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MtnDon
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# Posted: 27 Aug 2015 10:18pm
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If anyone is interested in a small (120 mm x 24 mm diameter or 4.72 x 0.94 inches) very bright great quality flashlight this is for you. This is not a cheap piece of Chinese junk. The light was designed by a group of flashlight crazies scattered around the US and Europe. They all belong to the Budget Light Forum, one of a few forums that cater to folks who are crazy about bright flashlights. They negotiated manufacture to their demanding specs with a Chinese manufacturer. The lights are being sold through a Chinese based web vendor with a special discount code. $40 to the general public; $25 with discount. This group deal may terminate any time, but the response has been great so who knows when it may stop.
One warning; the light uses an 18650 size Litium Ion cell (battery), what the Tesla car runs on. This is rechargeable, so you need a charger. AA size batteries will not work. The light uses a copper printed circuit board for better heat dissipation, not many lights do especially cheap ones.
How bright? On turbo with a good 18650 it's about 1200 - 1400 lumens. Real lumens, not the exagerated lumens we see on cheap ebay, etc websites. Less than a minute at that brightness. User programmable to either 4 or 7 levels that go on down to what is called moonlight.
To get the discount code you need to be a member of the Budget Light Forum. That's easy and free just like here. The registration button may be hard to find. They have it in the left sidebar, part way down the page.
Once registered go to this topic. Send a PM to bugsy to get the discount code.
Then go to Banggood.com Order a light or two, or.... Apply the discount code in the checkout process and a discount gets applied to make the cost per unit $25. Standard two to three week shipping is free. Optional shipping is faster and costs extra.
You get to choose the tint or color temperature of the light. Tint 5A is the warmest at 4000 degrees K. Tint 3D is 5000K and tint 1A is 6500 K. If you aren't sure what that means this may help. Tint 1A usually has the highest lumen output. But I like 3D best of the three offerings.
I got one in July and ordered a couple more today and thought maybe someone here could be interested.
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CabinBuilder
Admin
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# Posted: 28 Aug 2015 08:13am
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Is this spam, MtnDon?
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 28 Aug 2015 09:32am - Edited by: MtnDon
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IF this was a post from a newly registered member it would in all likelihood be spam. I don't think of it as spam though, but that is because I am an established member and I'm hooked on high power flashlights. I thought there may be some interest.
There is sometimes a fine line between real spam and info meant in a helpful friendly way. If it makes you uncomfortable by all means delete it. However I see this as no worse than a link to deal on an alcohol stove or chain saw that somebody loves.
I should maybe add, reinforce, that this is not a drugstore light. It does not use AA type batteries. It uses a 3.7 volt type 18650 lithium cobalt oxide cell (think Tesla) that requires a special voltage charger. The light itself has a low voltage cut off built in to prevent cell damage.
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rafterman
Member
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# Posted: 28 Aug 2015 09:41am
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Thanks for the heads up MtnDon. I've used BLF a few times previously for researching purchases and troubleshooting. I'd highly recommend it for anyone looking for info on flashlights, chargers and batteries.
That looks like a great deal and I'll probably order up a couple and give them a try.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 28 Aug 2015 12:01pm
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I'm tempted. Don't know what I'd use a 1400 lumen flashlight for though. Light up the coyotes at a mile away?
Do you have a pic? Does it get real hot in your hand?
Still. Nights gettin' home late mountain biking with the ol' headlamp running low. This thing would have been well appreciated. We walked home with the bikes many a time just 'cause it was too dark to see.
Can you fan or spread the light?
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leonk
Member
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# Posted: 28 Aug 2015 01:55pm
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I have a bunch of cheap lights, they serve me well.
Why do I need this? I am serious, not rhetorical.
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FishHog
Member
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# Posted: 28 Aug 2015 02:57pm
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Quoting: leonk I have a bunch of cheap lights, they serve me well.Why do I need this? I am serious, not rhetorical.
