This light has intrigued me. I just ordered one and will pump this one up with a 4x7135 and see what it can do against my stock C88. It looks like it should beat the C88 when driven properly. The problem with my C88 is that it is way OVERdriven... around 2A. Not very healthy.
If it would be slightly over 2A, you could just swap the emitter with a XM-L and transform your flashlight. Make it healthier?
Actually I assume it is direct drive on high, so if you hook up an XML it will actually go even higher (the XM-Ls lower Vf at work). Besides I already have an XML one. 
I just like playing with the stock one and its pencil thin beam. I could change it to a 1.4A driver but I wanted to keep it stock for a “reference” light.
Exactly what I'm doing with mine. 1.4A should be ideal for this light. Just waiting for the driver to arrive. The price of the light plus the driver costs no more than other HS-802 clones out there and it will be driven just as I want.
I have to correct myself.
My C88 is only 2A+ when fed with a large li-ion (26650 LiMn). It was the last thing I tried and the number stuck in my head.
On 'loops it starts out at 1.7A and settles down under 1.3A after a few short runs.
I didn't mean to overstate my C88. :) (wrong!)
I'm setting up a 10 meter "shooting range" in my garage and hope to do a bunch of lux tests on a number of lights in the next couple months and the 168 and C88 will definitely be included.
2 amps might be a bit high, do you think its droping from 1.7 to 1.3 amps due to over current and heat as most of my torch's slightly climb then settle for some thing very close to or slightly under the orginal current reading if not over driven.
i was looking at this C88 for my daughter as she is young i dont want any thing that runs on li-ions or is to bright with no flashy or s.o.s modes and i like the fact it runs on AA's as i have a heap of AA nimh's and her current torch runs on AAA's and it just chews through the batteries as i dont have any rechargable AAA's, its only a cheap 16 led eXtream branded supper market torch.
ill report my findings once the
LED Emitter Module for UniqueFire HS-801
get's here as sofar the usa168 looks like a moders only torch if your unhappy with low current draw and 150 + meters of throw and not every one will like the pencil beam i guess i was hoping for more throw with out modding it.
The 1.7 was a peak reading. Likely it was only for a second or two. All cells drop their voltage very quickly at the beginning of their discharge. Let me charge up my cells and do a test to give you a better idea. I’ll update this in a bit.
EDIT: I need to learn to keep my mouth shut until I'm sure I know what I'm talking about.
with freshly charged eneloops I got:
2.0A at turn-on
1.9A @ 30sec
1.8A @ 1 min
1.5A at 5 min.
So yeah... its high.
this was my replie before you changed the post.
what made me ask is if it is DD (direct draw) wouldnt the current draw go up as the battery voltage goes down like most other torches and if it was CC (constant current) it would stay the same or very close to the start current, it seams like a diffrent driver or it made me think of heat sag or over current (once a led is over driven or gets to hot they drop back in current or drop in light out put)
there is some good people who have test the xm-l,s for us an example is an xm-l drop in driven at 3.5 amps will heat sag and can loose 300 odd lumens with in 2 mins, but we know you can drive an xm-l at 5 amps but it starts to drop lumens also to heat.
but the Q5 emitter is tiny (match head size) compared to the xm-l so if the relitive flux VS juntion temperature of the Q5 at 350 mah (0.35 amps) drops to 78% out put aprox at 150 degrees centergrade it makes me think how much will it drop when driven at 2, 1.7, 1.4 or even 1.3 amps its going to sag and it will sag even more with a higher ambient temputure, efficiency would go out the window this might be why the Q5 makers say 1 amp max.
i have seen reviews of Q5 driven at 170% 1.7 amps and they put out a bit of light but they also report a fair bit of heat from the tiny Q5 i wonder if they where left in the light box for 20 + mins on high would they produce a simular amout of light or would the heat sag and over current get to them and the lumens fall of quickly my money is on they will sag as most lights do, even more so when over driven, efficiency would go out the window not sure if they would do long runs on high constantly and could the drivers be faulty and going into some sort DD (thinking out loud) or the chines makers just dont care.
it seams most led,s can be pushed harder the then data sheet,s but i guess it comes down to the sweet spot or where maxium flux (lumens) meets efficiency and heat.
