Being so excited to tryout the 504b, I put in an 18650 and turned it on and started to cycle through the 5 modes and nothing. Just the one mode. So I continue to click different ways hoping that it would work right and still just the one mode. Then I took everything apart and cleaned everything, re-greased everything, put it back together and still nothing.
So then I started thinking to myself if I wanted to go through the RMA thing or just accept the fact that my UltraFire 504B is now a 1 mode flashlight. So then, while holding it in my hand, I noticed that it was a friggin' WF-502B. No wonder it was only a 1 mode. I wasted all that time clicking away and cleaning it all up just to find out they sent me the wrong friggin' flashlight. LOL
I'm starting to like this 1 mode because it's quick and easy, on and off. I just have to see what Golden Gadgets wants to do since there is a $10 difference in price. I told them that I wouldn't mind keeping this and putting the $10 they owe me towards a 504B or some other torch. Still waiting for their response. Here we go again with the waiting game. |(
That's budget lights for you. Hey, I liked my 502B too. I just wasn't as impressed with the build quality as I was with the 504B (not actually stainless, just shiny aluminum). I got a 1-mode 502B as well (on purpose) and I got to kind of like it too. I changed the driver to a 2-mode anyway, but the simplicity of a 1-mode has something going for it. If the LED is really a XP-G R5 and the thing works, then that is great bargain for $15. The LED by itself is probably worth about $10 and DX sells the drop-in for $13, so you're basically paying $2 for a host.
Definitely pursue a credit or partial refund, if for no other reason just so maybe they won't continue to send people the wrong light. In terms of days, it will take a while to work through their process, but in terms of overall time spent, it really isn't that bad.
This is from Cutter's website. The XP-G has four yellow strips on the die and pretty much fills the entire dome. You can't see any difference between bin numbers of a particular die. So an R2 looks just like an R5, but the R5 will be brighter.
Well, I guess they lied about it being a CREE XPE-WCR5 because after using 2 magnifying glasses (I need to get my eyes checked ) one on top of the other, I can barely see that it is a CREE XPE and on the side of the drop-in it says 'Super Bright R2'. Oh well.
Which is where most of mine came from. A 30x jeweller's loupe is a very handy thing to have around. I nearly bought a USB microscope for this sort of stuff but the image quality was so poor it wasn't worth the sale price to me.
Which just meant is was overpriced instead of ludicrously overpriced as is Maplin's norm. DX do the same thing shipped for US$42 instead of the $60 Maplin want for it.
I bought one of those loupes from DX. It works, but it only magnifies a tiny area. If I want to see a whole driver board, I am better off using the macro setting on my camera and taking a picture of it. But the LED's themselves are really hard to get good images of, so I use the loupe for that. It would be kind of neat to have one of those that you stick in your eye and squint to hold it in place like old timey jewelers use instead of the handheld one. And I regret not paying a dollar extra for the helping hand that had the magnifying lens on it.
I have an old 4" real glass magnifing glass and a couple smaller acrylic ones that are good for now. This one looks very nice but also comes with a very nice price.
Another method if the item is reasonably flat is a scanner - many of the cheap ones these days have astonishingly high optical resolutions but usually claim many times higher resolution so it is necessary to check for weasel words like "interpolated resolution"
Since scanners have their own light source they can be more convenient than a camera. That said, I'm more likely to use a camera even for jobs traditionally done by a scnner.
Another funny thing happened today but this time it's my fault. My DX order finally came in today with my replacement Tank007 E07 (this one works btw) and several 18650's, 14500's and rcr123's plus some plastic battery holders (none of which fit any of my 14500's just AA's). I also ordered the UltraFire WF-139 charger but when I opened it up, there was ONLY a car charger cord. I looked at the order again and noticed that it does only come with the car cord. DUH! Oh well.............live and learn.............again.
I'd guess you already have several power cords that will work with it - the spec is 100-240V and unless they have radically redesigned the charger, a power cord from something else will work just fine. I'd send you one but I suspect the postage would be a lot more than the cord was worth.