Hello again Clive, I just love these "Oh let's pull it to bit's anyway and see how it tick's" video's that you do so well. You must have the best job ever pulling these little things to bits. Your channel is one of if not the best of all the "Bust It cause I can" video channels on TH-cam and I spend a lot of time watching Big Clive pulling things to bits to see how it is made. Keep up the great work Clive. Cheer's From Down - Under Australia (Perth).
Hi Clive. I know a few people (myself included) who own these lights. We use them for night fishing. The red led is designed to give someone who is walking behind a point of reference to the person in front when the headtorches are being used for hiking and treking. They are very bright and work great as fishing head torches. Thanks for the strip down 😁
I got my husband one of these for work, though I got the one with two extra lights on either side and below of the main center light. He's an electrician. He got some good rechargeable batteries and it lasts him an entire shift at work. Glad to know it's safe because I was a little worried about that battery pack sitting at the back of his head, paranoid about the Chinese made stuff like this. Thank you.
My Mum got me one of these for Christmas, but only now am I seeing your tear-down. I like it quite nicely, especially for interchanging the batteries with the ones for my "high power" lasers.
OK, if anyone had any doubts that +BigCliveDotCom is an engineer, look at 17:42 and you will see the desk of a true engineer. I'll go on a limb and guess he knows exactly what's there and where. It would be great sometime when you have a wee bit of spirits in you to do a behind the lens look at all the bits on your desk that things were taken to. Keep up the great work, Clive.
I absolutely enjoy your videos. I get home from a long day at the desk and there you are with your cheerful voice pulling apart something and getting right down to its inner workings. I've been doing that kind of thing since I was 4 years old, but never quite understood how everything worked like you do haha. Actually, you inspired me to take apart a LCD TV tonight. Turns out one of the MOSFET drivers for the backlight was dead so I replaced it, and its now supplying power to the backlight, however there still is no glow. Thanks to your wonderful explanations, I have a better understanding on how to proceed :)
This video came in handy, as I just purchased one of these, for $10 US, and I am intending on killing the red LED in the battery pack, and killing the strobe light, by adding an extra power switch to the power lead, so one doesn't have to cycle through all the differing light states. There is no way to kill the strobe through the chip. Thanks for the video!
Trust me it's actually not good enough for biking. I have s more expensive Australian made one, and it's almost like comparing night to day to this one. I think both just uses a Cree xml led, but the difference is huge.
I have the one like Ralph's and I love it for small work and soldering, where you need a bright light just on the spot you need to see to do the job right. I mentioned them to my Dentist one visit, the next trip to her office and the entire staff were using a bit smaller version of these, they seemed to love it as well, lights up a mouth well for dental repair.
Thanks, very interesting. I and my fellow group of fell runners (Mountains, for our US friends), use very similar head torches to these, and they are really very good,our kit tends to get abused with rain, sub zero temp, falls,etc, and they survive very well. £10 delivered from China, whats not to like, well.... Main problem you do tend to blind your running mates if you look at them, but the real bad point is the intensity of light stays constant, and then wham, it cuts out, and you are on top of a mountain,freezing cold, dark(Obviously), and in deep doo doo. OK it does have a warning light, mounted on the back of your head to warn of low voltage, but you cannot see it when it is on your head. Thanks again for your informative video,we all carry a second torch just in case.
The red LED on the back is to let people behind you know you are there and stop them walking into the back of you. I used mine for exploring mines and caves, very reliable and almost always on the reduced setting. It's a really nice light.
these things are great, ive had loads of head torches, all a bit crap, but these are ridiculously bright, even on the low setting. great for cycling , walking and working. the elastic tends to be a bit crap and stretches after a few weeks and eventually becomes useless , the buttons can get hard to press, other than that, with some decent cells such as Panasonic, Torchy etc they are amazing for the price. I keep buying them for friends etc now. You won't even bother with a big torch anymore . Thanks for the look inside. be fun to hack one , lose the strobe nonsense and fit a dimmer switch.
The red LED at the back is a safety feature to stop trucks hitting you from behind. This especially useful in submarines, sewers and while ice climbing.
