VIP on rechargable AAs

Now that VIP owners are getting their AA rechargable bodies in the mail from Otokoyama, what are you using to feed it? Any information is sought, what charger, brand of batteries and capacity of batteries, etc.

What tips do you have for recharging?

Britt

Britt, Id just use standard NiMH's, 2200mAH or whatever you have.

Hallis, I just got some Sanyo 2300mah and one of the Lenmar Mach 1 Gamma Speedchargers. Just charged them up this morning.

Some of the drawbacks to rapid chargers I've heard about on CPF seem to have been addressed with this Lenmar. It stabilizes temperature to prevent overheating and rapid charges up to a point, then trickle charges to top off the cell. The AC charger will handle 110-240vac which is good for traveling. I didn't realize it came with a 12vdc car plug charger. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I've heard various reports on 2000 vs 2300mah cells and the latter not holding their charge as well. But, this is all new to me /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

My VIP was on loan and won't be back until Wednesday, but I think my Lambda MiniPro HD drop-in will be in the mail today.

Britt

One thing I must remind everyone of - with rechargeable AAs the VIP may not function properly on absolute Low (it may go to really Super DUPER Low, running in Direct Drive).

This is because rechargeable batteries are actually rated at only 1.2V nominal, so instead of hitting 3V which is what the VIP board is specifically designed for, you are only feeding it 2.4V.

Of course current increases so much on Medium and High that it will run just fine on the other two levels, just keep in mind the issue when using it on Low.

Then again that's really what we want when switching it to Low, right? We want LOW anyway!

I have about a zillion AA NiMh batteries of various types and all seem to work well.

The 2300mA Digipower cells barely fit. They slide in and out without binding, but it is a tight fit. Something to keep in mind for those still looking for batteries is that the high mA cells (2200+) are usually a bit over-sized and that can be a problem in lights with little room to spare. I don't know how the Digipower cell compare to other high mA brands, but they are quite large so the AA tube will probably be okay.

My favorite AA NiMh cells are the Rayovac 15 minute IC-3 type. They fit in everything, have decent capacity (2000mA) and have lots of current output if needed. Oh, and they recharge in only 15 minutes. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

As for the low power issue; mine works fine if I click it off, then switch to low and turn it back on. If I switch to low while it is on, it goes to "super low" mode. This "feature" is fine with me as it gives me an extra brightness setting (4 levels now).

Aloha, iG

I'm currently using 1700mah NiMH AA cells & all seems good -gonna try & get some 2000+ ones in the next few days.

I am using Lenmar 2300mAh AAs. I did a couple of rumtime tests on high and got very different results. The first time it ran for almost 80 minutes on high, with it being held in my hand on and off to keep it from getting too hot. The second time on the same set of batteries (fresh off the charger) it only ran for 45 minutes before flickering. The second time I did not hold it very much, and it heated up much faster.

If I just leave it on high is there more risk of damaging the led? Will it shorten the life of it or can I just let it shine to my heart's content?

While I haven't done any runtime tests ot the like, I have tried just about every different set of nimh AA's I have, all fit just fine, including my Lenmar 2300's and my Maha 2200's. IF the batteries aren't fresh off the charger (Maha 401), it is very easy to obtain the "super low", and difficult to obtain the actual low setting, depending on how discharged the batteries are. Medium and high still work great though!

It seems that this super low mode might make a decent low-power nightlight, at least to me. I'm gonna try it tonight and see how bright it is to dark-adjusted eyes. I could just barely use it to see around after turning off all the lights. On the plus side, I measured the current from the batteries in this hidden-feature mode at all of 850 micro amps, so I may just leave that twistie screwed down all the time on this light, which lives in the house.

I am noticing I should have purchased another twistie or two, as it is rather handy! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Chris

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Pi_is_blue said:
I did a couple of rumtime tests on high and got very different results. The first time it ran for almost 80 minutes on high, with it being held in my hand on and off to keep it from getting too hot. The second time on the same set of batteries (fresh off the charger) it only ran for 45 minutes before flickering. The second time I did not hold it very much, and it heated up much faster.

[/ QUOTE ]

I get the same type of results with Powerizer 2250's - providing a hand as a heatsink really seems to up the high power runtime. During one non-handheld run, when my VIP started strobing, I picked it up with both hands (man, that whole body was quite warm), and in maybe 15 to 30 seconds, it flicked back into high and the strobing stopped. Unfortunately, my primitive mind is unable to provide a scientific explanation for this behavior.

Oh, so that this post contains at least some useful data, the Powerizer 2250's fit quite loosely in the AA body, as do all other smaller capacity NiMHs I have. Since I buy tons of rechargeables, I get them here:

24 x 2250mAH NiMH for $30

I've placed many orders with them and have never had a problem.

