*Edit - received!* El Captain

[regulator]

I am a little disappointed that it is taking so long to get my light. I ordered (by phone) what should be a fairly standard #6 power with narrow optic. It has been two weeks today and I still haven't gotten a ship notice. I called a week ago and was told it should ship out tomorrow. I called at the end of that week and was told it should probably ship tomorrow. I do know they are hand built and it takes time but it can be frustrating.

Anyway - I am looking forward to receiving my light. I hope I receive it before the weekend. The waiting just sucks. But as they say - patience is a virtue.

 

[regulator]

Re: Still waiting on my El Captain

Got my #6 power level, narrow optic El Captain today. I am impressed! This light seems to be a very efficient. It looks to be almost as bright as my Quark AA on high while drawing less power. It does not have any fancy features but it excels at what it does and that is elegance in itself – at least to me.

I must have won the tint lottery. The color is pure white. From the first time I fired it up and looked at the beam I was impressed. And this is from someone who has several lights from many manufacturers. I have a Quark AA which I would classify as being pretty white but this thing makes it look colored in comparison. I do not know if all El Captain’s will be this white or I just won the perfect tint (at least to me) lottery.

The beam from the narrow optics is amazing. The beam profile is almost identical to the Quark AA mini with reflector. The hot spot is practically identical but the spill is ever so slightly different. The optic is smoother but “ever” so slightly less wide and a touch dimmer. It offers a nice amount of spill and looks similar to the Quark AA profile but with a different spill. It is very smooth. I think it is ideal and does not have a “follow the bouncing ball” effect at all. This is an impressive beam profile if I must say.

The light puts out a lot of lumens for the power it draws and seems very efficient. I will be doing some test since I have gotten some erratic current readings and I want to make sure my meter is not the culprit.

So far it seems like 500 mA from and eneloop (current from battery). But I have had readings as high as almost 1 amp - not sure why. I have seen this current draw with an Energizer lithium as well.

But it seems to have stabalized at 500mA (from an eleloop) and the amount of output looks great. If this is the case I am really liking this light!

 

[BentHeadTX]

Re: *Edit - received!* Still waiting on my El Captain

Good to hear your light arrived just in time for the weekend :)

What kind of meter are you using in that it jumps around from 500mA to almost an amp? I would love to see a run time chart on the El Cap, I can extrapolate the different power levels to run time that way.

Optics have a knack for "mixing" the output from LEDs, they give it a "creamy" texture (that is how I would put it)

Looking forward to your current measurements (maybe a Eneloop runtime?) Enjoy your light!

 

[regulator]

Re: *Edit - received!* Still waiting on my El Captain

Hi BentHeadTX,

I love the beam profile from the narrow optic. I don't think I would classify it as a narrow beam at all. It is very similar to the beam profile from my Qaurk AA Mini with reflector. It is very smooth with a great hotspot. I like that it is even thinner and shorter than the Pacific. Very solid feeling too.

I have a Fluke 77 meter. I use the 10A setting and check current flow in series through the meter. Reading are stable and consistant.

El Captain:
Energizer Lithium 1.75 V, 950mA
Enegizer Alkaline 1.55V, 900mA
Generick Alkaline 1.51V, 380mA (not completely fresh)
NiCad 1.42V, 500mA
Eneloop 1.28V, 240mA (fresh - also compared with another Eneloop)

Pacific HP:
Energizer Lithium 1.75 V, 200mA
Enegizer Alkaline 1.55V, 210mA
Generick Alkaline 1.51V, 230mA
NiCad 1.42V, 230mA
Eneloop 1.28V, 240mA

It appears that the ElCaptain current draw is INCREASING with higher voltage. You would expect it to be opposite. The Pacific displays a common trend with a regulator - as voltage increases the current demand decreases to maintain constant power.

The Captain is definately brighter on lithium Energizer and I would agree with the amount of lumens for this current draw - it is bright. But while dimmer on an Eneloop it is still impressively bright (almost as bright as high on my Quark Mini AA) and does not seem to be using so much power at only around 240mA. I am impressed if this correlates to runtime at this brightness.

