Even though mine had the old 105c driver, I changed it to the KD V2 driver. Mine is set up L-M-H-L-M-H-strobe-SOS with no memory. And it has memory or no memory option. I am thinking about buying another one and will just buy the host and build it like I want.
Thatās right about changing from 3 to 5 mode, it doesnāt switch quite that easily. Took me a few tries to get 5 mode, then a few tries again back to 3 mode. It takes 3 quick on/off or something to switch. Dunno, was glad it went back to 3 mode, and itāll likely stay there. The off/on flash in low mode is a bit surprising/annoying every time, might take getting used to.
I only have 5-6 different lights, this one Iāve had only a week or so, but itās one of my favoritesā¦. size, brightness, floodyā¦
I bought two of these, one black with XM-L U2, and one gold with XP-G2. Theyāre very nice. However, the XP-G2 one has had some mode and switch issues ever since it arrived.
Sometimes itāll turn on and operate normally. Sometimes itāll blink quickly then turn off, or not turn on at all. Sometimes itāll turn on and flicker at several different brightnesses without being touched. Sometimes on low itāll blink off briefly every second or two. And when changing modes with a half-press, itāll often rotate two or three levels per press, flicker as if shorting, or otherwise behave strangely. It seems like something inside must be cracked or shorting or otherwise damaged.
Any idea if a new switch would help, or is this more likely an issue in some other component?
2. Both of my EDC 18650 lights have PWM on medium and low. However, it flashes so fast I can barely see it. Itās faster than my iTP A3 EOS (final rev), which selfbuilt measured at 2.45 kHz, so Iād guess itās at least 3 kHz. (and yes, I can see that) Itās much much nicer than the common 200 Hz PWM, and most people probably wonāt notice it at all.
4. I added a SolarForce L2 clip to both of mine, and it works great! However, you must add a small spacer in the tailcap to make it contact the non-anodized part of the body. A standard paperclip works pretty well for this, if you can find just the right thickness.
(BTW, the switch/mode issues on one of my units was there before adding a clip; itās not caused by the spacer)
It still makes a difference in terms of efficiency and beam tint though, as well as how motion looks. I think the only torch I have with true current-regulated constant output is my Zebralight.
If itās really 4.5 kHz, Iām a little disturbed that I can still see it. That sort of frequency should be heard, not seenā¦
Efficiency is slightly worse, but no tint shift. I can't see any PWM against computer fan. Do you have older driver with stars or newer 3/5 mode? I have old one.
I really really like these drivers for an edc, I have the option of the flashy modes if I need them, it has true memory, and they are current controlled on all levels, since much of my work involves fans and engines, its nice not seeing things strobing in lower modes. Pwm doesnāt bother me, but its still nice to have it eliminated and in this size of host, 2.6a is all you really need going to an xm-l, 2a is overkill on an xp-g but they accept it, and give a nice amount of throw.
Personally, Iād now try to get the 2 series of both xm-l and xp-g, as they are not so expensive and give higher output for the same input, but I donāt believe anyone would be unhappy with the older emitters, tint wise, Iām liking the 4c tint in xp-g and 3c tint in xm-l is acceptable, I still need to try an xm-l 4c.
It should also be noted, fasttech is keeping the convoy series of lights in a huge selection of drive currents and tints. I love intloutdoor, and tend to order there over anywhere else, but fasttechās pricing is hard to ignore.
I have a 3/5 mode XM-L and 3-mode-only XP-G2. The 3/5 mode one is nice, aside from the mandatory blink on low. However, thatās not so bad, and it verifies to me each time that Iām on the level I expected. Itās nice to have the option of flash/SOS without having it in the main sequence when I donāt want it.
Thanks. I donāt really see any problem with what Iāve got now though, aside from some flaky behavior on one of the lights. The PWM doesnāt bother me, even though I can see it. That link does explain one of the weird behaviors Iāve seen thoughā¦ sometimes my XP-G2 light will turn on at low then blink off quickly every second or two. It seems this is the driverās response to low voltage. Something inside apparently isnāt connecting reliably.
What I donāt know yet is whether this is caused by the switch, the driver, or some other component.
I finally got my EDC 18650. Itās a black one with the convoy s3 marking. It isnāt as bright as I expected for around 700 lumens since it seems to be around as bright as my PD30.
I ordered one with the XM-L U2, is there any way to tell if I got what I ordered? Thanks.
He also offers the XP-G2 emitter in those lights, which looks like this:
Other common types are XP-E and XP-G, shown in that order here:
As for the āU2ā part, you probably canāt tell without taking the torch apart to look directly at the emitter star.
About brightness, do you mean the center of the beam isnāt as intense as you expected, or that itās dimmer in a ceiling bounce test? I looked up the PD30ās specs and itās rated at 145m of throw. That works out to 5256cd, which is approximately what Iād expect from an XM-L EDC18650. The PD30 has a much more focused beam, while the EDC is more floody. However, the EDC should light up the rest of a room much better than the PD30 does.
If you could put a bigger reflector on the EDC18650, it would produce a much brighter, smaller hotspot. For example, the XinTD C8 has roughly the same lumen output, but its beam is 4X to 5X as intense. Or the HD2010ā¦ again, similar total lumens, but it gets ~50k cd instead of 5k cd because it has a much bigger reflector.