Scotty, I need more power, Capt'n I'm giving her all she's got....

I purchased a single AAA twisty operated edc flashlight with a Nichia 219B emitter that has three lumen levels - 1.5, 40, and 145. To run the light I use either Eneloops or lithium primary batteries because of the battery chemistry yielding higher mAh. Light runs great at 1.5 and 40 lumens which is really what I wanted. At 145 lumen the LED will sometimes flicker at start-up when the battery voltage drops below 1.3 volts.

All I can think is that there is not enough voltage at 1.3 volts to properly/consistently run a Nichia 219B at 145 lumens without the occasional turn-on flicker.

I need to learn more about LED and LED driver power draw. Anyone post a thread on this topic?

LED lights are far more sensitive to dirty contact flicker then other lights, make sure all your contact points are clean from contaminates, grease/lube and tarnish.

145 219b lumens from a AAA?

Alrighty then. Sounds like I could now sell my ocean front property in Oklahoma....

RCS1300 said:

I purchased a single AAA twisty operated edc flashlight with a Nichia 219B emitter that has three lumen levels - 1.5, 40, and 145... At 145 lumen the LED will sometimes flicker at start-up when the battery voltage drops below 1.3 volts.

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RCS1300 -- What make/model of flashlight is this, out of curiosity? :thinking:

Flashlike said:

RCS1300 -- What make/model of flashlight is this, out of curiosity? :thinking:

Click to expand...

It is the Maratac light Rev. 5. I believe the issue is one of voltage needed to run the driver and LED but I do not know the specifics. Light works fine and runs fine for the duration the seller advertises. But, occasionally, at start up the high lumen setting will flicker and then it is fine. Light and batteries are brand new and all connections are clean. I would buy the light again as it is a great light. Simply want to know why the issue is occurring and I believe it is related to voltage and not current. My guess is the AAA battery is pushed to the max for the driver and led.

If the flashlight is doing that and you are using brand new batteries it sounds like a possible defect. If you purchased the flashlight new from CountyComm you might want to contact them about it. Their Customer Service is excellent (from my experience), and I'm sure they'll take care of it if it is not normal.

I loved those light when they first came out. Went through maybe 5 and they all ended the same. The negative contact on the PCB was too thin and wore out now that was back before I nodded my own lights and just dumped them. If it's the aluminum version clean the end that makes contact for the negative side. By clean please don't use anything rough, old jeans or a cloth is great. Just give it a buff for a couple of minutes and see if that helps. Also clean the positive contact good, again light buff. A question I have is how far does the battery stick out when in the tube without the head?

Bones, I need you to heal this man before he bleeds to death! "But Jim, I'm a doctor, not a....uhm, ok I'll get right on it"