Still trying to come up with a way to run a Jetbeam on CR123's.

[deusexaethera]

Here's my latest scam: Lighthound sells CR123 spacers, so I should be able to put 1xRCR123 and 1xSpacer into the battery tube of a light that wants 1x18650, and it'll work, right?

 

[Oddjob]

That should work although shouldn't you wrap the spacer with some electrical tape to isolate it from the walls of the light to prevent a short? Out of curiosity why not just use an 18650 cell?

 

[Patriot]

Out of curiosity why not just use an 18650 cell?

Or purchase a one cell Jetbeam...:thinking:


The spacers come wrapped.

 

[Oddjob]

...


The spacers come wrapped.

Good to know, thanks.

 

[deusexaethera]

Or purchase a one cell Jetbeam...:thinking:


The spacers come wrapped.

The point of the exercise is to have flexibility. Honestly I'd like it even better if I could run it on an AA battery too, and have a boost circuit make up the difference, but at least having two options is better than having only one.

The 1xCR123 Jetbeams are discontinued, from what I can tell, and their battery tubes don't fit anything else. Their newer models (supposedly) have interchangeable parts, as long as the voltage is the same.

I don't want to buy 18650 cells because I don't want to start a battery collection and a charger collection to go with my flashlight collection. The days of everything running on AA's might be closing, but I'd still like to maintain as much interchangeability as possible.

 

[deranged_coder]

The 1xCR123 Jetbeams are discontinued

Where did you hear this? This is news to me. I just checked the BOG website and I see the Jet-II I.B.S. and Jet-II Pro are still available.

 

[deusexaethera]

Where did you hear this? This is news to me. I just checked the BOG website and I see the Jet-II I.B.S. and Jet-II Pro are still available.

www.jetbeam.com.cn shows the Jet-II series as "Early Products", and there is nothing new listed in the Jet-II section.

Unavailable isn't the same thing as discontinued, but it's possible I'm wrong on both counts.

 

[StarHalo]

Stick to distributors when it comes to news/availability, Flavio and company over at BugOutGearUSA (JetBeam's official US distributor) will keep us informed. Aside from that, you can usually get models that have actually been discontinued from other distributors, Neolumen.eu (official French distributor) being a good example.

There's no difference in output or functionality between the 18650/III JetBeams and the 123/II and AA/I models. If you're wanting a 123-specific light, you'll be very pleased with the features and performance of any of the II models.

 

[deusexaethera]

There is definitely a difference with the one model that runs on AA's; its output is rated at half of the others. (Unless it was a typo.)

Ideally what I really want is something that can run on an AA, a CR123, or an 18650 -- which should be possible with a driver that can handle 0.7v-4.2v, but I haven't found a Jetbeam yet that has that driver and a suitable battery tube.

If I'm missing something, please point me in the right direction.

 

[StarHalo]

There is definitely a difference with the one model that runs on AA's; its output is rated at half of the others. (Unless it was a typo.)

It's 130 on a standard AA, 225 on a Li-Ion, same as the others.

Ideally what I really want is something that can run on an AA, a CR123, or an 18650

I'm not aware of any one light that can do all three (maybe the old HDS?). You'd need at least a pair of different body/battery tubes to pull this off.

 

[deusexaethera]

I didn't know all Jetbeams with 18650 battery tubes could use AA's; I only saw AA's listed as an option on one or two lights. Is the AA half as bright because its amperage is maxed-out, or is it because the regulator circuit isn't boosting the voltage?

I don't need two battery tubes; all I need is a CR123 spacer. Either that, or I'm misinformed about the relative sizes of AA's, CR123's, and 18650's.

Also, does anyone know if Jetbeams can use unprotected cells? I bought a few for my Arc6, and I'd rather not have to buy separate protected cells for other lights if I can help it.

 

[StarHalo]

I didn't know all Jetbeams with 18650 battery tubes could use AA's; I only saw AA's listed as an option on one or two lights.

I should be more specific - the AA/I models can accept *14500* size Li-Ions, not 18650s. When running 14500s, they're just as bright as the 18650/III models.

Is the AA half as bright because its amperage is maxed-out, or is it because the regulator circuit isn't boosting the voltage?

A standard AA cell is only 1.5 or 1.2 volts, so it's only about half as bright. But when running a 3.7 volt Li-Ion, it's the same voltage as the other models, thus the same output.

I don't need two battery tubes; all I need is a CR123 spacer. Either that, or I'm misinformed about the relative sizes of AA's, CR123's, and 18650's.