I want to do a runtime test comparing it to another light and using the same cells to get a real world feel for what is goint on. I wonder if somehow the Captain circuit is doing something odd when the meter is introduced into the circuit? I hope the circuit is not defective. It is SO white that I would hate to have to send it back - never mind having to wait. There is just something special about a pure white XPG beaming through a great optic.

 

[BentHeadTX]

Re: *Edit - received!* Still waiting on my El Captain

Hi BentHeadTX,

I have a Fluke 77 meter. I use the 10A setting and check current flow in series through the meter. Reading are stable and consistant.

El Captain:
Energizer Lithium 1.75 V, 950mA
Enegizer Alkaline 1.55V, 900mA
Generick Alkaline 1.51V, 380mA (not completely fresh)
NiCad 1.42V, 500mA
Eneloop 1.28V, 240mA (fresh - also compared with another Eneloop)

It appears that the ElCaptain current draw is INCREASING with higher voltage. You would expect it to be opposite. The Pacific displays a common trend with a regulator - as voltage increases the current demand decreases to maintain constant power.

The Captain is definately brighter on lithium Energizer and I would agree with the amount of lumens for this current draw - it is bright. But while dimmer on an Eneloop it is still impressively bright (almost as bright as high on my Quark Mini AA) and does not seem to be using so much power at only around 240mA. I am impressed if this correlates to runtime at this brightness.

I want to do a runtime test comparing it to another light and using the same cells to get a real world feel for what is goint on. I wonder if somehow the Captain circuit is doing something odd when the meter is introduced into the circuit? I hope the circuit is not defective. It is SO white that I would hate to have to send it back - never mind having to wait. There is just something special about a pure white XPG beaming through a great optic.

That is odd,

The Fluke 77 is a great meter, by the way. :thumbsup:

I think that regulator is made to run 1V to 4.2V ??? Pulling 950mA on a lithium AA or alkaline sounds about right to me. NiCads generally have a lower "sag" on the voltage under load so that might explain the 500mA reading VS the 240mA reading on the Eneloop?

Maybe you can do a runtime test with the meter inline to see if it regulates or just continues to decline with the Eneloop? Sounds like the trip point of the regulator is too high, maybe it is going into "battery saver mode" as Peak calls it.

I would give them a call, there is something weird going on with that regulator. Thanks for the report and have a great weekend.

 

[Dances with Flashlight]

Re: *Edit - received!* Still waiting on my El Captain

Regulator: Thanks for your work and these details.

 

[regulator]

Re: *Edit - received!* Still waiting on my El Captain

I am running a test right now with an Eneloop. I want to run it for another hour or two. I am taking votage and current readings at intervals to see a trend. But I think something is not right.

I agree, it seems like the circuit is switching modes or somthing. When a cell is just over 1.5 volts (or close) it consumes a lot more current. But when the voltage drops slightly below 1.5 volts it starts to decline. This is opposite of what a regulated circuit is supposed to do.

I thought that a #6 should should be drawing approximately 500ma on a fresh cell. I thought a #8 draws around 1 amp on a fresh cell. I do know the the original Pacific HP (which I think is a #4) draws somewhere around 220-290 ma from a fresh alkaline cell. It would draw a little more current from a lower voltage NiMh cell to maintain power.

 

[regulator]

Re: *Edit - received!* Still waiting on my El Captain

That is odd,

The Fluke 77 is a great meter, by the way. :thumbsup:
QUOTE]

Thanks BentHead. I also have a Fluke 787 which is a great meter. However, it does not seem to do a good job at current measurements in setups like this. Its like it has too much resistance and does not give a good reading. I never really investigated the reason for this.

 

[regulator]

Re: *Edit - received!* Still waiting on my El Captain

Here are the results of running a fresh off the charger eneloop:

0 min: 1.47 V / 940ma
5 min: 1.35V / 520ma
15 min” 1.29V / 480ma
45 min: 1.24V / 310ma
60 min: 1.22V/ 160ma
At 60 minutes it is approximately twice as bright as a Quark MiniAA on medium. It is a little less bright than Mini high (all from ceiling bounce test).
120 min: 1.16V /60ma
At 120 minutes the brightness is identical to the Quark medium.
180 min: 1.1V / 30ma
At 180 minutes the brightness is dim and about the same as the Quark low setting. I stopped the test to prevent damaging the cell.

