Ultrafire HD2010 (easylightbuy) 1x18650 / 26650

Hi Garry unfortunately I am still unable to get any other readings. For some reason I only get HI - SOS - HI - SOS. Current draw on HI is ~4A (but I don't trust this number... let others reply back hopefully).

The more photos and info you post the more excited I am to receive mine! I hope my HIMAX 18650 cells will allow for 4A+ draw! I want this thing to be a beast :)

I've got the black UltraFire HD2010 from KD for $40. The driver is unregulated, with a no-memory PWM mode chip controlling a FET. For the battery, I'm using a Moli IMR-26650C. Using copper wire and a clamp meter at the tail, I measure high steadily climb from 4.0A to 5.0A as the LED heats up (then I stop before it goes any higher). The tailswitch would add more resistance than the wire I'm testing with, so realistically, I'd say the light runs ~3.5-4.0A on high. Medium pulls 1.7A and low pulls 200mA. This cell measured 4.0v open before and after testing.

About the focus, there is a focusing ring around the emitter. In order for it to work, you've got to unscrew the pill almost a full turn from bottoming out, to raise the centering ring up high enough to enter the hole of the reflector. At that point, there's only enough wiggle room to affect the corona around the hotspot, but not the hotspot itself. I locked mine into perfect center by using a little kapton tape at the edge of the reflector to hold it in place while I tightened the bezel and tucked the (slightly too small) lens o-ring into place with a pic. The beam profile is remarkably similar to an XML in a Mag LED (Rebel) reflector.

With the exception of the focus fine-tuning, this is one light that's about as good as it can be on receipt. I had plans to swap the emitter with a 5000K XML, the tailswitch to a lower resistance forward clickie and the driver to a 3.0A KD V4 with a 1A slave set for LMH, but now that I have the light in hand, I think I'll leave it just the way it is, disco modes and all. It's rare that I get a light from China and don't immediately rebuild/upgrade it. This one's a gem.

THANKS for the current measurements. Nice to know at least my HI measurement was not way off base.

I agree, this ones useable out of the box. I didn't really have to upgrade the O-rings. Actually the flashy modes aren't "too" bad. I forgot to mention this, but I can skip over the disco boogie and go from LO back to HI by soft pressing and holding it for 2-3 seconds. The EPROM interprets this as a power down cycle and reverts back to HI. Of all the "non-hidden" disco strobes I have owned, this ones been the easiest to get around.

Folks can you clarify something for me. Am I correct that the version of this light from BeamTech BT-4000 CREE XM-T6 18W 2700LM 5 Mode Flashlight, is the one that has bad thermal transfer, but it's this Ultrafire HD2010 that would be the one to purchase??

If so, what makes the Ultrafire better? I'm getting a few dollars together and will be purchasing this light and wanted to make sure I get the correct one. Thanks.

That's the triple XM-L. This is the single XM-L thrower. I bought mine from Tmart and it is a fine thrower. It is driven quite hard at nearly 5 amps. The triple would be running on just 1 18650--underdriven.

Every three-XML version of this light I am aware of (regardless of what name is etched on the side) has a spring suspended drop-in pill with no thermal conduction path to the outside of the light. The LEDs in a spring floating design will not be able to sustain high currents for very long without thermal dimming or over-heating the LED die surface.

The HD2010 in this thread has a screw-in pill that conducts heat away from the LED efficiently, through the pill and into the host body.

Thanks Kramer and Rusty Joe for the clarification. As you see, I really had it wrong and glad I posted the question. It's the single LED version that I'm looking for and is the one I want to get. Thanks again!

You mean like this?

Sort-of, although that light does look like its pill makes contact with the body. Or at least the owner copper wrapped it suffiiently enough to touch the bezel area and transfer heat away. The light Richie is asking about is the 3-XML version shown below which has no thermal path. Its just a spring "floating" drop in, suspended in a pocket of air inside the bezel. Same host design on the outside but completely different thermal design.

http://www.easylightbuy.com/szobm-zy1600-3x-cree-xml-t6-5-modes-led-flashlight-torch_p876.html

Heres some pics of the same (poorly designed) light under another brand, post #44 where the lights owner talks about its poor thermal path.

