What can I do with this thing?

[Angdvl089]

Can some people voice some ideas for me to do with this flashlight? I know it's only $10 but I had trouble with it from the start. It seems like it could be a really nice flashlight but I just need to get it to work properly. At first it would always flicker when I would turn it on. Then I let it sit for about a week and I just turned it on today and it was extremely dim. I figured maybe it was draining the batteries the entire week so I took them out (alkalines) and put in some mediocre Ni-MH AAA rechargeables and to my surprise, it was still dim. So now I need something to do to make this thing sweet. I don't care if it eats up batteries too quickly but at least a 10 hour run time would be nice (I know nothing about flashlights is this way too much or too little?). So what are my options? I honestly don't want to put a crapload of money into this light but I wouldn't mind using it as my first expiriment light (i.e. circuit boards, emitters, etc.). Thanks for looking.

 

[Angdvl089]

Nobody? Are there any circuit boards that would work with this or any cree or seoul leds that I could just switch in? Would I have to change resistance for voltage or is that too much?

 

[perfconnpc]

From DealExtreme's description it looks like a genuine 5 watt Luxeon which should be pretty darn bright. It also appears to be direct drive. I would guess it might have a bad ground or a bad switch. Try leaving the tailcap off and grounding the bottom of the battery holder to the body of the flashlight with a screwdriver. If you get bright light out of it then the switch is bad or the ground between the tail-cap/switch is poor.

If it's still dim after that you may have a ground problem between the head and the body, the wires to the emitter (poor soldering), or a damaged emitter. You may have to take it completely apart to find the problem.

I had an Ultrafire 602d with a rear clickie which would flicker and shine dimly -- turned out to be a poor ground between the head and the body, just needed a little more solder to fix.

 

[Jay T]

Looking at the description this light makes no sense. they claim it is a 5W luxeon direct driven. A 5W needs 6 volts. 3AAA will give <4.5, that is why this setup is often used with 3W leds, just slap in a resistor to drop the voltage a bit and the 3AAA matches the Vf of a 3w.

 

[Angdvl089]

I just tried that and even though I know that the tailcap was making it flicker a bit it was still just as dim. So I'm going to take it apart but how will I know if everything is working correctly? Do I need to use a multimeter?

 

[Angdvl089]

Hey thanks for the help Jay T. Apparently one of the wires soldered to the emitter star thingy was touching the outer part of the star so I'm all set. Thanks for the help.

 

[perfconnpc]

I'm no expert but I just looked at both a genuine Luxeon 3 and 5 (from two of my Nuwai lights) and on both the word "Lumileds" is printed on the star, not done in solder on the star. This one is probably a knock-off.

 

[Curious_character]

This looks like a successor to the old BLIMP, which was a bright light. I have two which I modded with a Seoul LED -- just about doubles the light output. It's an extremely simple mod, especially if you get the Seoul pre-mounted on a star.

It can be run with an 18500 or, if it fits, with an 18650, but you need to add some series resistance to prevent severely overdriving the LED.

Flickering problems are common in these cheap lights, and I've found most of them are due to the tail cap plug not being screwed down tight. I use needle nose pliers to tighten it down. A bit of Nyogel, Pro Gold, or even WD-40 works wonders with erratically contacting surfaces if you still have trouble.

c_c

 

[Angdvl089]

@ perfconnpc - I just looked on the star and I can't really tell if it says Lumileds or Lumleds. The second "l" is wider than it should be so unless they're all like that it could be counterfeit but I'm okay with that

@Curious_character - I've done away with the flicker...I took apart the tail cap to see how it was put together, stretched out the metal peice that grounds out the flashlight and then tightened it pretty good. As for the seould led, do I need to change to the 18500 battery for that or can I stay with AAA's? I'm just not ready for a higher voltage battery yet because I don't know how to add series'. Thanks

 

[yaesumofo]

You get what you pay for this is a prime example. Take the emitter off the star and throw it into a 3D mag light and create a space needle flashlight with it.
I remember not so long ago when you could not even buy an emitter for $10.44 especially one which has a decent bin. you can look at the bin because it is on the underside of the star.
Otherwise I would just toss it as far away as possible and consider it a lesson learned that $10.44 flashlights suck sh)t. and aren't even worthy of being discussed on the CPF because they are not worth the bandwidth.
Sorry to sound so negative but I am just so freaking tired of the thread after thread about what is the best $3.50 flashlight I can get or what is the best light under $10.00.
IMHO there should be a discussion area which is restricted to threads discussing crappy cheap flashlights that cost under $25.00. That Way those of us who have no desire discussing CRAP all the time can use the CPF for what it is designed for and those of you who are concerned with the purchase and ownership of the cheapest and crappiest flashlights in the world will have your own place to go without disturbing the rest of the forum.
So What can you do with this "thing" throw it as far away as you can as I said before. just make sure you don't hurt anybody with it. Actually I have a better idea. Take it to the market with you next time you go there and toss it into the aluminum recycling bin/machine thing. At least that way the material it is made from will not end up being completely useless. and it is better than tossing it into the trash where it will end up in a land fill and it will represent just how LOW society in the 21st century actually went. Hopfully it is uphill from here now that we have almost seen the worst.
Oh and if you find my posting about this piece of crap flashlight (I hesitate to use the term) offencive. too bad. Take it up with me via PM if you feel the need to waste more time on the topic
Yaesumofo

 

[Curious_character]

@Curious_character - I've done away with the flicker...I took apart the tail cap to see how it was put together, stretched out the metal peice that grounds out the flashlight and then tightened it pretty good. As for the seould led, do I need to change to the 18500 battery for that or can I stay with AAA's? I'm just not ready for a higher voltage battery yet because I don't know how to add series'. Thanks

Although there's some unit-to-unit variation, the Seoul LED voltage is about the same as the Lux you replace, so use the same battery. Stay with the AAAs, unless you have some way of adding around a half ohm of series resistance. The problem is that the Li-ion cell has lower internal resistance than even NiMH AAAs, so the voltage under load is enough higher to cause a pretty big increase in emitter current. I've measured around 1.4 amps in experiments. It takes around a half ohm or so to drop it back to an acceptable level. A Seoul emitter will let you know when it's overdriven -- you won't mistake the blue color after you've seen it once.