When I was working on trains we used to fix this type of lamp to our (mandatory) bump caps. That way you didn't end up with a dent in your forehead by the end of the shift. A lot of our work was done over night and the power would be on and off either because the train software wasn't quite there yet or because the train had gone into 'loadshed'.
+bigclivedotcom Clive if you frequented arcades in Glasgow in the 80s we may have crossed paths. Enterprise on Buchanan st, San Remo under the bridge, Big Apple Sauchiehall st. Remember those old haunts?
I paused the video when you picked the iPad back up and I saw you have lots of neat things piled up, maybe you could do a video of your parts bin(s) and some more cool electronics? Also that light is really neat
Like this comment if you think big Clive should make a pinball machine tour or room/house tour, or tour of what he does with old things he doesn't put together again.
@@ELECTROHAXZ Clive seems to be willing to show anything, I don't believe(nor like the idea of) threats are necessary. I will say that seeing the bits around Clive's clear space makes me feel a little better about my complete mess of a bench. Thanks, for that Clive.
Ive bought several of these over the last couple of years. they perform well. If you replace the lens with a flat piece of plastic they give a much wider beam, much better for a work light. They seem to be designed for cycling. Biggest annoyance is the headband is small so wearing it with a hat is not possible unless you have a child sized head.. Also the annoying strobe mode is useless. Would be nice to find a way to disable that mode completely. If you order with batteries they are always counterfeit and far below the claimed mAH rating. Thanks for the great review!
I have one too and tried pressing the on/off button as you did, same SOS mode. Good to know. Works with two 3200mAh cells like 10 hours in the second 'power saving' mode.
I have been using a Cree led mounted on my work helmet for the past year and a half. It's been superb. Very useful on night shifts in dark dingy places. My only gripe with them is how far they project from the helmet. And the cables needing a re solder once or twice as the wire fatigues.
I've always understood that it's best not to use protected cells in a flashlight, because they shut off at a certain voltage to "save themselves. That's great until you find yourself in a position where a damaged cell (but working light) is better than falling off a cliff. If you see what I mean. Thoughts?
+unixhead101 Another reason I don't like flashlights with booster circuits in them. With a traditional 3 x AAA head torch you can at least compensate for the gradually reducing intensity rather than have it pump out high light levels then suddenly tail off dramatically.
If you're in a situation like that you should have a backup torch, and a friend who can give you his backup torch if you break both of yours. If I'm doing a night dive on SCUBA I carry my main torch, two backup torches and a strobe. The illumination under 20m of ocean at night nil. You wouldn't be able to see your hand in front of your face; but part of SCUBA training is being able to operate all your gear with zero visibility. The most serious problem is signaling. If you surfaced out of position and didn't have a torch to signal the boat with you would be monumentally fucked.
I got into some "urbex" activity a year or two ago and got obsessed with cheap Chinese flashlights. I've even purchased small ones in bulk to give to relatives and all still work well! (I did find two "duds" in testing that weren't assembled properly) Still, I like this one just for the battery holder! LOL
I found a similar IC in my flashlight and the two spare pins actually set the modes on mine. By shorting one to ground it disabled the flashy mode and is just Hi-Low-Off now. The long press SOS still works. I like this IC because the switch doesn't carry any current - with my previous flashlights the switch always became intermittent.
i bought one of there cree flash lights it fits in your hand, zoom able light.. 5 modes.. SOS, bright, med, low, strobe.. its a great little flash light for 6.00 i have bought 8 of them to give to family and keep in cars etc.. my mom even keeps on n her purse because its so small.. yet so bright.. very cool technology for the price.. i may have to get a head band one could com ein handy where you need your hands.. id probably get the one with 3 Lights. :D LED flash light crazy bright, cool stuff.
Seems like it's pretty legit for a low-buck version. Features and build quality from the disassembly don't seem bad at all. The battery rundown is probably a feature in some circles though, as you have to consider that some people would rather eke every possible amount of light out of something over protecting the battery. (Not that you'd do that all the time, but in an some emergency it matters.)
