P60L Regulation Measurements

[Ray_of_Light]

I received today two P60L.

I tested them for regulation capabilities, and here are the results.

V and I measurement are +/- 0.1%. Luminous flux measurements are +/- 10%.

INPUT VOLTAGE CURRENT FLUX

2.9 Volts 20 mA 5 lm

3.0 Volts 60 mA 10 lm

3.6 Volts 200 mA 40 lm

3.8 Volts 370 mA 60 lm

4.1 Volts 470 mA 74 lm

4.2 Volts 480 mA 75 lm

5.0 Volts 420 mA 75 lm

6.0 Volts 350 mA 78 lm

8.4 Volts 250 mA 78 lm

As you may note, the P60L falls out of regulation between 4.2 and 4.1 volts, so a fresh charged Li-Ion will not keep it in regulation. On the other hand, the lower voltage threshold is such that the P60L will not "kill" a single bare Li-Ion cell.

All measurements were taken with the P60L correctly heatsinked, and with no intervention of the thermal protection. Flux measurement in lumens are imprecise due to the fact that I had no mean to prepare and test the right adapter.

Hope this helps.

Anthony

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Re: P60L Regulation

Thanks for this follow up you promised in December. Was wondering if the P60L would regulate above 9 volts? I suspect it will, but I have not purchased one yet to do some experimenting using bounce and lux meter.

Bill

 

[Ray_of_Light]

I pushed the P60L to 9.6 V, a voltage that can be expected from three fresh 123s, and it was still OK. I didn't want to go further, since many standard SMT tantalum caps (that very likely are part of the regulator circuitry) are specified to a maximum of 10 Volt, and they fails very easy for overvoltage.
The regulator is an high efficiency buck-only type. Also due to the built-in thermal protection, the P60L is a very good deal. The brightness is not on the par of the Malkoff and the BOG, but it has a runtime in regulation of 3.5 Hrs on 2x123 and 5 hrs on 3x123 (plus moon mode), or 3 hrs on 2 x RCR123 with an abrupt turn-off (due to the battery protection circuit).
Runtimes are longer in G2-G3 bodies, but LED lifetime and overall efficiency are lower.

Anthony