Nuwai Q3 and a focusing lense?

There's just nothing like the feeling of turning on your brand new Luxeon powered flashlight for the very first time, that pure, cool blue white light pouring out,ohhh man, it's heaven....

hehe, sorry about the monologue, but just got my Nuwai Q3, and oh man, I am definatly satisfied with my purchase, the thing is simply amazing, its size and light output.

But here's the real question, has anyone think about whether you can add a focusing lense to the flashlight? The light is great for lighting up an entire room, but I would also like to have some throw as well. Anyone discover how to disassemble the thing to get access to the reflector? And what kind of focusing lense would be appropriate for this light?


thanks

Tim

Eh, I wouldn't disassemble it for that - the beauty of the Q-III is that it has a good reflector and decent throw for its size. Replacing that with a set of optics would increase the size of the light by quite a bit, and take away the spill which makes it useful.

Exhibit A: The Inova X03. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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Haesslich said:
Exhibit A: The Inova X03. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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That's not a good example. The X03 runs on two 123s; the Q-III does not. The Inova T1, however, does indeed run on one CR123A.

It really isn't that much bigger than the Q-III. The TIROS optic adds maybe an inch to the overall length.

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Haesslich said:
Eh, I wouldn't disassemble it for that - the beauty of the Q-III is that it has a good reflector and decent throw for its size. Replacing that with a set of optics would increase the size of the light by quite a bit, and take away the spill which makes it useful.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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I couldn't agree more. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

i thought i read the Q3 is not very efficient and most people are not getting the 1.5 hr run time

and the reverse clicky prevents me from getting one /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I do get about 90 minutes runtime, give or take.

The reverse clickie isn't ideal, but it's very smooth and, well, "clickie."

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WallaceD said:
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Haesslich said:
Exhibit A: The Inova X03. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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That's not a good example. The X03 runs on two 123s; the Q-III does not. The Inova T1, however, does indeed run on one CR123A.

It really isn't that much bigger than the Q-III. The TIROS optic adds maybe an inch to the overall length.

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It's a better example than the T1 - the X03 at least uses a Lux III, or at least the Lux III is driven to similar levels, as compared to the 350mA or so of the Lux I used in the T1. By comparison, the Quantum III drives the LuxIII at anywhere between 562-760mA or so, depending on the battery and the bin of the Luxeon in question.

Beyond that, the extra length of the lens in the T1 adds another inch or so in length to the unit, which puts it at 4.5 inches, which is an inch longer than the Q-III. The X03 and T3 are probably the only lights which, at least in that line, compare to the Q-III in current draw, Luxeon type, and overall output.

As far as the runtime goes, that depends on the bin of the LuxIII in question. I've read of two cases where the light's output cut out abruptly after 1.5 hours, but most of the reviews I've seen have had it going for well beyond that before it fully died. Again, YMMV depending on the Luxeon III installed in your light. The ones that die after 90 minutes are probably best suited for the r123's, since you know that the bin of the Lux (probably a K-L binned LuxIII) is high enough to avoid overdraining your r123 cells.

Besides, if you want something with the overall size of a Quantum-III but with a tight beam that sacrifices throw for spill, why not just get a new-style KL1 with a VitalGear FB1 body? That'll give you something a bit smaller with optics that'll collimate the LuxIII in roughly the same-sized package.

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Haesslich said:
It's a better example than the T1 - the X03 at least uses a Lux III, or at least the Lux III is driven to similar levels, as compared to the 350mA or so of the Lux I used in the T1. By comparison, the Quantum III drives the LuxIII at anywhere between 562-760mA or so, depending on the battery and the bin of the Luxeon in question.

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I see your point. I stand corrected.

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As far as the runtime goes, that depends on the bin of the LuxIII in question. I've read of two cases where the light's output cut out abruptly after 1.5 hours, but most of the reviews I've seen have had it going for well beyond that before it fully died. Again, YMMV depending on the Luxeon III installed in your light. The ones that die after 90 minutes are probably best suited for the r123's, since you know that the bin of the Lux (probably a K-L binned LuxIII) is high enough to avoid overdraining your r123 cells.

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My Q-III runs at a constant brightness until it flickers and dies. There is absolutely no dimming that takes place. It goes from totally bright to totally dead. I actually prefer this, as I would rather have full brightness until the very end. (And I always carry spare batteries... heh.)

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Besides, if you want something with the overall size of a Quantum-III but with a tight beam that sacrifices throw for spill, why not just get a new-style KL1 with a VitalGear FB1 body? That'll give you something a bit smaller with optics that'll collimate the LuxIII in roughly the same-sized package.

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That's a good choice, but it's kinda pricey. Compared to the Q-III, at least.

Being totally ignorant, I will throw in my two cents. I have a 5 watt nuwai light the model is mentioned in my sig string. It has a fixed focus with a bubble magnifier lens and a spacer above the led. Withou the lens it puts out a beautiful range of even light. The distance between the lens and the led makes it a flood or spot light. If you focus it to well you see a 2x2 grid. I used a few o rings to space my lens out a bit to make the focus tighter.

But doesn't the KL1 only have about 18 lumens of light, where the QIII has probably double that??
Just wondering.



Blades

Well, I wasn't really thinking about completly disassmebling it, I was just thinking if there's a way to temporary remove the lense, drop in one of thsoe cone shaped focusing lense like the one that comes with the regulated sandwhich mod that one of the members here created. I figure if we can open the lense, drop in one of these focusing lenses, find some way to make it stay put, replace the original lense cover, and we're done. The light is then somewhat focused, but not in a straight narrow pin head light like the T1 seem to output.

but from the looks of things, sounded like there's no way to remove the lense without taking a saw to it, which I totally don't want. But if that's the only way, I rather not venture into that realm then. It's great as is.


Tim

I just unscrewed the head to my light and it exposed the lens spacer, o rings and the chip/light. The chip was loose and sandwiched between the head and top of the tube, that grounded it and completed the circuit. They used a wire from the card inside to the bulb to power it.

how did you do that? when I twist the flashlight, only the bottom part turned allowing me to take out the battery, other than that, the top part of the flashlight showed no signs that it can be twist open.


Tim

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Tim_K said:
how did you do that? when I twist the flashlight, only the bottom part turned allowing me to take out the battery, other than that, the top part of the flashlight showed no signs that it can be twist open.


Tim

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It's sealed with some sort of loctite-type polymer compound. If you head to cones.free-online.co.uk, you'll see what Cones did to take apart his Q-III - mostly he boiled it in hot water, while keeping said light in a plastic bag. The light twists into four parts, and at that point you could remove the lens or swap out the LED.

However, you'd probably be better off picking up a Micra and putting a McCapsule into it if you want optics. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif