jayrob
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- Joined
- Sep 21, 2007
- Messages
- 9,862
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I bought this light to see how bright the Cree MC-3 emitter was with a single 18650. (I like this size for a flashlight - not too bulky)
DealExtreme: $39.23 UltraFire MC-C2 MC-E (BIN K-WC) 3-Mode Tactical LED Flashlight (1*18650)
Anyway, I was not really that impressed with the output, although it was very bright, I was expecting more. So...
I bought this P7 emitter:
DealExtreme: $15.37 SSC P7 C-Bin LED Emitter with 21mm Heat Sink Base (3.6V~3.7V)
Then found this P7 driver:
http://kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=1770
Which is designed for a single battery supply as well as up to 6 volts supply.
(Input voltage 2.7V-6.0V, buck circuit)
The Kaidomain custom driver, which is made up of 2 X 1400mA 7135 drivers (I believe), does what they claim with a 6 volt supply. I measured 2830 mA's current draw from 2 X 3.0 volt CR123 primaries!
* Using an Ultrafire protected 18650, I get about 1.9 Amps current draw.
* Using an AW protected 18650, I get 2.4 Amps current draw.
* Using 2 X 3.0 volt lithium primaries, I get 2.8 Amps current draw!
So I have found, that it also matters which brand of battery you use for the 18650's.
Note: The pictures are using a single 18650 supply, which is plenty bright, and I think is the best fit for current draw vs battery capacity.
Of course, you can buy a P7 light from DX for less than my parts if you include the cost of my first light, but I wanted brighter, and it wasn't too bad just for the upgrade in case you have something similar that you want to upgrade.
Not too much modification was needed for the conversion...
* Enlarge the hole in the aluminum reflector to fit the larger P7 emitter.
* Adjust the tail cap spring and some small adjustments in how far certain areas of the host were threaded in to get the length for the 18650 to the right length.
* Switch out the stock emitter with the P7. (using thermal adhesive)
* Replace the driver!
The result is awesome! VERY nice for the size. I have a P7 mod that I did with a host that takes 2 X 18650's. I used the P7 'drop in' emitter from DX that comes with the reflector and driver all in one for that mod.
For this one, using the Kaidomain driver, it is considerably brighter than that larger light when using 2 X 3.0 volt CR123 batteries! SCHWEET!
Jay
(Pictures with only a single 18650 supply - 6 volts is much brighter!)
Update:
I received a new light from DX today. This one:
DealExtreme: $35.00 SpiderFire SSC P7 SSC P7-C 2-Mode 900-Lumen LED Flashlight with Strap (1*18650)
It is in the same host as the one I modified in this thread, but a different driver. I don't know much about the driver, but I get over 2800mA's battery current draw from a single 18650!
This is my smallest and brightest light. Awesome light!
The one thing that you would want, is to get your 18650 from AW. The AW battery gives over 2800mA's to the P7 emitter. But an Ultrafire is no more than 1200mA's current draw. (in this light)
So the battery makes a huge difference. The AW batteries are expensive, but worth it in this application!
Also, the light has two modes... high/low. The circuit seems to be in the tail switch. You must turn the light completely off to switch modes. This is the only thing that I do not like, but it would be easy to replace the switch to make a single mode light...
Jay
Edit: Yep, the two modes was in the switch. There is a 6.1 ohm resistor in there. I just changed out the clicky to make mine just on/off single mode.
Click here to see my list of projects and tutorials!
DealExtreme: $39.23 UltraFire MC-C2 MC-E (BIN K-WC) 3-Mode Tactical LED Flashlight (1*18650)
Anyway, I was not really that impressed with the output, although it was very bright, I was expecting more. So...
I bought this P7 emitter:
DealExtreme: $15.37 SSC P7 C-Bin LED Emitter with 21mm Heat Sink Base (3.6V~3.7V)
Then found this P7 driver:
http://kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=1770
Which is designed for a single battery supply as well as up to 6 volts supply.
(Input voltage 2.7V-6.0V, buck circuit)
The Kaidomain custom driver, which is made up of 2 X 1400mA 7135 drivers (I believe), does what they claim with a 6 volt supply. I measured 2830 mA's current draw from 2 X 3.0 volt CR123 primaries!
* Using an Ultrafire protected 18650, I get about 1.9 Amps current draw.
* Using an AW protected 18650, I get 2.4 Amps current draw.
* Using 2 X 3.0 volt lithium primaries, I get 2.8 Amps current draw!
So I have found, that it also matters which brand of battery you use for the 18650's.
Note: The pictures are using a single 18650 supply, which is plenty bright, and I think is the best fit for current draw vs battery capacity.
Of course, you can buy a P7 light from DX for less than my parts if you include the cost of my first light, but I wanted brighter, and it wasn't too bad just for the upgrade in case you have something similar that you want to upgrade.
Not too much modification was needed for the conversion...
* Enlarge the hole in the aluminum reflector to fit the larger P7 emitter.
* Adjust the tail cap spring and some small adjustments in how far certain areas of the host were threaded in to get the length for the 18650 to the right length.
* Switch out the stock emitter with the P7. (using thermal adhesive)
* Replace the driver!
The result is awesome! VERY nice for the size. I have a P7 mod that I did with a host that takes 2 X 18650's. I used the P7 'drop in' emitter from DX that comes with the reflector and driver all in one for that mod.
For this one, using the Kaidomain driver, it is considerably brighter than that larger light when using 2 X 3.0 volt CR123 batteries! SCHWEET!
Jay
(Pictures with only a single 18650 supply - 6 volts is much brighter!)
Update:
I received a new light from DX today. This one:
DealExtreme: $35.00 SpiderFire SSC P7 SSC P7-C 2-Mode 900-Lumen LED Flashlight with Strap (1*18650)
It is in the same host as the one I modified in this thread, but a different driver. I don't know much about the driver, but I get over 2800mA's battery current draw from a single 18650!
This is my smallest and brightest light. Awesome light!
The one thing that you would want, is to get your 18650 from AW. The AW battery gives over 2800mA's to the P7 emitter. But an Ultrafire is no more than 1200mA's current draw. (in this light)
So the battery makes a huge difference. The AW batteries are expensive, but worth it in this application!
Also, the light has two modes... high/low. The circuit seems to be in the tail switch. You must turn the light completely off to switch modes. This is the only thing that I do not like, but it would be easy to replace the switch to make a single mode light...
Jay
Edit: Yep, the two modes was in the switch. There is a 6.1 ohm resistor in there. I just changed out the clicky to make mine just on/off single mode.
Click here to see my list of projects and tutorials!
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