I have a few of these. They are really useful for allsorts. In the loft, under the floor, working outside. Emergency backup for walking in winter. Just need to get good rechargeable batts. Many from ebay are fake and nowhere near capacity they claim. Oh bloody hell I already commented a while ago and can't even remember!
Hi there Clive. I do have many Chinese flash lights,some head torches too.From very cheap £1 to £60 MagLites and Led Lenser ones.The CREE leds are fairly cheap these days and in your lamp you have CREE T6 i believe it is 4000k,as it looked light blueish. Some light modders run these leds at 4A+ but you need a lot of heat sinking for that.With a proper 18650 Bat you can get it above 2A on high. Trow that UselessFire in a recycle bin and get yourself an used laptop battery you will find better 18650s in it.There are a lot of crappy and dangerous 18650s on ebay, and some decent ones in between. There will be a big difference with a decent battery and longer life. Have fun and be safe. You know what you are doing anyway.
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Just watched two of your videos ... and there is two new again. Keep it up forever!
Just for everyone's convenience here's the link to where i found this product on Amazon. It it $14.99 US. www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00QMFKFYS/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1TBVW9LIF1ADQ
+A. Zak OK, that last link was for a nonfocusable version. Here is the focusable version, and for $19.99 US it comes with 2 DoubtFire 18650 cells and a non-trustable charger. www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00NIOCZIK/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1ZVYDKE3EQ0PV
I have their bikelamp, same modes you need to cycle thru :) With zoom, quite rugged. The switch needed cleaning after couple of weeks but seems to hold on now. Apart from the switch, i could call it actually really good, the zoom is really handy and the small one has also a lot of power for it's size.
Doh, having read through the comments the cyclist aspect has been mentioned LOL, On a completely different topic. I'm a spark by trade and many people ask me about upgrading from Halogen down lighters or incandescent down lighters to LED and even upgrades from and too the relatively short lived compact fluorescent technology. Having thought about it I realised just how complexed the subject becomes so I think the man for the job is you.I know GU 10s are easy to change like for like but electronic ballast driven 12v halogen can get tricky if the ballasts have a minimum load expectation. The old Eyeball spots 240v BC or ES can present issues in locating the right lamps. I thought I know rather Large clive understands the UK maket for lighting solutions and would more than likely have some fittings to demonstrate how it all works. Thanks Clive regards Sean
+Sean Regan I recommend against using the original electronic halogen transformers. They put out a high frequency spiky wave that peaks at about 30V. Better swapping them out for generously rated regulated 12V DC supplies for the longest reliability or swapping completely for GU10 lamps.
+bigclivedotcom Totally agree. The reason I thought it worthy of a video is that on inspection some 12v Halogen transformers will work okay with LEDs especially the old transformers where as the electronic ones don't like the low load of LEDS. sometimes you find that a whole room or area has any number of transformers serving 1 or more lights each. finding and replacing them can be a pain and if they are screwed down out of reach even more so. with LED 1 driver can be used to power larger numbers of fittings. sometimes its better to rewire them all and connect them to 1 LED Driver. However I rather hoped you might do a video showing the various different ways of upgrading to LED showing some common scenarios from existing halogen installations. Its an often asked question thrown at me and of course each installation is different. I hope youll agree and maybe cover the subject in future videos cheers Clive
I think the original use for the headlamp was for biking and they just kept it in all the models so they can rebox it for other uses. The red LED in back is so when you're biking at night on the road people can see you from behind.
Reminds me of the head torch I bought from Lidl about 10-ish years ago described as a CREE LED, but looked like a really oddly shaped white LED (which looks greenish-white now compared to more modern white LEDs), only mine is powered by 3x AAs, has three brightness modes, no seizure-inducing flash mode and a little LED gauge for the battery level, damned if I can recall what I paid for it though... :) And the impromptu "behind the scenes", that was quite fun... :D
I have a pocket torch / flashlight, that says "Cree" It uses one 18650 also. On high it it gets uncomfortably hot after just a few minutes. It claims to have an output of 1700 lumens running a Cree, T6 7 watt LED.. I can tell you, it will over power my 55 watt headlights in my car. Mine is the old style, if you use it on low, it will be on low when you turn it off and back on again. I found one very interesting. Even on low power, it is so bright, using it to see the inside of a PC is hard to do, one reflection blinds you! Almost to bright for daily use. Better for tactical.
