Sunwayman V11R (XM-L, 1xR/CR123A, 1xAA/14500) Review: RUNTIMES, VIDEO, BEAMSHOT+

[apisdorf]

Okay; I managed to crack the loctite -- and I didn't even scratch the finish. All with the two strap wrenches that were delivered 30 minutes ago. I must be stronger than I thought. Now I just have to wait for the #1500 helical grease I ordered from Japan on eBay ($25). :-(

My $25 #1500 helical grease finally arrived from Japan. I greased the ring and it's working great! Now I just have to find a use for $24.50 worth of Japanese helical grease...

 

[ven]

My $25 #1500 helical grease finally arrived from Japan. I greased the ring and it's working great! Now I just have to find a use for $24.50 worth of Japanese helical grease...

Thats easy.............just buy another 49 v11r's

 

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond]

Or re-lube the ring once a month for the rest of your life.

 

[ozzie_c_cobblepot]

Are there any videos on how to do this? I'm not gonna buy tools just for this when a new V11R is 40$. Can it be done with just a wrench?

 

[apisdorf]

I used two strap wrenches, some elbow grease, and some helical grease. Cost: About $44. Also, I did this for a V11R Ti which cost more than $40.

This link helped me (along with this thread): http://www.theoutdoornerd.com/2013/09/how-to-re-pack-control-ring-for.html?m=1

 

[louie]

Are there any videos on how to do this? I'm not gonna buy tools just for this when a new V11R is 40$. Can it be done with just a wrench?

You'll go crazy if you try to cost justify all your flashlight related expenses here. You are investing in the tools for future light work!

Really, you can start with rubber strap wrenches, $5USD. Sometimes, you need extra clamping power, like some pliers used with rubber or leather protection pads (scraps) or a vise system. You need to unscrew the head, but not mar or damage it. You need to keep track of all the little parts. The grease is expensive, as we've noted.

A video won't really show the variation in difficulty in unscrewing some heads. IMO, this is where experience and skill comes in.

 

[ozzie_c_cobblepot]

I'm curious now, and might forget by the time I'm home... What is the beam profile of the V11R compared with the SC600 and/or the SC62?

 

[srvctec]

I'm not sure why expensive helical grease is being used in these lights when this damping grease is absolutely perfect.

http://www.dx.com/p/excellent-performance-damping-grease-50g-112202#.VpKog8tMHqA

My V10R stock grease dried up within a few months of purchase and I got a container of the above grease which is the same stuff used in binoculars and telescopes and will never dry up. I re-lubed my V10R a couple years ago and it's like I did it yesterday. I no longer EDC the light as I've moved on to a Zebralight SC62w.

 

[recDNA]

My $25 #1500 helical grease finally arrived from Japan. I greased the ring and it's working great! Now I just have to find a use for $24.50 worth of Japanese helical grease...

Offer to do it for members for five bucks and we pay shipping. Everything after the first 5 is gravy and you'll get real good at it.

 

[Vedran]

Hi all,

I am new here on this forum, and I have question about flashlite V11R.

I buy flashlite V11R before 2 days and I notice that on my v11r don't have serial number on body of flashlite, second notice is that tail cap is not same like on picture (with sunwayman logo), tail cap is rubber with lots of dots, and spare metal tail cap also don't have sunwayman logo, it is that normal or it is fake?!

I buy this from ebay, it is in original box, with holster, spare rubber cap, spare metal cap, second switch, 2x spare O-ring, lanyard, warranty card, and user manual.

Sorry for my bed english.

Regard

 

[Tejasandre]

Newer v11r's were shipped with rubber tail boot $ & spare metal button. Not sure about the serial number.

 

[selfbuilt]

I buy flashlite V11R before 2 days and I notice that on my v11r don't have serial number on body of flashlite, second notice is that tail cap is not same like on picture (with sunwayman logo), tail cap is rubber with lots of dots, and spare metal tail cap also don't have sunwayman logo, it is that normal or it is fake?!

I've noticed that newer V11R ship with the rubber tailcap installed, and the spare metal one is missing the logo. And the serial number isn't there any more either. So it looks like you are fine, this is the new normal.
:welcome:

 

[Vedran]

OK, tnx for reply, I can now send positive feedback to seller on ebay.

I watch many reviews and in all this reviews is tailcap with logo (rubber or metal), and every flashlite have serial number, but if you say that is normal, i will belive you!


Sorry for my bed english!!


Regard


Here is what it looks like http://www.canadianwildernesssurvival.com/index.php/reviews/391-sunwayman-v11r-with-aa-extender-review?hitcount=0

 

[cityofthesouth]

Olight 14500s seem to be too long with the AA extender for me. Anyone else have this issue? Seller told me to start the return process (USA) but I'm thinking if the Olight cells just don't work I'm not going to bother. The light closes up perfectly without a battery in it, then closes with a noticeable gap with the 14500 in it. Works great with an RCR123 (w/o the extender obviously) and the Olight 14500s work perfectly in my Crelant V11A.

OK, tnx for reply, I can now send positive feedback to seller on ebay.

I watch many reviews and in all this reviews is tailcap with logo (rubber or metal), and every flashlite have serial number, but if you say that is normal, i will belive you!

Sorry for my bed english!!


