Quick look at a R5 single mode drop in

[hyperloop]

EDIT: based on input from other CPF-ers and the fact that i posted this the day a got it, i want to be very clear that this is a very initial view, it hasnt been used for long yet. CHeers

Was wondering what the R5s were like so ordered this R5 drop in drom DX just to give it a try.

It arrived yesterday and it was surprisingly nice, the reflector is made of metal not plastic as i was expecting and screws on and off the LED pill/heatsink which also feels quite nice. There is some epoxy/thermal paste around the LED itself but it doesnt touch the dome nor does it affect the profile of the beam.

I got the single mode as i am figuring on using this only when more light is needed, it will be riding in my G2 running on 2xRCR123s and my K106 3 mode programmable on 14500 is the primary EDC with the Raw NS (20/100) bein the back up.

Beam profile, a larger hotspot than i am used to, comparison pics taken below using my Jet III Pro ST on max. Have not done any runtime tests yet but will get around to it sometime.

Suffice it to say, this one BRIGHT dropin for a sub $15 item. They have a 5 mode too, but i didnt need that as my other lights serve that need already.

Below: Pic of the drop in, sticker says "Super Bright R5"

Below: Closer pic of the LED

Below: Side view with both springs

Below: Side view, spring removed to fit in G2
(note: the other P60 hosts needed the larger spring)

Below: R5 drop in, reflector removed

Below: side view of drop in without reflector

Below: as close as i could get of the LED, note some thermal paste/epoxy spillover

Below: R5 dropin fitted into Surefire G2, no rattles at all

Below: beamshot of R5 drop in, about 6ft from the wall, loads of ambient light as it is noon here.

Below: beamshot Jet III Pro ST Q5 on max (note the hotspot is so muh smaller)

Below: comparison: R5 on left, Jet III Q5 on right

Below: comparison as above just that i moved the lights further apart

I like this dropin, i only wanted a single mode as (a) less things to mess up, (b) only needed a single mode for my uses.

TINTWISE: As you can see from the shots, the Jet III appears a bit but just a bit warmer, the beam profile and tint of Jet III is very nice, slightly vanilla-ish. The R5 on the other hand is a blindin white, would be great for indoors to light up rooms, search all corners etc. But will be takin this R5 outdoors with me as well to test out.


EDIT:just tested the drop in on my other P60 host running a Trustfire Protected 18650, it appears to be just as bright to my eye.

 

[bigchelis]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

I got one too for real Out the front lumens.

With A single Cell it pulls 2A or so at the tail

Then it does over 1A with 2 AW 18650 cells in a L2 w/ext...


Finally; it broke prior to getting readings. I actually got it at 300 plus OTF, but then the lumens drop to like 140 after 15 seconds. Then no more light. It still doesnt work.

A guess I got a bad one.:thumbsdow

 

[hyperloop]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

I got one too for real Out the front lumens.

With A single Cell it pulls 2A or so at the tail

Then it does over 1A with 2 AW 18650 cells in a L2 w/ext...


Finally; it broke prior to getting readings. I actually got it at 300 plus OTF, but then the lumens drop to like 140 after 15 seconds. Then no more light. It still doesnt work.

A guess I got a bad one.:thumbsdow

sorry to hear that man, when i read your post, immediately turned the dropin on, leaving it on now for the time its taking to reply to your post, no discernible drop in output (to my eye) and that is running it off 2xRCR1123s (Soshine unprotected)

 

[bigchelis]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

sorry to hear that man, when i read your post, immediately turned the dropin on, leaving it on now for the time its taking to reply to your post, no discernible drop in output (to my eye) and that is running it off 2xRCR1123s (Soshine unprotected)

check the current at the tail?

With a single Cell it should be around 1A. With 2 cells it should be at 500~800mA at the tail.

bigC

 

[Black Rose]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

bigchelis, what colour is the circuit board on yours?

If it's green, it's a faulty driver (high current draw). The red drivers resolved that issue.

I had one of these drop-ins die on me.

It turned an angry blue with diminishing output. The LED separated from the MCPCB

The LED survived, so now I'm learning how to reflow solder.

 

[gcbryan]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

bigchelis, what colour is the circuit board on yours?

If it's green, it's a faulty driver (high current draw). The red drivers resolved that issue.

I had one of these drop-ins die on me.

It turned an angry blue with diminishing output. The LED separated from the MCPCB

The LED survived, so now I'm learning how to reflow solder.

I have the Uniquefire R5 but it looks like the same dropin. Mine worked fine with (1)18650 but when I tried (2) Cr123's it fried something and no longer works. I ordered another one but I'd like to learn something from this one.

To get to the circuit board do I just need to desolder the two "silver blobs" on the back of the heat sink?