Hey Clive you should take a look at a Fenix or Thrunite headtorch. If you are impressed by the brightness of this, then a real one will blow your socks off!
I bought the same from Amazon. It came with batts, wall and USB chargers. Worked well for a while then the batts got very weak. Bought some good Panasomic batts and it works well. I found out about the SOS mode by plugging the USB cable into a PC. It jumps into SOS mode for some reason. I do wish it could focus to a wider beam sometimes.
+Daniel Hutson It also might serve spelunkers, and miners well. I was a commuting cyclist and this light would have worked well on moonless nights and roads without white edge markings to stay on tarmac surfaces. The incandescent headlight I did use back in the nineties had a well focused beam I swung back and forth to establish the edge of the road and avoid punctures. I would have loved this unit back then. The red led would have added to the rear flashers we did have then.
No. It's red because red does not make your eyes strain and adjust at night so you don't lose your light vision. Everyone who actually uses a headlamp for outdoors activities knows this.
When I was in the US Army Basic Combat Training course back in 1970, we were issued two small strips of luminous tape, it was to be applied to the back of our helmets for night operations. When we were walking through the deep forest of the great Northwest on Fort Lewis Washington, you could see where the fellow in front of you was by this tape. You were supposed to strive to walk just the right distance where the two strips seemed to just separate, and thus be safe from bumping into each other in the ever so dark night. It seemed to work, however I never again saw that tape being used anywhere for anything in the following 8 years of active duty.
I assume the Red LED on the back, is so colleagues can easily find you from behind and gives them an indication as to where you are, for proximity. If you can see where their light is shining, you still do not know exactly where they (the source) is. So you don't actually knock them off the cliff ETC. If you can find someone's head in the dark, chances are they will be just below it. Also good when riding a bike, to be seen from the rear.!
Hey mate i have taken apart a similiar light and even thought the board says CREE on the MCPB its most likely a latticebright all these lights seem to be the same internal just look different on the outside mine is the same as yours! The specs sheet is right i measured my current at the LED it can do about 2.4amps!
Could you do a video on some of the other "Cree" LED lights from China? There are a lot for $0.99 shipped on eBay, advertised at 2000 lumens and the like, in aluminum colors. I'd love to see a breakdown of one of those.
Hi Clive, Not read through comments but the Red LED might make the unit appealing to cyclists white front red rear. thought it worth mentioning. cheers for the vids.Sean
I've just discovered your channel and haven't seen all your videos but I have to ask if you have an oscilloscope. It would be cool to see the change in duty cycle or frequency at different power settings and just what frequencies they use.
great video Clive. I have a couple of the cheap 7 LED "Cree" lights for the front of my bike (offroad use). for around 20 quid they are amazing value. the multi led ones have a small boost converter inside the light unit itself (and no reverse polarity protection). different brands all seem to be based round the same template design. Same modes available (full, half and strobe - not sure about SOS, will have to check) and mine both have an obvious flicker on half mode. clamps and battery packs they provide are terrible.
You can take the light off the band also. On the rear there is a small indent for your thumbnail or similar. Lift the lever slightly and the light slides off the plastic carrier.
You sir are a brave man, putting an ultrafire cell that close to your body, those things are leathal when used in high amp situations, actually you should do a teardown and see what is in it, i would imagine a lot of sand for a start :)
Looks like a XM-L T6 LED and at 1.5a should be putting out around 800-900 lumens, but doesn't look like it will dissipate heat too well so will quickly drop to closer to 600 lumens.
Clive I have recently come across a product-type I think you will like/be terrified by. It is the mains-fed whirlpool bath machine. You put them in the bath and they create bubbles and water jets.
