In the light, the color is much like a 3D but not quite. Not as rosy it seems. At any rate, Iām glad things went like they did because itās a nice output that is actually quite similar to the Nichia 219C at 5000K. So Iām liking em, whatever they are. I actually ordered em when I was sick and am just now getting over that, still coughing some and still donāt have my voice back, funny that I got product from Australia in the same time frame as a flu bug or whatever.
I just went by the descriptor, was looking for the specific tint bin and wanted the highest power. (crud, I got these specifically for a friends set-up, 3 lights with one a triple, and he was wanting 3Dās REPLACED!) I must still be sicker than I thought. In thinking about this I realized I used the āW3 2Bā emitters in that friends lights, this quad has XP-L V4 3A emitters. Staying confused. lol (as an aside, I just test 2 of my friends lights and they are definitely not 3D, they are an off white on the lower levels with a hint of yellow, so they must be the 3Aās and I must have used the āW3 2Bā in this quad. The quad does indeed have more of the 3D appearance.)
Baselineā¦ F/8 at ISO400, 1/8 second exposure for these 3 shots in our game room.
Cu X5 at 1490 lumens
Al X5 at 2767 lumens (quad)
The siblings
The quad, unsheathed
The quad in the sun
The Cu X5 in the sun
I missed the measurement on the copper pill for the Al X5, by about 3mm. Hence the gap you can see, I had to cut another piece of copper as a riser and solder it to the bottom of the pill. Braindead from a week and a half of running a fever I suppose. Coming off that, I worked on 9 lights that have been piling up on me, hence the emitter confusion. Sorry about that.
Well - thanks for the advise. and sorry if I was being a nuisance. i am new here, and i have been going through quite a bit of this thread - just awesome flashlights and canāt get enough! but it is also almost 2000 posts. it would have been helpful if you could point to the post that explains this. the last thing i want to do is bother the nice people
Let me say that I have no official standing whatsoever, and when it boils down to it my suggestions are the same as yāalls as are many of my wants and wishes. Ok?
Now, that said, it seems to me that a group buy of this magnitude is a sensitive and tedious beast. Trying to communicate to people on the far side of the world that speak a different language and get cooperation between all parties is quite the clusterfunk, on so many levels. (like what I did there? ) So during the communication period, itās essential to stay with the linear program to avoid unnecessary confusion. See? Like ordering food in a high end restaurant then changing your order after the chef is midway through the preparation, youāre likely to have some cursing and swearing and maybe even knives thrown about.
So the first order of priority is to get the parameters initiated, get the manufacturer in line with what we want, ensure the development is all according to plan, and after production shows they fully understand what is wanted, then and only then can new orders (demands? Wishes? Wants?) be communicated. I am pretty sure that the popularity of these lights, especially the X5, will see it go into production on itās own. Manker would be really silly to not chase that train! It only stands to reason that with the popularity of the bigger brother, the X6, a smaller version of the same light should be a huge hit.
Letās watch em get this going, then see where it leads. Iām hoping we all get what we want and they make a huge name for themselves with this gorgeous little light. :bigsmile:
They already have the T01 as a sounding board to be able to offer a version of this light that can accept AA Alkaline or NiMH cells while also being able to run on a Li-ion, so the possibility there of making a 1st World Order small light is really strong, should they see the opportunity to utilize what they have in hand. One thing at a time though, one thing at a time.
To reduce ā almost avoid ā the prolonged coughing that comes from having congestion and āpost-nasal dripā
Sleep on pillows face down ā so your nose stays downhill from your head ā put a towel under and let it drip, drip, drip all night.
Saline nasal rinse can help keep that drip going.
Why? Because it works. Damn well.
Standing up, the drip goes into the throat and we clear it out.
As soon as we lie down, the drip starts to go into the lungs.
And it builds up there and dries, and ā we cough.
And cough, and cough, and cough.
A cough can become self-sustaining, to the point doctors prescribe narcotics to suppress it. Iāve cracked ribs coughing, twice, in 6 decades, before figuring this out.
Avoid letting the gunk drip into your lungs while youāre asleep, let your damn nose run all night, wash the towel ā and youāll cough way less during and, most important, after the flu-like/cold goes away.
