Hi Folks
My first post as a total newbie to flashlights
I want to get a 18650 flashlight for under £25 and one model keeps coming up
as a good choice
Wurrkos FC11C Nichia 519A Buck circuit
Are there any other flashlights comparable to this that I should think about?
Also ,what is dedoming and what is the point of doing it?
Does it improve output? does a dome change the square emitter into a circular beam?
Maybe someone can explain
Thanks for any suggestions re my first flashlight
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Welcome!
That light would probably be a decent light.
Very roughly speaking, the dome gathers the light from the LED and diffuses it slightly. This makes it brighter and makes the beam smoother.
Dedoming removes this dome. This will cost you some raw light output, but the light you do get will reach further. This will also make the light warmer (lower the color temperature) and in some cases can make the beam pattern less smooth.
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Consider Convoy S2 / S8 - essentially anything from S- series. I prefer them because I prefer tail switch. I am very happy with my Convoy lights. I don’t baby them and they don’t let me down.
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FC11 is a great light! FC11C is even better with the 519a and buck driver. I just bought several for Christmas presents. I actually like The fc11 better than a Convoy S2+, as I prefer a side switch to a tail switch, and it’s almost exactly the same size, but a little thinner with more appealing machining. And the convenience of onboard charging if that’s your thing.
I just de-domed my ts10 max, and made a few before and after pictures, it has 5000k 519a, same as you can get in the fc11c (you can get it in 5000k or 4000k) for the fc11c I would do either 5000k dedomed, or 4000k and leave the domes on.
The wurkkos UI is totally functional, I prefer anduril now, but wurkkos UI is good. Not crazy about their stepped ramping implementation, but The smooth ramping is fast enough to feel like I can get the output I want without having to wait for it or cycle through modes I don’t want, and you can go DOWN without having to go all the way through high (only in smooth ramping though , not stepped)
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IMO FC11C is the best option for the price.
Convoy lights are ok, but they have their downsides like no proper thermal stepdown (so put it on high, leave it unattended or wear gloves and it will kill itself and potentially cause battery failure) and non-existent QC.
Also i would advice against dedoming. It reduces CCT, adds pink tint, reduces output, adds artifacts to the beam and makes the beam more focused.
Some people like it, some do not, but it is irreversible and if you do not like it there will be no way back. And there is a chance you’ll break it too. So do not do it to your only light.
Great thing is - even with stepped you can always start with 1H/moonlight and go up, instead of cycling through high. Stepped or ramped does not matter. This is actually one thing which makes it different from convoy e-switch UI and good instead of barely usable.
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That’s true, it’s just painfully slow to cycle, IMO… a seemingly common affliction to UI’s…
I just got a a firefly P02, which is a pretty decent little light, but I don’t think I’ll use it much. It has a kind of funky UI… pretty simple, and could be usable for me if it weren’t for the slow cycle time… you have to hold for a full second before it cycles… ha, that may not sound like much but in use its enough to make me not even want to use it.
I know! If only they would change it so you could ramp up from 1H it would really improve the experience.
And the convoy smooth ramping is unusable because it’s so slow at the top end…
I do still really like my m21f, even with that quirk… but I would be much more likely to be getting more of the m21 line if it weren’t for that issue.
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Agreed. A stock Nichia 519 has a beautifully neutral light, de-doming changes that. IMO de-doming is definitely best left until you have more experience and a better idea of whether you’ll like the result. I de-domed a D4K looking for more throw and, while it helped on that score, I really didn’t like the resultant shift to pink.
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You can always add diffusion to knock down artifacts in the beam and I’m curious if a decent piece of diffusion film clean up the rosiness that’s happening in a de-domed 519A . Lots of times what you’re seeing is tint shifting or a color in the spill as very obvious and it’s missing from the hotspot . I‘ve seen diffusion blend all of the colors and produce a perfectly acceptable tint again. Some emitters tend to do this more than others .It’s like all the colors were still there , just scattered instead of blended .
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FC11C a good budget light to start with!
Dedoming isn’t some magic secret performance -boosting mod, it’s more like a small tweak you can do fairly easily with a 519a to make the tint slightly more pink and increase the throw (slightly), at the expense of overall lumen output.
I’d get the FC11C and see how you like it for a while before trying to dedome the LED.
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Not convinced it’s an affliction. It is a compromise they have to make as it is not configurable.
Honestly i like the way it is set up in FC11C, pretty much exactly to my preference, both stepped and ramped. But… i also always reduce ramping speed a notch on anduril. It is too fast for me by default, and too fast is worse than too slow, which is why i am saying it is a compromise…
But… i also agree that convoy’s smooth ramping is unusably too slow…
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I think the FC11C 5000K is great. If you buy a short tube for it from Wurkkos you can use 18350 batteries, which makes it much easier to carry (at the expense of about 3 times less juice). One common easy mod you may (or may not) like is stiffening the button.
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As this is your first flashlight, I also assume you don’t have any other seperate (18650) Li-ion batteries and therefore also not a dedicated battery charger for them?!
In that case; if you go for a Convoy from the S-series, you would also need a seperate battery charger.
Although not very ‘refined’ (in terms how many different battery levels it can display), the FC11C does have a battery indicator LED in the switch, giving you at least some information to when your battery is running low(er). With a Convoy S(2+) you would need to take out the battery and measure the voltage, to get an idea how full/empty it is.
Just some things to take into consideration, which may certainly be useful for a ‘newbie’.
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Hi Folks
thanks for all the advice ; it looks like I should just stick to the FC11C and leave the dome alone!
I do have spare 18650 batteries and a charger
I understand that the flashlight comes with a 3000mah battery?
Can it be removed to charge or do you have to charge it via usb inside the flashlight?
cheers to all
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Optionally. It is an ok battery and with how cheap it is you should really get it.
Absolutely. You can do it the way you like, i’ve been charging the battery separately most of the time too since it is more convenient for me to swap fresh battery in, recharge later.
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I do hope these are good quality? I see a terrifying number of cr@p cells and chargers on Amazon etc… there are a number of threads on here for “safe” locations to buy cells & chargers from.
Stock 519a is very good, if you like a moderately pink tint, dedome is good, if you like neutral, then leave the dome on- until you know, leave it!
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Yea It’s largely subjective and preference. And there’s so many options that we can all find just what we want eventually.
Anduril tickles all my fancies. I’d like to figure out how to get an anduril driver in to a m21 side switch host…
Sorry, I guess I’m rambling off topic a bit…
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This. I’d much rather pick the correct colour temp domed led than have a rosy pinkish hue. Some like it though.
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Thanks to all ; now ordered the FC11C 5000K plus battery from Wurrkos for under £18
How long can I expect the emitter to last? Just wondered as so called long life LED house light bulbs dont last anything like whats advertised!!
Can someone point me to a UK 18650 battery supplier on this site that is recommended?
thanks
Just thinking about getting them for a power pack in the future
I believe the main reason of house bulbs’ failures is overheating. Bulbs don’t have any temperature control (if they had they would not meet declared brightness).
Correctly functioning flashlight’s driver will keep LED in safe temperature range. And still, the lower the output (and therefore temperature) the longer the emitter’s life.
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Fogstar for batteries. Ben is full on invested in providing genuine cells.
History and site here;
Fogstar Friday is 20% discount day.
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