tailcap readings
amperage | level1/5 "Moonlight" |
level2/5 "Low" |
level3/5 "Medium" |
level4/5 "High" |
level5/5 "Max" |
Trustfire 1x 14500 | 4.444mA | 17.719mA | 0.078A | 0.419A | 1.201A |
Eneloop 1x AA | 48...85mA | 41mA...138mA | 0.165A...1.1A | 1.68...2.2A | 2.00...2.26A |
Alkaline 1x AA | 19.5mA | 0.039A | 0.158A | 1.97A | 1.99A |
lumen ratings are taken from the 4Sevens website and refer to the 2x AA (=3.0Volts!) XM-L Quark, so actual OTF lumens output should be a little higher. test runs done with any of my 2 cells of Protected (PCB) flamed TrustFire 3.7V 1x 14500 LiIon 900mAh freshly charged with UltraFire WF-188. To be clear, I inserted 1x 14500 in a AA-body (not AA²-body) and with the low voltage XML head i got the following runtimes:
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constant brightness in Max Mode (280lumens+ OTF, ???mA):runtime test1: 58min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test2: 56min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test3: 58min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test4: 55min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test5: 55min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test6: 58min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test7: 54min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
i had to discard one of my 2 cells, and thanks God it was the poorer performing one, and bought a new 2-pack of DD fakes. the remaining old one is labelled "cell#1", and the 2 new ones are numbered "#2" and "#3" respectively). the following runs are more like Trustfire cell tests than Quark tests haha. let's see:
runtime test8: ("cell#1"): 59min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test9: ("cell#2"): 55min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test10: ("cell#3"): 55min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
comment: in unattended tailstand mode the torch gets very slowly very warm after say 30mins. It doesnt get hot but it does get "very warm" incl. the cell itself, and therefore should be heat-sinked by your cold hands, at least intermittently. brightness level remains constant high for the full runtime before the PCB finally kicks in abruptly, so there's absolutely no dimming effect. In contrast, with 2x Eneloops the 4Sevens website suggests a typical runtime of 0.8hrs while selfbuilt reports 1h7min and mev 1h1min, which is only a little longer than with our 1x 14500 setup. I am very glad about my runtime test results: they are consistent in the 55min-58min range!!! In comparison, the Xeno E03 has an average runtime of 58.5min at 280lumens OTF with 1x 14500. Actual perceivable light output between the two: the ... is remarkably brighter and does a much better job at illuminating a hall/gangway/patio than the ...
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constant brightness in High Mode (115lumens+ OTF, ???mA):
runtime test1: 2h2min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test2: 2h1min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test3: 2h1min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test4: 1h59min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test5: 1h58min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test6: 2h1min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test7: 1h59min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test8: 2h3min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test9: ("cell#2"): 1h58min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test10: ("cell#3"): 1h56min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
comment: I am very glad about my runtime test results, they are consistent in the 118min-123min range!!! as we can see there is no large variation between the two cells i own. the little variation of ~5mins does indicate though that one cell is in a bit better shape/state/condition/quality than the other, i.e. that it has a little higher actual capacity. it is safe to state that the official runtime in High mode is 2.0hrs. the torch doesnt get warm neither does the cell. the brightness is constant throughout the 2 hours until the cell protection trips and shuts off the light. In contrast, with 2x Eneloops the 4Sevens website suggests a typical runtime of 2.5hrs while selfbuilt reports 3h36min and mev 3h14min, which is considerably longer than with our 1x 14500 setup. And our Xeno E03 has an average runtime of max. 60min at 120lumens OTF with 1x Eneloop, which means that our setup is better than 1x Eneloop but worse than 2x Eneloop when we try to produce an output of ~115lumens. Actual perceivable light output between the two: the ... is remarkably brighter and does a much better job at illuminating a hall/gangway/patio than the ...
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constant brightness in Medium Mode (24lumens+ OTF, ???mA):
runtime test1: 11h6min, constant brightness, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test2: 10h42min, constant brightness, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test3: 10h29min, constant brightness, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test4: 11h01min, constant brightness, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test5: 10h52min, constant brightness, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test6: 11h8min, constant brightness, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
comment: in medium mode the quality difference between the two cell samples i own has a more notable effect on the runtimes. cellA has a runtime of 11.0hrs, nice. the torch remains cold as does the cell. the brightness is constant throughout the 11 hours until the cell protection trips and shuts off the light. In contrast, with 2x Eneloops the 4Sevens website suggests a typical runtime of 20hrs while mev reports 21h12min, which is over 10 hours longer than with our 1x 14500 setup. And our Xeno E03 has a suggested average runtime of 20hrs at 20lumens OTF with 1x Eneloop (you believe that??), which means that our setup lasts half as long as them when we try to produce an output of ~24lumens. Actual perceivable light output between the two: the ... is remarkably brighter and does a much better job at illuminating a hall/gangway/patio than the ...
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constant brightness in Low Mode (2.7lumens+ OTF, ???mA):
runtime test1: 49h37min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
runtime test2: 48h52min, brightness constant, then sudden light off (PCB kicked in?)
comment: in low mode the..
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1x Protected 14500's runtime & performance summary:
I did not test Moonlight Mode (0.3lumens+ OTF) for obvious reasons. To me, the 14500's are the more interesting cell option here: The low voltage head is a head for flashaholics (Voltage range: 0.9V ~ 4.2V WTF) and this matches the 14500 requirement. 14500 are cells for flashaholics, that simple. In fact, i dont own any eneloops or other NiMH's to test in the Quark; one night i might buy a AA/AAA NiMH charger (Sanyo) and AA/AAA eneloops. I might. (and only if i am bored with life lol)
Rounding the above test results we get roughly ~1.0hrs on Max, ~2.0hrs on High, ~11.0hrs on Medium, and ~49.5hrs on Low. The current regulation does a perfect job in all modes (No PWM, great!), and there is no perceivable decline of brightness even shortly before the light is shut off by the PCB of the Protected 14500 cell. Compared with the Xeno E03 V3, we ..etc..
This is fantastic performance of the Quark X (low voltage XML head) with 1x 14500 and as expected the runtimes with the original Quark AA² Tactical w/ 2x Eneloop are higher, which is particularly notable in High-, Medium-, and Low-Mode, but not in Max-mode. In any case the 1x 14500 runtimes on all levels are very agreeable and they reconfirm the idea that this setup is a close-to-perfect EDC flashlight.
Keep in mind that my tests were run with the following two cell samples bought from Dealextreme:
hope this helps!
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