candle lamp
Flashlight Enthusiast
The EC-R16 is a small rechargeable light, powered by 1x16340 or 1xCR123A, from Jetbeam. The light uses a display packaging with specification and information.
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EC-R16 comes with a spare o-ring, micro -USB cable, spare micro-USB port cover, user manual, and warrant card.
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Manufacturer Specifications from Jetbeam's website & manual :
• High strength aero grade aluminum alloy body
• Premium Type III hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish of grey
• Toughened ultra-clear mineral glass with double-sided anti-reflective coating
• Rechargeable with micro usb port
• New circuit design provides double intelligent protections for LED and
battery to maximize their lifespan
• Built-in advanced efficient power management circuit, max runtime endures 100 hours
• Low voltage warning/ power indicator
• Overheating protection for avoiding high temperature of flashlight housing and
ensuring lifespan of led
• Latest high performance optical system, max beam distance up to 150meters
• Memory function
• Side switch for selecting different modes
• Compatible with CR123A and 16340 batteries
• IPX-6 waterproof rating;
• Impact-resistant accords with US MIL-STD-810F (1.5 meters)
• Dimension : 26mm (Head) × 22mm (Tube) × 71mm (Length)
• Weight : 46g (excluding battery)
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The hard(type III) anodizing is an almost matte dark grey-brown color and no flaws or no damage on my sample. Labels are clear against the dark background. Knurling band is present in the middle of the body tube. The light has no tail switch. Fit and finish looks very good.
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The light has 2 parts (i.e., head and body tube).
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The head has a flat bezel and a black o-ring. The light has a slightly wider head and smooth reflector. There is no pocket clip bundled with light. There's an electronic side switch for on-off and mode changing. The grippy-textured switch cover looks silicone rubber. It is very slightly protruded from the head surface. It means the risk of accidental activation may be increased. But this accidental activation can be prevented by a physical lockout of the light (i.e., you can easily break this current by unscrewing the body tube or head when not in use), thanks to the anodized threads.
Switch feel is about typical for electronic switches, which produces a clicking sound when pressed. The light has some anti-roll indentations on the head and these work well, thanks to head with angled planes and rubberized port cover.
The charging port is on the opposite side of the switch in the head, and it is protected from water and dust by a small rubber cover.
The light has physical reverse polarity protection to protect from improper battery installation. All my small button-top cells work fine.
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The light uses AR coating lens where the purple hue is reflected on it. The reflector has a smooth pattern. It is well polished with no noticeable finishing flaws and well-centered XP-L HD LED sits at the bottom of the reflector cup.
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There is a low voltage warning function under the side switch. The blue LED below the switch will blink slowly when the 16340 rechargeable (or CR123A) battery power is between 10%~50%. If the battery power is less than 10%, the indicator will blink rapidly (i.e., you need to charge the cell or change with a new cell).
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The body tube has slightly aggressive knurling band. The grip is however good, thanks to other elements (side switch, USB port cover, and cooling fins in the head). The light has two ridges on the body tube to allow you to use the pocket clip. But it was not provided by Jetbeam, It seems the clip is bi-directional in its design, if you have it, in my view.
The wall thickness of the body is 2.6mm. The light feel solid for this class.
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The screw threads are square-cut of good quality. Threads are well machined, and anodized which allows the light to be locked-out when the head is slightly loosened. As supplied, threads are well lubricated. Screw threads action is smooth with no cross-threading or squeaking on my review sample.
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User Interface
On-Off and output switching is controlled by the electronic side switch. Pressing down (1sec) the side switch will turn the light on, and another pressing down (1sec) turns it off.
When on, a quick press and release (i.e., click) of the side switch will proceed Turbo-> High -> Med. -> Low, in repeating sequence. The light has mode memory, and remembers the last output level used when you turn the light off and back on.
Note that there's no flashing (strobe, beacon, SOS) modes.
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There is a removable negative spring on the inside of the body end. You will see a tiny hole on the tail side for lanyard (or split ring) attachment. The EC-R16 can tailstand stably.
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The charging device came with the EC-R16 is a 28cm USB charging cable with connector and standard USB plug.
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You can connect to the USB port of your PC by a bundled micro USB cable (or to your electric outlet by a AC/DV USB adaptor). The adaptor was not supplied from Jetbeam, so I use my Galaxy S4 USB adaptor (output DC5.0V, 2A). The wall adapter or car power adapter is optional purchase.
Note the charging solution is to be used only with 1x16340 (RCR123A) cell. You need to turn the light off in order to enter charging. You can use the light during charging as well. It seems the light uses CC/CV charging concept.
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A LED indicator under the switch shows you two charging status. It lights up constant blue under normal charging condition. If there is problem during the charging process (i.e., in case battery installed incorrectly or body tube not screwed), the indicator will be off.
When charging is complete, the indicator will be off.
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Charging in the light
I used AW protected 16340 (750mAh) for a charging test, with the USB adaptor (output DC5.0V, 2A). The voltage before, under and after charging are as follows :
I used the Xtar USB Detector "VI01" to measure charging current and input voltage.
