Do Foursevens Quarks modes step down as voltage drops?

[LightCrazy]

I am used to Fenix lights losing Turbo, etc as the battery voltage drops. Do the Quarks - in particular the Pro QP2l gen 2 lights lose turbo, etc as the battery voltage drops? Is the current regulation fairly even as far as holding brightness? Thanks. Can't wait for PayPal to clear some incoming funds so I can order my first Quark!!!

 

[southernknives]

I have the Quark Tactical QTL Gen 2. If I leave mine on turbo it will hold out as long as possible before dropping down. Once it drops down, the battery is pretty much shot in my opinion. It does pretty good I think. But know very little about flashlights. This is my first post here. I have a Nitecore EC25 CW Cobra on the way. Hopefully it's a decent light.

 

[reppans]

It's a combination of voltage and current (amps) - as voltage drops a driver will pull more current from the batt. to sustain a given output. When the batt cannot supply enough of either, I believe almost all lights will drop in output, especially on max/turbo using a primary. The low modes tend to hold regulation flatter to the very end, and then fall off hard, depending upon the battery used. If you run a 17670 or 2x16340s Li-ions, which does have enough juice (volts/amps) to maintain a Quark's Turbo/Max (Quarks are strictly regulated and under-driven) you will most likely trip the battery protection circuits, before the output drops.

Check out Selfbuilt's output/runtime graphs to see how various lights "stepdown" as the batteries run down.

 

[LightCrazy]

Thanks. I was thinking of getting at least one AW 17670 battery for the QP2L light, but it seems like the lower modes will run a long long time on the primaries as well. I wasn't sure how the QP2L light. being rated at 3-9 volts would run on the 17670 battery. My only LiIon experience is with the 18650 cells.

 

[arcadesdude]

Hi I have a QTLC-AA (Quark tactical light clipless) which uses the XP-G2 emitter on a cr123 (or rcr123) and I can say that it is current regulated and the output is constant with no droppage. When the battery is dead the light just goes out. So I get no indication if it is low and therefore have a backup light in case it goes out. It puts out a good amount of light for the size and has a very nice cool white tint. Since it is gen2 I think you'll see similar results with the qp2l.

Sent from my ThL W8 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[AnAppleSnail]

With Eneloops I find that the high modes run to near exhaustion. When the battery can't supply more power (Due to its discharge curve) the light is usually on low/moonlight. This is adequate for walking or locating batteries in your bag. I have not tested EOL with Energizer AA Lithiums or Alkaleaks.

 

[LightCrazy]

Thanks for the help! For those of you with quarks that run on two 3volt lithium primaries, are you running with lithium's, or a rechargeable liion like a 17670 or similar?

 

[LightWalker]

I run a AW 17670 in mine and max runs Long and strong.

Sent from a HTC One using my finger

 

[Wiggle]

My Quark AA Tactical dims at the very end with AA, but with 14500 it runs til the protection circuit in the cell triggers.

 

[reppans]

It would best to run a 17670 in the 2Ls for cost, environment, and safety (from cell imbalance and reverse charge). However, I run also run 2x14500s and 3V CRAAs/14505 lithium primaries since I'm AA-based across all my gadgets and the CRAAs will work in my other gadgets (w/ dummy cell) and the Quark 2L will limp on 2 Eneloops too.

 

[LightWalker]

Just don't run 2x 14500 with the low voltage head.

 

[Overclocker]

from selfbuilt

very good flat regulation. drops down sharply toward the end. i prefer it like this. if you use 2x 16340 the light will just suddenly shut off when the protection trips. so agree use 17670. personally i use sanyo 16650

but the graph shows levels after stepdown. depending on how your cell behaves under load there will come a point where the light wouldn't be able to attain full turbo anymore. so if you want a flashlight that could do that then get one with a buck/boost driver like zebralight

 

[CarpentryHero]

That's interesting, the graph explains why my Quark 2aa tapered. (Cause I have an xpg version)
It dropped out of turbo and was still around 80 lumens on max when I changed batteries. That's the lowest I dared run it. Drop off wasn't visible.
I haven't tried to run my QuarkX for any length of time.

 

[LightCrazy]

Two of those lights/ cells drop off fast after just a few minutes, and the third starts off down around 80 but runs flat. Are those lights all Quark turbo models? I am interested in the Quark Pro QP2L Gen 2 light. not one with the larger turbo head. I believe max output is listed as 900mA ?? Thanks I'm almost ready to order!!

 

[Overclocker]

Two of those lights/ cells drop off fast after just a few minutes, and the third starts off down around 80 but runs flat. Are those lights all Quark turbo models? I am interested in the Quark Pro QP2L Gen 2 light. not one with the larger turbo head. I believe max output is listed as 900mA ?? Thanks I'm almost ready to order!!

get the QP2L-X Gen2, the XM-L2 version. excellent light, you won't regret it.

the drop off at the 3minute mark is the stepdown for the "X" models i.e. XM-L. they're not turbos

 

[LightCrazy]

Is the new XML Quark Pro that much brighter than the XPG2 version? I was looking at the longer run times the XPG version offered. Of course I am interested in the moonlight and low modes as well
Thanks. I also don't want a yellow beam.

 

[Overclocker]

Is the new XML Quark Pro that much brighter than the XPG2 version? I was looking at the longer run times the XPG version offered. Of course I am interested in the moonlight and low modes as well
Thanks. I also don't want a yellow beam.

yep the XML2 quark is MUCH brighter than XPG2 i.e. more lumens. take note! foursevens listed specs are for Gen1 (XML) and that's AFTER stepdown! the XML2 actually puts out over 500 lumens BEFORE stepdown

XPG2 version obviously runs longer because it's weaker ;) if you want longer runtime on the XML2 version simply use the lower modes that's what they're there for ;)

moonlight present in XML2 version as well.

 

[LightCrazy]

Thanks. I'll be ordering the XML2 version and an AW17670 battery as soon as Paypal releases my money from a recent eBay sale! Hopefully that is today.

 

[LightCrazy]

Well. I hot my money freed up, and ordered the Quark Pro QP2L - X 2 light. Thanks for the input. I also ordered an AW 17670 Battery. It will be interesting to see if there is a noticeable difference in runtime between the 17670 and 2 Titanium Innovations 3v primaries- especially on max and high output.

 

[LightCrazy]

Ordered the light from Goinggear, located in GA Friday afternoon. Looks like my Quark will be here in PA in tomorrows (Monday's) mail!!! Can't beat that for fast service and free shipping! Once again, they are a great company to deal with. My first Quark in my lineup. I'll make it a holiday :-)