Brinkmann Corporation 3W CREE digital dimming flashlight

[Handlobraesing]

Summary, better dimming function than any Fenix(so far one of the very few competitors with variable output for <$100) more output than my Lowe's Task Force 2C CREE, but poor build quality

The Brinkmann 3W LED flashlight is the first dimming light I have seen in the mainstream market.
I found mine at a Target store for $25.

Model 809-3000-1

This is an LED flashlight powered by two D cell batteries with 4-level dimming control and a LCD indicator.

In my opinion, the performance is good and beam quality is good. The four dimming levels provides a relative wide range of output with each level providing clearly noticeable dimming.

Operation is very simple. Install two D batteries.

- Use the power button to turn on and off independently of dimming.

- + and - buttons provides dimming control, independent of power switch and the setting sticks after power cycling.

- Test button gives a battery level read-out while the flashlight is turned off. The battery status remains lit whenver the light is turned on.

CREE X-Lamp® 7090 gives this product a technological leap over the many now common Lumileds Luxeon® based products.


The one and only major downer in my opinion is the build quality. This light is supposed to be openable, because the two halves are glued together. Well the gluing sucked on mine. It was no harder to split apart than pulling the foil lid from a cup of yogurt. The plastic has that CHEAP steoreotypical "Made in China" and my gut feel is that if you drop it 3' onto cement, it will shatter and disintegrate.

This flashlight is powered by two D batteries and has a push button operated dimming control with LCD indicator showing current output setting and status of battery. The battery indicator is similar to the indicator on cell phones, with three status bars.

There are 4 buttons:
-on/off
- "+"
- "-"
- Test (used to test status of battery while the light is off)

Buttons have a definite feedback like the buttons on VCR. They do need to be pushed pretty hard and if you use your fingernail, the finish gets scarred. It's purely cosmetic, however.

LED:
CREE X-Lamp® 7090 Star. The star is riveted onto an aluminum heatsink with some thermal compound. There are vent slots cut on both sides of body by the heatsink to help keep the LED cool.

Driver:
Proprietary digitally regulated boost converter. Some competitor products, such as Fenix uses 100% duty cycle variable current drive which can shift the color of LED. This one uses PWM, pulse-width-modulation at ~850 Hz If you swing the light rapidly you can see the flicker, but under normal use it should not be a concern. I should have taken duty cycle measurements at the LED for each setting, but I forgot to do that. Oh well.

Current levels at input with fresh cells in ascending order of dim settings are:
0.1A
0.3A
0.5A
0.85A

Reflector:
Deep, textured plastic reflector with vapor deposited metal reflector.

 

[Phaserburn]

Very cool pics and review. Nice to see this type of light hit the marketplace. Funny how everyone else seems to be the innovators with new product releases, but no one has equaled Mag's build quality as of yet in the consumer retail channel.

How do the buttons feel when pressed; do they click?

 

[jirik_cz]

Beam looks nice and smooth. But what about overheating? Plastic body is not very good for cooling high power LEDs. And if the build quaility is so low, it is probably better to buy something from DX than this.

 

[Handlobraesing]

Beam looks nice and smooth. But what about overheating? Plastic body is not very good for cooling high power LEDs. And if the build quaility is so low, it is probably better to buy something from DX than this.

The star is mounted on an aluminum heatsink with heat sink paste and there are vent slots cut on the body on both sides of the heat sink.

 

[Handlobraesing]

Very cool pics and review. Nice to see this type of light hit the marketplace. Funny how everyone else seems to be the innovators with new product releases, but no one has equaled Mag's build quality as of yet in the consumer retail channel.

How do the buttons feel when pressed; do they click?

It is aimed at the mainstream consumer. After paying CREE their asking price for the LED and using a rather high-tech PWM regulator, I think they have to cut corners on construction to quality to be able to sell for $25 and still have a reasonable contributing margin.

 

[jirik_cz]

What is so high tech on PWM? According to Newbie's results it can be twice less efective than constant current dimming.

 

[rotototo]

That LCD indicator...is it backlit?

 

[Cydonia]

That LCD indicator...is it backlit?

That's a good question. If it's not, then how does one see the display in the dark? :duh2: Or do you require a second flashlight to read the display? :laughing:

Nice review Handlobraesing on an interesting light :thumbsup:

 

[DaveG]

Thanks,for the info.