Like anything in life, there are cheap options and quality options. Its a personal thing some people like quality in somethings. If your happy with your cheap lights, they you don't need this.
its like a cheap $15 hunting knife or a $150 custom built one. They both cut, but some people see the value in the custom one.
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 28 Aug 2015 03:02pm - Edited by: MtnDon
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Quoting: creeky Do you have a pic? Does it get real hot in your hand?
Sorry no pictures of my own. Mine was left at the cabin and I'm not there. There are photos on the banggood site.
Heat? Yes on maximum it gets quite warm, maybe hot when left on for more than 10 minutes on high. The light does use a copper 'star' to mount the LED. That helps transfer heat to the aluminum shell. That is good. When the LED itself gets too hot they dim and in extreme cases have a meltdown. Not good.
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Quoting: creeky Don't know what I'd use a 1400 lumen flashlight for though
Not too many of us probably need one. For me it's a case of wanting. Doesn't have to make sense. . I plan on leaving one at the cabin. The new ones are future giveaways, come Christmas.
I've had very good experience with the 18650 Li-Ions holding a charge over many months. I also have an Xtar MC-1 Plus charger left at the cabin and one in the trailer. They are single cell and run off a USB port. $10 and they have a good control circuit.
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Quoting: creeky Can you fan or spread the light?
No adjustment. It has a beam typical of this style of light, enough side spill to be handy to see near things and reasonable reach.
~~~~~~Quoting: leonk I have a bunch of cheap lights, they serve me well. Why do I need this? I am serious, not rhetorical.
You probably don't unless you have a "I wish my light did (fill in the blank....). I've had a cheap light crap out on me a few years ago, the switch stopped working. It was at a bad time and since then I don't like cheap lights.
For many folks a good 2 x AA LED light may be a better choice. Load lithium disposable cells and they store well for years with no use, no need to keep a cell charged. But if you use a light a lot a rechargeable like the BLF A6 can be a very cool tool.
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There are a host of very cool flashlights out there to choose from. The new thing is to build a single cell 18650 that has an integral charger. I have finally decided which one I like best... Nitecore MH20. I have one coming... yes I am a flashaholic. Almost as bright as the BLF A6, but shorter and the charger built in. Uses a standard protected 18650 cell (LiCO). Plug a USB 2 micro plug in the side to charge. It also has a state of charge indicator built in.
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I have a host of used old Maglites, a 2C, 2D and 3D and they are too well made to want to toss. But soooo heavy compared to new LED, and soooo much dimmer even with a xenon bulb. So they sit in a drawer. Times and products change..........
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 28 Aug 2015 03:55pm
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put me on your xmas list.
ho ho ho. and i don't particularly want to think that far into the ... well. future.
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 29 Aug 2015 02:33am - Edited by: DaveBell
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Read the comments posted on (below) this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oHzKRq7qkU
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 29 Aug 2015 10:17am - Edited by: MtnDon
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Thanks Dave. It is always good to know the vendor one is buying from. Note the comments are months apart. Let me add that so far over the course of a year I have made about 30 purchases, some with several items. I had one problem with a small electronic component and BG sent me a new one N/C after I sent a photo of the problem.
This flashlight is the most expensive item I have bought from them. Virtually all of my purchases are under $10 each, many are under $5, some less than a dollar each. Most of these are small electronic components, LED's, driver boards, PWM controllers, etc. I figure I save enough on buying them I can take a chance. So far, so good, though. We each have our own comfort level, what risk we are comfortable with.
I'm not saying they are perfect or that what you will be 100% fine and you will be forever happy. Everybody can have a bad day. But not everybody receives shoddy goods every time. The purchase terms do include the information that returns are to China and that is a ridiculous cost from the USA. Costs more than the items I have bought. That is a factor in why I restrict myself to small, relatively cheap items.
Make your own assessments.
I have a friend who thinks I am crazy buying direct from China. He buys $5 to $10 worth of lottery tickets every week. He is yet to hit it big. Most of the time he doesn't even hit small. To me when a lottery ticket is purchased it is a virtual certainty that the purchase will involve faulty goods, the ticket will not work. So which one of us is really crazy?
