Q-lll feature-missed any mention of? Or bad light?

Got my QIII (thanks Beam me Up) about a week ago. I and a couple of my children have been using and enjoying it. Nice and bright (my wife shone it on the ceiling in daylight and said "no way I'm going to shine that in my eyeballs"). Anyhow it is on temporary loan to my daughter, till I fix her EternaLight, and she is walking toward me blinking the light. As we aproach each other I notice her hold on the light isn't right for regular pressing of the switch. Before I ask she says something like "OK dad how do you stop this". It just started blinking, not like a loose connection a regular blink 1-1.5 times/second. So I played..uhm examined it a bit. Turning it off and on worked but didn't affect the blink. Took it inside took the battery out checked the contact points...etc.
I didn't have a spare 123 so I switched the used one out of my Arc LS...BINGO...the Q3 works fine and the Arc is really dim.

So my question is, is this a feature or a defect? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Also is the Q3 this well regulated that a battery that keeps it bright gives a dim light from the Arc LS?

Wit's End you might want to try reading here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB6&Number=791329&Forum=

Hope this helps /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Thanks, but I don't think that is it. This wasn't a flicker, it was a well defined constant blinking. I haven't used the light much since this happened. I'll see what happens when this battery dies.
(note to self-replace battery in Arc /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif)

I noted this behavior with other LED lights using the basic Zetex circuit. Under some conditions (specific Vf of the LED and Vin from the battery) the Zetex acts as a relaxed oscillator.
This is due to the wide histeresis between the firing voltage and the turn off voltage. The battery can recover some energy while the Zetex circuit is not drawing any current; as soon the rising battery voltage reaches the firing threshold, the light comes up, to turn off soon after.
It happens only with some batteries and LEDs combinations. It can be fixed with a bleeding resistor across the LED.

The ARC-LS driver is a constant-current professionally designed driver. It detects the status of the battery and "acts" accordingly; in other words, the drop in battery voltage is managed, while it isn't in the QIII. You get what you pay for.

Anthony

Re: Q-lll feature-missed any mention of? Or bad li

I've noticeed this in Zetex circuits I've built - after the batteries deplete enough to prompt "moon mode," continued draining of the batteries will make the circuit oscillate and turn it into a flasher.

I use that as a sign that I should have changed the batteries already. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

oO

Re: Q-lll feature-missed any mention of? Or bad li

Well, this behavior may be better than the light completely dying. Gives you a while to go for a backup, or change batteries.

I am very impressed with this light. For the $$, a splendid light.

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Ray_of_Light said:
You get what you pay for.

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Here we go again... cute product, not so cute engineering. Okay, will this happen with an Inova, Surefire, etc??

Re: Q-lll feature-missed any mention of? Or bad li

If you're using rechargeables, this blinking mode would be a handy feature, to let you know it's time to replace the battery.

Zoltar, get a flashlight with a Luxeon 3. The 1 watt luxeons are almost always disappointing, because of lack of brightness, or lack of whiteness. The Q3 doesn't disappoint unless you get unlucky, in which case you have to be prepared to return it.

Re: Q-lll feature-missed any mention of? Or bad li

My brother in law attested to this "feature." He drooled over my L4 in Nov. so my sister had me pick out a more affordable light to buy him for Christmas and I got her a couple QIII's after reading so much about them. (One for his dad too) It just about caused me physical pain to hand them over after seeing them in person. Anyways, I subsequently grilled him on details of the light's performance. He uses the light quite a bit and has run through three batts since Christmas. He described the blinking before failure characteristic exactly.

I just got mine in the mail today (Thanks 3rd Shift!) so I haven't had a chance to seriously drain any batteries yet. But I will say its running very nicely on a depleted 123 that turned my Arc4 into a blinking mess. I wanted a light to replace my L4+Mc2Es for EDC (a little big and would break my heart to lose) The L4 replaced my beloved Arc LSH (went belly up and I never took to the Arc4) I have to say that I think the QIII is an excellent successor to the Arc LSH for EDC, and is an incredible bang for the buck. Its brighter than the LSH, a fraction of the price, and about the same size. All the Arc's have on it is HAIII and better regulation. Sure, I'd like those features , but jeeze, this is a hundred dollars cheaper, brighter, and still being made. Too bad Peter had to chase his white whale instead of fulfilling the demand for a better brighter LSH that Nuwai is all too happily meeting.