You do need two battery tubes, either that or some sort of battery magazine to load the AA(s). An 18650 is the same width as a 123, but taller than an AA. An AA is much slimmer than either. You can fit two 123s into the space of one 18650 nicely (hence the option to use either on the Broad Voltage and M models), but the AA dimensions don't fit/correlate at all.

Also, does anyone know if Jetbeams can use unprotected cells?

You can use unprotected cells as long as you're mindful of the battery status; as with most lights, there's no low voltage shutoff feature/provision in the flashlight itself.

 

[deranged_coder]

You do need two battery tubes, either that or some sort of battery magazine to load the AA(s). An 18650 is the same width as a 123, but taller than an AA. An AA is much slimmer than either. You can fit two 123s into the space of one 18650 nicely (hence the option to use either on the Broad Voltage and M models), but the AA dimensions don't fit/correlate at all.

Actually, if I recall correctly, a CR123 roughly corresponds to a 16340 Li-Ion cell in size. So a CR123 is, strictly speaking, not the same width as an 18650, but is fairly close. A AA cell corresponds to the 14500 Li-Ion cell in size so it is noticeably slimmer than the 18650 cell.

I could be wrong though; I am not a battery expert by any means. Others, please feel free to correct me.

 

[StarHalo]

So a CR123 is, strictly speaking, not the same width as an 18650, but is fairly close.

I was generalizing because the OP is referring to lights that accept both 1x18650 and 2x123 (so either will fit), but you are correct, a 123/16340 is 2mm thinner than an 18650 (16mm x 34mm, or "16340" vs 18mm x 65mm "18650")

 

[deusexaethera]

I should be more specific - the AA/I models can accept *14500* size Li-Ions, not 18650s. When running 14500s, they're just as bright as the 18650/III models.



A standard AA cell is only 1.5 or 1.2 volts, so it's only about half as bright. But when running a 3.7 volt Li-Ion, it's the same voltage as the other models, thus the same output.



You do need two battery tubes, either that or some sort of battery magazine to load the AA(s). An 18650 is the same width as a 123, but taller than an AA. An AA is much slimmer than either. You can fit two 123s into the space of one 18650 nicely (hence the option to use either on the Broad Voltage and M models), but the AA dimensions don't fit/correlate at all.



You can use unprotected cells as long as you're mindful of the battery status; as with most lights, there's no low voltage shutoff feature/provision in the flashlight itself.

Phooey.

I liked it better when everything I owned ran on AA's.

 

[StarHalo]

I liked it better when everything I owned ran on AA's.

That's why I EDC a 1xAA light. The batteries are available everywhere, and they're in many items commonly found in a house (in the event of an emergency). A good 1xAA light that can accept a wide voltage range will work on basically anything that will fit into the battery tube; alkaline, lithium, NiMH, Li-Ion, Carbon Zinc, NiCad, LiMN, etc. Most of these models get a huge boost on Li-Ions as well, since the jump in voltage is much larger compared to 123/Li-Ion.

But there are some very cool 18650/2x123 lights out there too, there's a lot more output and runtime there than you'll get in most pocket lights.

 

[hyperloop]

I don't want to buy 18650 cells because I don't want to start a battery collection and a charger collection to go with my flashlight collection. The days of everything running on AA's might be closing, but I'd still like to maintain as much interchangeability as possible.

Get the Ultrafire WF-139, i use it to charge my RCR123s (3.6volt) with a spacer, 2 spacers and it charges my 14250 cells for my Raw NS (have 2 spacers anyway, 1 for each charging bay) and 18650s and 14500s fit without any spacers required. Ordered some 10440s, not sure if i need a spacer for those, but if i do i already have 'em.

When i go on holiday, all i need is that charger for all my cells, my digital camera charger and my cell phone charger (darn thats a lot of chargers).

 

[deusexaethera]

Get the Ultrafire WF-139, i use it to charge my RCR123s (3.6volt) with a spacer, 2 spacers and it charges my 14250 cells for my Raw NS (have 2 spacers anyway, 1 for each charging bay) and 18650s and 14500s fit without any spacers required. Ordered some 10440s, not sure if i need a spacer for those, but if i do i already have 'em.

When i go on holiday, all i need is that charger for all my cells, my digital camera charger and my cell phone charger (darn thats a lot of chargers).

That is why I greatly appreciate electronics that charge from a USB port. The voltage is always the same: 5V. A single 110-240V USB charger can charge my phone and my MP3 player, and if I had a different camera it could charge that too.