also nimh drop quick in voltage but get to a point and hold voltage for much longer, thats why in digital camera's or even xbox controllers they show under full battery bars when fully charged but will hold current draw and last longer in high demanding products like digital cameras and flash lighs, in no led flashlights or flash lights with no drivers like bulb,s they put out less light then alkaline batteries due to lower voltage, nimh rechargables are great batteries and you will be suprised how well they will perform how much current they can give and how long then can hold it for once the initial voltage drop has taken place if you have good ones, but for big draw applications like high powered leds and rc (remote control) you can go past LI-XX type batteries.
Great price.... but.......the shine on the outside of the reflector suggests to me that the reflector is plastic.
Of all the deep-reflector throwers listed in this thread, which one would throw the farthest or produce the narrowest beam with a good XML LED and driver in it?
well i got the LED Emitter Module for UniqueFire HS-801 and it fit,s the usa168 well, the threads are a bit loose but once tighten up it is ok pritty much the same as the orginal one just less threads, it is much better quailty then the usa168 pill and im getting 870 mA on high with a trustfire flame battery fully charged, a fair bit more then the usa186 pill as my best test today with the q5 module from the usa168 was 380 mA with a trustfire flame fully charged.
the R2 module is a 5 mode h,m,l,strobe and s.o.s here is a quick picture of it on the usa168
i also got
when i have time ill install it in the usa168 q5 pill and see how it goes
Glad the module fits.
I put a 1.4A (4*7135) 1 mode driver in my USA168 last week. Its actually giving 1.37A at the tail. It now throws like crazy. I'm sure you'll love yours too with your new driver in it.
Yeah no more stupid flashy modes just on and off
i might of spoke to soon lols
today i thougth i would install the 1100 mah 1 mode driver
so i thought ill pick a random trustfire flame battery out of the fully charged pile and test the current again
orginal usa Q5 driver i got 420 milliamps (0.42 amps)
the hs-801 led moduel i got 950 milliamps (0.95 amps)
the new 1100 mAh 1 mode driver i got 1010 milliamps (1.01 amps) but its a bloody 5 mode lols im happy cause i got 1 amp tail cap reading but slightly pissed about it being a 5 mode.
i also de-domed the orginal Q5 emitter now the hot spot is even smaller but the spill around the hot stop when white wall hunting is a yellowish colour and the hot spot looks brighter ill have to test it when it gets dark to see if it throws or not, i would like to see the flux out put with it de-domed i guess i better pull my finger out and get a flux meter
I finally got mine today. I'm pleasantly surprised that with a fully charged Sanyo 2600 I'm getting 1.4A from the stock pill once it settles in and 1.8A from the brass "R2" pill. The modes of the R2 pill are also a heck of a lot better.
I'm not pleased with the reflector however, its quite hazy and we all know that there's not much that can be done about that. I had ordered a spare reflector but they are currently (AFAIK) backordered.
Still... it's performing about as well as I would have hoped. The R2 pill is giving me 380-400 lux @ 10m (38k-40k @ 1m equivalent). I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this light yet, I think I like it the way it is, but I'm pretty sure an XML would be fun in it too.
EDIT: Can somebody point me towards a coated lens for this thing? I didn't even measure it, but I was hoping there was something on KD/DX.
Wow yours is way over driven, I too like the R2 pill better, I have not done any measurements for the lens or looked for one so can’t help you there sorry
@benckie, I use mainly pre-charged pneumatics, so no recoil to worry about!
My springers are a different story, and use lights with both fore and aft springs, with my "kickers".
Thanks!
The boom sticks need springs both ends
I got a Panda UF900 today from DD. It was ~$12 with a personal coupon. lol
Nice outlook, a little dirt lens and reflector.
I don't know what kind of emitter has that, maybe an R2. It is approx 10% brighter at the same current, than my best xr-e which has been sold as Q5.
Tailcap current with a Sanyo cell -> 2.2A, oh dear... I have to use my weaker cells with this light.
There is a little noticeable donut hole in the spot, not so ugly but would be better without that.
approx 45000 cd at 1.7A, that's fine
C8 vs panda