This digression has been brought to you by āI had no idea who to tell this to but I thought someone might find it usefulā
thanks DB Custom. i totally get it now. yeah have worked in restaurants, and in big projects:) scope creep can really mess things up. i see that in an undertaking of this complexity, even the order configuration could throw things off.
The X5, like itās big brother, sheds heat really nicely.
I just ran the quad for 5 minutes, it stepped down at 45 seconds and even on the step down level continued to build heat. (remember, this is an A6 style driver, not the new one) I was holding it, rotating it in my hand, and it got hot enough that I was seriously wanting to put it down! At 5 minutes even the cell was hot when removed and read 3.60V on my gauge. It only took a couple of minutes off and it was only barely warm, now, 3-4 minutes later, itās room temp again. So the fins work really well and the big copper pill under the quads get the heat out to these fins. The 14500 cell fares remarkably well considering the power being run.
Obviously, even if modding with a simple spring bypass on the āstockā X5, itāll handle the single emitter quite well. And the now stock ATTiny25 MCU on the FET+1 driver has the thermal step down, so if it does get too hot itāll handle it accordinglyā¦ the caveat here is that the light will adjust between warm nights and cold nights and only do what it needs to doā¦ AND you have control over the thermal step down process, itās adjustable to suit your needs.
Not sure how it can get any better than that. Rest assured though, TK will come up with improvements!
Chuck,
Thanks for the info. I will probably pick up some of the Efest Purple 14500ās for this light for normal use.
I was thinking I would like to use this light to keep on the night stand next to the bed since it has the lighted tail to act as a night light and would be easy to find in the dark ā also, the copper would look good sitting out on my dresser. However, the problem is, without protected cells, and with the constant tail light drain, I would be in danger of over-discharging my battery since I know that I am not disciplined enough to check it every week. I may look into using, what did ToyKeeper call it, āmuggle modeā, or something like that, that limits the high end of the light, and then use a protected cell that is rated at 3A. Then I might be able to keep this as my bedside light and not have to worry about it so much if I forget to charge the light one week.
FWIW, with just one tail resistor, the standby time on a 600mAh cell should be about 40 days. With a 840mAh cell like the UR14500P, it should last more like 57 days. I doubt it needs to checked every week.
Also known as āRichardā, a trusted forum member here - (RMM)
Now, if you would ask the same question about itās 18650 X6 Big Brother, like a broken record, the answer is very much the same.
This is for those that live in the US.
Yes, you can find them cheaper from China, but have to wait a month or more to get them, and even then, the quality may not be what you expect. (Grade A-B-C) - Yes, cells are graded at the factory, and if you are lucky enough to find the very lowest price, then? - Do you really believe that they actually throw the rejects away?
ToyKeeper,
Excellent, thanks for the info ā that is a good option to increase the standby time to a very usable level and would allow me to use a protected cell as long as I keep the output modes below 3A. Still more than bright enough for most of my needs. This will be a very versatile light.
Iām fine with the lighted tailcap, but what is the joy to have a hot rod light with a most of the time partly depleted cell?
For my taste this translates to a recharge cycle of 7 to max 14 days, or what do you think?
Shadowfax, I believe this is the correct explanation to your battery questions for the X5, however Iām not a battery expert, hopefully one of the testers or experts here will chime in to confirm what Iāve wrote:
A protected 14500 cell will will work in the X5, however an unprotected cell (High Discharge IMR) will be needed to extract the maximum output capability.
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The protected (or unprotected) Sanyo UR14500P 840mAh Battery will not cause the light to cut out on the highest setting. The Sanyo 840 would be good in the X5 for every day use, although it will not allow maximum output capability it will be fine for normal use and provide a longer runtime than the unprotected IMR.
Also since the light has built in low voltage shut off protection you could just go with the unprotected Sanyo 840 for a ānormal use with longer runtimeā battery.
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If you got one of each then you could swap to the IMR for times when you need the light to perform to its maximum output capability. Iām planning on getting the Sanyo 840 plus a few IMRās so I can swap back and forth as needed.
