What runtime to expect from a regular AA cell?
> Modes
Nope, as I think I said earlier:
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I double-checked:
On Feb 23, 2012, at 12:39 AM, vip wrote:
Hi, Hank.
Yes, dear, we do confirm that this light has 2 brightness modes, high and low brightness.
thanks.
<4722_Airaccent.jpg>
Thanks & Best Regards
Raincy
Airaccent Wholesale Service
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No reply, neither from 2 emails nor from using the contact link for Support at airaccent.com, so far.
Maybe I'll just invite them to post their explanation here ...
IMO you shouldn't be paying penny over USD5.50 for these 1 mode lights. Be patient on the eBay auctions and you'll get them under $5
reply from Airaccent:
On Mar 24, 2012, at 12:44 AM, service wrote:
Dear Hank :
Thanks for your order and feedback.
can you sent some photos about the trouble ? so that we can solve this problem in shortly time .
thanks for your understanding and support.any request,keep us freely.
Best Regards
Airaccent Customer Service
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I doubt the 2-mode light they advertise actually exists. I invited them to drop by here if they actually have it for sale.
If they do send one I'll praise them here, of course.
No response at all from Airaccent for more than a week. I'd guess they expect I'll just give up.
True that.
Meanwhile I see three different emitters being advertised at Meritline (all single mode Sipik clones): Q3, Q5, and R5.
EDIT -- but the headline says Q3 while the description under it says Q5.
They don't know what they're selling.
Nothing new there.
Has anyone gotten the lens out of any of the Sipik clones?
Looking from the pointy side on mine, most of them have a big gap between the bezel and the front of the plastic -- and if I unscrew the bezel by about that much from the collar, the focus at narrow beam is improved.
Looks to me like the plastic lens is screwed in along the threads on the inside of the bezel -- only guessing that because i don't see residue of plastic in the threads as would be there if it were being just jammed down in there (since there's dirt and fingerprints around the LED etc., these weren't cleaned up).
I'd like to unscrew the lens, clean up the threads inside the bezel or trim the plastic a bit, and get the lens back in just a little bit deeper so it sits slightly farther from the LED.
Haven't tried clamp and wrench yet.
Which lens are you referring to? There should not be any gap between the convex zoomer lens on the crenellated bezel. Untighten the bezel, point the torch down, rattle the lens so it is seated properly on the crenallated bezel, and tighten it back again... there should be no gaps and it should not move when touched. (the phrase Mind The Gap keeps resonating in my ear. s) )
If you were talking about the emitter dome covering the XR-E, DO NOT touch the emitter dome with your fingers!! It will be De-Domed and that's the end of it. *guilty* My very first one arrived with a dome smeared with some brown motor oil and fingerprint or glue residue. Maybe it was a factory reject or refurbished one. Despite reading quite a bit here, somehow i still though that emitter dome was a solid piece of resin like the old 5mm LEDs, so I wrapped my finger on my shirt and wiped the dome like I'd to to clean sunglasses. One wipe... De-Domed. Searched BLF, and found this example (link). Lesson learned. So to clean my later clones, I just put rubbing alcohol on toilet paper, and just brushed the dome as gently as possible, and let it dry, now they're clean and fingerprint free.
So far, I have a few single-mode no-name clones, one looks like the MDXL and the other like the Ultrafire from these pictures (link to 3-mode review). As you can see from those linked pics, there are 2 lens sizes. If you cannot straighten out your lens, could you have switched them accidentally?
Wasnt SK68 lens made of glass and not plastic?
I'm talking about the lens, not the emitter.
I've bought five of these so far -- different words painted on the outside, otherwise identical.
All are single-mode -- and all have the same diameter lens and bezel.
None of the lenses are loose at all; they're all either screwed or pressed in, just not all the way to the front of the space.
No rattle. No motion at all with finger pressure. I'd guess with a padded clamp they'd unscrew out of the threads. That's why I asked.
Do you two have clones with lenses loose enough to rattle?
All the lenses I got are plastic, not glass.
Try a pointy object just inside the threads where it won't interfere with the beam and feel how soft it is. Or notice scratches.
The lens is a dome with a flat collar that flares out, the flat collar is what engages the threads. Like a derby hat with a brim.
On each of the ones I have, from the front, I can slip the corner of a photograph or equivalent piece of paper or plastic down between the bulge of the lens and the crown of the bezel -- on all the lights I've received. There's always some space there. Looking along the threads at the inside, I can see the corner of that paper slide behind the lens collar, and I can move it all the way around the circumference between the metal and the plastic.
(On a more expensive light I'd expect an O-ring in that position between the lens and the metal)
(If anyone does have a glass lens, I'm sure curious where you got it.)
PS, maybe this will help identify which sipik you've got:
Look inside the bezel through the part of the lens that's behind the metal -- the wider flat part that keeps the lens from falling out the front of the bezel.
Do you see three little letters pressed into it? I see -- on all of the lights I got -- an X-?-B (or maybe X-?-8) -- the middle one isn't clear, one end is definitely an X and the other end is either a B or an 8.
