Just got my Nuwai X-3

Just received my Nuwai X-3 from EliteLED. Halfway round the world in two weeks. Great service!

First off, the design and finish are very cool. Build seems fairly solid. The rotating lanyard is a little weird but I'll keep it on and see how it goes. I like the twist+momentary tailcap switch. Don't care much for the supplied holster though... seems cheap-ish . Think I'll carry it in the concealed side pocket of my pants.

As for the the light... this thing is bright! Much brighter than my L1T and a bit whiter. The L1T is looking a little yellow-green compared to the X-3. The "adjustable focusing" works to some degree but makes a big doughnut hole at wider angles. At the tightest focus, the hotspot is quite intense. Minor niggle: the beam is not very smooth; I can see "rings" probably due to the reflector.

I bought this light because I wanted something with more throw and it does the job quite well for the price. The beam is quite visible on the apartment building across the pool (hope no one notices the weird flashes of light coming from my window).

All in all, a nice light. It's only the fourth Luxeon light I've bought (my first, the Q3, was lost and my L1P got "borrowed" and never returned).

Wonder what's next...

JC,

I'm very glad this has adjustable focus because it is WAY to bright to look at things close-up when it's focused tight. The tight focus is great for seeing things far away but when i have to look at something close-up i just adjust the focus to flood & it is perfect with just the right amount of light.

John

Does it have an easily accessible star?

Blindasabat said:

Does it have an easily accessible star?

Click to expand...

Does this help?

john2551 said:

Does this help?

Click to expand...

Nice picture. Thanks, it does help some. It looks like the emitter is not on a star, but it's hard to tell. So it would be a little harder to swap out and upgrade. but I can't tell for sure.

In etc's thread: "2AA LED with best throw?" someone mentioned that the X-3 with a U-bin dropped in would be one hell of a thrower. Based on the FLR review, I agree, but it may not be as easy to mod as a most other Nuwai lights like the Q3.

Don't suppose you can take a closer picture of the emitter and area around it could you? Then I could tell for sure.

Blindasabat said:

Nice picture. Thanks, it does help some. It looks like the emitter is not on a star, but it's hard to tell. So it would be a little harder to swap out and upgrade. but I can't tell for sure.

In etc's thread: "2AA LED with best throw?" someone mentioned that the X-3 with a U-bin dropped in would be one hell of a thrower. Based on the FLR review, I agree, but it may not be as easy to mod as a most other Nuwai lights like the Q3.

Don't suppose you can take a closer picture of the emitter and area around it could you? Then I could tell for sure.

Click to expand...

Hi Blindasabat,

Sorry I don't have a digital camera, but looking at the emitter, I can only see the glass dome and the base around it. The rest is covered by a black sleeve. The PCB is not visible. Is there any way to tell if it's a star just by this area?


Regards,
JC

JC,
It looks like there is something black around the emitter in that picture. is that a thin plastic cover? Can you see under it? If so, then if it is a star, you will see several square pads for positive and negative contacts. They will have little plusses and minuses next to them. Wires will come from below between "legs" of the star and will be soldered to two of those "pads." Look at this thread https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/117888 to see what stars look like.

I doubt it's a Star. A Star won't fit in the battery tube of most AA lights. Likely an emitter.

The black cover appears to be glued in place. The outer ring (shiny metallic part) has two little holes I assume can be used to unscrew. Unfortunately I lack the appropriate tool to do this and I don't really want to open up this new light

Looking at pictures of stars and emitters, I would have to agree that a star wouldn't fit in this head. Almost certainly not a star.

Still really bright for a (fairly) small light. "Candle mode" is nice.... really lights up a dark room like a (white) candle. Hurts to look at it tho.

Agreed jsr. Im sure that one would only need access to the contacts of the LED to change it.

What is the main differences in an emitter and a star for a flashlight? What makes the star more desirable than an emitter in a flashlight? heatsink maybe?

Im not so sure about the heatsink part because it is really simple to make a good heatsink for an emitter. I know that stars are more expensive, perhaps only because the emitters are attached to the star, not because they are more desirable. I do know that when people want to make a direct drive LED light, they usually choose a star, perhaps because the heatsinks made for DD and such for maglites and others all have slots in the form of stars for centering.

A star is easier to change than an emitter. That is part of the reason the Nuwai Q3 is such a popular light to mod. It's easy. At my current level of soldering skill I will easily change a star - desolder and resolder two wires from pads on the star itself and you are done. I won't touch an emitter yet. An emitter change requires desoldering some smaller contacts close to the emitter itself, removing the emitter from the heat sink (not always easy because they are usually well glued on with heat paste or something), then reattach a new emitter correctly centered - with no polarity marks to guide you. The star has a nice pad to solder to that is marked "+" or "-" so you know what goes where.

Also, the leads on the emitter are pretty sensitive and easily broken from bending. When removing an emitter, you usually have to bend the leads a bit to lift them up from the pad (or use a solder wick to soak up all the solder). It only takes 3 bends or so for the leads to break. A Star is much more easily swappable.

ahhh, thanks for the clarifications.