HELP Are there any mini lights that can beat the nuwai 303 Q-lll using rechargables ?

Hi,

I was just wondering if there were any single cell cr123 flashlights out there that can run on the non regulated rechargable batteries and not self distruct. I love my trusty Nuwai 303 { when using rechargable batteries-- soooo BRITE but HOT }. Are there any single cell cr123 flashlights that will beat this little light in lumen output. Must have a wide beam, work with the powerful non regulated rechargable cr123's, Not melt down, is small and not expensive. Burn time doesn't matter. It's all about brightness and wide beam. Would also like brightness levels. Does anybody know where I can get a brightness toggle switch for my 303?
I've seen the new breed of cree LED's, but they don't seem to be any brighter when using the rechargable batteries. So why waist the money?

Thanks for your help Jim B

Re: HELP Are there any mini flashlights that can beat the nuwaii 303 using rechargables ?

Welcome to CPF.



The Fenix P1D-CE is a lot more powerful but it's not particualy floody.

However...
It's really easy to upgrade your Q3 . ( We all call the Nuwai TM303X the Q3 ).
Go to Dealextreme.com and get a Cree star for $7.50. Unscrew the top of your Q3, tip it upside down and the LED/board/spacer will drop out. Mind the washer 'spring' that comes out behind it. Unsolder the Luxeon star board and solder in the Cree board. ( Two wires, get the + & - the right way around ). If you can handle basic soldering you will be OK. Only thing to watch is that the solder 'blob' does not overhang the edge of the board as it may short circuit against the case.

I did this two nights ago and it's now much brighter and makes a very good floody with even brightness across most of the circle.

For details on dismantling the Q3 and modifying the switch to make a two stage do a search in the LED section.

Re: HELP Are there any mini flashlights that can beat the nuwaii 303 using rechargables ?

Q3 switch HI/LOW modification info with step by instructions and pictures can be found in this thread by milkyspit.

Re: HELP Are there any mini flashlights that can beat the nuwaii 303 using rechargabl

Welcome to CPF!

Older Q3's have a threaded plastic ring holding the emitter board/module in place. It has two notches in it for snap ring pliers, and will need to be removed with those or a pair of needle nose pliers, though you can often unscrew it by pushing one of the notches around with a single point tool.
If you replace it with a Cree you may need to grind a little off the the back of the reflector for fit and/or focus. If you do not have the plastic retaining ring, you will need to be more careful grinding the reflector since the reflector holds the emitter module down against the battery tube contact through the copper wavy washer. If you grind too much off the reflector, then you may not hold the module down enough for proper contact.
It will be brighter (~25-30 lumens now, see review) with a Cree XR-E or Seoul P4 star. In the FLR review, 19 overall output = 19 * 1.43 FLR correlation factor = ~27 lumens.

The Q3 does not have a particularly wide beam though. It is a good orange peel reflector well suited for a Cree, just not especially wide.

The ultimate flashlight to fill your requirements is an HDS EDC. I thought it was too expensive at first too, but if you stick around here too long, you may just end up with one.

Re: HELP Are there any mini flashlights that can beat the nuwaii 303 using rechargabl

Blindasabat said:

Welcome to CPF!

If you replace it with a Cree you may need to grind a little off the the back of the reflector for fit and/or focus.


The Q3 does not have a particularly wide beam though. It is a good orange peel reflector well suited for a Cree, just not especially wide.

Click to expand...

He doesn't want it to focus. He wants a floody.

Don't touch the reflector. If you just fit the Cree Star the different shape of the LED turns it into a floody and it fits fine.

Re: HELP Are there any mini flashlights that can beat the nuwaii 303 using rechargables ?

Thanks for the welcome and responces.

The Q-lll [thank you] does something really weird when you put a rechargable in it. It lights up so brite that it should melt down from the heat!!! It's so brite that the battery only lasts for 20 min. You can hardly hold the light if left on for over 10 minutes strait because of the heat build up.

Can somebody address this point and if there is a light out there that can produce this kind of light for such a small amount of money without frying!!. The Q-lll I beleive, has a 3 watt LED that is being overdriven when using the rechargable battery. thus creating an incredably brite light. Not so brite when using regular batteries, but has a much longer run time and no heat build up.


Thanks for your help in advance
Jim B

Re: HELP Are there any mini flashlights that can beat the nuwaii 303 using rechargables ?

There are a few lights that are what you're looking for, but they are NOT flood lights. They do however have incredibly bright spill. The two I would recomend are the Fenix P1DCE and the Lumapower D Mini. These two lights are so insanely bright on a single RCR that it will blow your mind! They will make you think that your Q3 is no longer bright anymore and that the batteries must be dead. :laughing:
The D Mini is much larger than the P1DCE and is actually a little larger than the Q3. It has a turbo head where it has a larger diameter than the Q3. The D Mini has more throw that any single cell light ever created! Mine specific D Mini was tested by Chevrofreak and had well over 8,000 lux on a RCR!!! The throw alone will impress you beyond belief.
The P1DCE is very very small! It will amaze you by how small it is and how much output it has as well. It doesn't have the crazy throw the D Mini has but it does have a very nice bright beam.

Either light will be a good choice.

jimboy0 said:

Thanks for the welcome and responces.

The Q-lll [thank you] does something really weird when you put a rechargable in it. It lights up so brite that it should melt down from the heat!!! It's so brite that the battery only lasts for 20 min. You can hardly hold the light if left on for over 10 minutes strait because of the heat build up.

Can somebody address this point and if there is a light out there that can produce this kind of light for such a small amount of money without frying!!. The Q-lll I beleive, has a 3 watt LED that is being overdriven when using the rechargable battery. thus creating an incredably brite light. Not so brite when using regular batteries, but has a much longer run time and no heat build up.


Thanks for your help in advance
Jim B

Click to expand...

Re: HELP Are there any mini lights that can beat the nuwai 303 Q-lll using rechargables ?

The Fenix P1D-CE is much brighter and is more efficient

Honestly, the QIII was a good value, and I did a few T-bin and U-bin mods, but by todays standards, a stock QIII with a S-bin on a primary CR123 cell is a usable amount of light, but is really, really outdated in terms of brightness for someone really stuck on wanting a lot of brightness. I'm not particularly a fan of crazy brightness or having the smallest package possible but honestly, if you compare a stock QIII on a primary CR123 vs a P1D-CE on turbo with an R123 installed, you almost can't tell the QIII is even turned on. It's THAT much brighter!

As far as why it gets so much brighter on an R123 vs a primary CR123, with a 3V CR123, the booster works as expected. With the 3.7-4.2V R123 cell, the light basically goes into direct drive. Runtime drops from almost 2 hours to maybe 30 minutes. Heat definately becomes an issue (which shows that the heatsinking is working and trying to get the heat away from the LED) but most folks aren't likely to run such a light for 20 or 30 minutes straight at a time.