L0P-SE-UWAJ vs L0P-SE

I purchased the L0P-SE and liked it a lot. To my surprise, the 3-level switching system was easy to use. Not only that, it was a lot brighter than my other L0P units which have since found other homes. Yes, I can see the PWM effect on mid and low levels, but it does not bother me. All in all, a nice single AAA flashlight!

So I decided to purchase a mod. version - my first - the L0P-SE-U with the UWAJ LED which I thought should be brighter. I received the L0P-SE-U mod version and noticed that except for a somewhat tighter spot, it wasn't any brighter. So I performed a run-time test with both of them and Powerex 1000mah AAA cells. Both ran about an hour. Both heated up their cases about as much. end point: Other than the spot size, I cannot tell the difference between them.

My question: Was my first L0P-SE a winner in the Luxeon Lottery and the UWAJ modification only a middling player? Any other experiences with the UWAJ mod?

From my own personal understandig you should have gotten longer runtimes but i am no expert.

Hmm, don`t know. E-mail 7777 and ask him about it. I have a E1-47 made by him and it`s great.

Ken

Well, that was fast. I emailed 4Sevens and he replied very quickly. Yes, he did mod the unit, including a heatsink paste that Fenix itself does not use. Soooo, yes, my basic L0P-SE was on the high side of the Luxeon Lottery and the L0P-SE-UWAJ was on the low side with the UWAJ mod. Oh well, I can accept that. Just not what was expected.

Thanks for the quick customer service David!

Tim

moldyoldy wrote: "Yes, he did mod the unit, including a heatsink paste that Fenix itself does not use. Soooo, yes, my basic L0P-SE was on the high side of the Luxeon Lottery and the L0P-SE-UWAJ was on the low side with the UWAJ mod. Oh well, I can accept that. Just not what was expected. "

Kind of correct, but somewhat not quite (no detraction intended).

A LuxIII even U-bin would be quite a bit UNDERdriven in a L0P-SE even when on High - on alkaline it draws about 0.77A at 1.5V = 0.77x1.5 = 1.15 watts - remember this is at the battery and not allowing for any losses by the step-up circuit.

At such low drive levels the LuxIII is unlikely to show its true potential (even on high).

If one puts in a 3.7V Li-ion rechargeable battery then one probably will see a difference in brightness to the stock version.

However I definitely do NOT advise this in the stock version since it is a 1watt R-bin it will probably shorten its life significiantly.

Even in the UWAJ mod version I probably would not use the 3.7V Li-Ion since the small body of the L0P-SE may still present heat dissipation problems.

It is really the tint that the UWAJ mod kind of "assures" - being WA tint it goes a long way to mitigate any hint of green tint even at low brightness levels.

However by the sounds of it you did get a "winner" in the lottery with your stock L0P-SE

Please take a look at my comparison review of a UWAJ mod L0P-SE -

Fenix L0P-SE Special Review

especially at Post #22 where I compared my UWAJ version with a stock L0P-SE, and the comments I made in Post #26 ......

Re: runtimes - in most general cases it is the Circuit that determines the runtime(s) (unless the LED changes the characteristics of the overall circuit significantly) - unlikely in this case so the runtimes are going to be close if not identical between the UWAJ version and the Stock L0P-SE -

eg: the runtimes of the Fenix E1 and E1-47 (also UWAJ mod) seems close to identical.

Hope that helps some.

Hi UnknownVT,

I checked out your links and beamshots. Yes, those beamshot comparisons between the L0P-SE and L0P-SE-UWAJ look just like my two copies. In my samples, the L0P-SE-UWAJ mod does have a very clean white light. The L0P-SE has a slight non-white tint to it, perhaps somewhat bluish. I guess that the stock L0P-SE beam possessed such a _relatively_ neutral color compared to some of the previous 6 standard L0Ps (purchased as gifts), that I considered the L0P-SE to be "good" - somewhat out of ignorance - until I had the L0P-SE-U.

So I learned something - which was the point of the mod'd purchase. First of all, I need to search CPF more thoroughly for any possible prior comparisons or comments about a proposed purchase. Secondly, I now understand better that the price for a mod simply narrows down the spec on _both_ the brightness _and_ color!

No, I am not unhappy with my purchaseof a mod'd L0P-SE-U. I am just recognising again that I am in a discovery mode. All these (relatively) high-powered LEDs are a new development for me. I spent too many years fussing around with bulb changeouts. Before my engineering days, I worked in the USFS in northern Idaho, so I had reason to push the light output. When LEDs flashlights first hit the store shelves, they were frankly weak, rather bluish, and not a substitute for a bulb. So my focus (sic) on LED light purchases was on brightness, not color. I pretty much stopped purchasing flashlights, just using what I had.

Now thanks to CPF and Flashlight reviews, my rationalization techniques have hit new highs.... The 1 & 3 watt LEDs and high-powered Nichia power LEDs have finally reached a power/price performance where I can rationalize their purchase even though I sort of have to give some flashlights away to make room for the new ones. I can rationalize a spending limit of up to $100 per flashlight, but $50 is more realistic. Surefires, etc. are out of my league! Yes, I too have to put up snide remarks from my non-technical wife wondering why I am playing around with flashlights so much. She does think I am crazy...

Thanks for the input and links! This lesson is complete!

Tim