 

[Handlobraesing]

That's a good question. If it's not, then how does one see the display in the dark? :duh2: Or do you require a second flashlight to read the display? :laughing:

Nice review Handlobraesing on an interesting light :thumbsup:

I find the LCD rather useless and I think the better allocated on improving the body quality.

 

[Handlobraesing]

That LCD indicator...is it backlit?

No, it's not. :nana:

What is so high tech on PWM? According to Newbie's results it can be twice less efective than constant current dimming.

He also says that there's less color shift in PWM dimming. What he's saying is that the LED itself becomes more efficient at lower current, however a PWM dimming circuit is usually more efficient.

I have not taken the effort to purchase a Fenix to reverse engineer the regulator topology and I'm not certain what it is, however the owner of Atlanta, GA based Fenix products dealer says that it is not a linear dropper regulator.

 

[HKJ]

however a PWM dimming circuit is usually more efficient.

I have not taken the effort to purchase a Fenix to reverse engineer the regulator topology, but if it's a linear dropper type regulation, it is basically an electronically controlled variable resistor that dumps the excess energy as heat.

A pwm circuit only have a high efficiency when output and input is working at the same voltage, if your need a resistor to drop output voltage, the efficiency will go down.

I your look at the specification for P2D and P3D, your will see that P3D has nearly twice the runtime of P2D and with a higher light output, that would not be possible with a pwm, but requires a buck regulator.


I am a bit curious about the flashlight your are testing, I can not see a inductor (coil) on the PCB in your photo. Does it have a inductor?

 

[jirik_cz]

I have not taken the effort to purchase a Fenix to reverse engineer the regulator topology, but if it's a linear dropper type regulation, it is basically an electronically controlled variable resistor that dumps the excess energy as heat.

I didn't say anything about Fenix so I don't understand why you are still talking about it. Btw. your claims look quite speculative to me :shakehead

 

[Handlobraesing]

A pwm circuit only have a high efficiency when output and input is working at the same voltage, if your need a resistor to drop output voltage, the efficiency will go down.

A PWM circuit can use inductance to limit current instead of resistor since inductance limits dv/dt.

I am a bit curious about the flashlight your are testing, I can not see a inductor (coil) on the PCB in your photo. Does it have a inductor?

The inductor is quite big and it's externally mounted with wires and dangling inside the case. I should have posted that pic.

 

[HKJ]

A PWM circuit can use inductance to limit current instead of resistor since inductance limits dv/dt.

If that is the case, then your statement:
"but if it's a linear dropper type regulation, it is basically an electronically controlled variable resistor that dumps the excess energy as heat."
does not apply.

Anyway, the P3D (2 batteries) puts out about twice the energy of the P2D (1 battery), that means that the regulators has about the same efficiency.

 

[HKJ]

The inductor is quite big and it's externally mounted with wires and dangling inside the case. I should have posted that pic.

I forgot: Thanks for the picture.
Your get a lot of electronic and assembly work for the $25 that the light cost.

 

[Handlobraesing]

I forgot: Thanks for the picture.
Your get a lot of electronic and assembly work for the $25 that the light cost.

I wasn't even supposed to be able to take the light apart without destroying the case but I was able to, because the gluing between the two halves was not done adequately. As I said, I'd give up on that silly LCD in exchange for a better construction.

 

[Handlobraesing]

If that is the case, then your statement:
"but if it's a linear dropper type regulation, it is basically an electronically controlled variable resistor that dumps the excess energy as heat."
does not apply.

Anyway, the P3D (2 batteries) puts out about twice the energy of the P2D (1 battery), that means that the regulators has about the same efficiency.

And I said that I do not know, because I've yet to reverse engineer it.

 

[HKJ]

And I said that I do not know, because I've yet to reverse engineer it.

Based on the efficiency of P3D compared to P2D, I do not need to reverse engineer it to say that the circuit in P3D is not a just a resistor and a pwm control.

I am curious: Have your seen any quality lights that uses 6 volt input, that do not use an inductor to drop the voltage (I suppose they exists, but I have not seen any yet)?

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

I saw that light at two different Targets and it looked interesting.

But I was after an X5 and finally found one at 10 bucks off.