+goose300183 I hope it's unearthed, made in China and sold on eBay cheaply and with submerged mains voltage contacts. That would be a proper electro-bath.
This flashlight is good. (compared to other Chinese headlights) Only really bad downside is the zooming mechanics. The o-ring will break quite fast and it's there to provide friction when zooming and to hold it's position.
Ha many of these Chinese lights boast an output of 2000+ lumens. I have an old Maglite with a genuine cree led upgrade fitted. It's rated at around 180 lumen. I tried out a 2000 lumen light off ebay as a comparison and it was only slightly brighter. I also have a torch from also that is rated at 500 lumen. That light is far brighter than the ebay 2000 lumen torch. I think the Chinese add an extra 0 when giving a lumen rating. Great video. ATB Steve.
Clive, about shipping the batteries from China, there was a recent ICAO rule change that effectively banned lithium batteries as cargo on passenger airplanes. I'd expect that to be a factor in the clampdown you've noticed.
the xml-t6 should be driven at 3 amps. Also word of caution, the batteries in one of these install in parallel, if someone doesn't pay attention and installs the batteries in the conventional series way you are creating a dead short.
I put foam tape on the back and front part of mine because they're uncomfortable to wear for an extended amount of time. For the price, I can't complain. They're bright and my Samsung 18650 cells last several hours if they're charged with a decent 18650 charger. Also, I'm assuming the red light on the back is added as a safety feature, say if you were riding a bike or something.
The LED is likely a Lattice Bright CREE knockoff. Very commonly used in low budget "CREE" lights. I could tell already by the really cold color temp when it was turned on by itself. Lattice Bright used to even copy the CREE model names as well but recently changed them.
The led on the back and the flashing are for cyclists. I use this exact one in my shop, and it holds up shockingly well in that harsh environment as chap as it was!
My ears perked up when you said pinball machines too, why oh why have you never treated us to vids of them! As for the lamp in this vid, I have the same unit with the charger and batteries as with your bothers, the batteries were UltraFire brand claiming 4200mAh and weighed about 48g, the capacity of was less than 900mAh ,they were soon disposed of. The charger too seemed a bit rubbish and instead I purchased some branded Panasonic NCR18650B's and the Xtar VC4 charger. I don't see any flicker looking at the light or its output, but do notice anything fast moving looks like its strobed. And btw, The white plastic retainer/reflector on mine is smooth, yours looks like its been abused somehow. I paid just over £10 for mine with free shipping, and I'm very happy with it. I did complain about the batteries and that I didn't recognise the LED as the claimed CREE Q5 model, but after very nice communication from the seller I found out the LED did turn out to be a CREE, but the XP-E R3, and it looks pretty impressive on the data sheet. The one concern I have is that the electronics wont shut down when the voltage gets too low, so I think it could damage your expensive 18650's if you leave it on by accident. Also the battery compartment on mine only took the button topped 18650, not the much more common flat top cells, but a quick hack to move the positive terminal plate to inside the battery compartment from outside of it worked fine for flattop cells.
Back in the days when I was in school, learning how electricity works, the schematics of a flashlight looked something like that: Battery - Switch - Lamp. It's pretty simple, really. I don't see why you should build overly complicated microcontrollers to turn a freaking light on and off. It's just more stuff that can break down and has to be replaced, or in that case, has to be discarded for a new one because you can not replace it.
The red LED is meant to be seen not used to see by. So we don't want it bright and blinding people behind. In my opinion they are correct to have it the way they do.
the Red LED on the back is for safety purpose like if you used it while riding a bike on the road for instance. the Ultra Fire batteries are the most ripped off batteries, if you can be sure they are original one's then the rating should be fairly accurate, some however are reclaimed laptop batteries re-covered in new plastic cases (I heard) so beware...
the red LED isnt pointless if youre a cyclist, that head torch would be pretty damn good for cycling because its so bright and you have the red light for the back of your head, an all in one package
I have one like this from Amazon. Great torch but the charger was a deathtrap and I had to mod it to incorporate a fuse and greater clearances. I didn't test the charger enclosure for flammability (obviously) but I never leave it charging unattended
It seems most of these style LED flashlights have the annoying strobe effects. I have a decent hand held one I bought off fleamazon and I it's a "touch" button so very easy to switch to strobe when turning on/off. I'd have to look into what it would take to take it apart without breaking it so I can just change the circuitry. I like the idea of using the standard lithium ion cells though as you can always have a separate charger and spare cells and have lots of light for a long time if camping or something then charge the cells back up with a solar charger during the day.
