P60 sized led drop-ins (part 3)

[psychbeat]

hehe- yeah -its a rad module Im really happy with it!

I just got an R2 warm xpg Linger Special 2.8 single mode

and its UNREAL how nice a flood it is for trail riding on my
bike.

Ive only got a crappy DSD charger and it works fine albeit
slow - takes all night to charge a dead 18650. you also
dont want to leave it in there trickle charging all day after its
full. I use it for my RCR123 (16340) and have had no problems.
my batts get charged twice a week. so far so good. Id like a hobby
charger at some point if I get a 26650 host but thats month$ away.

one other tip- an extra cell in an old cliff bar wrapper or sandwich
bag is really light and easy to carry:thumbsup:

 

[Chingyul]

I did a 2 layer wrap around the brass pill and it seems to have solved my contact issue.
Now, any issues with it it being there? Any chance of it melting or screwing up my 6P. The light does get pretty warm with my drop in.

 

[old4570]

I did a 2 layer wrap around the brass pill and it seems to have solved my contact issue.
Now, any issues with it it being there? Any chance of it melting or screwing up my 6P. The light does get pretty warm with my drop in.

Good , it means the drop in is heatsinking into the body ...
Did you get a multi mode drop in ? If not , well as long as it does not start to burn your hand .

 

[Chingyul]

Nope, just the single mode (SKU 11836) from DX.
Guessing now it's heatsinking more to to the body (well, as much as 2 layers of aluminum foil will help), it'll warm up faster. Not a big deal for now, but maybe I'll pick up a multimode down the road.
Thanks

 

[Nouiate]

Just got DX's new $17 P7 drop-in (sku36030). Build quality is fine. Has memory for the 3 modes. Visible PWM on low, but the low mode is pretty decently low, which is nice. I'd say <45 lumens.

Very floody beam, but you get that with any quad-die in a P60. There is a donut hole in the center, unfortunately. On high it is very very bright. No heat issues in my Solarforce L2p host that I can tell.

However, all in all, for $17 to turn your SF 6P or L2 into a 400 lumen beast you can't really go wrong.

I'll do some runtime test and get a current draw reading, but so far I like it.

 

[Superorb]

Just got DX's new $17 P7 drop-in (sku36030). Build quality is fine. Has memory for the 3 modes. Visible PWM on low, but the low mode is pretty decently low, which is nice. I'd say <45 lumens.

Very floody beam, but you get that with any quad-die in a P60. There is a donut hole in the center, unfortunately. On high it is very very bright. No heat issues in my Solarforce L2p host that I can tell.

However, all in all, for $17 to turn your SF 6P or L2 into a 400 lumen beast you can't really go wrong.

I'll do some runtime test and get a current draw reading, but so far I like it.

A decent low is under 5L

 

[old4570]

A decent low is under 5L

To each there own , 5L from a SSC P7 :mecry: , 50L is more like it ...
But you really want a medium setting .

Looking forward to some current readings ..

 

[old4570]

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=3377237&postcount=955

Link to SSC P7 and XP-G R5 beamshots ...

 

[Superorb]

To each there own , 5L from a SSC P7 :mecry: , 50L is more like it ...
But you really want a medium setting .

Looking forward to some current readings ..

I don't expect 5L from a P7. I'd be happy with 1L, 10L and 100L for my night stand light, but I haven't yet found a drop-in that would fit that bill.

 

[old4570]

I don't expect 5L from a P7. I'd be happy with 1L, 10L and 100L for my night stand light, but I haven't yet found a drop-in that would fit that bill.

And you most likely wont .. Having said that I do have a drop in that comes close , but it was DIY , and a lot had to do with simple pot luck in what the driver did . And the one I got is for some reason low output [ low current drain as well ] and works for me as I run it 2xAA . Its able to run on dry cells [ the cheapest and nastiest ] all the way up to 18650 . And when I make a battery tube , it should even be 2xAAA capable .

3L - 20L - 80L on Dry Cells ..

You may wish to consider the variable output drop in from DX , mine has no modes though ..

If only one could source the Akoray programmable driver :thumbsup:

 

[Manual Man]

Sorry to put this here but I thought you guys probably know the most about p60 drop-ins so here goes: I am looking for a p60 drop-in to go in a WF-502b host ($7.30 of eBay) and was wondering if you guys could point me in the right direction....I am building a sub $20 thrower for rabbit shooting at night with a .22LR (I will be adding a smooth reflector as well if it does not require any serious know how) will probably be using 18650's with it. Any advice?

 

[old4570]

Sorry to put this here but I thought you guys probably know the most about p60 drop-ins so here goes: I am looking for a p60 drop-in to go in a WF-502b host ($7.30 of eBay) and was wondering if you guys could point me in the right direction....I am building a sub $20 thrower for rabbit shooting at night with a .22LR (I will be adding a smooth reflector as well if it does not require any serious know how) will probably be using 18650's with it. Any advice?

1/
2/
3/

Well , these are your DX choices ...

XR-E R2 will be your best choice , also check out Kaidomain.com

 

[kosPap]

andif you have a 502 host, then the apsheric lkens that Dx also sells is a goof fit and focus....for lighting up and not searching it is far better with its concetrated beam

 

[Superorb]

And you most likely wont .. Having said that I do have a drop in that comes close , but it was DIY , and a lot had to do with simple pot luck in what the driver did . And the one I got is for some reason low output [ low current drain as well ] and works for me as I run it 2xAA . Its able to run on dry cells [ the cheapest and nastiest ] all the way up to 18650 . And when I make a battery tube , it should even be 2xAAA capable .

