Anyone considering buying a P60 drop-in off Amazon should see this.

Andrew LB · Dec 29, 2014

Soo... I grabbed a couple cheap P60 drop-in LED's off Amazon for my Surefire 6p Defender that I recently bored out to fit 1x 18650, and the first one died after about 3 minutes of use. Being the curious sort, I decided to take it apart to see if it was the driver or LED that crapped out, and when I flipped the driver PCB... this was what I saw.

Not one single resistor, coil, buck driver, etc. Guess that explains why it popped so fast.

funkflex · Dec 29, 2014

which brand was this? ive seen some very cheap, like half price of a malkoff, stuff for sale lately. eagletac. a triple w/ 925 ansi for like 30 dollars or something.

RedForest UK · Dec 29, 2014

funkflex said:
which brand was this? ive seen some very cheap, like half price of a malkoff, stuff for sale lately. eagletac. a triple w/ 925 ansi for like 30 dollars or something.

I wouldn't class that as cheap, and the eagletac stuff is well-designed and built (though probably not as tough as a Malkoff). The one shown above is likely a $5-10 no-branded one.

Was the positive contact to the driver only broken after disassembly? Otherwise that would be a simple fix. Direct drive for an XP-G on a fully charged 18650 is way too much current anyway though.

Andrew LB · Jan 1, 2015

funkflex said:
which brand was this? ive seen some very cheap, like half price of a malkoff, stuff for sale lately. eagletac. a triple w/ 925 ansi for like 30 dollars or something.

I posted a link to where I bought it off amazon. here it is again... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058E8HYE/?tag=cpf0b6-20

Andrew LB · Jan 1, 2015

RedForest UK said:
Was the positive contact to the driver only broken after disassembly? Otherwise that would be a simple fix. Direct drive for an XP-G on a fully charged 18650 is way too much current anyway though.

Yes. Any broken contacts were a result of my taking it apart. And to double check if the LED could run on a different driver, I wired it up on a modified PC heatsink and used a surefire driver from an E2D-LED defender and got nothing. I swapped the LED with a brand new Cree XM-L T6 and that LED fired right up.

ForrestChump · Jan 2, 2015

Malkoff.

Problem solved.

gravelmonkey · Jan 2, 2015

ForrestChump said:
Malkoff.

Problem solved.

Granted, they make nice things but they cost a fair bit :broke:

Oh, and the M361 drops out of regulation at 3.4v...

I've assembled 2 of my own from components ordered online, it's a lot easier than it looks!

LEDburn · Jan 3, 2015

gravelmonkey said:
Granted, they make nice things but they cost a fair bit

Oh, and the M361 drops out of regulation at 3.4v...

I've assembled 2 of my own from components ordered online, it's a lot easier than it looks!

So what if it drops out at 3.4V?

Would you prefer it to maintain full brightness until it suddenly dies due to a protected battery calling it quits? One minute you're flying down a trail on your bike at night, next the light cuts out and *CRASH*

Personally I like to know my torch is dimming a bit as the battery is approaching depletion so I can change it at a safe time. Having regulation is all well and good when you're playing with your toys at home, go outside and find yourself in a situation where sudden loss of light might be a hazard and then rethink your beliefs

LEDburn · Jan 3, 2015

http://flashlightguide.com/2013/05/review-malkoff-m361n-lmh-drop-in/

Gee, the regulation on that Malkoff sure sucks

Output seems pretty flat until, wait for it…until the battery is almost flat (who woulda thunk) at which time it drops in output so you can tell it is almost flat. Wow. That sucks…

hombreluhrs · Jan 3, 2015

LEDburn said:
http://flashlightguide.com/2013/05/review-malkoff-m361n-lmh-drop-in/

Gee, the regulation on that Malkoff sure sucks

Output seems pretty flat until, wait for it…until the battery is almost flat (who woulda thunk) at which time it drops in output so you can tell it is almost flat. Wow. That sucks…

:laughing:

gravelmonkey · Jan 3, 2015

Wow, so much for trying to suggest something that OP might be able to afford.

LEDburn said:
So what if it drops out at 3.4V?

Would you prefer it to maintain full brightness until it suddenly dies due to a protected battery calling it quits? One minute you're flying down a trail on your bike at night, next the light cuts out and *CRASH*

Personally I like to know my torch is dimming a bit as the battery is approaching depletion so I can change it at a safe time. Having regulation is all well and good when you're playing with your toys at home, go outside and find yourself in a situation where sudden loss of light might be a hazard and then rethink your beliefs

There's no need to be so patronising. If you're using P60 drop-ins for DH at night, you're using the wrong tool for the job.

LEDburn said:
http://flashlightguide.com/2013/05/review-malkoff-m361n-lmh-drop-in/

Gee, the regulation on that Malkoff sure sucks

Output seems pretty flat until, wait for it…until the battery is almost flat (who woulda thunk) at which time it drops in output so you can tell it is almost flat. Wow. That sucks…

Okay, so I was incorrect on that. You could have just linked that without being a douche about it. :shrug:

Anyone considering buying a P60 drop-in off Amazon should see this.

Andrew LB

Newly Enlightened

funkflex

Newly Enlightened

RedForest UK

Flashlight Enthusiast

Andrew LB

Newly Enlightened

Andrew LB

Newly Enlightened

ForrestChump

Flashlight Enthusiast

gravelmonkey

Enlightened

LEDburn

Enlightened

LEDburn

Enlightened

hombreluhrs

Enlightened

gravelmonkey

Enlightened

Similar threads

Latest posts