells over the intl-outdoor ones - AW's cells have the very very best manufacturing and materials (he's just started using a new type of bond-wire between the positive terminal and the protection circuit for even better durability and safety)
I took delivery today of four Trustfire 3000mAh 18650 cells.
I was hoping for a capacity of at least 2500mAh from them.
Fat chance.
1A discharge current down to 3v
Cell 1: 2325mAh
Cell 2: 2153mAh
Cell 3: Testing
Cell 4: Testing
I think it's time to spend more and invest in some quality cells, such as these.
Dude!
You know full-well that there are only two manufacturers in the world who make 3000mAh+ cells - Samsung and Panasonic
I'd go for the AW cells over the intl-outdoor ones - AW's cells have the very very best manufacturing and materials (he's just started using a new type of bond-wire between the positive terminal and the protection circuit for even better durability and safety)
Associate
I am interested in the Fenix PD30 but is there anything cheaper and better? Really don't want to spend more than £30 on a torch.
Soldato
Dude!
You know full-well that there are only two manufacturers in the world who make 3000mAh+ cells - Samsung and Panasonic
I'd go for the AW cells over the intl-outdoor ones - AW's cells have the very very best manufacturing and materials (he's just started using a new type of bond-wire between the positive terminal and the protection circuit for even better durability and safety)
There's no way I was expecting 3000mAh
I'm not bloody daft! These Chinese manufactures slap on random capacities all the time! There are some though who have reported 2500mAh-2600mAh with this cell, I was expecting to hit that level of capacity.
Associate
- Joined
- 30 Nov 2003
- Posts
- 2,496
what is the maximum safe volts that a li-ion charger should stop charging?
i.e. for an 18650 or 18700 battery
cheers
i.e. for an 18650 or 18700 battery
cheers
Soldato
After becoming increasingly fed up with lights that poorly implement PWM, I decided to build my own drop-in. Allowing me to hand pick the driver and emitter.
Initially I was going to use the P60 format as a host, but after some thought I choose the (much loved on this forum) Ultrafire C8 as a host instead. It's larger head/mass should help with thermal issues, and with it's larger and deeper reflector means it will out throw the P60 format by quite a margin.
I decided upon a smooth reflector with a cool white XM-L T6-1A and a orange peel reflector with a neutral XM-L T6-3C.
The driver
The driver is 14mm, the size of a 5p. My eyes were stinging after soldering the emitter wires and setting the memory and modes. I had to file the driver down a little for it to fit inside the C8 pill.
On both C8's I chose to have memory enabled and Hi-Med-Low as the sequence.
All in now, after testing for short circuits I went ahead and powered up.
The drop-in appears to be fantastic! Low is very low, I'd call it 'a tad more than moonlight', a fair bit brighter than the typical 0.2L of moonlight.
Lowest brightness KD8x7135-C8-Cool White, KD8x7135-C8-Neatral White, Zebralight SC600w
Medium is a perfect useful brightness. Inside a C8 body you can leave medium running until the cows come home without fear of thermal issues.
High is very bright!
Tailcap Measurements
Hi: 3A
Mid: 880mA
Low: 7mA
PWM
Low: ?? - Unable to detect.
Med: 15.4khz
Hi: None
The PWM on medium is fantastic, this drop-in shows how well implemented PWM can be. Not only is it of a high frequency, but also a high duty cycle is implemented. I cannot detect PWM on low, which is strange. I'm guessing that the frequency is out of range that I can test for.
I'm very sensitive to PWM and happy to say I'm unable to see evidence of PWM with my eyes.
Beamshots
High
I'm quite impressed, I still need to conduct some runtime tests but on the whole I'm very pleased. I have a couple of custom C8s which throw brilliantly, have an (estimated) (7mA draw!) extremely long runtime on low mode and best of all no ill effects of PWM.
Well worth putting the effort and time in I think!
Initially I was going to use the P60 format as a host, but after some thought I choose the (much loved on this forum) Ultrafire C8 as a host instead. It's larger head/mass should help with thermal issues, and with it's larger and deeper reflector means it will out throw the P60 format by quite a margin.
I decided upon a smooth reflector with a cool white XM-L T6-1A and a orange peel reflector with a neutral XM-L T6-3C.
The driver
- Current regulation for all output mode (no PWM flicks even at low mode)
- As low as 3mA-5mA for low output mode
- Eight programmable outputs
- Low voltage warning below 2.8V
- High mode: Constant regulated at 3040mA
The driver is 14mm, the size of a 5p. My eyes were stinging after soldering the emitter wires and setting the memory and modes. I had to file the driver down a little for it to fit inside the C8 pill.
On both C8's I chose to have memory enabled and Hi-Med-Low as the sequence.
All in now, after testing for short circuits I went ahead and powered up.
The drop-in appears to be fantastic! Low is very low, I'd call it 'a tad more than moonlight', a fair bit brighter than the typical 0.2L of moonlight.
Lowest brightness KD8x7135-C8-Cool White, KD8x7135-C8-Neatral White, Zebralight SC600w
Medium is a perfect useful brightness. Inside a C8 body you can leave medium running until the cows come home without fear of thermal issues.
High is very bright!
Tailcap Measurements
Hi: 3A
Mid: 880mA
Low: 7mA
PWM
Low: ?? - Unable to detect.
Med: 15.4khz
Hi: None
The PWM on medium is fantastic, this drop-in shows how well implemented PWM can be. Not only is it of a high frequency, but also a high duty cycle is implemented. I cannot detect PWM on low, which is strange. I'm guessing that the frequency is out of range that I can test for.
I'm very sensitive to PWM and happy to say I'm unable to see evidence of PWM with my eyes.
Beamshots
High
I'm quite impressed, I still need to conduct some runtime tests but on the whole I'm very pleased. I have a couple of custom C8s which throw brilliantly, have an (estimated) (7mA draw!) extremely long runtime on low mode and best of all no ill effects of PWM.
Well worth putting the effort and time in I think!
Last edited:
Soldato
Wow! I wish I had the skills to do stuff like this.
I went for a Nailbender dropin as I can't stand the PWM on the cheaper dropins and it is great, but the runtime is awful for some reason. Also wish I had gone for neutral white instead of warm white.
I went for a Nailbender dropin as I can't stand the PWM on the cheaper dropins and it is great, but the runtime is awful for some reason. Also wish I had gone for neutral white instead of warm white.
Soldato
You should give it a go. If you can solder then there's no reason why you can't! You get some massive satisfaction from building your own dropin!
I've recently developed a massive surefire fetish. Does anyone have any tips on good value CR123s? So far the best I can find is
Panasonic pack of 10 for £10.19 (£1.01 per battery)
Power Station pack of 10 for £8.99 (£0.89 per battery)
These are both from reputable online stores, but I've never heard of power station, are they worth a try or should I stick with the panasonic? I believe that panasonic actually make most of the worlds CR123s, so are they just the same battery but without the badge?
Thanks!
Panasonic pack of 10 for £10.19 (£1.01 per battery)
Power Station pack of 10 for £8.99 (£0.89 per battery)
These are both from reputable online stores, but I've never heard of power station, are they worth a try or should I stick with the panasonic? I believe that panasonic actually make most of the worlds CR123s, so are they just the same battery but without the badge?
Thanks!
