Low Lo w/NiMH & RiverRock 2AAA

The River Rock headlight claims regulation but provides very dim output on low when using NiMH cells. The cells are good, with 1.3 open circuit volts & 8 short circuit amps yet the light draws only 5mA on low. With alks or lithiums the low setting draws from 30 - 45 mA and is substantially brighter.

There is little difference on high level: current consumption is 150 mA with all cells.

Is my light defective?

your light is correct... i think only the high setting is regulated... i really like the low setting on nimh... its one of the few white (blue ) lights that doesn't kill my nightvision

That's a good point jar3ds, and I have come to appreciate the benefits of using very low levels of light. It's funny that many of us (probably) came to the CPF seeking ever more in luminance but found that less is more in some cases.

Your explaination makes sense, j3d, so this "defect" is like an Easter Egg in that, depending upon expected use, we can load for quail or moose.

...OK, ok, let's make that: goose.

just have to say, I love mine. NIMH vs alkalines on low is not noticeable to me. Lower light is good for sneaking around without waking anyone. To me a lower low is better just like higher high is better.

I believe that low output is direct drive while high is boosted hence the poor performance with rechargeables.

I have been using my RR2AAA head lamp with NIMH's (900mah) and real like it. I did notice that it was a lot more dim on the low, however, lately i have not been using it on dim. I have been using it on high mostly.

I really like this headlamp and has caused me not to buy the PT EOS yet.

Thanks, eebowler, for your input; that's a good explanation. Perhaps it was cheaper to use a low Vf LED rather than a slightly more sophisticated circuit.

Of course the light is so small maybe it couldn't fit even one more SMD on the PCB!

LOL jayflash. There's actually lots of space inside of the headlamp for components.

If you want a little improvement in brightness, change the LED to one with 4 or 5 dies in it. I put in a wai whang 4 die LED in mine and brightness did increase.

eebowler said:

LOL jayflash. There's actually lots of space inside of the headlamp for components.

If you want a little improvement in brightness, change the LED to one with 4 or 5 dies in it. I put in a wai whang 4 die LED in mine and brightness did increase.

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how did the beam pattern change?

Oh, I hated the stock reflector so I speckled the hell out of mine with hairspray. Love the even beam. Way more floody now. I dont' mind the blue tint at all.

Beam pattern didn't actually change or maybe it did. Not too sure. I still had to unscrew the bezel slightly to get a better, focus just like with the original LED. The wai whang LED I used is one of the multi die, cut, 5mm LEDs so the size of both LEDs were practically the same. I believe the colour improved but only slightly and maybe because of the increased brightness and not the actual colour.

For $10 here in BST this is the best bang for the buck headlamp out there. I don't think you'll get as nice a light untill you hit the $50 mark in headlamps.

Hairspray! What a great, simple, idea...too easy for me to have come up with. I'll have to try that trick if some Write Right isn't enough to improve the flood. Funny, but I prefer a wide, smooth, beam for headlamps and often use hand held lights for throw. Can't expect Apex-like throw/flood options at the River Rock's bargian price. If the RR holds up reasonably well it may be one of the best, small, headlamp values.

You'll like the hairspray trick. If you don't you can always wash it off.

Mine is exactly like that. The output with rested NiMH (not fresh off the charger) and fresh alkaline in low setting is very different. I find the low useful for using in total darkness where I must be discrete.

I did mine with spray acrylic, and I have WriteRight on my wife's. We use them biking offroad. The RR headlamp is a great value for the price. Right now I'm feeding them lithiums, but that results in a low beam that's still almost as bright as the high beam after... like five hours of use.

I use the low on NiMHs for reading in bed. It's almost perfect for that, if not a little bright. The high is about the same as the high on lithiums. Very flexible little light.

Good point Ikonomi, because low with alks or liths is too bright for reading.

jayflash said:

Good point Ikonomi, because low with alks or liths is too bright for reading.

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I have three of these headlamps and like them enough that I'll probably get a couple more. They are simply the best headlamp value available. You should have one of these loaded with lithiums in each vehicle you own.

Modded one with a heavily sanded, soft plastic lens that produces a very smooth flood. Cuts down the output and kills the hotspot and throw, but it's great for close up tasks. Set on low level while running on alks, it's just right for reading.

Was going to use hinged lens cover for a telescopic sight to hold the diffuser, so that I could swing it on and off at will. But, I had problems fitting it, so decided to go with the semi-permanent diffuser.

These headlamps are so small and light that I've been bringing along two for camping: a stock headlamp for trail use, and the headlamp with diffuser for use around camp. It's good to have a backup headlamp in any event.

Ugh, I messed up my RR 2AA tonight. I took it apart to see how a Luxeon would fit in there, and now I can't get it back together without the rubber switch cover getting twisted up.

I have tried gluing it in place and sliding those little parts in there from every possible angle, but the cover still pops up when I get the circuit board and switch inserted into the housing.

I wonder how they got it in there... Maybe I'm missing something?