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 29 Aug 2015 11:44am
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So my curiosity was raised. I googled something like "is banggood.com any good"
More favorable reports than unfavorable. But as always, Caveat Emptor.
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bobrok
Member
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# Posted: 12 Oct 2015 06:40pm
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Bumping this older thread because I think the subject matter fits; if not, well...I'll re-post as a new topic.
I have so many flashlights that use the old PR-13 bulb which I'd like to convert to LED.
I've just spent an hour on-line and I don't believe it but I cannot find a simple answer to the question "will this LED that you're asking up to $29.95 for retrofit into a 6v. PR-13 base?
I have, among other flashlights, my favorite, an old Ray-O-Vac workhorse lantern (one of those with the red flasher in the rear) that I just love to use at camp. It's very convenient because of the vertical design; uses a 6v. lantern battery. I can't find an LED replacement!!!
I thought those PR-13s were so common that it would be a snap to find an LED replacement. Hah!
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 12 Oct 2015 10:28pm - Edited by: MtnDon
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I believe the "PR" portion of the bulb description denotes the size of the metal base. The numeral denotes the electrical specifications of the lamp. There are 7 to 30 volt led's made with a PR base. HQRP has several models in voltages from something like 3 to 30 volts IIRC.
I tried a replacement led type in a Maglite a few years ago. It was brighter than the original incandescent and brighter than the xenon I also tried. But even my cheapest $3 Chinese LED direct import was about as bright as the $17 led lamp I tried.
One of the issues with building an led to replace an incandescent is the dissipation of the led heat, when the led is driven to produce more light. There just isn't enough metal in many old flashlights to act as a heat sink.
Here's an HQRP for 3.2-9 VDC They claim 180 lumens. It might reach that and it may not. ??? One reason for the cost is each led needs a driver circuit as well as the led and the mount. I think Amazon also sells them.
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If anyone is willing to risk US$3 on a small flashlight that is quite bright have a look here. I've seen them as low as $2.50 which is what I paid a couple months ago for a couple. On an AA they last a reasonable time and don't get hot. On a rechargeable 14500 (3.7 volt lithium) they have "Wow" output, though get hot and don't run as long. Bright but still not the advertised 600 lumens. (The Chinese seem to have no consumer advertising protection laws.)
It is a zoom. Zoomed out it projects an image of the led emitter. Zoomed back the light pattern is circular and very even; no hot spot. I have a half dozen or so now, some on the 14500. One of the first two I bought arrived DOA. Gearbest offered an immediate refund or a replacement, no questions asked. I took the refund and later found the problem to be a poor driver connection... cold solder joint.
If anyone takes a flyer on one of those don't buy any of the cheapy 14500 cells. They are often junk and dangerous to boot. A good 14500 will cost twice to three times the f'light.
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 12 Oct 2015 10:35pm
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The light in the OP has turned out to be generally good. My first run light is still a nice light although another family member talked me into giving it to them. There were some quality issues in the second run but as far as I know that has been resolved.
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 12 Oct 2015 10:38pm
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If anyone wants to pursue a better, brighter light here's a link to a guy in UT that sells all sorts of cool lights and DIY parts.
(No that is not spam...  I list it as he has been a great reliable source that I have used. He has received a whole lot of my money for assorted stuff and I have been very happy with the products and advice. )
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 12 Oct 2015 11:01pm
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PR flange base list
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beachman
Member
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2015 05:58am
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I have a great flashlight that is LED and rechargeable that came with a charger. It uses the 18650 lithium battery (big like 2/3 of a corona). The specs say 1x2000MAh 18650. Takes a CREE R3 bulb. It is a little less than 6 inches long and 1 3/8 inches wide. It has a push button on the base and goes from high (200 lumins), off, low (75 lumens), off, strobe in SOS Morse mode. I love this thing and received it as a gift so I have no purchase info. The box says it is a Starline.
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