JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & more!

[alk007]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

My tonight measure:
JetBeam PA40 Neutral + 4 x Eneloop (colour, about 50 cycles, freshly charged on Maha)

0:35 - 50% warning (3 x flashing)
1:49 - 10% warning (continuously flashing)
2:05 - very low light (Eneloop voltage cca 0,92V)
2:09 - very very low light (Eneloop voltage cca 0,9V)

---------------------------
Sorry for my English ...

 

[owner]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

Selfbuilt may be right. My Eneloop batteries have been in use for more than 2 years. Yesterday I tested my PA40 in turbo mode with some fully-charged Uniross Hybrio batteries which have been in use for about 4 years. The half-capacitiy warning kicked in immediately!
Maybe it is time for me to discharge and recharge (=refresh) my batteries with my charger though it is quite time-consuming.

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

Thanks for the extra info/data, owner and alk007.

Is there any way they could remedy that? It seems like it's inevitable that an older cell will experience more voltage sag and under high load conditions won't perform as well or last as long as a fresher set of batteries.

I imagine it's a hard thing to guard against, given the range of batteries out there (i.e. some will always do better than others). This is probably why you don't see the feature often. :shrug:

At least the 3 flashes every 10 secs is not very obtrusive. They wisely kept the LED not overly bright or noticeable. It just means it has limited value at the 50% mark flash indicator on older cells, on the highest output (if my presumption is correct). Seems to be more consistent at the lower output levels, and at the 10% and lower indicator marks.

 

[nanotech17]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

My tonight measure:
JetBeam PA40 Neutral + 4 x Eneloop (colour, about 50 cycles, freshly charged on Maha)

0:35 - 50% warning (3 x flashing)
1:49 - 10% warning (continuously flashing)
2:05 - very low light (Eneloop voltage cca 0,92V)
2:09 - very very low light (Eneloop voltage cca 0,9V)

---------------------------
Sorry for my English ...

they have it in NW already?(NW = Neutral White)

 

[alk007]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

Yes. But my Neutral is very close to Cool.

 

[Colorblinded]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

I imagine it's a hard thing to guard against, given the range of batteries out there (i.e. some will always do better than others). This is probably why you don't see the feature often. :shrug:

Probably. I don't know what the current draw is on max (I'm sure it could be measured) but I would expect the indicator to not be terribly reliable since I would expect it to be pushing the cells pretty hard. I agree with you that the indicator will probably be more reliable on lower output settings.

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

Yes. But my Neutral is very close to Cool.

That's interesting. The JetBeam sales rep that sent me the PA40 for review says she checked with her manager, and they plan to release the Neutral version next month (likely toward the end of the month).

But I also see on CPFMP that one US dealer is reporting that 5000K Neutral versions should be available within a week or so (supposedly en route, but not arrived yet, as of yesterday's posts). I suppose its possible JetBeam may have released a limited run of these, and are planning on a more general release soon. Wait and see, I guess. :shrug:

 

[alk007]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

I thought that I got cool tint version, but i asked Flavio about that and he said, that my PA40 is Neutral. But tint is very similar to my other XM-L light with "normal" or cool tint (Fenix TK35, Lumintop TD15X, Skilhunt Defier X3) and much cooler than my neutral XM-L lights (Spark SL6-740NW, Spark ST6-460NW). Neutral or Cool, that is the question ...

 

[alk007]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

My tonight measure:
JetBeam PA40 Neutral + 4 x Eneloop (colour, about 50 cycles, freshly charged on Maha)

0:35 - 50% warning (3 x flashing)
1:49 - 10% warning (continuously flashing)
2:05 - very low light (Eneloop voltage cca 0,92V)
2:09 - very very low light (Eneloop voltage cca 0,9V)

---------------------------
Sorry for my English ...

UPDATED with alkalines:

JetBeam PA40 Neutral + 4 x Energizer maximum (use by 2017)

0:10 - 50% warning (3 x flashing)
0:52 - 10% warning (continuously flashing)
cca 1:25 - very low light
cca 1:50 - very very low light

 

[spinkid]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

Selfbuilt, Thanks for the great review!!! You really do a great job on these! I have 2 days till my wife lets me open mine..LOL You mentioned the form of the Strealight 4AA and that was one of my first Led lights way back when. You mentioned it was a favorite of those before 2006, so I had to look at my old post dated from 01/06/2003!! I played fetch all the time with my dog with that light in the winter and it lived.

 

[brightnorm]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

Selfbuilt,

Thanks for this excellent and useful review. Figures for the standard XM-L are 468L/6000K and 468L/4750K for the neutral. Can the neutral output really equal the standard? I thought neutrals and warms always put out fewer lumens due to their coatings.

