Inexpensive little AA light Sipik68 & Clones.

[Imon]

Like someone said before this is one of the more common flashlights on CPF (although I remain convinced that the Minimag 2xAA is still the most common).

I've owned a few of these lights on and off throughout the years - mostly as cheap loaners.
My main issues with these lights are tint and ring artifacts although at $3-5 each that criticism doesn't seem too fair. Other than that they're great little lights!

 

[someidiot]

I'm definitely a noob here, but I love these little lights so much I had to make a post. I love that I can have a total investment of ~$4 including battery and have something that will provide me with enough light for my purposes (finding my way to the candles / lanterns / flashlights when the power goes out). I think this is about everything I could hope for in this price range that fits what I need it for. I'll spend more for a light that does more and fits a different role, but for being a CHEAP light with decent output, this is just great.

I know absolutely nothing about lights, but now you guys have me interested in 14500s and dedoming this light... a new sickness begins?

 

[alex21]

Yes I agree. Imagine if every single person on the planet had one of these cheap tiny versatile little lights
For more people its really the only light they'll ever need.
As for dedoming I think it is possible to get better throw and for the die image to be tighter or smaller. 14500 definitely makes it brighter :devil:
Oh and :welcome:

 

[Rosoku Chikara]

Well, you never know until you try... there was some discussion on how to remove the "zoom" from an SK-98 on the "XM-L-sized SIPIK98 clones; any good?" thread, and I got curious about the SK-68.

I took a SK-68, held it by the bezel/zoom section, and just kept "unscrewing it" and it finally came apart in my hands... And, here is what I found. While I was at it, I took the switch assembly apart as well. (If I have made any gaffs in naming these parts, or if someone can suggest more appropriate names, I would welcome any corrections and/or suggestions.)



I intend to take some more pictures to show this in detail. With this particular SK-68 clone, the LED Emitter Pill threads into the Main Body, but there are no "slots" to help you turn it. And, the only thing providing any "tension" between the Knurled Zoom and the LED Emitter Pill is an O-Ring on. In my case, it was that slight contact (tension) between this O-Ring and the Knurled Zoom that ended up allowing me to eventually unscrew the LED Emitter Pill.

Edit: Here are some more pictures. This is what I first saw when I finally got finished unscrewing it...



Then when you actually remove the Pill from the Knurled Zoom, you will see the O-Ring itself. (Which I presume needs to be well lubricated for smooth Zoom function.) But, as in this case, if your Pill has no "slots" to help you turn it, then it is only the tension between this O-Ring and the inner surface of the Knurled Zoom that is allowing you to remove the Pill by unscrewing the bezel/zoom.



If that tension were less (or the LED Emitter Pill were screwed in more tightly), then I assume that you could turn the bezel/zoom section forever and never succeed in unscrewing the LED Emitter Pill. In such a case, I assume you would need to use some kind of sharp tool (fine chisel?) to "tap" on the LED Emitter Pill and get it to start turning.

In any case, I am very happy to see all the parts and finally understand how they are all put together. Frankly, I am impressed with how simple (yet "efficient"?) this little light is. No wonder they can be sold for less than $4.00 and seem to last forever... There really isn't that much to them.

I am not yet brave enough (even at $4.00) to try digging into the LED Emitter Pill itself, but I am sure that others on this forum understand what is going on inside there... Basically, this flashlight consists of 8 simple parts, plus a Switch Unit, and the LED Emitter Pill.

Additional Comment: It seems to me that someone could make a small fortune offering "after market" SK-68 LED Emitter Pill upgrades! Not sure what all the various options might be, but one that comes immediately to my mind is being able to select between single mode and multi-mode. And, in the case of multi-mode we could get rid of that relatively useless strobe and have more useful brightness levels. Anyone ready to start selling such "pills" for a few dollars each? If that were possible, there are literally millions of SK-68s out there just waiting to be "upgraded." (Might also be able to get rid of most, if not all, of those ugly "halo" optical artifacts.)

 

[Revolvr]

Additional Comment: It seems to me that someone could make a small fortune offering "after market" SK-68 LED Emitter Pill upgrades! Not sure what all the various options might be, but one that comes immediately to my mind is being able to select between single mode and multi-mode. And, in the case of multi-mode we could get rid of that relatively useless strobe and have more useful brightness levels. Anyone ready to start selling such "pills" for a few dollars each? If that were possible, there are literally millions of SK-68s out there just waiting to be "upgraded." (Might also be able to get rid of most, if not all, of those ugly "halo" optical artifacts.)

