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#1
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New CCFL, 26650, 18650, or 3AA
Another CCFL that makes a decent bicycle light (sorry Frank!):
â–* 3x AA or 1x 26650 or 1x 18650 battery (batteries not included) â–* Spot to Flood Zoom â–* 5 modes (high, medium, low, SOS, flash) â–* No claim of lumens, just "high lumens," looks like around 900-1000 â–* Water-Resistant â–* Must charge Li-Ion battery outside the light, charger not included, I had this one that I got free at Interbike a few years ago https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074NYYS9Q â–* A spacer sleeve to use an 18650 battery is included. â–* A 3AA adpater is included. â–* $12.99 â–* https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MP9RTHM It's pretty rare these days to find a 3x AA light, a lot of the lights use 3 AAA batteries which is not desirable. It's also pretty rare to find a light that uses a 26650 Li-Ion battery, the only one I recall in terms of real bicycle lights was the Barry Beams Oculus light (which apparently is no longer available since when you click on the "Buy" link you get a "Security Certificate" error). The ability to use an 18650 battery is nice because these are much more widely available than a 26650 battery. |
#2
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New CCFL, 26650, 18650, or 3AA
On Monday, 29 June 2020 18:42:44 UTC-4, sms wrote:
Another CCFL that makes a decent bicycle light (sorry Frank!): â–* 3x AA or 1x 26650 or 1x 18650 battery (batteries not included) â–* Spot to Flood Zoom â–* 5 modes (high, medium, low, SOS, flash) â–* No claim of lumens, just "high lumens," looks like around 900-1000 â–* Water-Resistant â–* Must charge Li-Ion battery outside the light, charger not included, I had this one that I got free at Interbike a few years ago https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074NYYS9Q â–* A spacer sleeve to use an 18650 battery is included. â–* A 3AA adpater is included. â–* $12.99 â–* https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MP9RTHM It's pretty rare these days to find a 3x AA light, a lot of the lights use 3 AAA batteries which is not desirable. It's also pretty rare to find a light that uses a 26650 Li-Ion battery, the only one I recall in terms of real bicycle lights was the Barry Beams Oculus light (which apparently is no longer available since when you click on the "Buy" link you get a "Security Certificate" error). The ability to use an 18650 battery is nice because these are much more widely available than a 26650 battery. Is this yet another of your guerrilla marketing ploys? Cheers |
#3
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New CCFL, 26650, 18650, or 3AA
On Mon, 29 Jun 2020 15:42:39 -0700, sms
wrote: Another CCFL that makes a decent bicycle light (sorry Frank!): Huh? CCFL is a Cold Cathode Fluorscent Light. The few I've seen are either for colorful accent (visibility) bicycle lighting, or in an automotive "halo ring" that seems more decorative than useful. Something like this for a Mazda: https://www.ebay.com/itm/CCFL-Angel-Eye-Halo-Light-Ring-7000K-White-LED-Headlight-For-MAZDA-3-Sedan-PZ-/263752283408 What you found on Amazon seems to be an LED flashlight. It even says so in the description: "High Lumen LED chip delivers so much light..." Am I missing something here? ? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MP9RTHM Note the lack of any specifications for Lumens, beamwidth, StVZO/TA compliance, etc. It's pretty rare these days to find a 3x AA light, a lot of the lights use 3 AAA batteries which is not desirable. True. After the 1.5V AA alkaline batteries are depleted, some users plug in three 16500 LiIon cells at 3.7V each, and blow up the flashlight light. The ability to use an 18650 battery is nice because these are much more widely available than a 26650 battery. I try to buy flashlights that fit 26550 cells because I can get a cheap adapter sleeve to also fit an 18650 cell. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=26650+to+18650+adapter -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
#4
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New CCFL, 26650, 18650, or 3AA
On 6/29/2020 8:37 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Mon, 29 Jun 2020 15:42:39 -0700, sms wrote: Another CCFL that makes a decent bicycle light (sorry Frank!): Huh? CCFL is a Cold Cathode Fluorscent Light. The few I've seen are either for colorful accent (visibility) bicycle lighting, or in an automotive "halo ring" that seems more decorative than useful. Something like this for a Mazda: https://www.ebay.com/itm/CCFL-Angel-Eye-Halo-Light-Ring-7000K-White-LED-Headlight-For-MAZDA-3-Sedan-PZ-/263752283408 What you found on Amazon seems to be an LED flashlight. It even says so in the description: "High Lumen LED chip delivers so much light..." Am I missing something here? Yes. I didn't want to spell it out as I think those that coined the phrase are insensitive. I prefer, "Inexpensive Flashlight Manufactured in China." ? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MP9RTHM Note the lack of any specifications for Lumens, beamwidth, StVZO/TA compliance, etc. Yes. I think that the fact that they aren't making absurd lumen claims is a good thing. All they'll say is that the LED they use is rated at 800-1000 lumens. The EU apparently now has a "useful lumens" standard. It's pretty rare these days to find a 3x AA light, a lot of the lights use 3 AAA batteries which is not desirable. True. After the 1.5V AA alkaline batteries are depleted, some users plug in three 16500 LiIon cells at 3.7V each, and blow up the flashlight light. I can't imagine that happening much since 16500 Li-Ion cells are not something the average consumer would ever buy. The ability to use an 18650 battery is nice because these are much more widely available than a 26650 battery. I try to buy flashlights that fit 26550 cells because I can get a cheap adapter sleeve to also fit an 18650 cell. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=26650+to+18650+adapter The diameter of a 26650 cell is smaller than the 3AA adapter or the 18650 adapter that came with this flashlight. It works without it, but I worried about rattling so I put in a spacer so it fits snugly. The real issue is finding protected 26650 cells that are accurately rated. I haven't purchased these https://www.orbtronic.com/26650-battery-protected-li-ion but from what I read they actually test slightly higher than their rating. I saw that the Oculus lights used 4500mAH 26650 cells which were probably the highest capacity available when that light was introduced. |
#5
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New CCFL, 26650, 18650, or 3AA
On Tue, 30 Jun 2020 04:32:31 -0700, sms
wrote: On 6/29/2020 8:37 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote: On Mon, 29 Jun 2020 15:42:39 -0700, sms wrote: Another CCFL that makes a decent bicycle light (sorry Frank!): Huh? CCFL is a Cold Cathode Fluorscent Light. The few I've seen are either for colorful accent (visibility) bicycle lighting, or in an automotive "halo ring" that seems more decorative than useful. Something like this for a Mazda: https://www.ebay.com/itm/CCFL-Angel-Eye-Halo-Light-Ring-7000K-White-LED-Headlight-For-MAZDA-3-Sedan-PZ-/263752283408 What you found on Amazon seems to be an LED flashlight. It even says so in the description: "High Lumen LED chip delivers so much light..." Am I missing something here? Yes. I didn't want to spell it out as I think those that coined the phrase are insensitive. I prefer, "Inexpensive Flashlight Manufactured in China." You might want to amend your original posting and change the CCFL to LED. ? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MP9RTHM Note the lack of any specifications for Lumens, beamwidth, StVZO/TA compliance, etc. Yes. I think that the fact that they aren't making absurd lumen claims is a good thing. All they'll say is that the LED they use is rated at 800-1000 lumens. The EU apparently now has a "useful lumens" standard. I presume that you believe that no specifications are an improvement over inflated specifications. Well, that does offer considerable maneuvering room between these extremes, but doesn't really help the buyer determine the brightness of the light. Quite often, the same offshore manufacturers inflate their numbers for lumens, but fail to do so for current drain and battery life. Based on an average 100 lumens per watt efficiency, I can usually make a tolerable guess(tm) as to the lumens output (minus the lens losses). The lack of any specifications in the Amazon web page makes that impossible. However, not to worry. I've been told in this very newsgroup that lumens are not important and that beam pattern is what determines quality. Perhaps you can convince the Amazon vendor into providing an inflated beam pattern claim? It's pretty rare these days to find a 3x AA light, a lot of the lights use 3 AAA batteries which is not desirable. True. After the 1.5V AA alkaline batteries are depleted, some users plug in three 16500 LiIon cells at 3.7V each, and blow up the flashlight light. Oops. That should be a 14500 LiIon cell. I can't imagine that happening much since 16500 Li-Ion cells are not something the average consumer would ever buy. They're being offered for sale all over eBay and Amazon: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Li-Ion+14500+battery I've also repaired 3 such AA (14500) cell flashlights mostly be replacing the AMC7135 current regulator chips. It's probably not a common way to destroy a flashlight, but it happens. It also might be a good reason why flashlight vendors are hesitant to supply AA holders, while flashlights made for battery vendors have no such hesitation. The ability to use an 18650 battery is nice because these are much more widely available than a 26650 battery. I try to buy flashlights that fit 26550 cells because I can get a cheap adapter sleeve to also fit an 18650 cell. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=26650+to+18650+adapter The diameter of a 26650 cell is smaller than the 3AA adapter or the 18650 adapter that came with this flashlight. It works without it, but I worried about rattling so I put in a spacer so it fits snugly. Good point. The Amazon page says the OD (outside diameter) of the light is 30 mm. The 26650 cell is 26 mm wide, leaving about 1 or 1.5 mm for the flashlight wall thickness. With 3 AA batteries, I determined that they will fit into the 1 1/4" (31.75 mm) hole in an ancient RapiDesign large circle template. https://www.google.com/search?q=RapiDesign+large+circle+template&tbm=isch I can do the trig if you want, but a circle template is easier and quicker. There's no way a 32 mm dia three cell bundle is going to fit into a 27 mm hole. 27 mm is about 1" diameter and my three cell AA blundle doesn't come close to fitting into a 1" hole. My guess(tm) is that the Amazon flashlight in question actually uses three AAA cells. There is such a thing as a three AA battery holder: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33010330793.html Notice the OD of the battery holder is 30 mm, which is also the OD of the flashlight. Unless the flashlight body were infinitely thin, that's not going to work. The real issue is finding protected 26650 cells that are accurately rated. I haven't purchased these https://www.orbtronic.com/26650-battery-protected-li-ion but from what I read they actually test slightly higher than their rating. I saw that the Oculus lights used 4500mAH 26650 cells which were probably the highest capacity available when that light was introduced. Accurately rating a LiIon cell is a bit of a challenge. Do you use the industry de facto standard of measuring the discharge rate at 0.2C, which is useless for a flashlight that often operates at 1C or more? If I wanted to see accurate capacity ratings, I would like to see them tested at the operating current of the flashlight (and at various temperatures), which means that the numbers need to come from the flashlight vendor. Since they usually don't include batteries with their flashlights, they usually ignore such a test. To their credit, the high end bicycle light makers do supply batteries with their lights, and usually supply accurate numbers. "Everyone lies, but that's ok because nobody listens". (Nick Diamos) -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
#6
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New CCFL, 26650, 18650, or 3AA
On Tuesday, 30 June 2020 12:25:53 UTC-4, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 30 Jun 2020 04:32:31 -0700, sms wrote: On 6/29/2020 8:37 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote: On Mon, 29 Jun 2020 15:42:39 -0700, sms wrote: Another CCFL that makes a decent bicycle light (sorry Frank!): Huh? CCFL is a Cold Cathode Fluorscent Light. The few I've seen are either for colorful accent (visibility) bicycle lighting, or in an automotive "halo ring" that seems more decorative than useful. Something like this for a Mazda: https://www.ebay.com/itm/CCFL-Angel-Eye-Halo-Light-Ring-7000K-White-LED-Headlight-For-MAZDA-3-Sedan-PZ-/263752283408 What you found on Amazon seems to be an LED flashlight. It even says so in the description: "High Lumen LED chip delivers so much light..." Am I missing something here? Yes. I didn't want to spell it out as I think those that coined the phrase are insensitive. I prefer, "Inexpensive Flashlight Manufactured in China." You might want to amend your original posting and change the CCFL to LED. ? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MP9RTHM Note the lack of any specifications for Lumens, beamwidth, StVZO/TA compliance, etc. Yes. I think that the fact that they aren't making absurd lumen claims is a good thing. All they'll say is that the LED they use is rated at 800-1000 lumens. The EU apparently now has a "useful lumens" standard. I presume that you believe that no specifications are an improvement over inflated specifications. Well, that does offer considerable maneuvering room between these extremes, but doesn't really help the buyer determine the brightness of the light. Quite often, the same offshore manufacturers inflate their numbers for lumens, but fail to do so for current drain and battery life. Based on an average 100 lumens per watt efficiency, I can usually make a tolerable guess(tm) as to the lumens output (minus the lens losses). The lack of any specifications in the Amazon web page makes that impossible. However, not to worry. I've been told in this very newsgroup that lumens are not important and that beam pattern is what determines quality. Perhaps you can convince the Amazon vendor into providing an inflated beam pattern claim? It's pretty rare these days to find a 3x AA light, a lot of the lights use 3 AAA batteries which is not desirable. True. After the 1.5V AA alkaline batteries are depleted, some users plug in three 16500 LiIon cells at 3.7V each, and blow up the flashlight light. Oops. That should be a 14500 LiIon cell. I can't imagine that happening much since 16500 Li-Ion cells are not something the average consumer would ever buy. They're being offered for sale all over eBay and Amazon: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Li-Ion+14500+battery I've also repaired 3 such AA (14500) cell flashlights mostly be replacing the AMC7135 current regulator chips. It's probably not a common way to destroy a flashlight, but it happens. It also might be a good reason why flashlight vendors are hesitant to supply AA holders, while flashlights made for battery vendors have no such hesitation. The ability to use an 18650 battery is nice because these are much more widely available than a 26650 battery. I try to buy flashlights that fit 26550 cells because I can get a cheap adapter sleeve to also fit an 18650 cell. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=26650+to+18650+adapter The diameter of a 26650 cell is smaller than the 3AA adapter or the 18650 adapter that came with this flashlight. It works without it, but I worried about rattling so I put in a spacer so it fits snugly. Good point. The Amazon page says the OD (outside diameter) of the light is 30 mm. The 26650 cell is 26 mm wide, leaving about 1 or 1.5 mm for the flashlight wall thickness. With 3 AA batteries, I determined that they will fit into the 1 1/4" (31.75 mm) hole in an ancient RapiDesign large circle template. https://www.google.com/search?q=RapiDesign+large+circle+template&tbm=isch I can do the trig if you want, but a circle template is easier and quicker. There's no way a 32 mm dia three cell bundle is going to fit into a 27 mm hole. 27 mm is about 1" diameter and my three cell AA blundle doesn't come close to fitting into a 1" hole. My guess(tm) is that the Amazon flashlight in question actually uses three AAA cells. There is such a thing as a three AA battery holder: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33010330793.html Notice the OD of the battery holder is 30 mm, which is also the OD of the flashlight. Unless the flashlight body were infinitely thin, that's not going to work. The real issue is finding protected 26650 cells that are accurately rated. I haven't purchased these https://www.orbtronic.com/26650-battery-protected-li-ion but from what I read they actually test slightly higher than their rating. I saw that the Oculus lights used 4500mAH 26650 cells which were probably the highest capacity available when that light was introduced. Accurately rating a LiIon cell is a bit of a challenge. Do you use the industry de facto standard of measuring the discharge rate at 0.2C, which is useless for a flashlight that often operates at 1C or more? If I wanted to see accurate capacity ratings, I would like to see them tested at the operating current of the flashlight (and at various temperatures), which means that the numbers need to come from the flashlight vendor. Since they usually don't include batteries with their flashlights, they usually ignore such a test. To their credit, the high end bicycle light makers do supply batteries with their lights, and usually supply accurate numbers. "Everyone lies, but that's ok because nobody listens". (Nick Diamos) -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 I like an external battery pack on my bicycle headlights because in the dead of winter many internal batteries lose a LOT of run time. If the light is left on the bike for 1/2 hour or more outside in deep cold the internal battery may not run long at all. With an external battery pack I can tuck the battery on the inside of my jacket thereby greatly increasing my run time. Cheers |
#7
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New CCFL, 26650, 18650, or 3AA
On 6/30/2020 9:25 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
snip I presume that you believe that no specifications are an improvement over inflated specifications. The inflated specification is in the product name. It may be that Amazon is frowning on false product descriptions. snip Oops. That should be a 14500 LiIon cell. I can't imagine that happening much since 16500 Li-Ion cells are not something the average consumer would ever buy. They're being offered for sale all over eBay and Amazon: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Li-Ion+14500+battery I've also repaired 3 such AA (14500) cell flashlights mostly be replacing the AMC7135 current regulator chips. It's probably not a common way to destroy a flashlight, but it happens. It also might be a good reason why flashlight vendors are hesitant to supply AA holders, while flashlights made for battery vendors have no such hesitation. You can buy the dummy batteries to use with the 14500 cells and use one 14500 and two dummies (and in many cases one 14500 and one dummy). https://www.ebay.com/itm/133434659198 snip My guess(tm) is that the Amazon flashlight in question actually uses three AAA cells. It comes with a 3AA adapter and an 18650 spacer. snip Accurately rating a LiIon cell is a bit of a challenge. Do you use the industry de facto standard of measuring the discharge rate at 0.2C, which is useless for a flashlight that often operates at 1C or more? It is not useless to use the industry standard. It is known that that at higher discharge rates the mAH rating is lower. |
