regulator
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2006
- Messages
- 1,221
First - I am not big into claims of which light is brighter that another without regard to runtime. I would rather have a light that could output 100 lumens for 2 hours than a light that could output 130 lumens for 30 minutes (these are just made up examples). The difference in numbers seems substantial but in actual use our eyes could hardly tell a difference between these two numbers. I think Henry at HDS designed the new HDS light output settings with a similar philosophy in mind. So with this in mind I wanted to see how long (efficient) the new Nightcore would run at a reduced output that was still fairly bright for general use.
This is my "crude" runtime test. I set the DI output to a "medium" setting. For reference the output was the same as a Peak Pacific AA Ultra power with SSC emitter, or close to output of a Lightflux-3 at 50%. This to me is a more realistic setting for general use. I installed a cheap AC Delco alkaline battery which is not optimal for performance with this light. The DI is said to run more efficiently when on a 14500 lithium ion cell at 3.6 volts.
I expected to get maybe an hour and half runtime with who knows how well regulated output. The DI ran for 3.25 hours at constant output at a pretty respectable brightness on this inferior cell! (I could not see any decrease in brightness when comparing to the Peak on a fresh cell using the ceiling bounce test to gauge overall output – I wish I had a light meter) Boy was I impressed! This thing just stayed a constant brightness until the battery was drained and then it decreased quickly over the next 15 minutes. Great regulation!
I have the 14500 cells, Energizer lithium cells, and high capacity NiMh cells that could push the light for substantially longer. I am extremely impressed with the DI and it is a very efficient design. I have tested other AA lights that were cheap and they just ate up batteries by generating a lot of heat due in part to poorly designed regulator/converters even when not putting out the light one would expect from the power consumption. I posted in the Peak forum a direct comparison with the Pacific UltraPower running the same AA cell. I was surprised at the results.
This is my "crude" runtime test. I set the DI output to a "medium" setting. For reference the output was the same as a Peak Pacific AA Ultra power with SSC emitter, or close to output of a Lightflux-3 at 50%. This to me is a more realistic setting for general use. I installed a cheap AC Delco alkaline battery which is not optimal for performance with this light. The DI is said to run more efficiently when on a 14500 lithium ion cell at 3.6 volts.
I expected to get maybe an hour and half runtime with who knows how well regulated output. The DI ran for 3.25 hours at constant output at a pretty respectable brightness on this inferior cell! (I could not see any decrease in brightness when comparing to the Peak on a fresh cell using the ceiling bounce test to gauge overall output – I wish I had a light meter) Boy was I impressed! This thing just stayed a constant brightness until the battery was drained and then it decreased quickly over the next 15 minutes. Great regulation!
I have the 14500 cells, Energizer lithium cells, and high capacity NiMh cells that could push the light for substantially longer. I am extremely impressed with the DI and it is a very efficient design. I have tested other AA lights that were cheap and they just ate up batteries by generating a lot of heat due in part to poorly designed regulator/converters even when not putting out the light one would expect from the power consumption. I posted in the Peak forum a direct comparison with the Pacific UltraPower running the same AA cell. I was surprised at the results.