If one were to eliminate the requirement to run off AA batteries and use the 14500 only, then there are lots of options. Assuming it uses a standard 17mm driver that is. Probably a 3,4, or 6x AMC7435 would do, though I forget off-hand what current I can draw from a 14500.

I have several of these but all have one mode. Three brightness modes would really help these flashlights.

 

[Rosoku Chikara]

If one were to eliminate the requirement to run off AA batteries and use the 14500 only, then there are lots of options. Assuming it uses a standard 17mm driver that is. Probably a 3,4, or 6x AMC7435 would do, though I forget off-hand what current I can draw from a 14500.

I have several of these but all have one mode. Three brightness modes would really help these flashlights.

I think one of the nice features of the "standard" SK68 is that it runs well (quite bright) on even an Alkaline AA. So, I think it would be a mistake to eliminate that "feature" entirely (at least for the "general population)... However, anyone interested enough to purchase such an custom Pill would probably be willing to consider 14500 only. (Just out of curiosity, why would "14500 only" be that much easier? Simpler circuitry? Sorry, I am completely out of my depth here...)

 

[Revolvr]

I think one of the nice features of the "standard" SK68 is that it runs well (quite bright) on even an Alkaline AA. So, I think it would be a mistake to eliminate that "feature" entirely (at least for the "general population)... However, anyone interested enough to purchase such an custom Pill would probably be willing to consider 14500 only. (Just out of curiosity, why would "14500 only" be that much easier? Simpler circuitry? Sorry, I am completely out of my depth here...)

An AA battery provides at most about 1.5 volts, decreasing to 1 volt as it nears end of life. Meanwhile the LED typically requires around 3.1V. So the driver has to boost the voltage to provide the current and often will provide up to around 500mA.

The Li-Ion 14500 provides about 3.6V or more dropping to 3V near end of life. So the driver is a simpler linear constant current driver that can provide 1A or more from the battery and keep that relatively constant as the battery voltage drops.

I don't know what drivers they use in these 68's, but there are drivers that will output around 500mA if it senses 1.5V or less, but output more like 800mA if it senses 3V or more. That's probably what these have. But the few of these I can find often have only 1 mode.

Most Li-ion drivers use the AMC7435, a constant current regulator which outputs 350mA. The driver will contain several of these in parallel to multiply the current in increments of 350mA. So a 3xAMX7435 driver would provide 1050mA, probably about right for a 14500. These are cheap and common with all kinds of modes.

 

[Rosoku Chikara]

Thanks, Revolvr.

Can't yet say that I "understand" what you have written, but the words make sense to me. (I am not an electronics guy.)

For what its worth, the sipik.com website shows the SK68 (and most of their other flashlights) all with 3 modes Hi - Med - Strobe. The last two SK68s that I purchased here in Japan work like that. (My other 3 are single mode.) Personally, I prefer the single mode for its simplicity, but it would be nice to have some way to select lower levels when desired. (I dislike having to cycle through two modes to get to Hi again, since that is generally the one I want.)

Seems a little crazy to spend too much time, effort or money to "upgrade" such a low cost flashlight... But, as I said there are lots and lots of them out there... The basic parts do not appear to be particularly prone to failure. So, who knows... perhaps it would be interesting to offer a variety of custom pills that allowed the enthusiast to select between many different options. For example, some might prefer colored LEDs for certain applications? (I am just speculating aloud.) I suspect others will have many better ideas as to what kind of custom pill might "sell." But, if you could offer a wide variety of such custom pills at a reasonable cost, people could end-up with the flashlight of their choice (by selecting just the "right" pill that they want) for an unusually low cost.

There will always be plenty of room for high-end flashlights. (Personally, I am a big fan of the V11R with AA extender.) But, low cost "fun toys" are also nice to have. "Mix-and-Match SK68 Pills" may just be "the thing of the future!"

**UPDATE**

I just took a look at the www.sipik.com website to verify my above statement about the 3 modes and discovered that they have greatly improved their SK68 page. Still in Chinese, but many more and "better" pictures. Check it out.