If you want to maintain good focus after doing the Seoul replacement, you'll probably have to move the reflector a bit in the direction of the emitter. As I recall for that light you just need to sand down the head some to allow it to screw down further.

c_c

 

[Angdvl089]

@ Yaesumofo - I heard cranberry juice helps with periods.
@Curious_character - I'll just continue using AAA's like you said. Thanks for the reflector tip, too.

 

[johnny13oi]

You get what you pay for this is a prime example. Take the emitter off the star and throw it into a 3D mag light and create a space needle flashlight with it.
I remember not so long ago when you could not even buy an emitter for $10.44 especially one which has a decent bin. you can look at the bin because it is on the underside of the star.
Otherwise I would just toss it as far away as possible and consider it a lesson learned that $10.44 flashlights suck sh)t. and aren't even worthy of being discussed on the CPF because they are not worth the bandwidth.
Sorry to sound so negative but I am just so freaking tired of the thread after thread about what is the best $3.50 flashlight I can get or what is the best light under $10.00.
IMHO there should be a discussion area which is restricted to threads discussing crappy cheap flashlights that cost under $25.00. That Way those of us who have no desire discussing CRAP all the time can use the CPF for what it is designed for and those of you who are concerned with the purchase and ownership of the cheapest and crappiest flashlights in the world will have your own place to go without disturbing the rest of the forum.
So What can you do with this "thing" throw it as far away as you can as I said before. just make sure you don't hurt anybody with it. Actually I have a better idea. Take it to the market with you next time you go there and toss it into the aluminum recycling bin/machine thing. At least that way the material it is made from will not end up being completely useless. and it is better than tossing it into the trash where it will end up in a land fill and it will represent just how LOW society in the 21st century actually went. Hopfully it is uphill from here now that we have almost seen the worst.
Oh and if you find my posting about this piece of crap flashlight (I hesitate to use the term) offencive. too bad. Take it up with me via PM if you feel the need to waste more time on the topic
Yaesumofo

Dude, just because a flashlight is under $25 doesn't mean that it's a bad flashlight or of poor quality. My Ultrafire C2 is of very nice quality and is a great flashlight. My favorite. I have seen and used Surefires as well and I also have a Dexlight X1 which is the equivalent to the Jetbeam MKIIX, and I still think the Ultrafire is a great flashlight and still my favorite. You just need to calm down, not everything that is higher priced means that it is of higher quality. Everyone knows that. And not everyone can afford the higher priced flashlights out there and must stick with the cheaper flashlights hoping to get something good. I was also eyeing that flashlight as it appears to be pretty nice and modded with a SSC P4 it looks like it can really perform.

Oh and one more thing, just because they can't afford higher priced flashlights doesn't mean they too cannot join in on the fun. This is a great hobby and we should not be pushing away the ones who cannot afford the high end flashlight but rather helping them out. Even if it means finding a decent flashlight that is under $25.

 

[Toohotruk]

@ Yaesumofo - I heard cranberry juice helps with periods.

BTW...welcome to CPF! :thumbsup:

 

[Angdvl089]

Thanks

 

[WNG]

I had an AXShop.com light that suffered from flicker, had to twist the hell out of the tailcap to make contact. Under closer inspection, it turned out to be some sloppy soldering. I reflowed a cold joint and viola! It functioned perfectly, and has been great for 2 years.
Dealextreme was formally AXShop if I remember right.
Basically same source of asian lights.
So, open up the flashlight and re-check the connection points.
Sand the ends of the tube body to make good electrical contact.
I bet you'll find a bad solder joint that's causing a short in the head.
Common symptom is dim output or magic smoke.


And I agree, we all started somewhere, and discriminating based on price and exclusivity of one's example of light, is not a CPF philosophy.

A thread about trying to swap a double-barreled CREE into the PIGGY light has as much credit as discussion about the latest HID or Surefire offering.

 

[johnny13oi]

I thought dealextreme was formally fifthunit?

 

[WNG]

Fifthunit was formally AXShop.

 

[johnny13oi]

Oh wow. I really hope Dealextreme doesn't change again then.

 

[mmmflashlights]

I have taken a couple of lights that are similar to this, 3 AAA lights with or without a circuit and typically using some 1 watt LED mounted on a star, and modified them. With each of them, I've replaced the LED with a star-mounted Cree, taken out parts of the tailcaps to allow them to hold an 18650 Lithium-Ion rechargeable, and 2 of the lights I put a circuit in the 'pill' holding the star. The circuit I used for them was this - http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3256, which works well, and one light is direct-driven with no circuit at all. Soon I'm going to be getting a couple of these other circuits and I'm going to try it in at least one of them which should be nice since it is multilevel http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6190 . I considered ordering one of these lights when it came out just to mod it as I described, but I don't know if an 18650 would fit even after modifying the tailcap. An 18500 would fit with no problems at all though and that would still give a fair amount more capacity than 3 AAAs. Of course 3 AAAs could still be used, but I hate the concept of 3 AAAs in a light.