Dereelight DBS V2 CREE R2 WH. Beamshots and mods!

[StefanFS]

I have had my Dereelight DBS V2 for a while now. It came with a 3 stage digital (3SD) light engine/pill with an CREE R2 WH emitter installed in it.

Here on ultralow with one of my custom made pills. More on the custom pills later on.

It's good looking and well built. Finish and fit is very good. Anodizing is a rougher type, which improve grip. Tailcap threads are anodized so it's possible to lock it out by unscrewing the tailcap slightly.

Anodizing is even and rough, it is very nicely done.

Here with my Spear and Tiablo A9.

Front ends, DBS, Tiablo A9 and Raidfire Spear.

Size. Here with some household objects.

For more pics on details and parts I recommend the review done by WadeF:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/189222

And for more data see selfbuilts review:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/188039


I have done some runtime testing with the 3SD module/pill/light engine. On high with one AW 2200 mAh 18650 LiION cell. Runtime is a good solid 90 minutes, what can be expected with a high binned CREE and one 18650 cell. After the initial drop regulation is good.

Other findings

Throw output @ 1 meter and spill readings @ 1 meter.
3SD module. Spot/spill. Spill is measured outside the corona etc. In Lux.

High: 25 500/200 Lux.
Medium: 9300/70 Lux.
Low: 1800/13 Lux.

Battery draw with the 3SD module is 1.32 A on high, 410 mA on medium and 80 mA on low.

The 3SD module/pill doesn't change level reliably every time, sometimes it's only high-high-high. The driver doesn't seem to maximize the output, it can't use the magnificent reflector to it's fullest extent. The low and medium levels have obvious PWM flicker, less than 100 Hz would be my guess. It also emits a low humming sound on low & medium

Weight is 194 gram empty and 240 gram with one 18650 cell.

The reflector is 46 mm deep! Inner diameter of the reflector is 38.8 mm. The massive lens have AR coating, it is visible as a blueish sheen. The lens is 3 mm thick.
For comparison the Raidfire Spear reflector has an inner diameter of 36 mm and the depth is 38 mm. The Tiablo A9 has a 36 mm deep reflector and the LumaPower MRV a 32 mm deep reflector. This means that the DBS has a considerably more narrow hotspot than the competitors.

Beam distribution on a white wall at half a meter. The WH tint of the DBS module is more yellowish than the WC of the Tiablo and the Spear.
Spill size is smaller than the Tiablo but equal to the Spear. The hotspot from the DBS is more intense than the Spears since it's more tightly focussed.

Underexposed.

Custom modules/pills

Even before my DBS arrived I started to build some pills of my own:

Custom pill number 1 (1st pic in the composite below) is with a FluPIC driver and an CREE Q5 WG, it's driven at 1.2 A. I use the 'tactical' interface since I use strobe.

Custom pill number 2 (3rd pic in the composite below) uses an 1.2 A AMC7135 based driver with different UI choices available, one is ultralow-low-medium-high-strobe-sos which I like.

Both of these drivers have similar discharge curves, they reach 50% after about 2.5 hours, and they go on for 2-3 hours after that, not perfect regulation but they are good for long runtimes. The FluPIC pill in the DBS produce ~29 500 Lux in throw @ 1 meter. The AMC7135 based driver produce ~ 25 500 Lux in throw @ 1 meter in the DBS.

Link to AMC7135 driver:
http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=3256



Custom pill number 3: This is my favourite pill. It's possible to set the output voltage on this driver. It has a nice set of different UI choices, one UI is strictly low-med-high. This one has an CREE Q5 WG emitter in it. It's possible to achieve throw values exceeding 40 000 Lux in the DBS using this, it won't last long before it overheats though (and it will be unstable at such an absurd voltage & current level). I have it tuned to a level that gives me a solid 31 000 Lux in throw and 260 Lux in spill @ one meter.

This pill gives me 97 minutes of perfect regulation when tuned to 31 000 Lux in throw, battery draw is ~1.25A on high.

This is the driver:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=169324




Beamshots 95 and 220 meters

The DBS is a throw light. Period. It does have very useful spill but it's built for throw. It does have a tighter spot than the other lights, but it's hard to distinguish differences between these lights in real life. I really like them all, and use all three lights. The DBS beamshots with the custom pill is the third pill mentioned above, my favourite. All pics are 8 second, f/2.8, ISO 100, WB set on daylight. It's very windy so some shots are a bit out of focus, it also rains and there is some fog in the second set.

