Comparison of Akoray K-106 3-mode programmable vs 5-mode

[jk037]

My 3-mode programmable K-106 arrived today from KD! :twothumbs Took exactly 2 weeks from order to delivery to the UK which I think is pretty good.

Having played with the programmable modes I'm now able to compare it with the 5-mode K-106 that I've been EDCing for a couple of months...

Fit and finish

The obvious difference first: new 3-mode light has an orange tailcap, 5-mode has a green one!

The 5-mode has a green O-ring where the lens fits inside the head, which is clearly visible and glows for a short period after the light has been switched on. The 3-mode doesn't have an O-ring here at all - I even took the pill and lens out to be certain about it! :sigh: The lens measures 17.7mm on my vernier caliper so an 18mm O-ring should fit - unfortunately I can't find any orange ones in 18mm! So don't dunk a 3-mode K-106 in water until you've fitted an O-ring.

As in the 5-mode light, there are two O-rings to seal between the head and the body, and a single O-ring sealing between the tailcap and the body. However, whereas they are all green on the 5-mode, the 3-mode has a black O-ring at the tailcap end and two orange ones at the head.

The finish on the 3-mode is a duller and less "metallic" grey than the 5-mode. To my eyes it's a less attractive finish, although I'll be less upset if it gets scratched! The 3-mode light does have deeper knurling on the body, and the knurled band on the head is approx. 1mm wider than that of the 5-mode. The Akoray logo is also slightly smaller compared to the 5-mode light

The head on the 5-mode screws all the way down to the knurling on the body; the head on the 3-mode light does not; when it is fully tightened there is a gap of about 1mm between the head and the body knurling. The threads do feel less loose than those on the 5-mode.

So, overall, the 5-mode is a better built and finished light although the 3-mode is still a nice, sturdy piece of kit. Just don't take it swimming with you

User interface

No instructions were supplied with either light. The 5-mode is very simple: clicky for on and half-press to cycle through the modes H-M-L-Strobe-SOS.

The 3-mode is programmed as H-L-Strobe by default; no instructions were supplied, but fortunately Xcnick's guide made it simple: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2970972&postcount=42
You will need quick fingers to catch it on "low"! The ramp-up from min to max takes barely 2 seconds, which is far to fast to permit accurate programming.

The programming sequence is:
1. Min to max ramp-up (~2 seconds)
2. 100%
3. Slow blinking
4. Fast blinking
5. Slow to fast strobe ramp-up
6. SOS

whereas I believe a more sensible sequence would be:
1. Minimum
2. Min to max ramp-up (~15 to 20 seconds)
3. 100%
(...plus the flashy-flashy modes)

I've programmed it for a nice logical L-M-H sequence. One distinct advantage of the programmable light is that it DOES have the mode memory that is sorely lacking on the 5-mode! If it's switched off for more than ~2 seconds, it will return to the last mode used when powered up again.

Another big plus point of the programable light is that I can program out the strobe and SOS modes, which I have to cycle through on the 5-mode. This, coupled with the mode memory, makes the 3-mode much more convenient to use than it's 5-mode brother.

Lighting performance

(Note: all comparisons carried out using GP ReCyko NiMh cells)

I've programmed the "low" mode to be as low as possible. It's noticeably brighter than the "low" mode of the 5-mode light, but still much lower than "medium".

Medium mode is largely irrelevant, but I've programmed it to be a little lower than the 5-mode's "medium" so that it's usefully bright but gentle on the battery.

High mode is very close to that of the 5-mode light - very hard to see any difference in brightness between the two.

The 3-mode light has a slightly cooler tint than the 5-mode, and also has a larger hotspot. The spill is very similar - a nice, even spread of light around the hotspot.

Geek section

Current draw (at battery)

Again, tests conducted using GP ReCyko cells; all current measurements taken using a Fluke 179 True RMS multimeter.




3-mode:

• Low: 115mA
• Med: 516mA
• High: 1404mA

5-mode:

• Low: 126mA
• Med: 874mA
• High: 1861mA

These readings don't entirely correlate with my observations of the outputs; I would have expected to see only slightly higher readings from the 5-mode light. The current on "high", for example, is 25% less for the 3-mode than the 5-mode, yet the light output is certainly not 25% lower. And the currents on "low" are almost identical yet the light output of the 3-mode on "low" looks almost twice as bright as that of the 5-mode' on "low".

Thus I wonder if the drivers run at different switching frequencies, or are significantly different in efficiency? If I have some spare time at work I'd like to find a nice ultra-low resistance ballast resistor, fire up the oscilloscope and look at traces of both current and voltage in order to see the true peak-peak and RMS levels, as well as establish the frequencies and shapes of the switching waveforms.