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/2821#comment-112576

Conversely, a really good thermal design 3-XML is the Trustfire TR-3T6. Its pill/reflector base threads into the bezel to conduct heat away. A design like this will be able to run the LEDs at a much higher current, with less thermal dimming or risk of over-heating the die surface.

Mine is great except it has a connection problem when using the 18650. The spacer tube slides around in there, and ever so often, it will lose connection. This happens when I screw down the tailcap fully, not when I screw it down partially (remotely on there).

I guess I will have to get a 26650 battery, no? Would putting a toilet paper ring around the edges stiffen things up so that this doesn't happen, or would I need the 26650? The idea of more capacity to a battery and using the same 18650 charger sounds like a plan.

That pic is from my Uniquefire 3900 3XM-L. The only place the drop-in makes contact is the spring at the bottom and where the reflector base screws into a stainless bezel, which in turn screws into the head. You can see thermal paste on the heads. I tightly wrapped the pill with foldEd aluminum foil, then covered that with multiple rounds of copper 40 g strips until it finally made contact with the head.

Seems to have worked. Light body gets pretty warm after five minutes, downright hot after 15.

Hmm.. Does it do this with all your 18650 cells?... or is it with some but not others? The spacer tube is just a plastic tube, I dont see how that could affect electrical contact.

Are you using protected cells? I have had some bad protection circuits that developed intermittent contacts when the springs would compress the 18650.

take off the tailcap and use a paper clip or piece of wire and touch -B to the battery tube. If it turns on/off consistently then you havea good driver board.

I would first clean out all the threads and check all the screw-together parts of the light and make sure its all snug and there are no loose parts in there. The driver board is held in place with a small retainer ring, tighten that. Also clean out the tailcap threads and tighten the switch retainer ring.

Did you see my post above? with the clear insulator disk? I dont know if this will help your light or not, but it might be worth a try. Usually strange things happen when the +/- solder pads on the LED slug short against the back side of the reflector.

I can't think of anything else.

I am going to have to contact Tmart about this now. The tailcap switch problem has not been fixed. I put the battery in, and even after using a paperclip to secure the 18650 inside the tube, it still only sometimes turns on, but usually goes off unless the tailcap is screwed down really loosely, like just before coming off loosely. Nothing I have done has helped.

check the retaining ring that holds the driver into place. It could be that the battery is pushing the driver up and away from its ground connection. You could try tightening that ring. If you can solder at all, you can try removing the ring and adding a thin smear of solder to the driver's ground ring to make it a bit thicker and then secure the retaining ring into place again.

Didn't someone post beamshots of this light? I swear I remember a post from someone in the UK (a newer member) who posted beamshots and now I can't find that thread. In fact, I can't find beamshots of this posted anywhere. (I know there are beamshots of the Fandyfire HD2010.)

-Garry

Ok, found out I was confusing beamshots from the Cyclone C88 thread. But doesn't someone have beamshots of this Ultrafire HD2010? Or can someone who owns it at least tell me beamshots look identical to the FandyFire HD2010 found here.

Thanks,
Garry

I can’t say 100% for sure but given that they are the same identical lights except for branding I would bet my money (and I’m not a gambling man) on “yes” they should have identical beam shots.

I was re-reading some of Night Breaker's thread and he said the tailcap reading on high on the Fandyfire was only 2.3A. Perhaps it's just his test leads though. Still, the beam profile should be similar regardless of the drive current. I was hoping for it to have a bit more flood, but I guess that's the trade-off for having more throw.

I'm still drawn to this light! It's like a force I can't resist!

-Garry

You and me both, brother!! I’m just biding my time until I have the spare cash to pounce. Stupid DD and their sale on the iTP EOS A2 in stainless for just $19 was too much for me to resist this morning and has set me back on the HD2010!