Review: Mini Shiningbeam 14mm 1xAA 3 mode driver

Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts
1

I got this the other day:

http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-176/3-dsh-Mode-Regulated-Circuit-Board/Detail

for my Romisen RC-G2 that I modded with a Nichia 219

diameter was pretty much dead on 14mm, which was a hair too narrow for the pill ID on the Romisen (between 14.5 and 15mm), but the little tabs sticking out made it fit perfectly. I replaced the wires with something beefier (OCD I guess) then soldered it into the pill with a couple of pieces of soldered wire bridging the gap between driver and pill.

not pretty, but it's well hidden away :)

Much anticipation was experienced as the trusty DMM was whipped out and waved at the torch. Much disappointment was experienced when the values on the DMM were read :(

With the stock driver and Nichia 219, LED current was 0.3A and tail cap current was 2.38A (!)

With the Shiningbeam driver and same LED, LED current/ tail cap current readings were:

High 0.26A/ 1.7A (1:6.5)

Med 0.13A/ 0.73A (1:5.6)

Low 0.02A/ 0.42A (1:21!)

Which makes the driver marginally more efficient than the original driver (1:7.4), but at a lower output, which kinda sucks. It's also less efficient in all three modes than the Fasttech driver I put in my other RC-G2. Modes are well spaced, with each being useable and the steps between them are noticeable, even at this paltry output.

Memory works perfectly (yay!), although it's somewhat counterintuitive to change modes. It doesn't change modes with a double click or tap-tap, instead the torch has to be off, then tapped to the mode wanted before pressing the switch all the way. I'm guessing that this is a forward clicky and that's why it's odd?

So, overall, i got what I wanted, which was a lower mode for bedtime/ camping reading and longer runtime with useable output. A bit miffed that I gave up some output to do so, but there's no such thing as a free lunch :)

Now I just have to put my new XP-E2 NW in my other RC-G2..

2

Hmm. Your readings seem really low. This build indicates this driver pulls over 3 amps from an Eneloop on high mode. Regardless, thanks for contributing your time for the review!

3

I don’t know either. I was worried about the accuracy of my DMM as it has the standard skinny leads, but the results at the LED are consistent between drivers, as is the relative brightness so they seem to be internally consistent at least. The battery was a freshly charged Eneloop too, the same one which I’ve used for all the tests, which supplied ~2.4A to the original driver. Short of getting another one and direct soldering it to a battery via a beefy Judco switch, I’m at a loss as to what to do. Is there likely enough resistance in the tail cap to affect emitter readings? I’ve read of a few people getting these drivers, so it’d be neat to get some more data.

To be honest, even though the output I’m getting is nearly a 1/4 of what’s advertised, it’s not necessarily a bad thing as I really don’t need a monster bright light and the rest of the driver works well (no whine too, which is a biggie for me).

4

I bought 2 of these drivers from Old Lumens, to replace Tank 29 1 mode drivers.

5

neat, let me know how you get on if you could. I certainly wasn’t expecting the inflated 900mA output as I’m not even sure if that’s possible from a single NiMh AA, but 4-500mA would have been great.

6

I just tore down another light and tested the current. My crappy old DMM gave me a clearly wrong reading - between 20-50% too low (I can’t tell which because it’s an AMC7135 driver with extra chips) and I still, for whatever reason, can’t get my Fluke to read LED current. So, I have no way of knowing what the current values are or if the error scales linearly.

What is odd is that the light output did drop slightly from the original driver which even has 1W written on it. Without any reliable point of reference, trying to figure out what’s going on is a bit pointless.

7

You have probably blown the current protection fuse/fuses in the meter. Beware that Fluke fuses are REALLY expensive because they are non-standard values (like an 11A fuse on the 10 amp input). I use a standard 10A fuse and call it a 9A meter. Same applies to the low range fuse.

8

interesting, thanks! I saw the “how to check the fuses” bit in the manual, I’ll go and check when I get home. I’d certainly rather use the Fluke than the other clearly wonky (fully charged li-ion = 5V :open_mouth: ) piece of poo DMM I have!

9

Thanks very much for the review! Frontpage’d and Sticky’d.