Regard


Here is what it looks like http://www.canadianwildernesssurvival.com/index.php/reviews/391-sunwayman-v11r-with-aa-extender-review?hitcount=0

For what it's worth, mine is the same way - no SN and no logo on the titanium button. Didn't bother with the titanium tail cap because to me it's another case where a material was used due to its prestige rather than its appropriateness in the application.

 

[jon_slider]

The purpose of my post is to ask if anyone here owns both a V11R AND a light meter. If so, could you PM me so we can discuss a test?

thanks!

backstory:
I had a chance to experiment with a V11R on my light meter, and discovered it is very sensitive to its position in the earths magnetic field. If I rotate it 180 degrees, it changes brightness… here is a video (Im not touching the control ring, just rotating the whole light. The piece of paper taped to the tail is just to make it obvious the light is being turned)

Having seen this actual behavior on a light meter, I put a lot more weight in the comments that selfbuilt originally made in post #1, when he noticed the unstable brightness of the V11R. In my video you will see the V11R goes up to 122 lumens and down to 62 lumens, depending on orientation: (this is on 16340)


here are the comments selbuilt made in post #1 (he underplays them and says it does not matter to him that the light is unstable, and that most people without a light meter, would not be aware of the instability)

The circuit glitch of not maintaining the initial set output level on 3.7V Li-ion sources is a bit strange

The initial sub-maximal output levels set by the ring are not full stable on Li-ion batteries, but rapidly rise and slowly drop-off over time, eventually settling at a much lower stabilized level.

(On 16340):
One oddity however – on all levels below Max levels, the light doesn't hold its initial output. Rather, it drops off over time, eventually stabilizing at a level <60% lower than the initial output.

This may be a quirk of my one sample, but on 1xRCR it actually rises in output slightly over the first 1-2 mins, before starting off on its descending trajectory

(On 14500):
But the same pattern of shifting output over time (with a delayed stabilization) is observed here. Indeed, it was even more pronounced on all my 14500 cells – there was a clear increase in output over the first 3+ mins, sometimes rising by as much as 30%, before descending into a gradual drop-off. As before with 1xRCR, the light eventually leveled off somewhere <40% of its initial output level.

Note I observed this on a number of 14500 and RCR cells (including different brands), and the effect seemed to be consistently greater on 14500. Interestingly, if you scroll back up the standard AA runtimes, you'll note something similar (but far less pronounced) seemed to be occurring there too.

 

[Crazyeddiethefirst]

I have 6 V11r's, and just ordered a light meter-upon receiving it, I will pm you(3-4 weeks estimated till delivery). I also have quite a few other lights with control rings-have you notes this behavior on any other lights?

 

[gunga]

I think it's defective. I never noticed that before.

 

[jon_slider]

I think it's defective. I never noticed that before.

A light meter is required to show the lumen changes Im talking about.

Selfbuilt says his V11R has the "quirk" too, and that most people wont notice the brightness changes by eye. The quirk did not make him stop carrying the light. Like most people, he does not care about things he cannot notice in use, even if its detectable with a meter:

From post 1:

This may be a quirk of my one sample
...
this drop-off was still gradual enough that you will not notice it happening by eye.
...
I don't know if this was a quirk of my one sample, but it is not a problem in practice – the change in output is gradual enough for you not to notice by eye
...
The circuit glitch of not maintaining the initial set output level on 3.7V Li-ion sources is a bit strange, but not really a problem in use

here is a test on low, with a Maratac as a control:


In my V11R test at 1.7 lumens, the change was +0.8 lumens, to 2.5 lumens
On medium of 62 lumens, the change was +60 lumens, to 122 lumens

A 0.7 lumen change is not noticeable, a 60 lumen change, Might be noticeable, IF you look for it, but a meter makes it really obvious.

here is another selfbuilt comment about a magnetic ring light with brightness instability:http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?380359-Sunwayman-V25C

It is not uncommon for continuously-variable lights controlled by a magnetic ring to show some change in output over time.
...
in the case of the V25C, it seems like any medium-to-high level setting (i.e., anything >50% max output) gradually increases in output over a few minutes to max output.
...
at the lower level, the V25C manages to keep a fairly constant output (with a slight output oscillation that is not visible to the eye)
...
My sample wouldn't maintain flat regulation at Med-Hi levels, and would instead slowly increase in output back up to Max

 

[gunga]

Actually I did some more testing and noted fairly minor variance visually when slowly turning the light. This shows up in a few v11r samples. I had never noticed before because I don't slowly rotate my light when I'm using it. I've never noticed an issue so it obviously never bothered me.

 

[jon_slider]

thanks for the visual confirmation
fwiw, turning the rotary dial from min to medium and letting go, produces the same result as rotating the whole light. After I stop turning the rotary dial, the brightness continues to climb.

Same going down, if I turn the rotary from max to medium and let go, in actual use, it again does the same thing as rotating the light in the video. After letting go of the adjuster ring, the lumens are not stable, they continue to drop by themselves.

The videos I posted were just an example of how unstable the brightness is, from any change in brightness, either turning the magnetic ring, or turning the whole light.

Im glad you never noticed visually, selfbuilt and I noticed on a light meter, which makes the instability really obvious. Its a shame, cause I guess I had hoped the ring would be accurate, and stable. Instead its inconsistent and changes, even after stopping movement of the adjuster ring.

As far as moving the light itself, I often reposition my light to shine from different angles. On a V11R, this changes the brightness in ways that are obvious with a meter, and not so obvious to you by eye.

all good, interesting learning. Thanks for the feedback.