Anyone have any experience with budget sst-50 lights?
This one (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.33615) has a smooth reflector in it, thus greater throw. I've come very, very close this week to buying this one (http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-125/**NEW**-MG-X-dsh-Thrower-SST-dsh-50/Detail) but am still researching.
Every time I buy a light, I immediately start wanting something brighter! So far my brightest ones are the Trustfire TR-1200 and Aurora AK-P7.
I tried to buy one of the DX ones last year, at that time it appeared to be made of unobtanium. The spec is given as max current of 2.5A which is half what it ought to be. I expect this one will be no brighter than a P7/MC-E light. The Shiningbeam one is also being driven with a P7/MC-E driver. These LEDs really need the 5A to do the business, but then heat is a problem. I'd reckon that any SST-50 driven at less than 5A will disappoint.
They tend to play the waiting game with us. Cancelled my X2000 couple weeks back after waiting 1.5 months! Thanks for the tip.. will hold off buying these for now. I'm a uni student, and can't justify (let alone afford) spending 150+ on a catapult, etc.
I bought a X2000 18650 and it shipped a couple of days ago.
Still waiting for them to stock the 501B.
Weird. They still haven't refunded me yet. Instead, I bought a simillar model (NF500) adjustable lens light from KD (http://kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=10046) which works great. Seems to have decent heat-sinking - body gets warm/hot during longer use. I did a ceiling bounce test with the NF500 and another 'Q5' light, and it (NF500) is definately brighter. Do you mean the MC-E 501b?
I have a similar light, the MXDL SA-28 http://kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=9567 It's bright. Title description says Q2 but the actual body of the light says Q5.I bought an X2000 because it seems to have better flood.
Yes, I do mean the MC-E 501B.
The MC-E 501b puts out the most light, compared to all my other lights, but the donut hole is really annoying. I'm thinking about getting some sand paper and sanding down the dome so the light may diffuses more evenly. Just worried I'll make it worse or wreck it :P
Better to stick Scotch Magic Tape (At least that's what it is called here), the sort of tape you can write on, over the front glass. Which also has the advantage of reversibility. The domes are usually made of soft stuff like contact lenses and are likely to come off if touched. There is usually some silicone oil inside it to protect the phosphor from the atmosphere and it is, in general a bad idea to mess with the dome.
You can also try unscrewing the reflector a little from the pill, defocusing it can help with beam hole issues.
Cheers - just spent the last half hour adjusting the reflector, getting it to stay in place + stuffing aluminium foil into the head. Much better - now there is a faint 'cross' instead of that gaping hole. The thin layer of reflector foil seems to be peeling off at the edges from all the opening and closing.
I was planning to upgrade my P7 light with SST-50 but it seems to have no point.
My question is there a GOOD driven P7 or MC-E light that would give the led's full potential ?
If there are what would be your recommendations ?
I think someone in a recent post did point to an affordable 5A driver for an SST-50. Obviously, some soldering will be required.
I can strongly recommend these ones but budget they most certainly are not!
http://www.lambdalights.com/varapower.html
No single 18650 light is going to hold up well to 5A driving so the smallest one I'd look at would be something like this one - again not budget but much cheaper than the Lambda lights one.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.36031
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.32591
This is the cheapest of the three but only does 4A
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.39358
This one is $110 but uses 3x18650 and is probably the best light of the three.
IMHO,a SST-50 only makes sense if you want change in flashlight with a SMO reflector (thrower) with this kind of drivers..
Then it makes sense, since the 800 lumens are projected onto a small area, far far away.(smooth & powerfull)
For a OP reflector, hole measures will not match and remain rare projection.
Furthermore, the sst-50 are very expensive even for no clear benefits.
In adittion,we need more massive flashlights to dissipate heat at 5A.
(That all sounds in my head to hold back and not buy one) :P
I have a similar light, the MXDL SA-28 http://kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=9567 It's bright. Title description says Q2 but the actual body of the light says Q5.
Yes, but one of my AAA cheapies says 3W on it, too.
Better to stick Scotch Magic Tape (At least that's what it is called here), the sort of tape you can write on, over the front glass.
Best to use "satin" version, not the standard office one, or so I'm told.
IMHO,a SST-50 only makes sense if you want change in flashlight with a SMO reflector (thrower) with this kind of drivers..
Then it makes sense, since the 800 lumens are projected onto a small area, far far away.(smooth & powerfull)
Does anyone have a handy chart or something of all the different emitter's surface area or surface brightness? I'm thinking of buyting some aspherics to experiment with and for that I'm pretty sure I want as bright/per area as possbile.
Cree's EZ900 chip based emitters (XR-E and XP-E) is the way to go if you aim for maximum surface brightness. XR-E should have some advantage over XP-E when used with aspherics due to its narrower radiation angle.
X*-E 880*880 or 980*980nm, 0.77mm^2 or 0.96mm^2 depending on which die it uses (EZ1000 or EZ900)
SSC P4 uses same dice as X*-E
XP-G 1.4*1.4mm, 2mm^2
XM-L 2*2mm, 4mm^2
SST-50 2.25*2.25mm, 5mm^2
SST-90 3*3mm, 9mm^2