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The resting voltage of the 16340 was 2.90V. As shown in the above table, the initial charging and input voltage were respectively 0.89A and 5.33V. This 0.89A was the max. charging current in my test.
After 1hr, the current was down to 0.14A. After 1hr 23mins, charging was completed and the LED indicator on the head went off. The final resting voltage of the cell was 4.24V at this point. It is a bit higher voltage, but quite reasonable for fully charged voltage.
I left the charged cell in the light to see if the light does charge it continuously once fully charged. After 10hrs 23mins, the resting voltage of the 16340 was 4.20V. This means the light will not charge the cell after full charge.
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Standby Current Drain
Due to the electronic switch design, the EC-R16 is drawing a small current when the batteries are installed and the body tube fully connected. This current were fluctuating from 12.5μA to 73.2μA over a period of about 4~5 secs. Taking the average current reading, that would give you about 2 years for a 16340 (750mAh) before it would be fully depleted. This is not a concern. But I would recommend you store the light locked-out at the body tube when not in use for a long period.
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From left to right, AW 16340 (750mAh) protected, Olight S1 (XM-L2), Olight S10 (XM-L2), Jetbeam EC-R16 (XP-L HD), Olight S10R II (XP-L HD), Spark SF3 (XM-L2), Eagletac D25C (XM-L U2), Fenix PD22 UE (XP-L HD).
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From left to right, Jetbeam EC-R16, Olight S10R II, Spark SF3, Fenix PD22 UE.
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Measured Dimensions
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It is good size to hold and use, despite the beefy head. It can be used as an EDC light. The entire light's compact design makes it feel comfortable when held in hand. The wall thickness of the body is quite thick (2.6mm), and the light feel solid. Overall build quality is very high.
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PWM
The light shows no sign of PWM at all output levels. I notice there is no buzzing sound at any levels.
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Runtime
The runtime to fall to 10% of its initial output from 30 seconds after the point the light is first turned on (i.e., based on ANSI FL-1) for Turbo is as above graph.
EC-R16 continues to have a defined step-down on Turbo on both 16340 and CR123A (after 1 mins of continuous runtime). The light steps down gradually, taking about 2 mins to level off at the lower level. This means you are unlikely to notice the step-down on the light. This is a timed step-down feature.
With the 16340 Li-ion cell, you will get much higher output on Turbo for 2~3 mins, and the light shows a sort of direct-drive pattern after the step-down.
With the CR123A, after 3 mins, the light enters a period of excellent flat regulation. It gives you much longer runtime than 16340.
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The EC-R16 gives you the brightest output on 16340 and seems to be driven slightly harder on max. on RCR123A. Overall output-runtime efficiency on max. seems reasonable for the class, but there's nothing more.
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Beamshot
1. White door beamshot (about 50cm from the white door) on max. output on AW 16340 (750mAh) protected
- ISO125, F/8.0, 1/25sec, Auto white balance
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- ISO125, F/8.0, 1/100sec, Auto white balance
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- ISO125, F/8.0, 1/800sec, Auto white balance
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- ISO125, F/8.0, 1/2000sec, Auto white balance
The light has a larger head than typical for this class, with a smooth reflector. The reflector is slightly deeper than this class, so I would expect both tight hotspot and wide spill beam. The small sized hotspot is well focused and its tint is slightly towards the cool white on my sample. A soft corona surrounding the bright hotspot is slightly greenish yellow. The spill beam width looks a bit larger than others and clean with no noticeable artifacts. The overall beam profile is good. The overall beam tint is a typical cool white.
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2. 3.0m Indoor Beamshot on max. output on AW 16340 (750mAh) protected
- ISO125, F/2.8, 1/10sec, Auto white balance
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3. 7.0m Indoor Beamshot on max. output on AW 16340 (750mAh) protected
- ISO125, F/2.8, 1sec, Auto white balance
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The EC-R16 is a throwier than others, with a more defined hotspot. However it also has a wider spillbeam (almost same as the S10R II), and a clearer separation between hotspot and spill. I think the mode spacing seems good. Beam pattern is good. The EC-R16 shows resonable throw for the class.
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Overall Impressions
• Build quality is very high
• The light can stably tailstand
• Anti-roll indentations on the head
• No clip bundled with the light
• Possibility of accidental activation from off may be increased due to a slightly protruded switch
• Small standby current drain (average 43uA) is inevitable, but not a concern
• Physical lockout function at the body (or head)
• Physical reverse polarity protection function
• True flat-top batteries will not work
• Mode memory for all output levels
• No flashing modes available
• Charging 16340 (RCR123A) in the light seems good
• You can use 1xRCR123A or 1xCR123A
• Gradual timed step-down feature on Turbo
• Output-runtime efficiency is reasonable on 16340
• Mode spacing seems good
• True Moonlight mode is not available
• Low battery warning indication function (i.e., the blue LED below the side switch will flicker)
• No sign of PWM flickers at any output modes
• Beam pattern is good
• Overall beam tint is cool white
The Jetbeam EC-R16 provided by Jetbeam for review.
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