Solarforce R2 Drop-in

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Received a Solarforce R2 drop-in today from this seller:

http://cgi.ebay.com/300-Lumen-CREE-...eZWD1VQQtrksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcmdZViewItem

The packaging was very good, with the drop-in inside an anti-static bag and that bag was in a little case.
Shipping was 10 days.



Its a silver CREE R2 that does run off multiple cells (lists up to 12V, I'll be running <9V).
The emitter was very centered.
The tint is not overly warm or cool, I'll update later.


I know thats a bad photo,..

Well, it looks like you're the first one to receive it. I can't wait to hear the update!

Would love to read your impressions.
I have one on order too, the seller (solarforce) lists it as 290 lumens!

If you would comment on the beam characteristic, i.e., flood vs. spotlight I would appreciate it. Thanks.

hiredgun

Mine also showed up today. It has an LED with the yellow background. As far as output a ceiling bounce test with a lightmeter showed the older Solarforce Q5 to be a very slight bit brighter. Shinning spots on the wall showed no real difference other than a slight difference in focus. Switching hosts didn't change the results.

If you want beam shots just look up my P60 beamshot roundup and pretend the the Solarforce Q5 is a Solarforce R2. No real difference in my units.

EDIT TO ADD MORE TESTIN.

I put my lightbox back together and did some quick testin.

Solarforce R2 11.9
Solarforce Q5 11.8
Malkoff Q5 16.9
WE 6-13 Q5 12.1
Dereelight 3SD Q5 12.8

In this test the R2 beat the the older Q5! by a whoppin 1%.

Somehow the negligible performance gain doesn't surprise me. Lets keep in mind that Q5s have been out for quite a while now and so one can assume the latest batches probably perform within the higher range of their capable lumens output. R2s still seem to be early in their production and so I would expect whatever is out there to still be in the lower end of their capable lumens output.

What amperage is the Solarforce being driven at? Maybe we could expect to see some more attractive R2's than this if this unit isn't being driven close to 1A.

hiredgun said:

If you would comment on the beam characteristic, i.e., flood vs. spotlight I would appreciate it. Thanks.

hiredgun

Click to expand...

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From what I can see its a winner. Have only used it with 2 cells.
The tint is the slightest cooler WC than the current Dereelight Q5s'.

From the seller I got mine, the beam is rather directed toward throw, somewhat tight spot... can see the whole CREE ring clearly.

Sure I think its an R2, I'll try to give more input later.

~Never for a moment did I think it was going to be 300lm, I don't buy any light products on listed lumens....thats why I often buy from Alan at Dereelight ,
because he only lists forward current. (which should be the standard)

Any differences in operating temperatures?
Can you do a run-time comparison?

Thanks!!:thumbsup:

kramer5150 said:

Any differences in operating temperatures?
Can you do a run-time comparison?

Thanks!!:thumbsup:

Click to expand...

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I can't really see the temps. being much different than many other drop-ins (excluding maybe Genes)

It looks just like many other drop-ins.
Has a brass pill, which screws into reflector and adapts to your light.
Depending on your chassis, this is a pretty good heatsink combo.

I like simple relative tests, did a bounce test, and this drop-in is slightly less in overall lux as compared to a Q5 Deree at 1A.
Even less bright than Deree Q5 @ 1.2A

I'm unable to give a amperage draw on the Solarforce, sorry about that.



Left: Solarforce R2 ------------------------------Right: Dereelight Q5 @1.2A

The Solarforce R2 is in an Ultrafire WF-502D w/ (2) 18650s'

orbital said:

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I can't really see the temps. being much different than many other drop-ins (excluding maybe Genes)

It looks just like many other drop-ins.
Has a brass pill, which screws into reflector and adapts to your light.
Depending on your chassis, this is a pretty good heatsink combo.

I like simple relative tests, did a bounce test, and this drop-in is slightly less in overall lux as compared to a Q5 Deree at 1A.
Even less bright than Deree Q5 @ 1.2A

I'm unable to give a amperage draw on the Solarforce, sorry about that.



Left: Solarforce R2 ------------------------------Right: Dereelight Q5 @1.2A

The Solarforce R2 is in an Ultrafire WF-502D w/ (2) 18650s'

Click to expand...

I have some on order, I'm excited to receive them!!! I think the webpage listed the current draw as 450ma-650ma depending on voltage 3.7V-9V.

I will measure mine when I get it and post here.

Just checked my R2, off of 2 fresh charged 18500s I get .575 A.

Looks like I'll have to wait a bit:

Nice polite email though:

Thanks, sorry for late reply. Package was shipping out. Please wait a moment, package is on the way. If you want the package photo, please contact me by this mail *****@yahoo.com.hk

Shipping time to France, Spain, Germany, Italy and European country may need over 2-3 weeks. It depend on the local Post Office

Remark : really sorry Hong Kong have Chinese New Year Holiday last week, Shipping time may be little delay, please accept my apologize.

If you have any question, please contact me anytime. My own online shop www.scopeandlaser.com more product can be find there. We have full line Phantom vest and pouch.

Thanks,
Patrick C****


Glad his English is better than my Chinese!

Jay T said:

Just checked my R2, off of 2 fresh charged 18500s I get .575 A.

Click to expand...

Sorry to be a noob, but how do you measure this? I just got a multimeter to check cell voltages, so that's all I know how to do with it.

Got mine a couple days ago...I have no measuring tools other than my own eyeballs. It's about as bright as my current Q5 dropins, if not a hair brighter. I noticed it to be an R2 WC tint emitter, which is a little cool for my tastes as I prefer WG or WH tints. Still, not a bad product for $20...it's too bad DX or KD don't sell these as they would be half the price.

You guys just saved me a few bucks. I live in HK so I can actually take the subway on over to Solarforce's retail outlet. I was gonna buy an R2 for the 6P I'll be receiving in a week or so, but I think I'll stick with the Q5 I have in my Ultrafire now and just add a G&P tactical head (less than $12 retail here) and a lockout tailcap. I have a 7.4V Xenon I bought locally for the princely sum of $4 that I'll stick in the Ultrafire once the Q5 goes in the Surefire.

How's the fitment of this dropin, is there any head gap?

There is no head gap in my C2 Centurion. It screws down tightly once you remove the outer spring. I can't speak for the use of the spring in nitrolon lights though as I don't have any.

I noticed that the 1-mode R2 module is brighter with 2X16340 (8.4V) than it is with 1X17670 (4.2V). Many have indicated that the R2 module isn't any brighter than the Q5 module. Since this one-mode R2 module is rated to 12.6V, I've decided to try it with 3X16240 (12.6V). Solarforce makes a 1-cell extension for the L2/6P, so I'm going to test my theory when I receive it in a week or two.