Led Lenser P14

Hi all,
I am new to this forum, I hope this hasn't been asked before, I did try searching the forum and the web for an answer but couldn't find one.

I have a led lenser P14 and my friend has the H14, i have noticed that his light will burn at the same brightness and not fade at all as the battery drains and once its almost flat the light will start flashing.

Where as my P14 will just get dimmer as the battery drains.
Is there any modifications I can do to my torch that will make it behave the same as his?
I don't mind if it doesn't flash as the batteries almost run out, but it'd be nice to have the burn at the same brightness.

Thanks Sam

Gday sam not much you can do because the p14 is unregulated, best bet is buy something that is. check out jetbeam fenix or surefire these are regulated,waterproof and impact resitant mil spec. the lenser is ok first light but only has 220lms [claimed] get one of the above and make your friend envious. my first light was a p7 that was 5 lights ago.

It is possible to do a mod like that by putting a regulated driver inside the light, but it wont be easy to do so.

If you are using alkaline batteries now, switching into rechargeable NiMH batteries would make the brightness stay stable for a longer time.

I tried some Energizer HiMH batteries I had at home but they were useless, they may be quite old though.
Is there a certain rechargeable that I should get, or are they all the same?

I love that focusing ring, one of the guys I work with has one of the rechargeable ones with the regulated module. I was just looking for the info someone posted before the forum crashed about switching modes between regulated current and voltage amongst other hidden goodies like sos mode, strobe and others. Sorry I can't find it, not sure if it applies to your light but maybe someone will repost it.

Scott

trg42wraglefragle said:

I tried some Energizer HiMH batteries I had at home but they were useless, they may be quite old though.
Is there a certain rechargeable that I should get, or are they all the same?

Click to expand...

Low Self Discharge NiMH batteries have been a popular choice lately, because they keep most of their charge when stored. The original ones where Eneloops, but nowadays there's LSD NiMH's from other brands also, you'll recognize them from claims like "ready to use" and "stays charged for up to 1 year".
So if you are not planning to recharge the batteries almost daily, the LSD NiMH's are probably the better choice. But if you want maximum runtime and charge the batteries right before use, you could go for highest mAh rated batteries from a brand with good reputation(not to boost their mAh ratings).

redorblack said:

I love that focusing ring, one of the guys I work with has one of the rechargeable ones with the regulated module. I was just looking for the info someone posted before the forum crashed about switching modes between regulated current and voltage amongst other hidden goodies like sos mode, strobe and others. Sorry I can't find it, not sure if it applies to your light but maybe someone will repost it.

Scott

Click to expand...

Yeh, the focusing system really is pretty nice. But the OP's model is P14, and it does not come with regulated/energysaving/blinky stuff. M14 is the newer comparable model that would have all that (the models starting with M have those modes).

Do either the LSD or normal NiMH batteries have much of a memory? As in do I have to run them flat before I charge them? Or can I just run them for about an hour and charge them again without causing harm to them?

What I want is a battery that will give the brightest beam for about 2 or 3 hours, but I don't mind if I have to charge them a lot as I use my torch a lot, but I don't want anything thats going to have a short life because I don't fully discharge them.
Wether or not that exists I have no idea, lol.

The guys that hang around at the battery section would be the best ones to answer this. I don't remember if LSD NiMH's where any better than the normal ones with the memory effect. I think all NiMH's might still have a little bit of memory effect, but nothing as serious as NiCD's had. At least I don't bother discharging my NiMH's before recharging.

Sanyo claim that their Eneloops don't have any memory effect... "Can be recharged without ever worrying about memory effect."