/Geek section

Conclusions

The 3-mode light is not the easiest thing in the world to program, and the finish and missing O-ring are disappointing compared to the 5-mode. It also costs more: at the time of writing, $19.20 (£12.63) as opposed to $13.06 (£8.59). However, I consider the programmable modes and the mode memory to be more than enough to compensate for this, and once fitted with a suitable O-ring the 3-mode light should prove to be even better as an EDC than the 5-mode thanks to the mode memory and the ability to eliminate the flashing modes.

Battery life and reliability will prove themselves over the next few weeks as I use the 3-mode K-106 to work in gloomy relay panels and terminal kiosks in the dark depths of various generating stations and substations!


(Photos and some distinctly amateur attempts at beamshots may if I ever actually get round to it! )

 

[gcbryan]

I have both of the CR123 versions of this light K-109 3 mode and 5 mode. Otherwise they seem to be the same.

I used both of mine with primaries only yet the high on the 3 mode version is twice as bright as on the 5 mode version 200 lumen vs 100 lumen approx.

I'm told that the 5 mode version is much brighter using RCR-123 but still this does indicate that the drivers are different which may be the case in your situation as well.

Also, you may be able to get the low setting even lower depending on programming technique. At first I simply hit the "set" button for programming the low just as soon as the "flash". This resulted in a brighter low than when I waited for the ramping to actually begin and then quickly hit the set button.

Just thought I'd post in case anything was applicable to your light.

 

[jk037]

Hi Bryan, thanks for your input

I found the very same thing when programming the "low" mode - I first tried pressing the button as soon as the light gave the single "flash" for Mode 1, but like you I found that hitting it as quickly as possible during ramping gave a lower setting. May be possible to get mine lower, as it stands it's on the best of 5 or 6 attempts so may be able to do better with practice!

I've read elsewhere that the K-106 3-mode has a lower maximum output than the 5-mode, although this may only apply when running on 14500 Li-Ion cells - there doesn't seem to be a lot of visible difference on NiMh although there is a significant difference in current. Only way to really tell would be either via an integrating sphere (for me, no chance!) or by measuring emitter voltage and current using the oscilloscope and very low value ballast resistor (feasible, but something of a time-consuming PITA ) then calculate emitter watts from the results to give a meaningful comparison.

Presumably an RCR123 has a higher voltage and lower internal resistance than a Cr123 primary? (I'm not 100% au fait with the different flavours of lithium cells)

 

[brted]

The 5-mode has a green O-ring where the lens fits inside the head, which is clearly visible and glows for a short period after the light has been switched on. The 3-mode doesn't have an O-ring here at all - I even took the pill and lens out to be certain about it! :sigh: The lens measures 17.7mm on my vernier caliper so an 18mm O-ring should fit - unfortunately I can't find any orange ones in 18mm! So don't dunk a 3-mode K-106 in water until you've fitted an O-ring.

There is an o-ring (at least in mine) but you may have missed it. It is tucked into the rim at the end of the head of the flashlight. The lens goes right up against it, so as long as the pill is screwed in tight, the pill will be firm against the reflector and the reflector will be firm against the lens and the lens will be firm against the o-ring. It is black. I like the idea of the 5-mode having a GITD ring in a visible place where it will glow (my Trustfire XP-E F23 has this), but in terms of keeping water out this works just as well, maybe better since that is where water would first try to seep in.

 

[gcbryan]

There is an o-ring (at least in mine) but you may have missed it. It is tucked into the rim at the end of the head of the flashlight. The lens goes right up against it, so as long as the pill is screwed in tight, the pill will be firm against the reflector and the reflector will be firm against the lens and the lens will be firm against the o-ring. It is black. I like the idea of the 5-mode having a GITD ring in a visible place where it will glow (my Trustfire XP-E F23 has this), but in terms of keeping water out this works just as well, maybe better since that is where water would first try to seep in.

Good to know regarding their being an o-ring. Either way probably works as far as keeping rain out but neither way is great for really waterproofing it. The o-ring really should be behind the glass so that when water pressure pushes against the glass the o-ring compresses and pushes back resisting the water pressure.

This is how it works in a dive light.

 

[brted]

Good to know regarding their being an o-ring. Either way probably works as far as keeping rain out but neither way is great for really waterproofing it. The o-ring really should be behind the glass so that when water pressure pushes against the glass the o-ring compresses and pushes back resisting the water pressure.

I agree that it would be better to have the water pressure tightening the seal, but it depends on how much you tighten the pill. If you tighten the pill pretty hard, the water pressure shouldn't have much of an effect (up to a point; still no good as a diving light). Of course if you put too much pressure on it, you could also crack the lens, which happened to someone already. A lot of lights have the o-ring in front of the glass.

 

[vali]

I had my 3-mode K-106 about 30 cm deep for more than 6 hours and the water didnt come in.