Do you have any guestimates of run times on lithium primaries? Also, would you recommend charging Eneloops on the Eneloop 4-cell charger.

Brightnorm

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

I have 2 days till my wife lets me open mine..LOL You mentioned the form of the Strealight 4AA and that was one of my first Led lights way back when. You mentioned it was a favorite of those before 2006, so I had to look at my old post dated from 01/06/2003!!

Hope the PA40 works out as well for you. :wave:

Thanks for this excellent and useful review. Figures for the standard XM-L are 468L/6000K and 468L/4750K for the neutral. Can the neutral output really equal the standard? I thought neutrals and warms always put out fewer lumens due to their coatings.

It's possible - I've heard of XM-L T6 Neutrals (although they are rare - most are T5s). It's true that neutrals usually slightly lower output, but XM-L are available in U2 bin now for cool white. Warm whites are usually lower still, due to the extra phosphor.

Do you have any guestimates of run times on lithium primaries? Also, would you recommend charging Eneloops on the Eneloop 4-cell charger.

Not sure on either - haven't tried L91, and don't have that charger. Both should work fine, though.

 

[regulator]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

Double post

 

[regulator]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

Do you have any guestimates of run times on lithium primaries? Also, would you recommend charging Eneloops on the Eneloop 4-cell charger.

Brightnorm[/QUOTE]

A "guestimate" would be that Energizer lithium cells should provide at least 50% more runtime than Eneloops based on them having 3000mah capacity. They also have higher voltage than Eneloops.

An Eneloop is 1.2 volts with 2000mah capacity. The Enegizer fresh is 1.7 volts and 3000mah capacity.

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

A "guestimate" would be that Energizer lithium cells should provide at least 50% more runtime than Eneloops based on them having 3000mah capacity. They also have higher voltage than Eneloops.

Yes, that's a good baseline comparison. In my 2xAA round-up, you can see the difference for well-regulated lights on max is typically 50-70% longer runtime on L92 over eneloops.

However, I have also seen the occasional circuit that hasn't reacted well to primary lithiums (i.e. either lower max output, or lower relative efficiency). Hard to know without directly testing, but the 50%+ guestimate is reasonable, assuming no circuit quirks.

 

[Swedpat]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

There is a really nice feature here – I have found that the battery indicator activity is dependent on the output mode of the light. oo: So, for example, on nearly empty batteries, you will get constant flashing on Turbo, three flashes every ten seconds on Hi, and no flashes on Med or Lo. This is actually a useful way to indicator how much relative runtime is left for a given mode :twothumbs

This seems to be a good function. But I wonder if using lower modes could cause a risk for overdischarging the cells? When I use multi-mode lights with NiMh cells I now and then test if the highest mode still is available to see if battery is still fresh. Is that to recommend even with PA40, or will battery indicator prevent overdisharging also when using lower modes?

My tonight measure:
JetBeam PA40 Neutral + 4 x Eneloop (colour, about 50 cycles, freshly charged on Maha)

---------------------------
Sorry for my English ...

Nice to see that PA40 actually exists in neutral white! :thumbsup: But where to buy it?

Regards, Patric

 

[Budda]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

Thanks for the review.

This is an interesting light:
high power
tight regulation, both alkaline and nimh cells
no strobo or sos modes
useful battery level indicator
low cost

The only complain imho is the plastic.
Is durable? I think so. But i'm really concerned about the resilience of the threads in cold environments. Since this light should be perfect for being left in the car... Where I live, in winter it's possible to reach -20 Celsius. And I don't know how well will react the plastic from -20 to the high temperatures of a full working XML.

 

[tam17]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

Originally Posted by Swedpat
Nice to see that PA40 actually exists in neutral white! :thumbsup: But where to buy it?

There is a thread on CPF Marketplace, do a search

Originally Posted by Budda
I don't know how well will react the plastic from -20 to the high temperatures of a full working XML.

Plastic shouldn't be a problem, but your batteries. Plastic is more brittle in extreme cold, but you wouldn't be using your PA40 instead of a hammer anyway

Cheers,

Tam

 

[Swedpat]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

There is a thread on CPF Marketplace, do a search

Yes, I found it. But no neutral option mentioned there. I will mail them and ask about it.

Thanks, Patric

Edited: now I see at the webpage. Neutral will be in stock aug 20.

 

[Budda]

Re: JetBeam PA40 (XM-L T6, 4xAA, Carbon Fiber body) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, & mo

Yes, but in case of emergency... everything can happen. And I need a reliable construction.