Sold/Expired P60 modules -warm, neutral, cool white/XRE-XPE-XPG-XML-U3 / NICHIA 92CRI PART 11

[nailbender]

Hi,

As I have read through many of your threads I have become quite interested in the configuration of the drop in. If you have a moment would you make a recommendation for a Solarforce L2M host running a single cr123 or rcr123, I am more interested in throw than flood, highest temp (5000+) possible, runtime is not as important as output. I read about the low voltage drivers allowing full amperage to be used but didn't really understand it but it sounded like it allowed a single cell to fully power the newer emitters that draw a bit more.

I hope this enough information to get you started, please ask any questions and do not assume I know much on the technical side!

Thank you for taking time to help, Jack

Hi

First off I will not have any modules that will work with a single CR123 OR a RCR123, either or yes but both no.

I suggest using a RCR123 as it will give the brightest options. Since you are looking for more of a thrower and coolwhite then I would suggest a R3 coolwhite XPE2. While not the brightest in the pack it has the narrowest beam angle giving it more throw than others. Smooth reflectors give the best throw but if a wall hunter then they also show a few rings but very few and never visible in real use just on a wall.

Now if you want close but not quite the same throw with a bit more spill then the XPG2 is a good choice. It has a bit more lumens but not quite as tight of hotspot and thus not quite as much throw.

Either can be ordered from the forum here just check the first page or they can be found at our site here http://www.customlites.com/XPG-XPG2-XPE-XPE2_c21.htm

Make sure you look for XPE2 or XPG2 , you get the chance to choose reflectors / levels / tints

Dave

 

[Lil Jack]

Hi

First off I will not have any modules that will work with a single CR123 OR a RCR123, either or yes but both no.

I suggest using a RCR123 as it will give the brightest options. Since you are looking for more of a thrower and coolwhite then I would suggest a R3 coolwhite XPE2. While not the brightest in the pack it has the narrowest beam angle giving it more throw than others. Smooth reflectors give the best throw but if a wall hunter then they also show a few rings but very few and never visible in real use just on a wall.

Now if you want close but not quite the same throw with a bit more spill then the XPG2 is a good choice. It has a bit more lumens but not quite as tight of hotspot and thus not quite as much throw.

Either can be ordered from the forum here just check the first page or they can be found at our site here http://www.customlites.com/XPG-XPG2-XPE-XPE2_c21.htm

Make sure you look for XPE2 or XPG2 , you get the chance to choose reflectors / levels / tints

Dave

Dave, Thank you for the prompt reply and information!! I do have another question if I may? I read in your reply that there appears to be a distinct difference in the cr123 and rcr123, I tried to read quickly about the batteries. The first curve I ran into was the addition of the 16340. I saw there was a difference between the nominal voltage and max with the 16340 being significantly higher (this is my own short interpretation). Having said this, my goal with this project is to make a short light L2M with as much throw as possible. With this in mind would your recommendation be for the choice of cell and module? And While I can see you are quite busy, please feel free to offer any educational points along the way. Thank you again for taking time to help me along,Jack

 

[nailbender]

Dave, Thank you for the prompt reply and information!! I do have another question if I may? I read in your reply that there appears to be a distinct difference in the cr123 and rcr123, I tried to read quickly about the batteries. The first curve I ran into was the addition of the 16340. I saw there was a difference between the nominal voltage and max with the 16340 being significantly higher (this is my own short interpretation). Having said this, my goal with this project is to make a short light L2M with as much throw as possible. With this in mind would your recommendation be for the choice of cell and module? And While I can see you are quite busy, please feel free to offer any educational points along the way. Thank you again for taking time to help me along,Jack

Hi

Yes you certainly want to learn the difference between CR123 primaries and li ion RCR123. A CR123 primary is a non rechargeable battery which is 3 volts. Most Leds take around 3 volts so it takes a special driver for those batteries if ran in single config.
RCR123 is a rechargeable li ion which when fully charged is 4.2 volts which as you can see is much more. A 16340 is basically a RCR123 just slightly different in size. the 16340 simply is 16mm diameter and 34mm in length.

I have a driver that will work with a single CR123primary or one that will work with a single li ion but none that will work with both configs.

If you use a RCR123 you can run more choices of emitters than with the CR123 primary.

