Review: 5-Mode UltraFire Cree XM-L/T6 Warm White from Manafont

Thanks for the review , Foy .

Not a great beamshot, just a quick phone snap of the WW dropin and an UF 3 mode. The UF manafont dropin was not on high as can be seen by the PWM. This pretty accurately compares color difference, dont use this to compare intensity.

From Langcjl's photo, that looks like a much more pleasing tint than the 3-mode.

Sounds like this one would be a good candidate for a 1 mode driver swap to go in a 6P to balance output/runtime.

Isn't this a suitable driver replacement?

it IS a warm white right? So its likely to represent a big hit in light output.

Putting it on a scale, Warm whites lose 25-40% output, while neutral whites lose 5-15% output. Our beloved 4C XP-Gs only really see a 5-10% hit in output, but the tint more than compensates, while warm whites really start to look alot dimmer.

And 5A draw is just crazy... Way too crazy. I wouldnt be buying one becasue its warm, and because its suicide.

Now I want one of those brown and blue dogs . . .

5 amps is a pretty crazy current draw, but I think a lot of lights probably are direct drive on high and the only thing controlling the current is the resistance of the battery, voltage of the battery under load, resistance in the tailcap, etc.

5A would not wish to part with that driver would you ? Trade maybe ... ?

I was seriously questioning my DMM but I told E1320 to give my F15 3.50 amps on high. That's what he did and when I got the light, this is what I measured with a fesh charged Solarforce 2400:

This is my 980L with the same SF 2400:

And, you can tell by the tint reflection on the bottom of the keyboard, this is the warm white and same SF 2400 in an L2:

Mind you, this is what it settles down to. Fresh off the charger on initial start-up I got 5.20.

I don't mean to belabor this but some time ago (before my period of absense) a person I won't name PM'd me saying he did not believe my 980L was really pulling over 4 amps. This was after I pointed him to the thread with E1320's picture of his 980L in front of a Fluke pulling 4.somethinginsane. If anything, my Extech reads a little low and that's probably because the leads on a cheapo DMM are usually where they start cutting manufacturing costs. (mine are already bending)

On the internet, all you have sometimes is your word and my credibility here is something I get touchy about, I'll admit. Erik knows my F15 did 3.50 when he built it so, I'm feeling a little better about Mr. Extech.

I'm also going to buy a Fluke here in the next few weeks.

Foy

old4570 -

You really want this driver?

Foy

Foy , I would love to have that driver , I have a SST 50 that might enjoy it immensely , as well my Dual XM-L U2 P60 drop in which is in need of more current ..

As Tim the Toolman used to say , More Power !

I just wish those Ultrafire Drivers were available for the DIY crowd ...

I just wonder about efficiency ? , even so , it sounds BOSS !

Have you checked for sag on the emitter ?

I have some new drivers if you want to trade , 8x7135 , and another that's 5 mode from KD [ XM_L , MC-E , SSC P7 ] I think its the one they [ KD ] Rate 2A , but the one I have does more like 2.4A .. or 4x7135 [ if mem serves , I should have 2 left ] or maybe just some PP

Tell me how to test for sag and I'll give it a try. Leme get back to you on the driver.

I'm going to turn it on and see how long before it kills a battery.

Foy

Light meter + light box ...

Yep , need a light meter , then make a light box , turn the light on to measure Lux , and if there is sag , the output will drop [ light meter read out ]

My other 3 mode pulls 3.8A , but I potted the emitter and glued the reflector down to the emitter base for another thermal path .

No LEGO on that one any more .

Hmmm , some SLR cameras have light meters , and doing a ceiling bounce , with the camera light meter might work [ never done it myself ]

Its very hard to detect by eye , as when the light sags , your eyes adjust , unless its terminal sag [ thermal run away ]

Emitter turns blue , severe output sag [ 90% or more ] and the emitter begins to emit smoke [ cos its cooking ]

Yeah = Been there !

I've got a light meter. I bought it on Match's recommendation so I could build a light box, sphere or whatever.

Heres some more fun with this drop-in . . .

This is with a fresh charged Solarforce 2400, installed in the light 10 minutes after it came off the charger.

Medium on the left and low on the right.

And this is what happens @ 5 amps after six or seven minutes. Ever tried to pick something up that is 160 degrees? I don't know why I find this kind of stuff so fascinating.

butIdoFoy

Will this driver be a good swap to my Trustfire X9 driver or C8? or is the current too much? Thanks

I'm not sure what to think about this driver. I have an underwhelming SST-50 and I'm wondering how it would do with this bad boy behind it. I guess I don't understand why they would make a drop-in like this. Is it because they thought the warm tint looked dimmer, so they drove it harder? When you look at Match's chart thing he did a while back, 5 amps over 3 amps doesn't net you many more lumens. But, it does give you more heat and less run time.

This noob just doesn't get it.

Foy

Not design , luck of the draw .....

yeah i would stick that driver in your 2.5 amp SST-50 and the driver from that in this. as 5 amps is nuts, but with my luck if i brought the same drop in and the same batteries i would be lucky to get 2 amps lolls but i rather under driven for run time and heat and i dont like the warmer tints im crazy like that.

p,s nice pic,s as always

the vf of that warm white xml has to be really low so voltage sag of the battery isn't enough

it actually hurts the lumen output because of the heat in p60

i bet you would get more flux with 8amc driver

If a phospr coating is taking the "wrong" tint away from a regular emitter, why not use just a basic lens-filter to get tint right?

Does anyone use them?