#8
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New CCFL, 26650, 18650, or 3AA
On Tue, 30 Jun 2020 10:03:20 -0700, sms
wrote: On 6/30/2020 9:25 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote: snip I presume that you believe that no specifications are an improvement over inflated specifications. The inflated specification is in the product name. It may be that Amazon is frowning on false product descriptions. Oddly, I've never considered the possibility of inflating the letters of the alphabet. I usually limit myself to inflating numbers. snip sniff You can buy the dummy batteries to use with the 14500 cells and use one 14500 and two dummies (and in many cases one 14500 and one dummy). https://www.ebay.com/itm/133434659198 Ummm... did you read the fine print? Can only be used with lithium iron phosphate battery and lithium battery. How to use: If your product uses 2 AA batteries, you can use one rechargeable 3V battery plus one fake battery to replace 2 AA batteries. This dummy battery won't work with ordinarily Li-Ion cells. snip sniff again My guess(tm) is that the Amazon flashlight in question actually uses three AAA cells. It comes with a 3AA adapter and an 18650 spacer. Did you order one to see what arrives? Or, did you email the vendor and ask what size cell fits in the 3 cell adapter? I'm too lazy to do so, but maybe you could spare a few dollars and an email to backup your claims? snip sniff yet again. Thou doth snip too much, methinks Accurately rating a LiIon cell is a bit of a challenge. Do you use the industry de facto standard of measuring the discharge rate at 0.2C, which is useless for a flashlight that often operates at 1C or more? It is not useless to use the industry standard. It is known that that at higher discharge rates the mAH rating is lower. Yep. Standards are very useful. I this case, the 0.2C de facto standard was contrived to increase the battery capacity (ma-hrs) numbers. Bigger numbers are better. However, battery specs are some other vendors problem. This vendor is just selling a flashlight. Too bad he can't be troubled to install an ammeter in series with his favored battery and actually measure the flashlight current drain. Nice of you to snip my section on trying to cram three AA cells, with a total OD of about 32 mm, into a flashlight which has an OD of 30 mm and a probable ID of 28 mm. That's not going to fit, not matter how you inflate or deflate the numbers. Do you still believe he's supplying a 3xAA adapter? I hope not. -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
#9
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New CCFL, 26650, 18650, or 3AA
On 6/30/2020 12:25 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
I've been told in this very newsgroup that lumens are not important and that beam pattern is what determines quality. Not by me, you haven't. Obviously, if the lumen output is too low even the best beam pattern won't work. You can test that with a good German headlight and a dead battery. What is true is that most bike lights in America use beam patterns as primitive as a stone axe. And many try to make up for that by blasting out insane numbers of lumens. Those may be OK for mountain biking, but they're inefficient and sometimes abusive to others on roads or MUPs. Even 60 lumens, properly focused, gives a luxurious amount of light for almost all bicycle riding conditions. There's no real reason for hundreds and hundreds of lumens in an on-road bike light. -- - Frank Krygowski |
#10
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New CCFL, 26650, 18650, or 3AA
On Tuesday, 30 June 2020 17:43:27 UTC-4, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 6/30/2020 12:25 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote: I've been told in this very newsgroup that lumens are not important and that beam pattern is what determines quality. Not by me, you haven't. Obviously, if the lumen output is too low even the best beam pattern won't work. You can test that with a good German headlight and a dead battery. What is true is that most bike lights in America use beam patterns as primitive as a stone axe. And many try to make up for that by blasting out insane numbers of lumens. Those may be OK for mountain biking, but they're inefficient and sometimes abusive to others on roads or MUPs. Even 60 lumens, properly focused, gives a luxurious amount of light for almost all bicycle riding conditions. There's no real reason for hundreds and hundreds of lumens in an on-road bike light. -- - Frank Krygowski There is if if you are riding a dark country road at night and want to see critters a fair distance away so that you don't startle them. Sixty lumens is nowhere near enough light for the roads I ride around here at night. I want to see the skunks before I startle them. As usual, your needs/wants vary from a lot of others. Cheers |
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