[img heavy] DX MTE SSC-P7 flashlight REVIEW

well, my f1rst review not on a laser but on a flashlight :wtf: hope u like it

so I decided to buy some decent flashlight and decided to buy this one: DealExtreme: $31.02 MTE SSC P7 C-Bin 900-Lumen 2-Mode LED Flashlight (1*18650)
well I must say this flashlight is pretty good...

Shipping
ordered on Aug 14, shipped Sep 3, arrived today (Sep 8)... shipping itself was pretty fast!
came in that standart yellow DX envelope inside small cardboard box and packed in bubble warp. the box was pretty damaged but flashlight survived without a scratch
btw the sticker says flashlight with $82 value

rating: 7/10

Overview






dimmensions: 15cmx4cm(head)x2.5cm(tailcap), about 1.5 times bigger than the X2000
flashlight feels solid in hands (it's pretty heavy for its size)
light color: close to daylight, warmer than the X2000
output comparison: low mode on MTE = high mode on X2000
flood/throw: 6/4, best preformance <40 meters

Build Quality
for a $30 flashlight, this is well made... one o-ring away from perfection:beer:


the head assembly. GLASS lens. this needs one more o-ring around that first black part (which holds head assembly together) to make it totally waterproof


DOUBLE o-ring @ tailcap! :gj:


emitter on the pill. the pill wasn't screwed in tightly, I had to do it myself (not hard)


:bowdown:THE SSC-P7. did you notice that the lens isn't plastic but of some kind of gel?:shhh:


time for some macros!







^I rly like this one^




this is very helpful

Overall Rating: 7/10

these photos were taken with Olympus C5050 (over 7 years old LOL - still does the job perfectly)
so my first review is over, thx for looking!

Re: [review] DX MTE SSC-P7 flashlight

BEAMSHOTS

using Nikon D80, time 13s, F5, ISO100, distance about 15m
let's start with X2000 @ low mode

^lol^

then high mode


now MTE @ low


and finally :eg: MTE @ high mode


that's a difference!:evil:

the tree is about 40 meters... the camera can't see the X2000 :na:


and MTE


edit: today I decided to measure the current. connected my DMM in series with the tailcap and :wtf: current at high mode: around 800mA low mode: 112mA! :wtf: these leds can go up to 2,8A, so why so low?
so I opened the pill and:wtf: no driver, just a thin red wire! then I opened the tailcap, there's just an clicky with a 7.2ohm resistor
the clicky switches between 3 "modes": off, direct drive and resistor
this sad thing brings the overall rating down to 7/10

now I need some (boost) driver which is able to drive it at least at 1500 (idealy 2000)mA @ 3,3Vf of LED from single 18650... any tips (except MicroBoost & co.)? are the amc7135 capable of this?

Nice review, who cares if its not a laser.. still a +1

We love all things optoelectronic

Thanks for the review. Is the reflector aluminum, or plastic like the DX specs say?

Nice review.

randomlugia said:

Thanks for the review. Is the reflector aluminum, or plastic like the DX specs say?

Click to expand...

looks like aluminium
anyone knows where can I get 34mm o-ring (about 1mm thick)?

bump... I need some advice... see post no. 2

Re: [review] DX MTE SSC-P7 flashlight

3zuli said:

edit: today I decided to measure the current. connected my DMM in series with the tailcap and :wtf: current at high mode: around 800mA low mode: 112mA! :wtf: these leds can go up to 2,8A, so why so low?
so I opened the pill and:wtf: no driver, just a thin red wire! then I opened the tailcap, there's just an clicky with a 7.2ohm resistor
the clicky switches between 3 "modes": off, direct drive and resistor
this sad thing brings the overall rating down to 7/10

now I need some (boost) driver which is able to drive it at least at 1500 (idealy 2000)mA @ 3,3Vf of LED from single 18650... any tips (except MicroBoost & co.)? are the amc7135 capable of this?

Click to expand...

I'm not entirely sure, but if it's direct drive and you're only getting 800mA in current, it sounds like that's the batteries' current pull, no?

I think there can be 2 reasons why it's only @ 800mA
1. maybe the battery voltage isn't enough for the LED to run at full power (that's why I need boost driver)
2. there can be some bad contacts with bigger resistance, causing limited current

Its my favorites flashlight and the best one i bought from DX

Thanks for the great review.

3zuli said:

I think there can be 2 reasons why it's only @ 800mA
1. maybe the battery voltage isn't enough for the LED to run at full power (that's why I need boost driver)
2. there can be some bad contacts with bigger resistance, causing limited current

Click to expand...

You know that almost all P7 lights are directly driven, right? I've never seen a regulated single cell one before. Have you cleaned all of the contacts and tightened the LED pill & tailcap screws? If you haven't, and they're loose, that could fix the problem for you. I have two P7 lights, both of which are direct drive with an 18650 and pull ~3.2A, so I'm pretty sure there's a contact problem in your light. One of them pulled 1.5A before I tightened it. And yeah, I hate resistors too.

the pill assembly came very loose so I tightened it. the tailcap was so tight from factory that I had to use BIG force to open it
what do you mean by cleaning the contacts you? sanding or what?

No, I just mean cleaning. I wipe off all of the threads and metal contacts with a chemical. Some people use alcohol-really whatever will get it clean will work. You can re-lube the threads after they're cleaned.

You tightened the pill into the host, and the screws on the pill?

pill and screws are tight

3zuli said:

pill and screws are tight

Click to expand...

Don't know what it is then... Without modification, you're probably stuck with that current draw.

Maybe it's just me, but what kind of battery are you using? Is it an old one? Do you have another you can try?