Re: Q-lll feature-missed any mention of? Or bad li

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MichiganMan said:
Too bad Peter had to chase his white whale instead of fulfilling the demand for a better brighter LSH that Nuwai is all too happily meeting.

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Ha ha. Yeh Peter missed the boat when the Luxeon 3s came out. He even put Luxeon 1s in his beloved Arc 4 - dumb.

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Ray_of_Light said:
I noted this behavior with other LED lights using the basic Zetex circuit. Under some conditions (specific Vf of the LED and Vin from the battery) the Zetex acts as a relaxed oscillator.
This is due to the wide histeresis between the firing voltage and the turn off voltage. The battery can recover some energy while the Zetex circuit is not drawing any current; as soon the rising battery voltage reaches the firing threshold, the light comes up, to turn off soon after.
Anthony

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Thanks for the explanation though I'm somewhat /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif I get the general idea /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
The thing that makes me wonder about the quality of regulation (Arc LS vs. Q3) is that the battery that is Infinity bright in the Arc gives at least half brightness in the Q3. Is this a characteristic of the Lux 3 as opposed to the regulation? ie. low voltage, after drop out, gives more light from lux 3 as opposed to lux 1.
Thanks for the help, and I agree that the blinking is a good clue to change the battery

Do you think the Q3 can compare with a Arc LS? I dont think mine is that bright...this is the second one i got already too...any help?

My QIII ( using R123 )is brighter than my ARC 4 even before modding, it is definitely brighter than ARC LSH. May depend on what luxeon you got, mine got a TX1K.

with a new battery the Q3 should be brighter than any of the 1W Arcs as it uses a 3W Luxeon. I am wondering about the almost dead battery's affect on the brightness of the lights. My initial thoughts were that the better regulation in the Arc would give a brighter light on a dead battery. On reconsideration the dead battery makes it drop out of regulation (right?) so the lux 3 must do better with lower voltage.

I am open to correction. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif

moephiues-the Q3 should be brighter than the Arc LS, both on fresh batteries that is.

Re: Q-lll feature-missed any mention of? Or bad li

Okay, cool thanks. I really like my X5 for an EDC, but it's just "long" and that's my motivation for this perpetual shopping for something "better."

Re: Q-lll feature-missed any mention of? Or bad li

Me too, zoltar. I EDC my "main" light (ARC AAA is in a side pocket) on my ankle. The E2e I carried there for years was manageable, but not exactly comfortable. The A2 was simply too long. The Q3 is perfect.

I love the A2, and plan to belt-carry it when I retire, since I'll have less junk to keep up with: when all day, every day, is MY time... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

In fact, I am so impressed with the A2 I had considered having another ankle carry rig custom made for it; the one I've been using is "modified" from something Ken Null made for me many years ago. But with my working time left only a year or two at most, and with the Q3 as impressive as it is, the $100+ for a new custom ankle rig would be better spent elswhere.

For the money, this Q3 just cannot be beat IMO. A most impressive little light...

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Wits' End said:

moephiues-the Q3 should be brighter than the Arc LS, both on fresh batteries that is.

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ahhh, mine is nothing close to being that bright.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

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AW said:
My QIII ( using R123 )is brighter than my ARC 4 even before modding, it is definitely brighter than ARC LSH. May depend on what luxeon you got, mine got a TX1K.

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Do you have any beamshots? this is my second Q3, and both are about the same brightness, but no where compared to an arc 4+

My Q3 is very bright and has a slightly HID bluish tint, which is good because i prefer that to a pure white. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Shane

Mine can barely compare to a surefire e1e...which is only 15 lumens. Are you guys using R123s?