Clive I have one similar to this. It now won't work unless plugged into a charger. I am keen to get learning about electronics. Do you have any idea what could be wrong with it
i changed the wires to thicker ones and the amps increased by 20-25% very nice :D but what can i do more (in the circuit) to get more power? the lifetime of the LED doesnt matter...
Always felt the same way about the ultrafire cells. Very unnerving. However fire plays such a powerful and mythical role in chinese culture and history its unlikely to change.
I've had a few head lamps over the years and find the part that seems to fail most is the elastic head band which is really annoying seeing as though the main bits are usually well made and would last a very long time. Also have a few "UltraFire" 18650 5,000mAh batteries and the name really put me off especially after the incidents of fire caused by lithium batteries over the years.
Impromptu tour of Clive's workshop. Loved it.
Hello again Clive, I just love these "Oh let's pull it to bit's anyway and see how it tick's" video's that you do so well. You must have the best job ever pulling these little things to bits. Your channel is one of if not the best of all the "Bust It cause I can" video channels on TH-cam and I spend a lot of time watching Big Clive pulling things to bits to see how it is made. Keep up the great work Clive. Cheer's From Down - Under Australia (Perth).
Hi Clive. I know a few people (myself included) who own these lights. We use them for night fishing. The red led is designed to give someone who is walking behind a point of reference to the person in front when the headtorches are being used for hiking and treking. They are very bright and work great as fishing head torches. Thanks for the strip down 😁
_Because I was gonna take it to bits anyway, _*_yes indeed_*
I love the inflection on that too much.
I got my husband one of these for work, though I got the one with two extra lights on either side and below of the main center light. He's an electrician. He got some good rechargeable batteries and it lasts him an entire shift at work. Glad to know it's safe because I was a little worried about that battery pack sitting at the back of his head, paranoid about the Chinese made stuff like this. Thank you.
My Mum got me one of these for Christmas, but only now am I seeing your tear-down. I like it quite nicely, especially for interchanging the batteries with the ones for my "high power" lasers.
OK, if anyone had any doubts that +BigCliveDotCom is an engineer, look at 17:42 and you will see the desk of a true engineer. I'll go on a limb and guess he knows exactly what's there and where. It would be great sometime when you have a wee bit of spirits in you to do a behind the lens look at all the bits on your desk that things were taken to. Keep up the great work, Clive.
I second a fizzy-spirits fueled look behind the lens.
@@illiteratebeef Hehe! I see how he has masking tape to fence off the area the camera can normally see.
The red LED on the back is likely so they can sell/market it as a "bicycle headlamp with red rear light".
I absolutely enjoy your videos. I get home from a long day at the desk and there you are with your cheerful voice pulling apart something and getting right down to its inner workings. I've been doing that kind of thing since I was 4 years old, but never quite understood how everything worked like you do haha.
Actually, you inspired me to take apart a LCD TV tonight. Turns out one of the MOSFET drivers for the backlight was dead so I replaced it, and its now supplying power to the backlight, however there still is no glow. Thanks to your wonderful explanations, I have a better understanding on how to proceed :)
i love your el-cheapo product reviews and teardowns. you're the best bigclive. keep up the good work.
This video came in handy, as I just purchased one of these, for $10 US, and I am intending on killing the red LED in the battery pack, and killing the strobe light, by adding an extra power switch to the power lead, so one doesn't have to cycle through all the differing light states. There is no way to kill the strobe through the chip. Thanks for the video!
Looks like a good light for riding bike after dark, the white head light, the read TAIL light.