 

[jackaloop]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

As I wrote here I read 1.4A on a single trustfire (the one with flames, freshly charged) and 1.18A on two RCR123 Trustfires (the ones with flames, freshly charged), with no visible difference in output.

This is a great dropin for indoors because of its big hotspot, lots of spill and the smooth transition from hotspot to spill. In a cealing bounce test with my bare eyes, I perceive the total amount of light as equal to my Jetbeam Jet III Pro I.B.S. 3.7 Volts Edition. Outdoors however, the Jetbeam dominates this dropin in regard to throw by a large margin.

 

[Black Rose]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

To get to the circuit board do I just need to desolder the two "silver blobs" on the back of the heat sink?

No, just look at the bottom of the drop-in and see what colour the back of the circuit board is.

 

[RedForest UK]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

Thats funny, I was just reading this thread thinking how great my DX R5 drop-in had been when i reached over turned it on and after a few seconds it went a dim blue tint anyway I took it out cleaned it a bit with a cotton bud and now it won't work at all! Oh well, I guess thats what you get from DX.. Mine was the red-backed one btw, I'd taken it out of the Skyray single mode.

 

[fishx65]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

Been using my four DX R2's for a couple years now without any problems. Was thinking about ordering a few R5's but it does not sound like such a good idea. Is the R5 much brighter then the 2?

 

[RedForest UK]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

Been using my four DX R2's for a couple years now without any problems. Was thinking about ordering a few R5's but it does not sound like such a good idea. Is the R5 much brighter then the 2?

I'm not sure about mine tbh, it had worked fine up till now for a good few months.. And yes, it was very bright, I'd estimate well over 300 OTF lumens. I think I'll go with one of nailbenders new Neutral white XP-G's now tho :thumbsup:

 

[Black Rose]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

The reflow soldering on the one I had that failed was very poorly done.

Peeling back the paper isolation disc should not take the LED with it!!!!

 

[gcbryan]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

No, just look at the bottom of the drop-in and see what colour the back of the circuit board is.

I was asking how to take the board out...it doesn't work and I want to look at it. It seems to be a blue board however just judging from the circle on the back of the dropin.

 

[Black Rose]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in



Just desolder the solder blobs on the back of the pill and use a small screwdriver or pocket knife to take the driver out of the pill.

If you want to fully remove the driver, you'll also need to peel back the paper isolation disc on the top side and desolder the wires from the MCPCB as well.

 

[stallion2]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

i thought mine was great back when it still worked. its output was on par w/ my Dereelight XP-G pill and Thrunite 1A XP-G pill (rated at 350lm & 345lm respectively by factories) but the tint was pretty cool. i popped it loose trying it w/ another reflector and wasn't paying close enough attention. prior to all that the lamp had performed flawlessly. the reflector that came w/ it is by far the best i've seen in a 26mm...i'm no w using it w/ a Thrunite 1.5A XP-G in my C2 and its easily the best light i've had in a P60 format.

in short, other than a coolish tint, mine was perfect.

 

[Wilkerson Brasil]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

I got one of this too.
Measured 1.5A at tailcap using 2*AW16340.

It is bright...It was bright...

Emitter just felt off board...

Dx sent another one... Still waiting

 

[Black Rose]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

Emitter just felt off board...

Glad I'm not the only one this has happened to.

I should have asked for a replacement insead of trying to fix it myself.

 

[kramer5150]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

I got one of this too.
Measured 1.5A at tailcap using 2*AW16340.

It is bright...It was bright...

Emitter just felt off board...

Dx sent another one... Still waiting

1.5A from 2xRCR123 cells sounds a bit excessive. I would expect 1.5A from a SINGLE cell, and half that draw from two cells.

It sounds to me like there is a bad batch of these floating through the DX supply chain.... either that or the DC-DC circuit in these is not very efficient at higher voltages.

I am running an R4 at 1.4A, and it did around 220 OTF in bc's sphere.

 

[hyperloop]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

i'd like to measure the current at the tailcap and i do have a DMM (cheapo one from DX) which i primarily (well, actually ONLY) use to measure the voltages for my rechargeable cells, could some kind soul tell this tech-impaired CPF-er how to do it?

If needs be i can post a pic of my DMM so you guys could tell which sockets and settings to use

 

[^Gurthang]

Re: Quick look at the DX R5 single mode drop in

So, has anyone clearly identified which XPG drop-in is the two cell [3.7 - 8.4 V] version and the one cell [3 - 3.7V] ? Obviously DX is rushing these out the door w/ poor QC.

I've got the doppleganger clone [UniqueFire S5] of the SkyRay [LF SP-6] clone. Absolutely NO issues so far on 1 x 18650. Its got the blue 5 mode driver. I use it at least 30 minutes every morning [dog walking] and it gets nicely warm but no tint shifting.

The problems mentioned make me wonder if the emitter is overheating due to poor thermal contact.