P60 sized led drop-ins (part 3)

[Corvette6769]

'vette6769....WOW...THANKS!!! I just got the "manafont" today and it is brighter than my nailbender XM-L. For whatever reason, when I first put the drop-in in my host, it would not cycle to its brightest mode using various 18650's and a 17670. So, I put 2xRCR123's in the thing and...DANG...it was bright. I then changed out the cells and now it cycles to all modes using an 18650/17670...and it now behaves as expected.

I would caution against 2xRCR123's in the future, because this drop-in is rated 4.2v maximum (I am surprised it didn't go poof with 2xRCR123).

[Corvette6769]

Today I also received my "Manafont" XM-L 3 mode drop in that was recommended by Corvette6769. It's just starting to get dark here so haven't fully checked it out but from what I can tell so far it seems very nice. LED is nicely centered and it seems a little brighter on low, med & high than my other 5 mode XM-L's from KD are. The tint seems a little less yellow. A very nice drop in for the money and it's nice to not have to cycle through the annoying strobe and SOS modes. I'm glad I have the 5 mode ones in case I ever need those functions but my new Manafont 3 mode will surely see more daily use.

Glad you like it. Still loving mine too.

[seattlite]

I would caution against 2xRCR123's in the future, because this drop-in is rated 4.2v maximum (I am surprised it didn't go poof with 2xRCR123).

Yeah...I know it had a 4.2V max, but when I used an 18650/17670 and it didn't light up, I thought the drop-in was DOA. So I put in a couple of 3.7V RCR's and it worked. I put several 3-5 second spurts into the drop-in and nothing bad happened. Since then I switched to 18650/17670 but not before I metered the output from 2xRCR123's...WOW.

[recDNA]

I received my 5 mode 6 volt xm-l p60 from solarforce-sales today. Can anybody tell me how to verify that it is the 6 volt model and not the 4.2 volt model? All it has is a silver sticker that says Solarforce - nothing about voltage on the pkg or the drop in???

edit- Never mind - the color of the label apparently is the key. Silver labe = 6 volts.

Thanks for your help!

[Glenn7]

There's a cheap new kid on the block for your P60 dropins here - or the whole thing here - just missed these by a day or I would have added one to my order as they look nice and are a good price.

[don.gwapo]

Does a P60 with hidden strobe and/or SOS exist?

[orbital]

Does a P60 with hidden strobe and/or SOS exist?

+

A few years ago DX had a great P60 drop-in that had 5 separate groups

2-mode
3-mode
2-mode w/ strobe
0~100% user defined
5-mode including SOS & strobe

{you switched groups on the lowest mode, it blinked twice & you did a quick On~Off}

I think before they were sold out I had 4 in various applications,
..today I have 1 full drop-in & 1 pill in a 14500 light .

They were the best xr-e drop-ins you could get back then, plus it was damn bright!




How it was driven on single Li-Ion ^

[odd]

DX has a 16-Mode driver that has 3 groups:
1. 3-mode low-med-high
2. 5-mode low-med-high-strobe-sos
3. 8-mode low-med-high-strobe-fast strobe-(several beacons)- sos

Switching groups works the way orbital explained.

Works great with the xp-g dropin from dx.

With an additional AMC7135 (there´s space for one one the board) it would also make a nice underdriven xm-l driver.


However, a bit of soldering is required.

[Interference]

Hello,
I have a Surefire 6P running on two R123s with the P90 lamp. Now I would like to buy a LED drop-in module from DX.

As far as I can see, each module has the indication of the current draw and the voltage range. I was wondering: it is the current draw constant across the whole range? This would mean that using higher voltages (i.e. 2x3.7 instead 1x3.7) most power get dissipated in the driver circuit, so using two R123 with a LED module would not be efficient.

Am I right or wrong on this?

[Erzengel]

The stated current is usually the maximum current delivered to the LED. If the driver of the module is using 7135 linear regulators, You will have the large power loss, You were fearing. this usually doesn't apply to the high voltage drop-ins.
Which drop-ins are You looking for? The Solarforce drop-ins, available at solarforce-sales.com, have a good reputation. Just choose a drop-in with a voltage range fitting to Your battery configuration.

[Interference]

The stated current is usually the maximum current delivered to the LED. If the driver of the module is using 7135 linear regulators, You will have the large power loss, You were fearing. this usually doesn't apply to the high voltage drop-ins.
Which drop-ins are You looking for? The Solarforce drop-ins, available at solarforce-sales.com, have a good reputation. Just choose a drop-in with a voltage range fitting to Your battery configuration.

Well, I would like to take a drop in available from DealeXtreme, since I have to buy some other things from them. The point is: two R123 give 7-8 V and most modules take a range of inputs from 3-4 V to approx. 9. My fear is that running them at 7-8 V would waste a lot of power... I don't see any module "tuned" to that voltage.

[simplec6]

Has anyone done direct comparisons using a 18650x1 configuration between nailbender's xml 3.1 amp 3 mode drop-in and the 3 amp xml module from deal extreme or manafont? Just wondering did nailbender's is really worth the 40 bucks over the 15 bucks or cheaper from deal extreme using the same xml led.

[simplec6]

'vette6769....WOW...THANKS!!! I just got the "manafont" today and it is brighter than my nailbender XM-L. For whatever reason, when I first put the drop-in in my host, it would not cycle to its brightest mode using various 18650's and a 17670. So, I put 2xRCR123's in the thing and...DANG...it was bright. I then changed out the cells and now it cycles to all modes using an 18650/17670...and it now behaves as expected.

Which nailbender xml do you have that you are comparing the manafont to? Is it the 2.8 or 3.1 amp? Anything that makes you feel that the nailbender is worth the extra cash?

