I have several current clamps, including fluke but they are not very good at low levels like we use in torches. Inline readings are much better but comparing with others is hard as different leads, contact points, probes and methods all vary the results. How many people have a calibrated meter?
Cells are very important, it’s the internal resistance that will limit output from a fully charged cell. The lowest reading I’ve measured is from my KK26650s. My Panasonic unprotected are next best with some cheaper cells almost double the resistance. Protection doesn’t help here.
Higher current readings at lower voltages mean the driver is regulating and the light is not direct drive.
Including a tailcap switch is a pain as the rig to do it would add even more resistance and electrical joints. You can take a resistance reading and calculate the power it will dissipate.
Unfortunately I think current readings are essential, it gives a good indication of performance/runtime and when used with lux measurements also gives a good indication of effecientcy.
A driver w/direct drive has the current controlled by the resistance in the flashlight.I believe that is why the current goes up when compressing the spring…shorter path, lower resistance. I remember that another member used his east driver in another host.He modifyed it for less resistance(wired the spring, ect.) and quickly fryed the emmiter.The type and voltage of the cell will also greatly affect measured current with all else being the same.With my HD2010 it works fine with Tenergy 18650’s drawing 3.9-4 amps, but won’t switch modes at above 4.2 or so amps using an TF26650.If I let the cell drop to around 3.6 volts the modes come back due to less voltage available to push the current through the resistance.( current drops with lower voltage at same reisitance ). Clear as mud, right?-Rick
Hmm. . . just catching up on my BLF reading. I'm going to have to check out my Ultrafire HD2010 (Tmart) and see which driver I have and what tailcap currents I get (I have TF Flame protected 18650 2400mAh, a King Kong INR rasied top 26650, and Tenergy protected 18650 2600mAh. I'll report back.
Well, I’m still not getting the current readings I want from my 2010, but they seem to be working better than the stock DMM leads. No way to compare with even better leads yet.
Lol, fair enough. I assumed all were copper cable but must admit I never really thought about it before. Why don’t you just buy the banana plugs and make your own with thicker cable, it’s pretty simple and prob give the best results. You could use house hold wire I guess, maybe the lead off of a high power appliance…
#$@%!!! My HD2010 is DEAD! Popped in 3 different cells (all above 4.14v), click the switch and NOTHING! Argh! The light was working last I knew! Last thing I did was put packing tape on the backside of the reflector to protect from shorts on the LED leads. Then it just sat for weeks untouched. Seems the LED is blown. The LED looks normal, no discoloring at all. When I put a battery in with the switch on and measure voltage across the wires attached to the star I am getting 4.15v. When I turn the switch off I get 0.00v like I expect. This does indicate the LED is bad/blown, right? Shouldn't the driver be sending lower voltage where I am measuring though? Or does the driver pass the full battery voltage to the LED? Oh, my driver was the "East-092" variety.
In any case, I was able to get some measurements on my protected 18650 TF Flame 2400mAh (from KD) with my 3 mode Manafont Ultrafire XM-L drop-in. Battery fully charged at 4.20v gives me 4.80A when pressing in on the driver spring a bit. My protected Tenergy 18650 2600mAh gives me 5.02A. Wish I could have gotten measurements in the HD2010 though!
Literally just finished sending Erik a request seconds ago for this exact setup! Although I am wondering whether or not to choose a T6 3C for "neutral white". I hear people like/prefer cool white for throwers.
I’m on it (buying from online stores will be quite expensive for just a simple leads, so looks like the only way will be… buy all that stuff in local store )
I can not ever get reading that high on my MF TFF 3000mah batteries in anything (dont like them and wish I had spent the money on something else |( ) ! I get high readings off my SF blue and white, and the cgr18650ea panasonics unprotected are always the highest especially right off the charger.
It's nice to see I'm not the only one getting high current from Solarforce blues. For whatever reason, those original protected 18650's almost always read higher than every other cell I have. (except King Kongs)