Lights. CREE XML XM-L T6 / U2 etc Thread

[Hacienda71]

Oops.

Just bought one of those 2 x U2 solarstorm lights, no battery or charger for £14. For my lad for night rides. Got enough batteries and chargers now

You might want to warn Manchester Airport so that the planes don't get confused by the lights being emitted from the Fossyant area.

 

[fossyant]

You might want to warn Manchester Airport so that the planes don't get confused by the lights being emitted from the Fossyant area.

Especially when me and Fossy Jnr are on Werneth Low. Ahem.

 

[fossyant]

I thought i saw you cycling the other day ...... But then i realised a light aircraft was about to land and they had turned on the landing lights! :whistle

Nah his lights were not as good as mine.

 

[Kies]

"Cree T6 landing light with nose buckle"

 

[marknotgeorge]

@fossyant, yesterday.

 

[Custom24]

Hi
Just to add my so far fairly negative experiences of this.
I bought this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00A6KD2QS/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It took 2 weeks to get here, which was fine.
I was able to mount it on my helmet but I had to cut apart the head mount that came with it to do this, which was a shame.
The instructions only described the light, and not how to charge it, or connect it to the battery pack, but luckily this thread contains all the instructions I needed.
The first night I took it out to try it and was very impressed with the light level.
I charged it up fully in a Lipo bag and biscuit tin (paranoid), and took it out for a proper ride the second night.
After five minutes, it died suddenly, completely and terminally.
The vendor is sending me another. I will report back if I have problems with this one.

Today, I tested the light using a multimeter, and found that the light is shorted out completely, i.e. there is continuity between the positive and negative pins of the plug. This worries me given the cheap Lithium batteries. I don't understand them completely, but this seems to show that the protection circuit in the battery pack must be present and working, or a short would have caused them to overheat right there?

One final point is that when connecting the light to the battery pack, the plug should engage with a positive click, which requires a certain degree of force.

 

[MrGrumpy]

that is why i have gone down the torch route and single batteries charged individually. Much safer than the packs and far more robust in terms of wires and connectors.

 

[Kies]

Hi
Just to add my so far fairly negative experiences of this.
I bought this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00A6KD2QS/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It took 2 weeks to get here, which was fine.
I was able to mount it on my helmet but I had to cut apart the head mount that came with it to do this, which was a shame.
The instructions only described the light, and not how to charge it, or connect it to the battery pack, but luckily this thread contains all the instructions I needed.
The first night I took it out to try it and was very impressed with the light level.
I charged it up fully in a Lipo bag and biscuit tin (paranoid), and took it out for a proper ride the second night.
After five minutes, it died suddenly, completely and terminally.
The vendor is sending me another. I will report back if I have problems with this one.

Today, I tested the light using a multimeter, and found that the light is shorted out completely, i.e. there is continuity between the positive and negative pins of the plug. This worries me given the cheap Lithium batteries. I don't understand them completely, but this seems to show that the protection circuit in the battery pack must be present and working, or a short would have caused them to overheat right there?

One final point is that when connecting the light to the battery pack, the plug should engage with a positive click, which requires a certain degree of force.

You got a duff one. I have two and both are working perfectly

 

[fossyant]

Some are duff. I've had both magicshine and cheap clones and they have been fine. The cheap ones have lower capacity batteries, but what do you expect for about a tenner of the price. The batteries in my home made pack were about £40.

Sounds like the lighthead is faulty.

As was mentioned, shove the connectors tightly together. There should be an overlap of the outer plastic from the battery pack over the male end from the lamp.

The torches aren't without fault. It's often vibration that kills them, and the beam is much tighter and spotty, great for a helmet light (ideal in fact) but not enough spread for handlebars off road. On road the tight beam will cause less dazzle though

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

The torches aren't without fault. It's often vibration that kills them, and the beam is much tighter and spotty, great for a helmet light (ideal in fact) but not enough spread for handlebars off road. On road the tight beam will cause less dazzle though

I found with the torchy units I had last year, they would vibrate a)out of the mount and b) vibrate into zoom :S

But with the CANDBSEEN so far I had a passing disgruntled driver or two until I put the diffuser lens in. Light is wider spread but doesn't have a massive hotspot. A worthy £5 spend even at the lower quoted lumen ranges 1000-1200 - not sure what difference it would make to a 3k whopper

Or TBH if 3000lumen is even functionally useful on-road. Anyone?

 

[fossyant]

The lumen quoted isn't correct. It's a maximum capable capacity of a T6 assuming the drivers are 100% and you are getting everything out of the battery. In reality they are about 600 lumen each. My triple is very good with two lamps on, but add the third it makes only a small difference. In reality I don't recon you need more than two t6 lamps, and maybe a headlamp to see round corners. This is for off road though. So a twin T6 and a headlamp would be great.

The diffusers only currently fit the single T6 but if you can get hold of some privacy film (eg DIY stores the stuff for windows) then you could convert any light to a flood.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

The lumen quoted isn't correct. It's a maximum capable capacity of a T6 assuming the drivers are 100% and you are getting everything out of the battery. In reality they are about 600 lumen each. My triple is very good with two lamps on, but add the third it makes only a small difference. In reality I don't recon you need more than two t6 lamps, and maybe a headlamp to see round corners. This is for off road though. So a twin T6 and a headlamp would be great.

The diffusers only currently fit the single T6 but if you can get hold of some privacy film (eg DIY stores the stuff for windows) then you could convert any light to a flood.

Note the use of "quoted lumen ranges"

 

[MrGrumpy]

torches are perfect for on road imo, i run two on medium or one on slow flash and the other medium. Plenty light and decent run time. Must admit my torches seem solid and well built. Trick I found was to wrap tape round batteries,stops them moving and thus changing mode ! Nae good for on bars off road,however compared to the really expensive lights from exposure, hope etc these are terrific value. BTW posted a link to some new lights on wiggle, approx £80 and looked very good.

 

[cubegame]

Wondering if I have a duff battery.....

Had my light delivered yesterday and charged for three hours. This gave me three hours of burn. However, now the battery seems not be be charging. The power adapter has a LED. This was red when plugged in last night and eventually went green. Now it's just showing red......do I have a dud?

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Check the battery connected to a lamp and check the charger connection. The first one will rule itself out depending on the led colour on the lamp switch