Happy to report that after a "brain transplant" (A.. B.. someone... LOL!! Marty Feldman in Young Frankestein) now my Cyclone is finally up to its name.
After sending to Hank a short video with comparison and Amp measuring with other nanjig105 equipped lights, he agreed that the driver was defective, and asked me if I was able to replace the driver so he could send me a replacement driver. I agreed and started disassembling the light. With the freeze and torch trick the pill came off easily and with a bit of prying with small screwdrivers finally i leveraged the old driver out of the pill. Not very easy, really, as it appeared to have been cyanoed in place and the brass ring come out also, little warped.
Anyway the brass ring was easily straightened (should I say rounded again?).
I'm still waiting the replacement driver to arrive, but I also had one ordered months ago so installed that one.
This was my first soldering a driver, wow those things are so small I had to buy a new tiny point for my soldering gun, but ended soldering very easy and clean.
Now my Cyclone measure a steady 2,8A on high, 0,86 on med and 0,15 on low and output is definitely up to expectations!
This thing can throw! Nice and clean hotspot. But there's no match with the HD2010. That's in another league. The reflector size difference is obvious, a HD2010 ain't pocketable at all, but the Cyclone can still fit in a large jacket pocket. Nice portable thrower
Li-ion batteries can be dangerous if you use cheap batteries or cheap chargers. You also have to be willing to measure their voltage to keep them healthy. My personal recommnedation would be a Trustfire 5000 mah protected 26650 from CNQualityGoods along with an intellicharge I4.
This looks like an interesting flashlight, especially considering the price, and I would buy one if it hadn’t been for the recent issues some have had with it. I would like to stick with AA’s, so I would be interested in what is the estimated output in lumens on high with 3 Eneloops compared to that obtained by using the lithium battery, which I assume is used to get the 910 lumens output.
It’s the AA carrier that is responsible for the reduced performance on NiMH. Too much resistance. But you can fix it up. Spend a couple of bucks on some better contact springs, solder them on, and you’ll have your Eneloops delivering the full 2.8 amps.
Thanks, cainn, that’s good to know, meaning that this component is easy to upgrade. Would be nice to find a finished one of higher quality. Alibaba and diytrade seem to have several, but sell only in larger quantities.
I've come to the conclusion that at the $45 price tag of this Cyclone (+ $5 holster cost) the Jetbeam PA40 is a better buy for a few bucks more if you're not looking for max output. I don't own either, but researched for my co-workers use where they need significant output with good runtime, dependable, able to run on common cells (even alkalines in a pinch), and available in neutral white.