Lights used for the beamshots, in the order they appear:

• Dereelight DBS with 3SD pill & CREE R2 WH. 25 500 Lux in throw one meter.
• Dereelight DBS with custom pill & CREE Q5 WG. 31 000 Lux in throw one meter.
• RaidFire Spear. CREE Q5 WC. 24 600 Lux in throw at one meter on high. one AW 18650 LiION cell.
• Tiablo A9 stock version CREE Q5 WC. 21 700 Lux in throw at one meter with two AW RCR123 LiION cells.

Reference shot, stock Maglite 3D at the first setting.

Setting 1.

Setting 2.

Some additional info might be added, but the conclusion is that this is a nice light of high quality. Minor issues would be the PWM flicker and humming of the low & medium levels. Otherwise it's highly recommended.

Stefan

 

[StefanFS]

I used paint.net in an attempt to analyze the beamshots further to see if it is possible to get more info from them. There is no 'scientific' intention here, but it might give some hints about how these lights behave. Please note that what I speculate about here might not be true under different conditions, with different camera equipment etc. It's just an experiment with the two sets of beamshots I made for this review.


The composite of the first set of beamshots.
First I turned it into black & white, then I took brightness to +80% and contrast to +90%. I think this shows that the DBS has a much brighter hotspot at the expense of spill intensity. Secondly I think it shows that my custom pill is a bit brighter than the 3SD pill since more of the house is visible in the spill area compared to the 3SD pill. So, my interpretation would be that the DBS throws much better than the others and that the Tiablo and the Spear have brighter spill.

Here the pic is turned to negative to show hotspot intensity and spill more clearly.

The original first set

--------------------------------​

The composite of the second set of beamshots.
When I did the same to this pic I was amazed to see what appears to be the CREE R2 WH emitter reflecting more light off the fog particles when compared to the WC and WG tint emitters! I speculate in this direction since the beam in the negative pic is thicker and more pronounced.
Hotspot intensity is visible in the reflection in the water just below it on the cliffside. Again it's clear that the DBS hotspot is considerably stronger/brighter.

The original second set:

Stefan

 

[orbital]

+

Really well done Stefan.

 

[selfbuilt]

:thumbsup: Excellent review as always Stefan!

In addition to your standard thorough examination of the light, your beamshots really set a standard for comparison. Not to mention all the extremely helpful info you provide for modders looking to customize their lights! (I notice you've insulated the contact surfaces of your AMC7135 driver - good call).

And thanks for the plug to my review . I fully agree with yours, of course. Similarly, the only issue for me is the low PWM freq and electronic whine of the low modes of some of the more recent pills (my "old" Q4 3SD is much better in both regards). But that's a separate issue from the actual light, and the V2 is definite improvement over the original. Quite a fine light.

Cheers! :wave:

 

[CandleFranky]

Great review, thank you very much! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[I came to the light...]

Great review!

Unclear on one thing - the "third pill," your favorite, the one that you can set + you set to 31000 lux for 97 min, was the AMC7135, right?

 

[Monocrom]

I always look forward to your reviews, and you once again have done a great job!

Is the DBS V2 substantially heavier than your A9?

 

[Strauss]

Is the DBS V2 signifigantly heavier than your A9?

When holding the two back to back, it's very easy to notice the DBS's extra weight. The DBS feels "right", the lightness of the Tiablo is suprising...

 

[Patriot]

Another great review Stefan! Thank you for all the effort you put into this.

 

[StefanFS]

:thumbsup: Excellent review as always Stefan!
(I notice you've insulated the contact surfaces of your AMC7135 driver - good call).

Thanks for your kind words. It's the third driver that is covered/potted with epoxy, that one is using an inductor and it has no AMC7135 chips. I don't know if I can find a way to make the different pills more clear, maybe I shold name them. That part is a bit messy.

Great review!
Unclear on one thing - the "third pill," your favorite, the one that you can set + you set to 31000 lux for 97 min, was the AMC7135, right?

No it's the third one! Seriously, it's the one I call my favourite, the one that is adjustable with a variable resistor and is potted with epoxy. The one with an inductor and components on both sides.

I always look forward to your reviews, and you once again have done a great job!
Is the DBS V2 substantially heavier than your A9?

Thanks,
the Tiablo with battery installed has the same weight as an empty DBS. The Tiablo is ~195 gram with battery and the DBS is around 240 gram with battery. So it's heavier, but not really 'heavy' at all.
-----------------

Beamshots with these lights are a bit pointless since it's difficult to tell them apart. In use the DBS does have a stronger hotspot. One way would be to do beamshots at even longer distances, but the weather here is to damp for that to work right now. Clear and dry air is a must for beamshots at longer distances than ~200 m. I'll try and mess around with the pics in paint.net or photoshop, if that succeds I'll post them in post #2.