 

[Rosoku Chikara]

Well, when I first started posting on this thread I only had two SK68s. But, since then I have purchased two more, and I also "recovered" (temporarily) one that I had given a away to a friend (so that I could measure and photograph it). Here here are the measurement results:




"Sample E" (the one I recovered from my friend) is considerably longer than the other four. (The red numbers indicate the differences between SAMPLE A and SAMPLE E.)

Except for the longer length of SAMPLE E, I can find very little significant physical differences between these five lights (even though they are all ever so slightly different). All five tailstand and "front stand" (although the plastic lens does just barely touch on two of them). SAMPLE B happens to be missing the O-Ring at the Removable Bezel, but I assume that that was just an oversight during assembly.

Here is a photo comparison of their LED Emitter Pills and Switch Assemblies. (I do not think there is much to be learned by looking at the differences in Swtich Assemblies, but... what the heck, I had the pictures.)



I would say that the most notable aspect of this comparison is the fact that all but SAMPLE E have "grooves" that allow relatively easy removable of the LED Emitter Pill. (It was just a coincidence, but the SK68 I picked up to unscrew in my post above was SAMPLE E.)

Also, SAMPLE A appears to use a different LED. Can anyone tell from this photo what it is? (If necessary, I can post a better picture.)

 

[mzil]

Rosoku, thanks for the updates. Sipik has a new one called SK51, http://www.sipik.com/html_products/-35.html Is that a lantern mode in the center part? What does the 1x-4x control do. Zoom? Brightness? Could you please translate for us? [edit: I'm an idiot, you live in Japan and they are China, not Japan. OOps. Sorry. My mistake. The English translate function at their site doesn't seem to work well in my browser settings, which I can't figure out.]

 

[Rosoku Chikara]

Rosoku, thanks for the updates. Sipik has a new one called SK51, http://www.sipik.com/html_products/-35.html Is that a lantern mode in the center part? What does the 1x-4x control do. Zoom? Brightness? Could you please translate for us?

Edit: I decided to remove my lengthy posts about the SK51 in the interests of "cleaning up" this thread. Please see the following link to the SK51 thread.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?369699-The-quot-New-quot-Sipik-SK51

 

[Revolvr]

Also, SAMPLE A appears to use a different LED. Can anyone tell from this photo what it is? (If necessary, I can post a better picture.)

The one on the left looks like a Cree XP-G. I don't recognize the others.

I have 2 of these, one branded UltraFire, the other Sipik. My UltraFire has the same LED as the one on the left. The Sipik has the other.

I've see the Sipik web page, and I'm convinced my Sipik isn't a real Sipik. The quality isn't any better than the UltraFire, and the labeling/logo is slightly different. And I'm not sure UltraFire actually makes this flashlight at all; I don't see it on their web site.

 

[RoGuE_StreaK]

Also, SAMPLE A appears to use a different LED. Can anyone tell from this photo what it is? (If necessary, I can post a better picture.)

XP-something, most likely XP-E, which is what my Ultrafire clone came with. Needs closer photo to tell for certain, but XP-E would be the best bet.
My UF clone also seems to have a different pill assembly method again, but I'll confirm that when I get home.

 

[DenBarrettSAR]

From the observations i can see in the photo and the various SK86 clones i have, the pic "A" is a XP-E, pic "B" & "C" is a XR-E / EZ1000 series, pic "D" is a XR-E / EZ900 Series, and pic "E" is a XR-E / EZ1000.

 

[Revolvr]

Seems a little crazy to spend too much time, effort or money to "upgrade" such a low cost flashlight... But, as I said there are lots and lots of them out there... The basic parts do not appear to be particularly prone to failure. So, who knows... perhaps it would be interesting to offer a variety of custom pills that allowed the enthusiast to select between many different options. For example, some might prefer colored LEDs for certain applications? (I am just speculating aloud.) I suspect others will have many better ideas as to what kind of custom pill might "sell." But, if you could offer a wide variety of such custom pills at a reasonable cost, people could end-up with the flashlight of their choice (by selecting just the "right" pill that they want) for an unusually low cost.

You're right of course, who would mod a cheap $4 flashlight?

Well probably a lot of us, just for the fun of it.

I wouldn't mind making an UV version if I could find a decent high powered UV LED. For scorpion hunting.