I've had mixed results with low. Fresh (but not hot) off the charger cells will produce low just like a 123. Cells even a few hours off the charger will produce a very dim low. Cells charged weeks ago produce a sub-milliamp glow that's very green and almost impossible to see in daylight.

I'm not concerned about the effect on low with NiMHs - I want light in large gulps when using rechrgables.

Hello Britt /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink2.gif

I use AA rechargeables with many products, like electronics thermometer, radio, scanner, etc... and Flashlight indeed /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I use Powerex 2300 mAh, and some european brand. My charger is a FriWo Exclusiv Giga Box with four slots (Bernie made in Germany ), for AAA to D sized batteries and one slot for 9V Accu.Every slot is electronically regulated, and a control display indicate with a bar graph the level of the charging or discharging process and a trickle charge at the end. I am very happy with rechargeable batteries if I don't forget to charge regularly some spares /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I only regret, that in some cases, two rechargeables AA (2.4 volts) don't run in place of Two alkaline AA (3.0 v) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

But with the VIP, and excepted the low level as explained by Charlie,it works fine. If you have an Otokoyama VIP 2xAA body /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

I just ordered a accupower 20 smart charger, and some CTI 2400 mah batteries. getting a few 1700mah free also. Let you know when it gets here. I got it from thomas distributing.

I hear this charger is good enough to jsut toss the batteries on whenever you want, and that it will fix problems with older batteries in a few cycles automaticaly.

Well I got mine and o'course I'm lucky enough to have the PROTO BBH, so what would any good self-respecting Flashoholic do? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif

Here it is next to a Space Needle II (my PERSONAL one):





And here's what it did on the meter with freshly charged nimh AAs:





Yup, 8,000+ lux. That's definitely Space Needle II territory, although with a smaller hotspot and less brightness than the 9,640 lux output of the original VIP prototype with this very same head. I attribute that to the ol' Luxeon Lottery a course, coulda easily been the other way around. Plus I'm using two Ray-O-Vac 15-minute Charger nimh AAs, not the highest capacity and might also account for the downage of output versus the original single CR123 format, but they held more than enough capacity for this test.

In summary - we now have guilt-free Space Needle output from a VIP with the AA longtube and BBH - hmmm, "guilt-free Space Needle output" - this used to be a mutually exclusive term, BUT NO MORE! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Hope all you VIP owners ordered this combo, because now everything from small EDC'able nightlight (on Low) up to genuinely authentic Big Light Output is within your grasp - all using the same light engine.

You want modular? Haw! This thing is So modular when you look up the word in the dictionary there is no longer a text definition, they just show a picture of - The VIP! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif

[ QUOTE ]

Hope all you VIP owners ordered this combo, because now everything from small EDC'able nightlight (on Low) up to genuinely authentic Big Light Output is within your grasp - all using the same light engine.

You want modular? Haw! This thing is So modular when you look up the word in the dictionary there is no longer a text definition, they just show a picture of - The VIP![/b] /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif

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I wish I had ordered a BBH /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif I was lucky to convince my family to purchase these NIMH Batteries for their new digital cameras /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif . That picture with the tube and BBH is HOT! Looks good with just the BH too though especialy in black. Thanks for the photo Charlie!

I got bored and made this so you can all laugh, I had a few beers so it is a bit lopsided lol

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/party.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy14.gif

8040 LUX ! Man oh man!

I hope everybody that's getting a LionHeart is setting aside some dough so they can get an LH BBH if they become available. I continually congratulate myself for ordering the accessories that are made available for the VIP and LH.

Thanks Charlie /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

The square root of 8040 is 89.67. With that figure you can see where the VIP on 2 NiMh AAs with the Big BulkHead fits in Quickbeam's Throw Chart

Get a load of all the lights that are lower than it in the chart!

I recieved the charger today and imeadiatly threw on 2 2400 mah rechargables. I jsut used my AA tube for the first time and re-attached teh BH. (I have recently switched to using the stock VIP head for EDC because it fits in my pocket Alot better, more so than I rememebr after using the BH for so long.

Well the BH is definately a better match for the AA tube. And the VIP IS brighter on high. I also have no problems with low mode so far but the batteries are still at peakcharge. I plan to use this light mostly on high with rechargable batteries anyways.

I'm starting to want the twisty, or the custom tailswitch to make changing tubes even easier! If I had a second power plant I would be able to make 2 VIPs at that point!

I didn't like the twisiy too much with the aa tube. It doesn't screw in far enough when not on. I'm using halibut's tail cap. I'm using the tube just around the house. The dim is too dim.

I LOVE the twisty with the 123 pack, though. It's much more compact, I can lock it out and do temporay mode.

I love my vip. The only feature I wish it had was compatability with the rechargeable 123's. It's the only thing that will keep it from being my edc.