I put a fresh alkaline cell in and had the same results within 5 minutes
0 min: 1.64V / 950ma
5 min: 1.45V / 500ma

I think this one needs to go back. For starters, I do not believe a #6 should be drawing this much current at the start. It’s almost like it is direct drive. Peak will make things right. I think I will provide this info so they can have a look at what might possibly be wrong. Oh well.

 

[BentHeadTX]

Re: *Edit - received!* Still waiting on my El Captain

The regulation curve reminds me of the old Arc AAA type voltage regulator. A spike at the beginning then gradual current drop coupled with a brightness drop.

Maybe Peak can post what their expected current draw is on the El Cap at the power ratings of their lights. This would give a good idea to customers what battery life to calculate. Peak does have their regulators "kick down" at the end of the batteries life so you won't be in the dark.

 

[LED_Thrift]

Re: *Edit - received!* Still waiting on my El Captain

Thanks for the interesting info & test results. Sorry that you may have to send it back. May I request a beamshot before returning it? I'd like to see the beam profile you are describing.

 

[regulator]

Re: *Edit - received!* Still waiting on my El Captain

Thanks for the interesting info & test results. Sorry that you may have to send it back. May I request a beamshot before returning it? I'd like to see the beam profile you are describing.

I will try a little later - I never posted a picture before so I will have to learn.

BentHead - I agree that it would be very useful for Peak to post the current draw (with a common alkaline) for the different power levels they offer. I have been using the Eiger numbers Curt posted since I believe the circuits are the same----

We used a bench power supply for these test results. The first number is the current drive to the LED in mA. The second number is the measurement in Candela. The third number is the approximate Lumen output. The 0100 LED bin measurements should be slightly higher but this is a good starting point.

20-------29-------4
40-------60-------9
60-------90------14
80-------120-----19
100-----140-----24
125-----170-----30
150-----200-----36
175-----230-----42
200-----250-----48
250-----310-----60
300-----345-----70
350-----395-----80
400-----430-----90
450-----465-----100
500-----490-----109
550-----520-----117
600-----550-----126
650-----580-----134
700-----590-----141
750-----615-----148

#1--------------------------------------------#2 XLR?
1xAlk…….30.2 fc…...…6 L-------------------45.1 fc….….9 L
2xAlk…….34.7 fc…...…7 L-------------------52.1 fc…10.5 L
1xNiMH….30.0 fc….... 6 L------------------ 44.4 fc….…..9 L
2xNiMH….32.3 fc…...…6 L-------------------48.4 fc…..9.5 L
10280…...62.9 fc...12.5 L-------------------92.5 fc..18.5 L

#3--------------------------------------------#4 HP?
1xAlk….…58.5 fc…11.5 L--------------------65.9 fc…..…13 L
2xAlk….…68.7 fc…...14 L--------------------78.3 fc….15.5 L
1xNiMH.…55.9 fc…...11 L--------------------63.5 fc….12.5 L
2xNiMH….64.0 fc….…13 L--------------------73.6 fc….…15 L
10280….119.3 fc….…24 L-------------------138.3 fc…27.5 L

#5--------------------------------------------#6 UP?
1xAlk…....94.2 fc……19 L--------------------131.2 fc…...26 L
2xAlk…...120.4 fc…..24 L--------------------164.9 fc…...33 L
1xNiMH…..91.8 fc…18.5 L-------------------128.3 fc...25.5 L
2xNiMH…112.3 fc…24.5 L-------------------152.4 fc...30.5 L
10280…..193.0 fc…38.5 L-------------------255.0 fc…….51 L

#7---------------------------------------------#8 SP
1xAlk…….155.1 fc……31 L--------------------212 fc….....42 L
2xAlk…….202.0 fc..40.5 L--------------------392 fc…..78.5 L
1xNiMH….155.2 fc……31 L--------------------197 fc…..39.5 L
2xNiMH….179.8 fc……36 L--------------------359 fc…..71.8 L
10280……345.0 fc……69 L---------------------520 fc…..104 L