Hi midieval10
Sorry for the late reply.
You remove the pill by using a pair of pointed pliers. There are two small holes 180 degrees apart in the pill.
You dont need a lot of force.
No problem. I'll try it out later tonight.
Just bought this for $5.49 on Meritline: http://www.meritline.com/focus-zoom-lens-flashlight-light---p-44807.aspx Seems to have the yellow warning triangle of the Sipik, but is not marked as such. They all seem so similar anyway, it's hard for me to tell which is which. Guess I'll see when it arrives.
boomhauer, meritline even states that one to be powered by a cree q3 and have 3 modes which I think is... bs. :)
Understood - I’m fully expecting Osram and 1 mode. I guess the led type is the main difference between the Meritline/ebay and others? Their appearances are all very similar to me.
Yes, the comments on Meritline all say that it is a single mode light. But at any rate, it's an excellent single-mode light for a great price.
Here's another find:
http://www.meritline.com/led-adjustable-focus-zoom-flashlight-blackcolor---p-53780.aspx
$3.95? For a zooming flashlight? They just keep driving the price down more and more don't they?
Thanks for the link boomhauer. The reviews look good for that Sipik copy. I'm in for one. Too bad they charge tax in California 
midieval10 - you're quite welcome. I figured, for $5 and change for an Osram, how bad could it be? I have an RC-29, impressive light for $14, but following the hopeful "90/30" rule for budget lights (90% of the performance for 30% of the cost) I thought maybe (just maybe) I'll like this super-budget zoom.
sb - I saw that one too, very inexpensive. I just wish they would give more clues about the led type.
I strongly suspect it is an OSRAM like these other ones. Notice that they claim output of 100 lumens for 1 hour, which is exactly what these OSRAM zoomers are giving.
Some more ebay stuff I just found and hopefully wasn't posted before:
2,75€ MXDL 10cm 1AA clicky (also available in black):
$2,95 Smiling Shark 1AA twisty:
$4.78 1AA zoomable:
£1,88 Pailide 1AA clicky:
Thanks phlowcus, useful links!
2,75€ MXDL 10cm 1AA clicky (also available in black):
This one was discussed here: http://budgetlightforum.cz.cc/node/343
$2,95 Smiling Shark 1AA twisty:
Looks nice, there is a Pailide and a Lanshi version of this one out there on eBay as well.
$4.78 1AA zoomable:
Looks good too.
£1,88 Pailide 1AA clicky:
They really did some nice photography of this one, especially for a cheapie. Frankly, the design is hideous, but it looks rather high quality for the price. Disassembles on both ends.
say its a cree here http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/332220179/Adjustable_led_flashlight_hight_power_CREE/showimage.html
Good news with that $5.49 "Sipik copy" on sale from Meritline - it's a Sipik w/Osram. Seems like a nice, solid build. Brightness on flood (evaluated with ceiling bounce) is somewhere in between medium and high on my iTP A3, perhaps 60 lumens? Nice focus on the throw, although not as bright in this condition. Good buy.
Nine days from HK to my front door in the US is a record. Also picked up one of their 11-led lanterns http://www.meritline.com/11led-adjustable-camping-light-lantern-946---p-35838.aspx on sale w/coupon for $2.30 and I must say I am very impressed with this little lantern. Not the prettiest beam pattern, but who cares - it's an emergency light. It's almost as bright as my Cree River Rock lantern (not as bright, but not far off).
Overall, very happy with these purchases.
The build quality is good with this one but it only has a cheap LED emitter...not bright at all. It's somewhat like a BLF Delight but with zooming capabilities.
Mine says Sipik SK58-3W 1AA. It's a very nice light. The emitter doesn't look like my C78 Golden Dragon. This one has 4 segments in it.
What? the emiter is golden dragon but not with 2 divisions in it? so probably is golden dragon but the old ones with 4 divisions
Can you take photo?
This sounds like it could be an advantage. The OSRAMs in the Sipik SK58 and its clones are very power hungry. The battery hardly last an hour. Maybe the generic LED will have better runtime (at least 6 hours, possibly up to 20+ hours) as the BLF Delights do.
I tried to order this, but Meritline doesn't ship to my address... :(
The beam on flood is very smooth. Not ringy like admin's. It's also brighter than the 2 division C78 Golden Dragon light. Plus, the build quality is very good, looks very professional. The only thing I had to change was taking out the 2 metal o-rings and putting rubber ones in.
OK, is Golden Dragon (old die)