[Interference]

Finally, I've ordered the SKU6090. Looking at this:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...iew-**UPDATE**
the power draw and the light emission seems to be stable across all the voltaga range

[orbital]

+

Quick list of currently available P60 size drop-ins with Optics

Torchlab L3 {Triple Cree XP-G}
Torchlab L1 {Triple Cree XP-G}
Malkoff M60 {8 degree optic}
Malkoff M60F {8 degree optic ~ flood}
Titanium Innovations D1000 {XP-E w/ 5.5° TIR Collimator Optic }
nailbender 8degree/ 60 degree customs


..please add any I missed

thanks

[Corvette6769]

+

Quick list of currently available P60 size drop-ins with Optics

Torchlab L3 {Triple Cree XP-G}
Torchlab L1 {Triple Cree XP-G}
Malkoff M60 {8 degree optic}
Malkoff M60F {8 degree optic ~ flood}
Titanium Innovations D1000 {XP-E w/ 5.5° TIR Collimator Optic }


..please add any I missed

thanks

With a single Cree XM-L U3 putting out 1040-1105 lumens @ 3.0A and its awesome throw with a smooth reflector, what is the advantage to P60 size drop-ins with Optics costing 10-times as much?

Are they that much better than the single XM-L?

[orbital]

+

vette, it's not a better or worse thing,..just a reference

^ added nailbender to list

[Corvette6769]

+

vette, it's not a better or worse thing,..just a reference

^ added nailbender to list

What is the advantage to P60 size drop-ins with Optics costing 10-times as much?

[jorn]

What is the advantage to P60 size drop-ins with Optics costing 10-times as much?

They are usually better buildt, and got better heatsinking. My optic modules is more like one solid heatsink, and they feel like brick's compared to my not close to 10x cheaper solarforce xm-l. My cheaper solarforce don't seem to be bad buildt or anything, but compared with a malkoff or torchlab triple, its flimsy and lack mass. I dont expect the solarforce to go poof anytime soon on me, but it has to work harder than my "brick's" to earn my trust.

The heat has to jump from the led-->pill-->reflector-->host with my solarforce xm-l. My optic modules has one less barrier: led-->module-->host. Might not be a major advantage, but I think every little thing helps when big Watts is transfered to heat (some end up as light).

The triple xp-g has a huuuge hotspot compared to the solarforce xm-l. The hotspot is dimmer, but still bright and it still got all the throw i need. I can fit ~5-6 "xm-l hotspots" inside the "triple hotspot". No need to wave that triple around to see whats in front of you. The solarforce xm-l t6 got more throw, and brighter spill than my torchlab triple xp-g r4 (neutral), but got less lumens for sure in a celing bounce test. It's hard to notice where the spill ends on my optic modules. No problems to notice that with my reflector modules. Both triple xp-g and single xm-l got exellent beams, but for different use.

[ganymede]

Hi guys,

Is there a beam shot compilations of the more popular dropins currently on the market?

On another note, do you prefer single mode or multiple modes dropins?

Thank.

[Vortus]

Looking for a recommendation. I use mine to pretrip my truck along with spotting building numbers making deliveries. Discovered the NB optic XRE I have now doesn't have the brute force needed to overcome street lights that light up an area but obscure the building number. Great drop in, does fine in all other situations. It throws fine, just not enough oomph.

[Erzengel]

What distance do You have to cover? The ltrafire XM-L or any other XML-Drop-In with 2.8 Amp max might be worth a try. If You use them only for a few minutes at a time, the heat will be ok.

[orbital]

Looking for a recommendation. I use mine to pretrip my truck along with spotting building numbers making deliveries. Discovered the NB optic XRE I have now doesn't have the brute force needed to overcome street lights that light up an area but obscure the building number. Great drop in, does fine in all other situations. It throws fine, just not enough oomph.

+

Consider an XP-E drop-in,..
they'll give more throw than xp-g & your runtime will be much greater than a cranked up xm-l

Jay at FlashlightConnection has some Dereelight XP-E drop-ins that'll work great

http://flashlightconnection.com/Dere...size-p389.html
http://flashlightconnection.com/Dere...size-p387.html

SD = single Li-Ion
SM = two/three cr123 or {2} Li-Ions


______

edit: another option is XR-E w/ smooth reflector

[Vortus]

The problem ones were about 125-150 ft.

[SRacer2000]

OK, This thread made things even more confusing. I could use a recommendation. Here's what I am looking for:

Runs off 2xCR123a
Orange peel reflector
3 Level
Don't need more than 250-300 lumen on high
Not real picky on tint, I'm fine with the standard P60 Led tint
Not over driven
Durability and Reliability

Don't really what to spend more than $50

[odd]

OK, This thread made things even more confusing. I could use a recommendation. Here's what I am looking for:

Runs off 2xCR123a
Orange peel reflector
3 Level
Don't need more than 250-300 lumen on high
Not real picky on tint, I'm fine with the standard P60 Led tint
Not over driven
Durability and Reliability

Don't really what to spend more than $50

You could ask nailbender to build a dropin that fits your needs.

If you are ok with a 5-mode dropin I can recommend SKU 32954 from dx.

[Shermanator]

Need a drop-in for my Solarforce L2P that will throw.

Suggestions?

[psychbeat]

Need a drop-in for my Solarforce L2P that will throw.

Suggestions?

Any XR-E module with smooth reflector will throw fairly well.
If u add an aspheric lens it will throw like crazy.

[Old goat]

I have the KD Raidfire Spear clone. Is there a drop in emittor for it that would give me more throw? I was happy with the light, the way it was, till I got my ThruNight Catapult last week!

[recDNA]

Need a drop-in for my Solarforce L2P that will throw.

Suggestions?

Nailbender XR-E R2 1.4 amp P60 potted with smooth reflector.