You can also tell it's plastic because there's a bit of a tab and a little round circle mold mark showing around the periphery, opposite the letters.
(Again, if you do have a glass lens, where'd you get it? And if your lens is loose/rattles/comes unscrewed -- where'd you get it?)
You're right, I just checked my 3rd one and it is screwed in. Didn't notice this since my first 2 were apparently the cheaper ones with the hollow pill and bigger lens (on that 3-mode Sipik review, looks like that MDXL picture). So you lucked out with all 5 of yours being the better threaded, solid-pill, watertight lens, clones. All my 3 are plastic: 2 silver hollow-pill with loose large lens says x-4-11 and x-4-4, the screwed-in lens in the black sipik says x-4-5. All 3 from various ebayUS storefronts of T-mart. This 3rd one I got seems to be well focused with no adjustment needed, so I'll resist the urge to unscrew the lens and break its waterseal. I've got 2 3-modes coming from another seller, and I'm done with this... s) .. talk about an addiction!
edit to answer below:
currently all mine in possession are 1-mode. the 2 silver big-lens have rubber o-rings on the pill itself, so they'll need another o-ring between the lens and crown to be watertight. The black with screwed-on lens has a metal-grinding-sounding zoom, I haven't unscrewed the pill yet to see if it has a metal c-ring instead of a rubber o-ring (it's too tight and I don't want risking another de-doming). Again, they're just as described and pictured as the ones in the 3-mode review, even though all mine are 1-mode at the moment.
Are your two with the bigger, loose lens both 3-mode?
On mine, all 1-mode, the lens wouldn't be watertight -- water would get in via the slider part so the light can't really be sealed anyhow.
The ones I have, the lens is stuck in there good and tight, but air gets past it.
I've got an X-4-8 and an X-4-10, looks like.
> addiction
Yeah, maybe this Sipik clone lottery is a test to find out how many almost identical lights they can sell before the customer gives up buying everything offered
:-)
Just wait -- next we'll see neutral emitters and .... oh, noooooooo
$7 one-mode
I purchased this one for $7 from a USA seller
http://www.ebay.com/itm/170851458524?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&\_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_4104wt_1270
I gotta say, I’m not too impressed. I don’t mean for this light specifically. I can’t argue with the build quality for $7.00. It’s an UltraFire and appears to be what is expected. I’m just disappointed in the SK68 in general. The zoom focus isn’t all that great and I would take my SE-1 for flood no question. I would probably go with an 18650 or 26650 model if I’m putting more emphasis on focusing. But if flood is where it excels I’d stick with the SE-1 and its smooth beam pattern and higher output.
Hey crew, I’m new…recently got my first 2 Sipiks in the mail. A Grey one from DX withe the Sipik branding, and a Black one from a random ebay dealer that was cheapest at the moment.
The black version came branded as an UltraOK (CREE on the other side, misprinted and ugly), but it’s the superior build. The zoom slide is smooth (rubber O-ring) and the throw cell is much smaller/tighter.
The Grey “Sipik” from DX was more expensive, took longer to ship, and has an inferior build. The zoom is CRUNCHY and stiff due to the metal C-ring vs a rubber O-ring. The cell is also substantially bigger than the UltraOK, so the throw is not as tight. I’ve been a DX fan since I’ve gotten into budget lights (C30, TrustFireF20, People’s Cree)…but I’m very disappointed in this Grey version I got from them. Visually it looks cooler in grey with the neat Sipik SK68 printing, but the internals vs the cheaper, faster shipped, (uglier) version are night and day.
I plan to buy more clones, but I’d really like a Grey with a smooth slide and tight throw/cell.
Is there a way to swap the metal Cring with a smooth rubber O-ring? that would at least make the grey keepable…as it stands I will probably gift it.
The crown and lens came off mine when I yanked it off my pants pocket… makes for an interesting light now 
> crown and lens came off
Why? Threads the wrong size or stripped? That bezel with the lens glued into it should screw down solidly onto the sliding cylinder.
(And the sliding cylinder should not come off unless you’ve unscrewed the pill)
So what did happen?
Oh yeah, sliding cylinder still on there, just bezel and plastic lens. Had it in my back jeans pocket and been sitting on it, etc. Sat on it too many times, bezel did feel kinda loose after a while
My point was without bezel+lens it’s a much bigger circle of light now
EDIT: ok so its not broken, guess the bezel just became loose and dropped off… screwed it back on with the lens… all good
Kinda nifty that you can get some serious flood action with this thing (lit up my whole room) and then get it back to normal again
Good value for money with this $5 light
I have purchased many of these, I think it’s one of the BEST flashlight deals out there. Drop a 14500 in it and be prepared to be blown away. The throw is amazing with the focus mode. I mean we are talking $6 or less. Every bit as nice as my Kegos.
Yep. I’d really like to find a shorter bezel with a simple flat glass ‘lens’ that I could put on.
Then I could stuff the space under the ‘slider’ with copper foil to make that a better heatsink
— and have a dedicated ‘mule’ floodlight. Anyone know what the thread is on the bezel?