Now if you are looking for a dedicated thrower with only a small amount of spill then I would lean towards a R3 coolwhite XPE2 as it will have the tightest beam angle.

now if you want a bit of spill then choose the XPG2 as it has a bit more spill while still throwing pretty well.

A smooth reflector is what will get the most throw.

You can order through the thread if you decide to or order from the website in my sig line as it has all the choices also.

Hope that helped

Dave

 

[Lil Jack]

Dave,

Thank you very much for taking time to answer my questions!! I have placed my order via your website (so I could look around as well). I look forward to many more custom projects (and bending your ear as well).

Jack

 

[nailbender]

Dave,

Thank you very much for taking time to answer my questions!! I have placed my order via your website (so I could look around as well). I look forward to many more custom projects (and bending your ear as well).

Jack

Hi

Thanks and we will get it right out.

Dave

 

[nailbender]

Dave,

Thank you very much for taking time to answer my questions!! I have placed my order via your website (so I could look around as well). I look forward to many more custom projects (and bending your ear as well).

Jack

Hi

Your module shipped this morning.

thanks

Dave

 

[franzdom]

Got my third one today, thank you so much Dave, awesome service all the way around, great communication, kudos!

 

[Lil Jack]

Dave just got my Drop-in, Outstanding, works perfect!!

Now to pick your brain a bit more, what would your recommendation be for a single rcr123 for max-flood?

Thanks again for outstanding service and a super Drop-in

Jack

 

[nailbender]

Dave just got my Drop-in, Outstanding, works perfect!!

Now to pick your brain a bit more, what would your recommendation be for a single rcr123 for max-flood?

Thanks again for outstanding service and a super Drop-in

Jack

Hi

I would choose a MCE probably, while a quad die I do have a textured reflector that makes it look quite good. It is still a 2.8 amp emitter so runtime will not be extremely good but if ordered with levels you can make it stretch.

Dave

 

[smako]

Hey mate,

First post so go easy.

I'm new to customs and I only know a few terms so I'll be depending on your expertise to recommend something for my purpose.

Body: Surefire Original 6P bored out to accommodate single 18650's.

Requirements:

- Mix of flood and throw (Throw doesn't have to be excessive)
- Optimally run on 18650's
- Potted
- Warm light
- Brightness 500lm +
- Reliable
- 3 Mode: Low, Med, High.

Let me know mate, I'll be watching this space eagerly for a reply. I'm keen to buy ASAP.

Cheers

 

[tobrien]

Hey mate,

First post so go easy.

I'm new to customs and I only know a few terms so I'll be depending on your expertise to recommend something for my purpose.

Body: Surefire Original 6P bored out to accommodate single 18650's.

Requirements:

- Mix of flood and throw (Throw doesn't have to be excessive)
- Optimally run on 18650's
- Potted
- Warm light
- Brightness 500lm +
- Reliable
- 3 Mode: Low, Med, High.

Let me know mate, I'll be watching this space eagerly for a reply. I'm keen to buy ASAP.

Cheers

I'm not NB, so this advice is just me attempting to help (I have, however, bought probably eight or so NB modules to date and am 100% satisfied with everything I've ever gotten from him), but here's what I'd do:

1. Cree XM-L2 (T4 flux 4000k 5B4 tint)
--remember, the lower xxxxK value, the warmer the tint. See this chart by FlashlightWiki.com for more info on what each tint bin generally looks like for Cree

2. 3 level - Low / Med / High Regulated (5%- 30%-100%)
--I'd stick with the stock 3 amp setting if I were you. NB's drivers I believe all come with memory

3. OP (orange peel) reflector
--OP reflectors give a much, much smoother beam and with the XM-L2 at 3 amps you should still get a pretty decent amount of usable throw.

as far as brightness, if you go with the XM-L2 T4, you can roughly estimate its brightness here: FlashlightWiki's brightness bins table.
-- notice how I bolded "T4?" Well that's your efficiency bin (5B4 is the tint bin you can find in the crazy-colored tint chart I linked to earlier). if you'll look at that second link above (the brightness bins table), you'll see "T4" listed in the middle of it (when you click through) and you can move your eyes to the right some and see that at 3 Amps (under the right-most column), we're getting approximately 895-970 lumens at the LED. OTF (Out The Front) lumens once you pass the glass I believe you've lost ~30% of the light due to inefficiencies of the lens and the reflector (NB please correct me if I'm wrong).

