I’ve had my eye on this 3x18650 soda can light with USB charging for a while for use as a host.
I was wondering if anyone has one, and if so, if you can share impressions, and any information about what it looks like inside.
It looks like it is most often sold with an XHP70 for $50-70. A few sellers also have it with a XP-L for a typical price of$30.
Right now though, and for the next 5 days, the XP-L version it on sale for $20 from ‘Shoulide’. The XHP70 version is $30.
Judging from product photos, the cells are configured 3p. Also from photos, machining and anodizing and appears to be roughly the quality of an UltraFire F13, so, not great, but passable. At typical selling prices, I’d probably buy one of the JKK can lights, but for $20, it’s pretty tempting.
I’ve looked through here, and not found any reviews for any of these, so I thought I’d ask.
Hmmm.., for XP-L led ,the driver should be a buck one so , a 3X parallel is the right way.., but for XHP-70 is an other story !!!
A boost converter should be used , if the same 3X 18650 parallel configuration are kept...Otherwise , a 3X 18650 ,series , with a buck driver...
Sorry ,I do not have this one , looks interesting , the price is right for the offer...But for sure , the XHP-70 is from the old series ( blue-ish tint , artefacts...) , maybe a XHP-70.2 could solve the problem, if the driver is modable...
Sometimes , I had the pleasant surprise to find , under a low price , a good quality of host and good machining...
And, of course, once I post, I find one listing for this light under the UltraFire name. When I search for the model number, I find a review here of an XHP50 version from 2015
Unfortunately, the reviewer had trouble getting the head apart. The bezel ring doesn’t offer easy purchase, and taking the retaining screws out of the opposite end didn’t not free the driver board.
I expect that the parallel configuration of cells makes the charging feature much simpler to implement.
I wonder how hard it would be to set this host up for 3s (forgoing the charging). It sounds like there isn’t enough room for protected cells, which is itself a problem, and also suggests there isn’t room for a board at the head-end. Maybe some room could be picked up at the tail end, depending on how close the tail PCB is to the tailcap already. Also, thinner contact rings at the head-end could help. Or, put the needed contacts on the driver board, and make the light load from the tail.