Newb Q: Tint? & Jetbeam 18650 Unregulated huh?

[Tactikool]

So I did some searching and saw on the BugoutGear's post saying that they only order a few of the warm tints, Is the warm less popular? Is there any real "better" My Jetbeam is slightly pinkish and I haven't really had many flashlights of the LED variety but have seen some "cooler" bluer beams, so my question for this..IS there a best or is it just a preference?

Also, I saw in a post again on Bugoutgear's post that the Jetbeam III-M is *unregulated* or something on an 18650? Again I did some searching but I didn't really come up with anything, Can anyone explain? Should I avoid running my batteries till they're dead or anything in my light? I have protected 18650's though. Just making sure I don't trash anything Thanks guys! You guys ROCK!

PS: I believe this is the right thread for this but meh feel free to move!

Feel free to link me, I won't be the super lazy type who won't read an article or anything I appreciate any guidance you guys can throw my way!

Thanks!

 

[StarHalo]

Is the warm less popular? Is there any real "better" My Jetbeam is slightly pinkish and I haven't really had many flashlights of the LED variety but have seen some "cooler" bluer beams, so my question for this..IS there a best or is it just a preference?

It's just preference, the warmer tint looks more like an incandescent light source, and brings out yellow shades a bit better which makes it more popular for outdoor/nature use.

I personally am not a fan of the warm tints since they don't actually render color any better than the cool tints, and bystanders who see your expensive warm-tint LED light in use won't be able to see that it's any different than a $2 off-the-shelf light.

I saw in a post again on Bugoutgear's post that the Jetbeam III-M is *unregulated* or something on an 18650?

That's correct, this is by design. In nearly all regulated Li-Ion lights, when the battery is no longer able to provide enough power, the light just shuts off instantly. You get ruler-flat regulation right up until the cell can't provide enough juice, then total darkness, no dimming or warning. This isn't a big deal in an around-the-house light, but in a tactical light, having your light suddenly turn itself off in the middle of a life-or-death situation is not an option. The M gets around this by being unregulated; the output steadily declines over a much longer period of time, giving you plenty of advance notice that the cell needs to be recharged. This also gives you much more runtime overall, which is a better deal in a long-term emergency situation.

Should I avoid running my batteries till they're dead or anything in my light? I have protected 18650's though.

Your protected cells will disable/turn themselves off should the working voltage get critically low, but as with any Li-Ion cell, it's best to go ahead and check if you're in doubt. Use a digital multimeter to read the open voltage of the cell; if it's 3.6 volts or lower, time to recharge.

 

[copperfox]

bystanders who see your expensive warm-tint LED light in use won't be able to see that it's any different than a $2 off-the-shelf light.

Who cares about bystanders? I'd bet most non-flashaholics don't consciously notice the tint anyway. Besides, any Joe Shmoe can go to Wally world and pick up a cheap LED light powered by an array of bluish-white 5mm LEDs. So really you have it backwards. The neutral/warm tint high-power LEDs are harder to come by, not easier.

As a general rule, the cooler the tint, the more efficient it is. Both SSC and Cree list efficiencies for their main LED lines in groupings of cool white, neutral white, and warm white. You will find that they get less efficient as they get warmer.

Apparently it is more difficult to create a neutral or warm white LED in the same efficiency as cool white. That is why we don't yet have Q5/R2 flux binned 3A or 5A tint Cree XR-Es; only Q3 are available.

Edit: To answer your question Tactikool, yes, tint is preference. I prefer neutral tints even if it means taking a slight hit in efficiency. To me, the cool white (Cree WC for example) tints seem to wash out colors while the neutral and warm tints seem to make colors more vibrant. Warmer tints are becoming more popular on CPF. You will see plenty of people now requesting lights to come with warm emitters.

 

[Tactikool]

Ahh! Thank you! You answered my question's perfectly! I was just making sure that it wouldn't damage my light or anything because I know slightly over-voltaging an LED will burn it out (burned many LED's by accident) and the under-voltaging can damage it. Thanks again for the questions answered, I personally like the cool LED's but my slightly pinkish beam doesn't bother me. Also, You guys would know where to get a blue filter for my light? I'm looking for a cool blue to mess around on strobe (Rave music anyone? ) Or some other cool color that would fit good in something that is more transparent than opaque. I've heard jetbeam will make filters as of the Raptor light and pressure switches but i havent found where to purchase them. Don't worry if you can't answer i'll post a new topic later..Green would be cool or like a purpleish

 

[kramer5150]

It seems very few lights designed for regulated output at 6-8.4V are also regulated at 3.0-4.2V (1x18650). The Lumapower encore is one I am aware of thats been tested by a reputable CPF reviewer. But there are perhaps more (hopefully).

Heres an example from one of selfbuilts reviews.... all the single cell only lights are fully regulated at 1x18650. The lights that are designed around 6-8.4V run direct drive off 1x18650.

Yes its not a good idea to run Lithium Ion cells past ~3V. You can shorten their life span considerably, and increase the odds of an internal short+fire by doing so.

 

[StarHalo]

I was just making sure that it wouldn't damage my light or anything because I know slightly over-voltaging an LED will burn it out (burned many LED's by accident) and the under-voltaging can damage it.

Over-volting a flashlight is only possible when it's direct-drive (no circuitry) or the circuitry is rated for a specific range of voltage and you exceed it. This isn't a problem with JetBeam, since their lights/circuitry are specifically designed to accept Li-Ion cells.

Under-volting damages the battery, not the light. If you discharge a Li-Ion below 3.6 volts, it can become damaged and lose capacity. And if you get too low it simply dies and will no longer hold a charge.

You guys would know where to get a blue filter for my light?

Know ahead of time that when you put a filter in front of an LED, you lose a lot of output/lumens. A filter only lets select wavelengths of light pass through it, and LEDs have somewhat narrow and segmented bands of output - a good example would be a red filter; if your LED only emits ~10% of it's total output in the red part of the spectrum, putting a red filter in front of it will make it only 10% as bright. If you want to efficiently do color with LEDs, you just need the LED itself to be that color.

That being said, there's nothing wrong with experimentation, and if you want a cheap and easy way to do color filtering, go to your local crafts store and pick up some colored transparency sheets.

 

[Tactikool]

Cool sounds like a plan, About the over voltage thing I've just burned up some diodes not actual lights such as a Jetbeam, I try to swap out my batteries once in a while to make sure they're charged but I don't want to damage anything. Thanks again for your guy's help
lovecpf