if we say we lose 30% of the light OTF, you're looking at (note: I chose the lowest of the Lumens number for the T4 row to illustrate what could potentially be "worst case scenario"):
895 lumens * .3 = 268.5 Lumens lost

895 lumens - 268.5 lumens = 626.5 Lumens OTF (out the front going out into the scenario you're lighting up)

I'm 99% certain you're still gonna be getting at least 500 lumens regardless of what XM-L or XM-L2 you choose.

btw, all NB modules can be potted for free (he does it by default nowadays unless you state you don't want that option, I believe).

all the XM-L2 P60 (P60 is the general format you need for your 6P) modules by Nailbender are $40 shipped in the states.

and last, but not least, the config above will work on 18650 cells without a problem

I hope this helps buddy!

(I hope I didn't overstep any boundaries, NB! )

 

[psychbeat]

30% loss sounds off to me.

I'd say more like 15% yah?

 

[smako]

You're a legend mate. Your post was very informative and those resources you linked were great. I feel like I've filled in a link of my understanding of emitters.

Cheers.

 

[smako]

Hey NB,

Thanks to Tobrien's great post, I'll be sending you my order details. No need to answer my question.

 

[nailbender]

Hey NB,

Thanks to Tobrien's great post, I'll be sending you my order details. No need to answer my question.

Hi

Sorry for the late reply, lost a computer in a storm and have just got the new one set up and back online.

Yes tobien gave you a great answer, all the XML's including the 90 cri will be over 500 lumens with as he said coolwhite being the brightest and as you go to warm whites the flux bins will be less.

you can order through the thread or through the site in my sig line.

again sorry for the late reply

Dave

 

[blitz255]

Just curious if I could get a nichia with the 5 mode driver ( moonlight, low low, low, med, high) with memory and how much that would cost?

Thanks

 

[nailbender]

Hi

We only have 4 levels at this time, moonlight / low / med / high.

As listed the nichia's are $35

thanks

Dave

 

[LeukTech]

Got my XM-L2 high CRI and XP-G2 5000k modules today, very fast shipping thank you! :thumbsup:

Modules are extremely high quality, think I am going to have to get a higher quality host for these baby's!

Couple of things though.

Sometimes after I first put in the XM-L2 module and turn it on, it flickers a bit and appears to go back and fourth between modes. If I turn it off and back on again it seems to go away. This seems to happen when it starts in the lowest mode. Sometimes it changes between two different low modes every second (back and fourth, back and forth), other-times it will change brightness after being on for a minuet or so. It's the strangest thing. I can't replicate this consistently, and it behaves differently each time it happens.

Also on the tube it says it's a 4-mode module (I ordered a 5-mode off your site, but you don't have any of those), although my light only has 3 modes, low-medium-high. Maybe that's where this flickering is coming from? Perhaps it is a 4 mode, but for whatever reason it only does 3 most of the time but glitches a 4th in there every now and then?


Either way it isn't a problem for me, 3 modes is fine and the flickering only seems to happen very infrequently. Just wondering if this is normal or if you have seen this before.

But I am very impressed with the tint of the XM-L2 high CRI though, I own and have used XM-L lights from cool white to neutral, and they all have very poor tints that are yellow, green, and have a very distinct transition between the hotspot and spill with a greenish halo around the hotspot. But this one is nothing like the other XM-L's I have, it has a wonderful tint with no green and just the right amount of yellow, and the transition between hotspot and spill is amazingly even. There is still some tint transition, but it doesn't bother me at all unlike my other XM-L's which I can hardly stand to use.

The XP-G2 5000k 3D is pretty nice too, although it is a lot cooler and more purple than I expected. This is my first 5000K LED, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I have a 4500k 219 Nichia that is quite rosey tinted with no purple.

 

[nailbender]

Got my XM-L2 high CRI and XP-G2 5000k modules today, very fast shipping thank you! :thumbsup:

Modules are extremely high quality, think I am going to have to get a higher quality host for these baby's!

Couple of things though.

