Fenix L1D: Turbo

I picked up an L1D CE (1xAA), and gave it a spin.

Here is my nitpick: Turbo is only barely subtely brighter than high--by so little that it seems pointless to use turbo, or to even have a turbo option. You actually have to concentrate to see the brief increase in output.

Is this normal for a L1D?

On my Fenix P2D and P3D, turbo is noticably more powerful than high.

mine is the same.

That is absolutely normal. L1D CE and P2D CE (and P3D CE, L2D CE) share the same head. If you would take the L1D head and run it on a P2D body, you would see the increase in turbo. (or on a P3D CE or L2D CE body).
Turbo is nearly the same as high, the advantage is - you can either start on turbo (tighten the head), or on low.

Daniel_sk said:

That is absolutely normal. L1D CE and P2D CE (and P3D CE, L2D CE) share the same head. If you would take the L1D head and run it on a P2D body, you would see the increase in turbo. (or on a P3D CE or L2D CE body).
Turbo is nearly the same as high, the advantage is - you can either start on turbo (tighten the head), or on low.

Click to expand...

Hmmm... excellent point. So turbo is essentially useful for quickly switching to high.

That makes sense, and works for me.

Afterall, I think it would be hard to get a lot more output from a single AA battery.

Exactly, that is what I use the turbo for - you can quickly switch between low and turbo (=high) and you skip that SOS/strobe/medium. Works better than tapping the tailcap for me .

Daniel_sk said:

That is absolutely normal. L1D CE and P2D CE (and P3D CE, L2D CE) share the same head. If you would take the L1D head and run it on a P2D body, you would see the increase in turbo. (or on a P3D CE or L2D CE body).
Turbo is nearly the same as high, the advantage is - you can either start on turbo (tighten the head), or on low.

Click to expand...

Actually....L1D CE, L2d CE, and P2D CE all share the same 3 volt head. The P3D is a 6 volt head. If you look at the Fenix Store for stock heads you will see the L1D/L2D/P2D listed as the same part. I have also talked to David/4sevens about this, and the P3D head is definitely not the same head as the L1D/L2D/P2D head.

bondr006 said:

Actually....L1D CE, L2d CE, and P2D CE all share the same 3 volt head. The P3D is a 6 volt head. If you look at the Fenix Store for stock heads you will see the L1D/L2D/P2D listed as the same part. I have also talked to David/4sevens about this, and the P3D head is definitely not the same head as the L1D/L2D/P2D head.

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Ah, yes - sorry for the cunfusion, thanks for clearing this up.

You did not say what kind of 1xAA battery you are using...

From FlashlightReviews.com for the LxD-CE/Roger H. (Chevrofreak), you will find that a 1xAA Alkaline cell just dies when hit with the Turbo Mode (too much current). Also, there is some variation based on Brand of Alkaline battery--Kirkland (Costco) seems to be a very good battery, but under very high current, the Duracell brand seem to do better.

Using a NiMH or Lithium 1xAA cell, or the 2xAA cell (any chemistry) and the turbo mode will be much brighter and last much longer.

-Bill

If you use a 3V primary AA (1/2 of a CRV3) battery on the L1D, you'll see the difference between turbo/high...more like a P2D set-up.

Yeah, P3D head is completely different. It is a buck circuit, not a boost circuit. But you can't really classify it as a 6V head, because it will take much more then 6V...more like 8V, (i.e. 2 x fully charged RCR123s) - maybe more. The buck circuit just lowers the voltage you give it to the voltage the LED needs

Randy Shackleford said:

If you use a 3V primary AA (1/2 of a CRV3) battery on the L1D, you'll see the difference between turbo/high...more like a P2D set-up.

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So, is a CRV3 2 x 3V AA size batteries in parallel?? Because when I look at a CRV3, it says only 3V for the whole thing.

They sell CRV3 LiIon rechargeables - couldn't we use those 3V AA size cells all day long?

The battery is just a standard AA. Sanyo brand. NOT recharchable.

o0o said:

I picked up an L1D CE (1xAA), and gave it a spin.

Here is my nitpick: Turbo is only barely subtely brighter than high--by so little that it seems pointless to use turbo, or to even have a turbo option. You actually have to concentrate to see the brief increase in output.

Is this normal for a L1D?

On my Fenix P2D and P3D, turbo is noticably more powerful than high.

Click to expand...

Towards the middle part of the first post on this thread are graphs of L1D's output, confirms your observation:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/printthread.php?t=155819

wintermute said:

So, is a CRV3 2 x 3V AA size batteries in parallel?? Because when I look at a CRV3, it says only 3V for the whole thing.

Click to expand...

usually, 2 x 3V AA size li-ion primary batteries in parallel.

wintermute said:

They sell CRV3 LiIon rechargeables - couldn't we use those 3V AA size cells all day long?

Click to expand...

the specs on a rechargeable CRV3 may be different. i.e. fresh CR123's are usually 3.2V nominal and a RCR123 can be 4.2V fully charged

Alternatively, you can use 3.0V 14500 to power L1D CE.

According to dealer, this secondary cell is based on LiFePO4 with 3.2V nominal working voltage. From my testing with this cell and L1D CE, medium/high/turbo levels can be discriminated, although low is almost same as medium level.

Interesting, where does one get these cells and what charger is needed?

Looks like performance is the same as a P2D on AW's LiFEPO4, so it's okay, but not perfect.

Look at Chevro's P2D runtimes for what I mean...

gunga said:

Interesting, where does one get these cells and what charger is needed?

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The link to the original manufacturer:
http://www.xxzkkj.com/Chinese/ProductShow.asp?ArticleID=176
(GCRAA is also referred to as 3V 14500)
I get this cell from dealer of Taiwan. Maybe the interested can contact your local battery dealer.
There is no dedicated charger for this 14500 now. But you can charge this 14500 by available RCR123A LiFePO4 charger with 3.6V charging voltage, although connection to external AA battery holder is necessary.

Mine is also the same, They all are like that until you boost the voltage

i remember someone saying here that it's harder to notice the change in lumens as the numbers go up.

for example you can notice 50 to 100 lumens but it wouldnt be as noticeable until its 100 lumens to 200. something like that.

there is an increase and it is subtle.

i find myself using high rather than turbo if i'm going to use it for a couple hours. the runtime is better and the output 'looks' similar. i use turbo if i'm going to use the flashlight momentarily. small bursts with maximum output. or if i wanted strobe just a half click away(biking).

juplin said:

Alternatively, you can use 3.0V 14500 to power L1D CE.

According to dealer, this secondary cell is based on LiFePO4 with 3.2V nominal working voltage. From my testing with this cell and L1D CE, medium/high/turbo levels can be discriminated, although low is almost same as medium level.

Click to expand...

I've wondered where these things have been. AA size LiFePO4 were exactly what I was looking for. A+++ Let's all post to AW to start carrying these cells!! :twothumbs: