User:Brted

Underlined things are things I don't own but am interested in.

Lights

AKOray K-106 3-mode programmable 1xAA with Cree XR-E Q5 My Review KD I upgraded the LED to a Cree XP-G R5.

Aurora SH-035 5-mode memory 1xAA/14500 stainless steel light with Cree XP-E Q5. This light worked with an AA cell, but failed and caused a dead short with a 14500. DX gave me a store credit (and refund eventually), but let me keep the light. Then I put an NANJG 112A driver in it (li-ion or 1xAA) set to 2 modes and upgraded the LED to a neutral white XP-G R4 and it turned out pretty good (very close to the perfect light described below). I drilled the opening in the reflector out a little to give the LED room to stick into the bottom. My experience DX

Black Cat HM-01 1xAAA/10440 1-mode light with Osram LED. Available in black or red with different colors of LED including one described as 5000K which is warm white (really 3500K). I got a red one with a warm tint LED. My review KD I was showing this to a friend who wanted to get a AAA light and he bought it from me.

Fenix L1D/L2D/P2D 6-mode 1xAA/2xAA/1xCR123A with Cree XR-E Q5 and smooth reflector. I bought the L2D and then lego parts to make a L1D or P2D. Later on bought a used complete P2D with OP reflector. My first real flashlight.

iTP A3 EOS Upgraded

iTP A3 EOS

3-mode (MLH) 1xAAA twisty with Cree XP-E R2. Got a second generation black one after misplacing the original (which I later found and sold to my brother). The replacement has LMH, tighter threads (no flashing), and better PWM. Also got a used titanium version of the original.

Mr.Lite BLF AA-Y4E 4-mode 1xAA/14500 Cree XR-E R2 reverse clicky. Customized for Budget Light Forum by Mr.Lite and sold by Manafont. Modes are 1, 6, 70 and 140 lumens (200+ on 14500). My review Manafont

Quark 123² Tactical 2xCR123A 2-mode with 7 programmable levels. Couldn't stand the preflash on Low and had to return it. Great light except that when you want Low it's like a camera flash going off first (not all the time). My review.

Solarforce L2 1x18650 P60 host in gunmetal gray ordered from ITC_shop on eBay. Also ordered a black Solarforce L2 with extension tube for a second 18650 from lightake.com which turned out to be fake, but works fine. Here's my comparison of the two.

Solarforce L2i 3xAAA P60 host in sand color ordered from ITC's website.

Solarforce L2p 1x18650 P60 host in black ordered from Solarforce Sales (formerly ITC). Put a UltraFire 3-mode Cree XM-L drop-in in it.

TrustFire XP-E F23 1xAAA 3-mode (LHS) stainless steel light with mode memory. Good dog walking light. Not much runtime on a 10440 (15 minutes or less). I wound up buying a couple of these to give away and then gave away the pill in mine when one of the gifts stopped working.My Review DX

UltraFire MCU WF-1200L 2x18650 3-mode (HMS) SSC P7 light with big head for throw. My Review. When the Cree XM-L came out, I upgraded the LED and got rid of the donut hole.

UltraFire WF-501B 1x18650 P60 host with a 5-mode Cree MC-E. Claims to be M bin, but who knows? Almost too bright: if you use it outside the very bright spill on the foreground ground or overhanging trees prevents you from seeing very far. I swapped out Shiningbeam's 3-mode P7/MC-E driver for the original, but light output was about the same. Prominent doughnut in beam partially fixed by swapping out a reflector. Th MC-E now lives in my Solarforce L2 and the 501B houses the XR-E R2 that was in my 504B. DX My review.

UltraFire WF-502B 1x18650 P60 host with 1-mode XP-G R5 drop-in My review DX. Modified to use the NANJG AK-47 driver set to 3 modes. Later I got a second 502B when a good deal came up from tmart.com. That one came with a 5-mode XR-E Q5 drop-in.

UltraFire WF-504B 1x18650 P60 host with 5-mode XR-E R2 drop-in DX My Review. Now holds my neutral XP-G R4 with 3-mode Shiningbeam driver.

UltraFire X1 1x18650 3-mode (High, Low, Strobe) light with Cree XR-E Q5 from Manafont. Body is like a larger version of the AKOray K-106. Bought to modify with a neutral XP-G R4 and a 3-mode 1.4A driver from KD.

Uniquefire AA-S1 1xAA/14500 1-mode light with Osram Golden Dragon LED. Same body as AKOray K-106. DX

UniqueFire S10 1xAA 6-mode XR-E R2 from KD. Burned out the driver using a 14500, now it is direct drive 1-mode My Review KD

ZY-30 3xAAA 3-mode (MHS) Cree XR-E Q5 Flood to Throw light My Review. I gave this light away.

Perfect Light

A 2-mode light (could live with 3) that takes an AA or protected 14500, has a programmable or user-selectable low mode, LED is 200 lumens or more with a neutral tint. The user interface should be controlled only from the forward clicky on the tail (or a separate control that could also be controlled by the thumb that presses the clicky) and should remember the last mode it was in. Cost should be less than $70.

Chargers

Powerex Maha C-9000

Maha MH-C204F 4-bay charger which works fine but charges in pairs.

Universal Charger 1-bay charger with US plus works off 110/220, charges li-ion or NiMH, 34-67mm plus 9V. Batteries come off at 4.13-4.17V DX

Digital 18650 charger 2 independent bays, uses gradually decreasing current as voltage approaches 4.2V. Batteries come off at 4.20-4.22V DX

Turnigy Accucel-6 hobby charger After the "digital" charger above seemed to take too long to terminate, I thought I would try a hobby charger rather than try different ones made for li-ion. Plus it should work for other battery chemistries if I want to try LiMn cells. HobbyKing

Batteries

10440 - Blue 600 mAh 3.6V unprotected Ultrafire, 44mm long

14500 - Blue 900 mAh 3.7V protected Trustfire DX

14500 - Red and Black 900 mAh 3.7V protected Trustfire DX. Too long for my Uniquefire S10, Aurora SH-035, or Fenix L1D, but fit fine in my AKOray K-106. Increases runtime from 45 minutes to 55 minutes.

18650 - Gray 2400 mAh 3.7V protected Trustfire DX

18650 - Gray 2400 mAh 3.7V protected Ultrafire - lasts longer than the Trustfire above

18650 - Red and Black 2400 mAh 3.7V protected Trustfire - supposed to be the best from DX DX Lasts about 20% longer than the gray Ultrafires listed above. See my comparison.

Modding Parts

Drivers

The ideal driver would be similar to the ideal flashlight and have 2 (LH) or 3 modes (LMH), no strobes or SOS. Mode memory would be good. If the modes can't be set manually, they should be about 5%, 50%, and 100%. Input only needs to be one li-ion cell. Output should be 1200-1400 mA with good regulation. I'm not finding that yet, so I have been looking at NANJG drivers with 1000 mA of output.

Programmable Drivers Some drivers, like the AK-47 and the 101-AK have an Atmel Tiny13 chip on board. It may be possible to reprogram this chip to get not only exactly the number of modes and the light levels you want, but also to program it to be programmable. I've ordered a clip to attach to the chip and a USB flasher and hopefully can try it out using WinAVR. More information here

KD 13.5mm Driver No details to speak of, but this 5-mode driver could be useful in fixing AA lights with burned out drivers where standard 17mm drivers are too big KD

NANJG 105 8x7135 driver advertised at KD as 1100mA, but should be 2800mA. Seems similar to the Shiningbeam 2.8A driver, though Shiningbeam is now selling a slightly different version that appears to be a 106. I paired one of these with a MC-E and it was drawing more than 2 amps, though not 2.8. Also there was no mode memory and the Low had bad PWM. Mine may have been defective or I may have damaged it because of the positive and negative to the LED were shorted. KD

NANJG 112A 0.9-4.2V 1000mA driver from KD with stars on the back that can be soldered to provide different modes. Supposedly buck/boost with an inductor. Seems well-regulated since current draw increases as voltage of li-ion decreases, but current draw declines with voltage on 1.2V NiMH. Works with AA or li-ion, but with 2xAA the low-voltage warning will cause flashing. 3-mode grouping has low and medium pretty close together. Low mode does not seem to use PWM. My Review KD (sold out)

NANJG AK-47 3x7135 2.6-4.5V 1000mA driver. Two versions, one by DX (5-mode) and one by KD (2-mode) with unadvertised mode groups available. Both have stars on back that can be soldered for different groups like the 112A. Modes are nicely spaced at 5, 30, and 100%. I got mine from DX and found it very difficult to solder and the positive LED terminal is not labeled. Efficiency is very high, 85-90% on High. DX KD CPF Post My review

NANJG ROHS 101-AK 2.8-6V. Three versions, one by DX is a 3x7135 1050mAh driver with 3 (LMH), 5, or 7 modes selectable by clicky. Has room on board to add 4th 7135 chip for 1400mAh output DX. The other is a 3-mode (LMH) version with 4x7135 on it already from Shining Beam with modes of 8%, 25%, and 100% with maximum output of 1400mAh. My results. The 101-AK-A1 from KD is similar to the Shiningbeam driver, but is 5-modes. However by soldering two legs together, it can be set to 3 well-spaced modes of 2%, 28%, and 100%. I put one of these in my Ultrafire X1.

NANJG 10 3x7135 1000mA driver with 5, 3 (LMH), or 7 modes selectable by clicky similar to 101-AK. KD

NANJG 18 19-mode 1000mA driver with 5, 6, or 8 modes selectable by clicky similar to 101-AK and has a variable resistor to provide variable V out. DX

NANJG 28 Double-sided driver. Has 5, 3 (LMH), or 8 modes selectable by clicky. DX version advertises only 5 modes and some people at KD aren't able to change mode groups KD DX

Shiningbeam 3-mode 2.5A driver Put in the drop-in with my MC-E "M bin". Before the light drew 1.45A, now it draws 1.8A, but that's still lower than the 2.8A I expected.

Other Stuff

Focusing lens for P60 hosts For lights like the Ultrafire WF-502B, provides very tight focus of beam similar to X2000 flood-to-throw lights but shape of LED is maybe 70% of the size of the X2000 projection, so even better for throw. Need to black out the reflector though to avoid weird spill. Works better for the XR-E than XP-G. My pictures here DX

Coated lens for P60 hosts Anti-reflective coating lets more light out than uncoated glass that comes with Ultrafire and Solarforce L2's. KD and similar (same?) but slightly cheaper KD. I got the more expensive ones. Still cheap compared to others.

Focusing lens for X2000 Probably plastic like the original. Can fit inside the reflector of a P60 host with the flat lens still in place, but you'll lose some light going through the extra lens and could scratch up your reflector. KD

Thermal compound Not an epoxy, but is cheaper than Arctic Silver or Alumina. 10 syringes. DX

FUJIK Thermal Adhesive A silicone adhesive for mounting stars to pills. Not as good as thermal epoxy, but if applied in a thin layer is still better than nothing and, unlike thermal compound, will hold the LED in place. This seems to be used by many budget light suppliers. Because it is silicone instead of epoxy, removal is easier. DX

Cree XM-L T6 5-mode drop-in from KD. Also bought the 2.8A driver expecting the stock 5-mode driver to be bad. KD

Cree XP-G R5 on 14mm base from KD, to put in AKOray K-106 KD

Neutral Cree XP-G R4 on 14mm base from KD, to put in a P60. With a 4B tint, it is not as warm as the 5B1 version I got from the Cutter group buy. KD

Forward Clicky Switches KD CPF Post. I ordered some of these but was unable to fit them in the Uniquefire S10, Aurora SH-035, or the Ultrafire WF-502B. They are kind of big.

Tailcap Assortment 4 each of black, orange, and green GITD tailcaps. DX

Empty P60 drop-in needs driver and LED. With OP reflector: KD and big hole KD. With SMO reflector KD DX

Sinometer Digital Multimeter cheap DMM from Amazon can be used to measure amps on the 10A unfused setting, but gives low readings over about 1.5A, so I ordered heavier duty leads from DX.