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FrozenGate by Avery

Super Beast Green






Hmm. Either fleabay pulled his auctions for the #xzx lasers or he's laying low (enjoying the Chinese new year hopefully) for awhile. I only see the SB #100 land deluxe version listed right now.

So here's a question for you guys. What are you guys powering your Beasts with? I've been using one of the "Juice" brand batteries in my SB #6 and it's worked well. After getting my #150 I put it in there and it works well. However putting the 3v panasonic primary back into my #6 has turned my "Super Beast" into a "Neutered Beast." Something protected preferably after a near disaster with some 10440s last week.
 
That's what I have in my 445. They seem pretty good albeit a bit pricey. Just thought I'd see if there was a favorite before I order some more.
 
I use Tenergy 900mAh for CR123As ... although the Chinese-branded ones he sent me for the #150 focusable seem to have a better give (the #150 hits 193mW then falls to 185mW for a while, but runs out sooner than my Tenergies which only hit 165mW, but stay there forever ...

There are pics of the #150 batteries in my Round-Up post... They really do max at 3.6v, and fall to 3.2v while discharging, but they deliver higher mW from the laser at 3.3v than my Tenergy batteries do at 4.2 ...
 
Bobby said:
I use Tenergy 900mAh for CR123As ... although the Chinese-branded ones he sent me for the #150 focusable seem to have a better give (the #150 hits 193mW then falls to 185mW for a while, but runs out sooner than my Tenergies which only hit 165mW, but stay there forever ...

There are pics of the #150 batteries in my Round-Up post... They really do max at 3.6v, and fall to 3.2v while discharging, but they deliver higher mW from the laser at 3.3v than my Tenergy batteries do at 4.2 ...
Click to expand...

I've noticed some of the same things your seeing.. but I don't yet have an LPM to record 'real' output instead of what I perceive. Waiting patiently for a Radiant Alpha :whistle:

When I plug into my ATX modded bench PSU @ 3.3V I get very stable and impressive looking output. Obviously in this config I'm not running into a current limitation.. which is what is likely happening when powering from these cells we've tried. I believe that a lot of units with smaller cells/batteries are relying on the cells, to a certain extent, to limit the current available to the driver. I've especially noticed this to be true in the 2xAAA powered pens.

Using a nice/newish spare Antec PSU I've got, I'm going to start building a variable output bench power supply where I can independently control voltage output and limit the current output. This will allow me to emulate different battery specifications and plot expected light output when using different popular cells.

I have a feeling that some of these cells are not able to reach their claimed current output ceiling. I'm working on building a test load that can be used to safely test this. I'm running short on hobby time now that I've got the kiddo :tired:
 
sampson said:
I've noticed some of the same things your seeing.. but I don't yet have an LPM to record 'real' output instead of what I perceive. Waiting patiently for a Radiant Alpha :whistle:

When I plug into my ATX modded bench PSU @ 3.3V I get very stable and impressive looking output. Obviously in this config I'm not running into a current limitation.. which is what is likely happening when powering from these cells we've tried. I believe that a lot of units with smaller cells/batteries are relying on the cells, to a certain extent, to limit the current available to the driver. I've especially noticed this to be true in the 2xAAA powered pens.

Using a nice/newish spare Antec PSU I've got, I'm going to start building a variable output bench power supply where I can independently control voltage output and limit the current output. This will allow me to emulate different battery specifications and plot expected light output when using different popular cells.

I have a feeling that some of these cells are not able to reach their claimed current output ceiling. I'm working on building a test load that can be used to safely test this. I'm running short on hobby time now that I've got the kiddo :tired:
Click to expand...

I bought a bunch of super cheap red AAA pointers and upon disassembly found nothing but a switch wired to the battery spring :D
 
sampson said:
Using a nice/newish spare Antec PSU I've got, I'm going to start building a variable output bench power supply where I can independently control voltage output and limit the current output. This will allow me to emulate different battery specifications and plot expected light output when using different popular cells.
Click to expand...
Can I get some info on that? I might wantto follow suit... ;)
 
Droid said:
*edit*

Ok here are the results.

Super Beast with stock battery it came with: 63mw
Super Beast with Ultrafire 3.6v: 72mw

#100 with the stock battery it came with: 70mw
#100 with Ultrafire 3.6v: 106

#200 with 3v battery: 122mw
#200 with Ultrafire 3.6v: 153mw

So my super Beast is doing awesome.
My #100 is low stock but up to spec with the better battery
My #200 is a bit lower than spec with a decent battery. Ah well. I still like it.
Click to expand...
I am surprised on the #200 -- my #150 had simlar specs except with the supplied Chinese (AORS?) battery, even though only a 3v (peak 3.2 fully charged) it actually gave 198mW ... Did you get 2 batteries with the #200? If so, have you tried both?
 
Droid said:
It didn't come with batteries. All he was selling was the lasers and nothing with it except a box. But I used both 3v and a 3.6v battery. I don't know, maybe I should send it back. It's still overall a sweet laser though.
Click to expand...
Message him & ask him about it. Also ask him if you could buy the battery-n-charger that he originally shipped with the #150 (which he only took off because LPF people told him that they already had batteries & wanted him to match the DX price of the same thing w/o batteries... :().

I ordered mine before that change, so paid $16 extra for the batteries & charger. Contrary to my expectations, the original batteries seem to provide more power even if they are lower voltage. I have tested it a dozen times: my Tenergy 900mAh CR123As yield 165mW continuously, but his (whatever they are -- see my pic in the IQS Roundup) deliver a peak of 198mW, and settle down to 185mW even though they are only 3.2v after full charge. Makes me think the driver for this one is current-based not so much voltage-based ...
 
I just bought the Super #100 and the 5mW blue/purple pointer from IQS about 5 minutes ago. I'm thinking I should track down a charger and some CR123s!

Edit: Bought the Ultra Fire WF-188 from vaporkings.com. It was one of the first sites that popped up in a Google search for that charger. lighthound.com is out of stock. I did buy two CR123s from lighthound though.
 
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I got my radiant alpha yesterday and my superbeast came out at a measly 30mW Max and usually falls somewhere between 17-24mW and this is on freshly charged cr123a Li-ions
 
Helios said:
I got my radiant alpha yesterday and my superbeast came out at a measly 30mW Max and usually falls somewhere between 17-24mW and this is on freshly charged cr123a Li-ions
Click to expand...

I tested a friend's Super Beast the other day and it was flickering apparantly due to an erratic switch. With the supplied primary or a fully charged 3.6V rechargeable it only output 15mW. I suggested he contact LQS and send it back.
 
elite ares said:
I tested a friend's Super Beast the other day and it was flickering apparantly due to an erratic switch. With the supplied primary or a fully charged 3.6V rechargeable it only output 15mW. I suggested he contact LQS and send it back.
Click to expand...

I noticed that brightness will actually change depending on how hard I push the switch :crackup:
 
Helios said:
I noticed that brightness will actually change depending on how hard I push the switch :crackup:
Click to expand...
I noted the same thing early on .... you really need to hold it firmly to get full power. I really wish I could remove the pressure-switch and replace with a toggle ...
 
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