3L - 20L - 80L on Dry Cells ..

You may wish to consider the variable output drop in from DX , mine has no modes though ..

If only one could source the Akoray programmable driver :thumbsup:

My father is an EE, I've been talking to him about designing a P60 drop-in that will do what I want it to. They use LEDs in everything they build anyways, so he should be able to point me in the right direction. I've got 5 hosts waiting for a drop-in that I like, so that's at least 5 of them to assemble.

 

[Manual Man]

Thanks for that....another question though: the $8.45 one (SKU:11836,(the first one)) someone brought up the issue of the manufacturer changing the DC-DC board and now it only makes about 120 lumen....is this still a problem or has it been changed back? (also how hard is it to change the board to something better?)

 

[Midnight Oil]

I received a XPG R3 from Dave (Nailbender) last week. The tint is 5000 K neutral white, which appears slightly green next to my ET P100A2 4300 K neutral white.

The hotspot has 9 very noticeable dark spots arranged in a 3x3 grid pattern. The center one is the largest, and becomes a big dark spot with increasing distance. The culprit---a smooth reflector. This must be what some Quark Turbo users complain about.

Dave explained to me that those dark spots are actually die marks. An OP reflector would have covered them up. I didn't know that when I ordered. I had seen beamshots of the new LD20 with the XP-G R4 with the smooth reflector, and it's hotspot was perfect, so I thought I'd be getting something similar. Rings, maybe, but not this.

Why are these die marks not visible in XREs and XPEs with smooth reflectors? Is it the relatively large size of the XPG die that's the problem?

Lesson learned---go with the OP next time, if there is a next time.

Very disappointed. Not a good start going down the drop-in road. First the flashlight host and now this. Considering stopping the bleeding right here. This has been a big mistake. It's a freakin mine field. Good thing I haven't purchased the 18650 and the PILA charger, so I'm not in too deep. :sigh:

Regardless, thanks to everyone who has responded to my many questions in many areas of this hobby. It's been nice talking to y'all. Lights out.

 

[Ziemas]

I received a XPG R3 from Dave (Nailbender) last week. The tint is 5000 K neutral white, which appears slightly green next to my ET P100A2 4300 K neutral white.

The hotspot has 9 very noticeable dark spots arranged in a 3x3 grid pattern. The center one is the largest, and becomes a big dark spot with increasing distance. The culprit---a smooth reflector. This must be what some Quark Turbo users complain about.

Dave explained to me that those dark spots are actually die marks. An OP reflector would have covered them up. I didn't know that when I ordered. I had seen beamshots of the new LD20 with the XP-G R4 with the smooth reflector, and it's hotspot was perfect, so I thought I'd be getting something similar. Rings, maybe, but not this.

Why are these die marks not visible in XREs and XPEs with smooth reflectors? Is it the relatively large size of the XPG die that's the problem?

Lesson learned---go with the OP next time, if there is a next time.

Very disappointed. Not a good start going down the drop-in road. First the flashlight host and now this. Considering stopping the bleeding right here. This has been a big mistake. It's a freakin mine field. Good thing I haven't purchased the 18650 and the PILA charger, so I'm not in too deep. :sigh:

Regardless, thanks to everyone who has responded to my many questions in many areas of this hobby. It's been nice talking to y'all. Lights out.

What are you using your light for that this is such a major problem?

 

[psychbeat]

just get an op reflector and stick the pill in that.
Im sure NB will send u one for cheap.
no reason to waaaah

I bet it looks fine outside btw.

 

[Midnight Oil]

Ziemas,

A $5 light is sufficient for my actual lighting needs, but like many members here, I also like nice bright lights, just for the heck of it. It may have some connections to our prehistoric days, when the ability to make fire meant life or death :candle:. There is a strange satisfaction that comes with being in control of a light source:thinking:. I hope that's not unhealthy.

I'm disappointed because, since I decided to go the drop-in route, I've spent a lot of time looking into hosts, lubes, drop-ins, batteries, and chargers, in a "dollar wise pound foolish" manner, now that I think about it, and came away with a light that still falls well short of my expectations, one of them being a nice beam, a criteria I adopted when I was comparing Fenix, Quark, and ET lights.

Lost time, opportunity costs, and ultimately a bad decision regarding reflectors---that's what did it. Really, the die mark problem is out of left field. I wonder if other brands of drop-ins that use a smooth reflector with the XPG also have this problem.

 

[Midnight Oil]

Psychbeat,

I was pretty excited to hear the kind of runtime you're able to get out of your configuration, and was eager with anticipation for much of last week, waiting for my drop-in's arrival. Then I popped it in the host and !? Such an anticlimax:sigh:.

The pill is secured with medium duty thread lock, and I can't seem to get it loose short of busting the whole works. Any ideas? I've tried rubbing alcohol and it didn't budge. Someone told me to try Coke; the idea is that the acid will eat through the stuff, but I'm not that daring, yet.

Other than DX where can I get a reasonably priced OP reflector?

I was planning to get the brightest 8-degree XRE from NB next. I expect it'll be something like the Malkoff M30, which, per Gene's description, will blind someone within a 100 feet, and easily illuminate objects up to 350 ft. I wonder if that is a realistic expectation.