I’ve got a 4S, just thought the UL1 would be cool to connect to the iPhone for an impressive 180lm
Thanks a lot for the review! Frontpage’d and Sticky’d.
Yeah the phone probably wouldn’t like that LOL
Thanks for the review, JohnnyMac. I’m definitely going to pick one of these up.
I bought one when they first came out specifically for modding. It’s powerful, and the diffused lighting along with the flexible gooseneck is perfect for aiming at those tiny 7135 chips while I’m trying to stack them.
I have a Coolook 4x18650 USB box in the mail from FT, which will be perfect as a solid platform for it as well as charging up my ipad.
Nice review, something a bit different!
I have a car cigarette lighter USB adaptor for my tablet PC, I think this would make a nice in-car light with that goose neck.
Mine were delivered this morning.
Just for giggles I tried a runtime test tonight using the light for room lighting.
I put a fully charged Blazar 3400 Cell (protected Panasonic) into a ML-102 charger https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10001919/1158900-miller-ml-102-universal-usb-smart-charger-version-
For those who may not have seen them, the Miller ML-102 is a charger and USB supply in one.
Charged the cell from a solar panel using the ML-102 this afternoon. The cell read 4.22V at charge termination (and start of runtime test)
Stopping briefly to measure cell voltage every hour or so, I got about 420 mins (7 hours) on High (not turbo).
The cell read 3.22V at termination, at which time the ML-102 overdischarge protection kicked in. Re-inserting the cell and running again at Medium I got another 20 mins out of it, with the cell now reading 3.15V. The Panny's are supposed to be OK down to 2.5V though I never do this usually.
I used a soft silicone diffuser cap pulled down to the first cooling fin. At no time did the light get unduly hot. Sitting on a bookshelf, the light was bright enough for general tasks in a small living room but not for reading unless I was sitting right next to it.
All in all, I'm pretty happy so far. If I get the time, I may try a similar test on the Medium setting.
Try to connect it to an iPhone or any smartphone!
Where did you buy it from and for how much? PM if you prefer.
PM sent 
I don't have a suitable connector for my smartphone, nor any real desire to use it to power this light. My Nexus S drains the battery fast enough as it is, plus the phone has the LED "flash" which I can use as a torch if I need to. 
I do however, have several battery boxes of various sizes which I usually carry with me. And the ML-102 is a really neat little unit. With the UL1 it makes a nice low-powered flashlight or a lantern. You just need to make sure you don't leave it outside if there is any chance of rain about.
Hey Patrick
The ML-102 simply takes an 18650 which means you can drop a spare cell into it at any time. The box you have coming is probably fine but as I normally have spare 18650s for my lights I prefer the removable option.
I bought two from Manafont last year and two more from Fasttech this year. You can get exact specs if you follow the link I posted earlier, but basically they output about 600mA (new version supposedly 900mA) to USB for charging smartphones, etc. Charging is by mini-usb input at up to 500mA from PC or 1000mA from AC/USB adaptor.
It also functions to charge and discharge at the same time, so I can use one between my solar panel and eneloop USB chargers as a "buffer" on days with passing cloud.
I have found that sometimes it charges only to about 4.17V or 4.18V but I have also seen it go to 4.24V so monitoring the charge would be smart. That said, I often use it with solar and I haven't numbered my chargers to see if there is much variation between them. Could be manufacturing tolerances. I usually use my Cottonpickers chargers which seem to terminate accurately.
Low-voltage protection kicks in at 2.9V supposedly so I guess it depends what cells you are using as to whether you want to go this low. Panasonics would be fine.
With the diffuser, I was careful not to cover the entire head, just putting it down far enough to touch the first "ring" on the light. Ambient temp inside here was probably less than 20C. So it was in effect a tailstanding test with the light partly covered and at no stage did it seem to be "hot" as subjective as that might be. I don't have an IR thermometer.
Hope that helps.
Where’s the best place to buy the UL1 in the UK? ebay?
Update for anyone who may be interested.
Using the same ML-102 and 3400 Panasonic based cell as before, today's runtime test was on Medium
Total of 12 hrs 50 mins on Medium
(Compared with 7 hrs exactly on High)
Low-voltage protection on the ML-102 terminated the test at 3.22V (measured open circuit immediately afterwards)
At the Medium setting, there was still enough light from ceiling bounce to navigate an otherwise dark living room quite comfortably. In the kitchen it was enough light to comfortably make a coffee or wash dishes but I wouldn't like to have to do anything too detailed.
The low setting is just enough to stop me tripping over stuff on a ceiling bounce. Used as a "point-it-over-there" light it is ok with dark-adapted eyes. Don't know if I'll bother with a runtime test on low.
Thanks Gadabout for your testing, and posting. It’s a great little light.
patrick
Bought one for my dad for his birthday.
Sorry JohnnyMac - not intending to take over your thread
I did another test today - "just coz"
I have a recently acquired Goal Zero Nomad 7 with Guide 10 plus battery pack. For those not familiar, the Guide 10 is a 4AA battery box which charges from the solar panel and supplies USB output to other devices such as cell phones etc. The four AA cells are in series. Mine did not come with AA batteries.
I put the panel in the early morning sun and after an hour or so, the box confirmed that my 4 new AA eneloops (1900mAh variety) were charged. These cells have perhaps half a dozen cycles on them.
My test with the Xtar UL1 on its metal gooseneck and set to HIGH gave 246 mins (4 hrs 6 mins).
FWIW, there is some pretty audible inductor whine from the Guide10plus on High and Medium, none that my ears can detect on Turbo and a very faint whine on Low.
And for no good reason I can think of..........
Very rough maths would calculate a capacity of 1900 x 1.2 x 4 = 9,120 mWh of energy for the Eneloops
and 3400 x 3.7 x 1 = 12,580 mWh of energy for the Panasonic 3400 Li-Ion I used in the previous tests.
(Of course, these voltages are approximate and I have no idea of what percentage of the available energy is actually able to be extracted.)
But anyway, the short version is that with about 72% of the theoretical capacity, the Guide10plus delivered only 58% of the runtime of the ML-102/Li-Ion combo. Differences in the circuit efficiencies or just flawed mathematical assumptions? 
Loving this info and your experiments, picking mine up tomorrow, local Battery Business has em in stock now
What kind of a solar panel did you use? Is it available on fasttech?
It's a Goal Zero Guide 10 plus kit with Nomad 7 panel.
I don?t think Fasttech stock them.
I ordered the battery bank from Fasttech: https://www.fasttech.com/p/1380011 Couldn’t ask for more, less than $14, 6000 mAh (actual 4200), 3 output ports, 2 input ports, LED light, battery meter, etc. That’s a lot cheaper than you’ll find here in the U.S. Very happy with it. Nice small size.
Available now on Amazon from multiple sellers but watch the prices as they vary from good to highway robbery. Do an Amazon search for “Xtar UL1”.