Unimpressed by first MC-E's output ?

I recently purchased a Lumapower MRV SK Ultra.

This is my first MC-E light and I for whatever reason, I was kind of disappointed by the output, I was expecting A LOT MORE LIGHT to come out...

Does anybody have this light and perhaps another "more popular" MC-E/P7 to compare it to? An M30 Triton, M1X, Epsilon EDP71 or perhaps an ACE-G?

I'm not bashing the MRV here...It's a GREAT light and I'm happy to own it...

I just want to know if I was just expecting waaay too much from an MC-E or if this particular light maybe has a freakishly high Vf emitter by chance, or is driven conservatively to give better battery life, etc...

Thanx In Advance

Try measuring current, maybe that might solve the problem. My MC-E lights are bright but not THAT much brighter then my single die lights.

These multi-die emitters sometimes don't seem so bright since they do not create a very bright hotspot. Instead, they tend to be very floody. So they put out a good bit more light, but it isn't very well focused . . .

brianch said:

Try measuring current, maybe that might solve the problem. My MC-E lights are bright but not THAT much brighter then my single die lights.

Click to expand...

That's a good idea; I'll take the multimeter to it when i get home in an hour or so.

Yucca Patrol said:

These multi-die emitters sometimes don't seem so bright since they do not create a very bright hotspot. Instead, they tend to be very floody. So they put out a good bit more light, but it isn't very well focused . . .

Click to expand...

I did notice that; when comparing it to a Q5 thrower, the floody nature of the light seems to 'trick' the eye.

Took a measurement at the tail:

It measured ON Max using one 18650 0.39 A :ironic:

It measured ON Max using two 16340's 0.65 A :ironic:


I double checked with several other lights and they read from 1 A to 1.8A as expected.

:thinking: No wonder

What now?

I've had a Olight M30 for several months now, and am quite impressed and happy with its performance. Probably will not be buying another light for some time due to this condition.

ACHË said:

Took a measurement at the tail:

It measured ON Max using one 18650 0.39 A :ironic:

It measured ON Max using two 16340's 0.65 A :ironic:


I double checked with several other lights and they read from 1 A to 1.8A as expected.

:thinking: No wonder

What now?

Click to expand...

Try cleaning contact points and threads. Take light apart and inspect for bad solder points or things that might be interfering with the circuit. If you are worried about voiding your warranty then send the light back to where you bought it if that choice is still available.

those DMM readings are waay off indeed!
what kind of 18650 cell are you using? (brand)

Try cleaning contact points and threads. Take light apart and inspect for bad solder points or things that might be interfering with the circuit. If you are worried about voiding your warranty then send the light back to where you bought it if that choice is still available.

Click to expand...

I took apart so far just unscrewing tail/body/head and tested with the battery + touching the terminal right on the SK switch assembly which houses the driver. So far it doesn't seem to be a contact issue but I have yet to try removing the driver/sidekick assembly.

csshih said:

those DMM readings are waay off indeed!
what kind of 18650 cell are you using? (brand)

Click to expand...

18650's

-UltraFire Protected Gray label

-UltraFire Protected New Flames & Iridescent Letters

-AW Black Labels

RCR's

-Spiderfire's

CR123 Primaries

-Titanium's(the ones Battery Junction sells)

I ran the test in the same manner on a:

Raidfire Spear = 1.2A Max

&

Jet-II Pro = 1.5A Almost Max

hm. ok, so it's probably not a battery problem if you've tried all of those. if cleaning it doesn't help, I think it would be best to send the light back to the dealer you bought it from for warranty.

Got it used on the CPFM :ironic:

Are MC-E's safe to direct drive on single cells?

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It kind of sucks that the driver is behaving oddly, but at the same time I'm glad that it's a defective unit and not that this is as bright as one can expect to reasonably go.

I think I'll try a 3A+ SSC P7 running on 2 x 18650's and see if that does it for me.

If not a contact issue, what else could it be?? The LED emitter??

My money's on the driver...

Either it's malfunctioning and putting out little current or it's a low current design focused on runtime.

I didn't know a faulty emitter cause the light to draw less current.

Swap out the driver. The MC-E and P7s are great floody lights in small light hosts. I use them pretty often when hiking. Get a JETBeam M1X. I borrowed one from a buddy of mine and I love it. Ordered it right away.

brianch said:

Swap out the driver. The MC-E and P7s are great floody lights in small light hosts. I use them pretty often when hiking. Get a JETBeam M1X. I borrowed one from a buddy of mine and I love it. Ordered it right away.

Click to expand...

I'll give an emitter swap a try.

The M1X...

I've been drooling over one for months now... If it wasn't so darn expensive I'd have two

ACHË said:

Got it used on the CPFM :ironic:

Click to expand...

Hope this wasn't why it was being sold. Kinda shady...:ironic:

Autopsy Report


COD - Dead Emitter...wont even glow when direct driven.

Notes: Faulty Driver under-driving the mc-e emitter to less than 0.5 amps...

Strange that BOTH weren't working.

It's usually one or the other.

Contacted Manufacturer to check possible solutions..

CASE CLOSED