BTW, like the pop pop boat. I had not heard of these until I saw your sig.

 

[RoGuE_StreaK]

It almost appears to show a variable output level from 4x to 1x

Getting slightly OT here, but anyway... my take on interpreting a possible method is that the head only has the pull-to-lantern, and the tail somehow adjusts the LED position to provide the zoom function? I've found a couple of these designs on various sites but could never find any details on what exactly was happening, and couldn't find any reviews.
Also seems to have some bizarre TIR-looking lens, but I'm guessing it's actually a small aspheric suspended in an angled clear plastic holder?

BTW, like the pop pop boat. I had not heard of these until I saw your sig.

Ditto, I'm thinking of trying to make one this summer for my son to use in our pool

 

[Rosoku Chikara]

Getting slightly OT here, but anyway... my take on interpreting a possible method is that the head only has the pull-to-lantern, and the tail somehow adjusts the LED position to provide the zoom function? I've found a couple of these designs on various sites but could never find any details on what exactly was happening, and couldn't find any reviews.
Also seems to have some bizarre TIR-looking lens, but I'm guessing it's actually a small aspheric suspended in an angled clear plastic holder?

Ditto, I'm thinking of trying to make one this summer for my son to use in our pool

Edit: I decided to remove my lengthy posts about the SK51 in the interests of "cleaning up" this thread. Please see the following link to the SK51 thread.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?369699-The-quot-New-quot-Sipik-SK51

 

[Rosoku Chikara]

Well, I am going to attempt to get this thread "back on topic" by discussing some of the new design changes in the SK68. As for the SK51, we should probably start a new thread to discuss it.

(But, in any case, I am not certain that any of these flashlights are actually going to be available for individuals to purchase... at least not necessarily any time soon. In the past, I had noticed many Sipik models that they "advertise" but don't seem to actually sell... Probably due to the lack of a customer/distributor who is willing the place the large quantity that they probably require as a minimum production order. Once any given model is in actual "production" they can sell in smaller quantities.)

Yet, it is interesting to see what Sipik is doing. And, it makes perfect sense to me. If I were the manufacturer of what is arguably "The World's Most Popular LED Flashlight" I might decide to upgrade my image as well.

At first glance, I thought that they had completely redesigned the pill by using some kind of white plastic (thus eliminating all that "shiny" stuff), but I have since decided that my eyes were simply playing tricks on me, and all it was, was that their photos are somewhat washed out, making things appear to be white. So, there may be no actual design changes whatsoever. The "shiny stuff" is easy to see in this photo:




And, as you can see, they are making clear claims of 150 ANSI lumens from a CREE XP-E R3... But, the biggest difference for me is the new packaging. Apparently, SK68s will eventually be available in a nice printed box:



But, what's more... The contents of the box will include flashlight, Sipik branded single cell Li-Ion charger, Sipik branded Li-Ion cell, Sipik branded Alkaline cell, and Owners Manual with Warranty Card.




Sipik is attempting to go "mainstream," folks. (The days of the $4 Sipik clone, may be numbered!) This might get "interesting" in the (unlikely?) event that this Li-Ion battery and charger actually turned out to be any good:

 

[Rosoku Chikara]

So, assuming that I have a SK68 with "two slots" in the Pill. The obvious solution is to use a pair of fine point needlenose pliers, or perhaps a strong pair of tweezers to get in there and turn that Pill. However, what is the real tool for this task? For example, here is a photo:



Unfortunately, this happens to be a "2-Pin Adjustable Horotec Watch Case Back Opener Wrench" that costs $98.00! Anyone know of any other "less pricey" tools that are designed for this task?

 

[RoGuE_StreaK]

Anyone know of any other "less pricey" tools that are designed for this task?

An "adjustable watch back case opener" looks pretty similar. $2.30 on ebay.

Had a look at my UF clone tonight, no apparently easy way to remove the pill. Had a few attempts at unscrewing using various methods, with no luck.
On a side note, my tail cap is being extremely uncooperative, for some reason it's seizing up when screwed on; need pliers to start it unscrewing, which has wrecked the anodising on it. I've tried diagnosing it but can't figure it out; screws on and off smoothly, lubed with silicone grease, but for some reason even when lightly screwing to the end it flat out refuses to unscrew.