Sometimes after I first put in the XM-L2 module and turn it on, it flickers a bit and appears to go back and fourth between modes. If I turn it off and back on again it seems to go away. This seems to happen when it starts in the lowest mode. Sometimes it changes between two different low modes every second (back and fourth, back and forth), other-times it will change brightness after being on for a minuet or so. It's the strangest thing. I can't replicate this consistently, and it behaves differently each time it happens.

Also on the tube it says it's a 4-mode module (I ordered a 5-mode off your site, but you don't have any of those), although my light only has 3 modes, low-medium-high. Maybe that's where this flickering is coming from? Perhaps it is a 4 mode, but for whatever reason it only does 3 most of the time but glitches a 4th in there every now and then?


Either way it isn't a problem for me, 3 modes is fine and the flickering only seems to happen very infrequently. Just wondering if this is normal or if you have seen this before.

But I am very impressed with the tint of the XM-L2 high CRI though, I own and have used XM-L lights from cool white to neutral, and they all have very poor tints that are yellow, green, and have a very distinct transition between the hotspot and spill with a greenish halo around the hotspot. But this one is nothing like the other XM-L's I have, it has a wonderful tint with no green and just the right amount of yellow, and the transition between hotspot and spill is amazingly even. There is still some tint transition, but it doesn't bother me at all unlike my other XM-L's which I can hardly stand to use.

The XP-G2 5000k 3D is pretty nice too, although it is a lot cooler and more purple than I expected. This is my first 5000K LED, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I have a 4500k 219 Nichia that is quite rosey tinted with no purple.

Hi

if you are having trouble with the XML2 feel free to send back and I will be glad to check. What kind of host are you using it in. Make sure and use at least part of the outer spring, some hosts are too tight to use the outer spring but it helps if you cut it to fit. Bad grounds are usually the culprit in these cases
These drivers are quite robust and you should not have that changing between levels, I check each module on a power supply and in a host but admittedly not for very long as if each levels seems to perform there is not much more to check but there can always be be an odd drivers occasionally.

few of our emitters have blue's or greens, most like the 3d as it is one of our best sellers. If you like the 90cri emitter then you may like a 4000k or a 90cri XPG2 better than the 5k.

Let me know if you would like me to look at the XML2 I certainly don't mind. I did stick a message in the package saying we were out of 5 levels and only carrying 4 levels at this time.

Let me know if I can help.

Dave

 

[LeukTech]

Hi

if you are having trouble with the XML2 feel free to send back and I will be glad to check. What kind of host are you using it in. Make sure and use at least part of the outer spring, some hosts are too tight to use the outer spring but it helps if you cut it to fit. Bad grounds are usually the culprit in these cases
These drivers are quite robust and you should not have that changing between levels, I check each module on a power supply and in a host but admittedly not for very long as if each levels seems to perform there is not much more to check but there can always be be an odd drivers occasionally.

few of our emitters have blue's or greens, most like the 3d as it is one of our best sellers. If you like the 90cri emitter then you may like a 4000k or a 90cri XPG2 better than the 5k.

Let me know if you would like me to look at the XML2 I certainly don't mind. I did stick a message in the package saying we were out of 5 levels and only carrying 4 levels at this time.

Let me know if I can help.

Dave

I've been playing with the modules pretty much all day, and the strangest thing just happened. I had taken out my XM-L2 module to play with the XP-G2 for a while (had the XM-L2 one in almost all day), but now I just popped the XM-L2 back in.

Weird thing is, now it has 4 modes. All today it would only cycle 3 modes, now it has 4 (which is what it is supposed to have). And when I first turned it on, it was flicking like crazy in the high mode (almost had a strobe like effect to it it was flickering so badly). And for a little while it kept flickering in high mode, but now it has stopped again.

I think I am going to have to sent it back, as I don't think it's the host as the XP-G2 didn't have any of these symptoms, and both modules I didn't modify at all except wrapping them with the copper tape (they are being swapped in the Solarforce L2N host I got from you).

...

Yeah, something is wrong for sure. As I was writing this I went out to my backyard to go check on something, had the light in the second to highest mode and it kept going into the turbo mode and then back to the high mode along with plenty of flickering. Now I no longer have a moonlight mode, just low-med-high again.


Let me know what I need to do to get this back to you. And I was also wondering once you get it, could you install a smooth reflector on it? Or would that be an extra charge? Cause I'm thinking this might look even better with a little throw

Thanks Dave!