Stefan

 

[StefanFS]

Post#2 updated with some sort of analysis of the beamshots. I'm pretty satisfied with the result actually. I used paint.net to do this.
Stefan

 

[frosty]

Excellent review as always. Very insightfull.:thumbsup:

 

[selfbuilt]

When I did the same to this pic I was amazed to see what appears to be the CREE R2 WH emitter reflecting more light off the fog particles when compared to the WC and WG tint emitters! I draw that conclusion since the beam in the negative pic is thicker and more pronounced.

Interesting analysis. Of course, it's hard to draw any conclusions from one batch of pics (i.e. strong bit of fog could have rolled in at that moment, focus could be slightly different between pills, camera sensor artifact, etc.). But I think your image analysis method has value, and is worth experimenting with further. Thanks for including it!

Cheers! :wave:

 

[StefanFS]

Interesting analysis. Of course, it's hard to draw any conclusions from one batch of pics (i.e. strong bit of fog could have rolled in at that moment, focus could be slightly different between pills, camera sensor artifact, etc.). But I think your image analysis method has value, and is worth experimenting with further. Thanks for including it!

Cheers! :wave:

The word 'conclusion' might give the wrong impression here, I do use 'appears' in the sentence before that one. Sloppy wording on my part. I might change that. With outdoor beamshots at night there are so many factors to consider that essentially they seem useless when one starts to think about it. But I think outdoor beamshots still have a place if they are done carefully, they are an indication of how a light might perform at the very least. I tried this image manipulation to see if there were differences not visible in the ordinary pics. Take it for what it is, an experiment.
Stefan

 

[selfbuilt]

The word 'conclusion' might give the wrong impression here, I do use 'appears' in the sentence before that one. Sloppy wording on my part.

Not at all - any sloppy wording was on my part: I meant it as a caution for anyone else trying to draw conclusions from the anaylsis. You were very careful to outline that it was just an experiment. In fact, I appreciate how you always carefully qualify your observations and analysis that way.

I think we all walk the same fine line here. The problem with all our output and runtime data is that other people may read more into it than is possible (because they are not as familiar with the limitations of the method, etc.). We are basically all doing n=1 experiments (i.e. one sample flashlight, one time point, etc.), so our ability to generalize is quite limited.

But I think your photo analysis approach has merit, and I certainly found it "illuminating" and innovative.

Keep up the good work! :thumbsup:

 

[I came to the light...]

No it's the third one! Seriously, it's the one I call my favourite, the one that is adjustable with a variable resistor and is potted with epoxy. The one with an inductor and components on both sides.

Well, what's its name? Or am I just completely ignorant and you created the whole thing?

Also, is there a UI similar to that of the Dereelight 3SD pill available in the third pill?

 

[StefanFS]

Well, what's its name? Or am I just completely ignorant and you created the whole thing?

Also, is there a UI similar to that of the Dereelight 3SD pill available in the third pill?

This is how I describe that third pill above in post #1:

'Custom pill number 3: This is my favourite pill. It's possible to set the output voltage on this driver. It has a nice set of different UI choices, one UI is strictly low-med-high. This one has an CREE Q5 WG emitter in it. It's possible to achieve throw values exceeding 40 000 Lux in the DBS using this, it won't last long before it overheats though (and it will be unstable at such an absurd voltage & current level). I have it tuned to a level that gives me a solid 31 000 Lux in throw and 260 Lux in spill @ one meter.'

There are also pics and a link to it in the Dealer section of CPFMP.

Here are two of the places where it's available:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7882

https://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=3150

I haven't decided on what I should call it yet. Maybe you can suggest a fitting name?

Stefan

 

[Monocrom]

.... I haven't decided on what I should call it yet. Maybe you can suggest a fitting name?

Stefan

Stefan C.P. #3.

What do you think?

 

[StefanFS]

Stefan C.P. #3.

What do you think?

Very fitting . Problem is that 'CP' has a rather negative meaning in Sweden , it's short for Cerebral Pares. That is an umbrella diagnosis for a number of cerebral damages or conditions, paralysis and/or intellectual impairments. It's also widely used as an invective, especially among children.
I also think it was the driver name that was the issue. My suggestion for the driver is rather catchy:
'Extrasensory 19 personalities multiplex super torchmachineghost NJG18.'

Stefan

 

[jirik_cz]

The low and medium levels have obvious PWM flicker, less than 100 Hz would be my guess. It also emits a low humming sound on low & medium

I took a picture with dereelight DBS R2 3SD on medium and Romisen RC-T5 on low. Time is 1/10s so it looks like both lights have pwm frequency 100Hz.