dorcy 2C 8 LED

[The_LED_Museum]

[ QUOTE ]
steve_vance said:
Craig @ LED Museum has a recent review up; I have no doubt he'll be doing a runtime test soon.

[/ QUOTE ]
As soon as I can get another solar cell, I'll do runtime tests on this flashlight. My solar cell became broken (shattered, actually) while I was hooking it up to an oscilloscope last year. And that cell was what I used for doing runtime analyses with. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
Maybe Brock or Doug will beat me to this one.

 

[steve_vance]

how can I help you, Craig? What kind of solar cell do you need?

 

[The_LED_Museum]

[ QUOTE ]
steve_vance said:
how can I help you, Craig? What kind of solar cell do you need?

[/ QUOTE ]
That's very generous of you Steve. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I believe the cell I had was an amorphous silicon type, with a brownish matte surface and some lines in it (wires to collect the charge evenly). But for battery tests, a polycrystalline silicon type (dark blue with a "fractured" appearance to it) should also work. A couple of wire leads soldered to it (or already attached) would work even better, regardless of the cell type.

Thank you very much ahead of time. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Brock]

Well it is pulling a whopping 800 mA, a lot for 8 LED, even with a step up. But this light is very close to a 1w LS. I would bet the lumens are the same, but the beam with the 8 leds is wider, then the Arc LS or Surefire KL1. If I had to guess I would say each LED is getting about 70mA.

For runtime a typical alkaline C cell is just over 8000mA is it should run a good 4 hours. I would bet closer to 5 before it hit the ½ way mark due to the slope in alkaline battery output. I will runtime test this one soon, hopefully tonight if all goes well.

In short is it bright, easy to handle, and relatively cheap to run. I think it might catch on, especially if the actual price is lower when if it hits Sears and Wal-Mart.

Thanks Steve for getting these to us. It is nicer then you described it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

The price is going to HAVE to get lower if I was to EVER get one!

They look very nice though.....

 

[Quickbeam]

It is a sweet little light. Surprisingly solid construction. The lanyard loop is the most annoying thing, but it's easy to rip off. I'm working on the review right now.

I'm still trying to figure out how to make a chamber that will allow for relative brightness measurements so we can compare the total light output as opposed to Lux at beam center... Sort of a "poor mans" integration sphere. No plans for runtime tests, though - I'd need an automatic data collecting DMM and they're just too expensive.

 

[steve_vance]

[ QUOTE ]
The LED Museum said:
[ QUOTE ]
steve_vance said:
how can I help you, Craig? What kind of solar cell do you need?

[/ QUOTE ]
That's very generous of you Steve. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I believe the cell I had was an amorphous silicon type, with a brownish matte surface and some lines in it (wires to collect the charge evenly). But for battery tests, a polycrystalline silicon type (dark blue with a "fractured" appearance to it) should also work. A couple of wire leads soldered to it (or already attached) would work even better, regardless of the cell type.

Thank you very much ahead of time. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Craig: please look at this website and figure out what you want and email me at [email protected] (You may want to look at some of their test and demo kits- I don't know if they would work for you, but they look pretty neat)

Silicon Solar

steve

 

[Brock]

Doug, my poor mans runtime is a digital camera aimed at the light meter. I can set it to take pics 1 or 5 min intervals. The catch is I have to guess on the 1 min or 5 min shots, sometimes I run them both, but that ends up being 6 sets of batteries (three for each test). Usually I can guess if it is going to be a long run light or not. I am going to set this one for the 5 min shots.

Then when I am done I have my wife scroll through the pics while reading them and put them in my excel spread sheet, then once I have three I average them and poof, I have a runtime /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Quickbeam]

Unfortunately, my digicam doesn't have an automatic picture snapping feature... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Review is up, though!

http://flashlightreviews2.home.att.net/reviews/dorcy_2c8led.htm

 

[Stainless]

Thanks for the review. Finally I understand the switch a bit better. Fully anodized on the INSIDE!? This sounds very nice. Are "common aluminum" flashlights also anodized inside?

 

[milkyspit]

Quickbeam, your photography never ceases to amaze me. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif How do you get such incredible photos for all your reviews?

Also, it appears that this particular Dorcy light is unable to stand on its tailcap?

 

[The_LED_Museum]

Let me jump in here on this one... none of the 4 new Dorcy LED flashlights can stand up on their tailcaps because they have a rounded rubber piece on there that acts as a momentary switch.

The 2-C 8-LED model can be stood up on its tail if you turn it on and put it tailfirst in a roll of toliet paper.

 

[milkyspit]

Thanks Craig. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Hmm... maybe with a couple brackets, the 2-C model could become a bathroom toilet paper holder... that pulls out to double as an emergency flashlight!
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

 

[Brock]

Craig you should write a book "1001 uses for items from the bathroom" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

run testing on the 2C began about 5 min ago...

 

[The_LED_Museum]

[ QUOTE ]
Brock said:
Craig you should write a book "1001 uses for items from the bathroom" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
That's {vulgar term for having intercourse} funny!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Let's see here... the toliet...
1: Poop in it.
2: Pee in it.
3: Flush it.
4: Throw flashlights in it. Be sure they go in the water headfirst.
5: ...awww heck I'm out of ideas. It's late and someone busted the coffeepot. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
Oh wait...I wrote that last sentence in a Commodore 64 demo back in the late 1980s or early 1990s... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

 

[Brock]

Don't forget use the TP as a light holder upper /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

That's one of my favorites.

 

[Quickbeam]

Craig - thanks for fielding that one - havn't been able to check back for a couple days. I'm surprised you havn't patented your "flashlight stand" idea. Then you could (like a well known flashlight mfgr.) start suing all the TP mfgrs for breach of copyright for making items that "could be mistaken for your product".

Milkyspit- Like the photos, eh? The're getting better the more I learn about the graphics manipulation software I'm using! The raw photos are so-so. With the proper poke, prod and tweak they come out looking very nice!

 

[Brock]

I haven't run the third test, but it looks like 3.5 hours to 50%. They certainly aren't regulated. I started at 140, then dropped to 110 in 5 min. That's alkaline for you. At about 6 hours there was a much sharper drop out. More later...

 

[asdalton]

Quickbeam,

That light you have has a different reflector than mine. As you can see in the picture from my review, there is another version that has a reflector in the style of the Streamlight 4AA. Yours has recessed LEDs, which makes less efficient use of light.

I also have a Dorcy 2AA (4 LED) light that has recessed LEDs. I hope that the non-recessed LEDs are in the newer versions of all the Dorcy lights.

 

[Stainless]

FYI:
I checked my local (east coast) Sears and China-Mart over the weekend. These new lights have not arrived in either place yet.