+Jerry Ericsson Exactly my thoughts when Clive said "no obvious reason"
Trust me it's actually not good enough for biking. I have s more expensive Australian made one, and it's almost like comparing night to day to this one. I think both just uses a Cree xml led, but the difference is huge.
Jerry Ericsson , thank you for your service
I have the one like Ralph's and I love it for small work and soldering, where you need a bright light just on the spot you need to see to do the job right. I mentioned them to my Dentist one visit, the next trip to her office and the entire staff were using a bit smaller version of these, they seemed to love it as well, lights up a mouth well for dental repair.
Thanks, very interesting. I and my fellow group of fell runners (Mountains, for our US friends), use very similar head torches to these, and they are really very good,our kit tends to get abused with rain, sub zero temp, falls,etc, and they survive very well. £10 delivered from China, whats not to like, well....
Main problem you do tend to blind your running mates if you look at them, but the real bad point is the intensity of light stays constant, and then wham, it cuts out, and you are on top of a mountain,freezing cold, dark(Obviously), and in deep doo doo. OK it does have a warning light, mounted on the back of your head to warn of low voltage, but you cannot see it when it is on your head.
Thanks again for your informative video,we all carry a second torch just in case.
The red LED on the back is to let people behind you know you are there and stop them walking into the back of you. I used mine for exploring mines and caves, very reliable and almost always on the reduced setting. It's a really nice light.
We got a glimpse behind the curtain for a second there! :) Can we get a tour of your bench one day?
+Chris Brent Ditto! :-)
+Chris Brent +bigclivedotcom We don't mind a mess! We'd like a tour!
+IBWatchinUrVids If it's not a mess, you're not working.
Yes, please!
Funny, like he broke the 4th wall!
these things are great, ive had loads of head torches, all a bit crap, but these are ridiculously bright, even on the low setting. great for cycling , walking and working. the elastic tends to be a bit crap and stretches after a few weeks and eventually becomes useless , the buttons can get hard to press, other than that, with some decent cells such as Panasonic, Torchy etc they are amazing for the price. I keep buying them for friends etc now. You won't even bother with a big torch anymore . Thanks for the look inside. be fun to hack one , lose the strobe nonsense and fit a dimmer switch.
The red LED at the back is a safety feature to stop trucks hitting you from behind. This especially useful in submarines, sewers and while ice climbing.
When I was working on trains we used to fix this type of lamp to our (mandatory) bump caps. That way you didn't end up with a dent in your forehead by the end of the shift. A lot of our work was done over night and the power would be on and off either because the train software wasn't quite there yet or because the train had gone into 'loadshed'.
I love how it says "LED HEADLIGHT" on the sides just so you'll never forget what this contraption is.
Cree makes the best led's. Made in North Carolina where I live. Good stuff. Good video!
Pinball machines?! I love pinball - SHOW US, BigClive!
+zaprodk Later, but in the meantime.. Bally Centaur, Bally Eight Ball Deluxe LE and Gottlieb Haunted House.
+bigclivedotcom
Clive if you frequented arcades in Glasgow in the 80s we may have crossed paths. Enterprise on Buchanan st, San Remo under the bridge, Big Apple Sauchiehall st. Remember those old haunts?
+magicaardvark1 My main haunt was Treasure Island on Jamaica Street.
+bigclivedotcom Will you take the pinball machines to bits?
+SURPLUSNiNjA I may show the guts of them at some point.
I have 4 similar. They are excellent. Fascinating to see one taken apart!
I paused the video when you picked the iPad back up and I saw you have lots of neat things piled up, maybe you could do a video of your parts bin(s) and some more cool electronics? Also that light is really neat
+Robert Powell Yes, I kinda want like a "room" or even "house toor" at some point, he seems to pile up quite interesting things there ;)
+Darie H
I don't know, Clive looks like a tough fellow. He probably breaks us, before we break him ;)
Like this comment if you think big Clive should make a pinball machine tour or room/house tour, or tour of what he does with old things he doesn't put together again.
@@ELECTROHAXZ Clive seems to be willing to show anything, I don't believe(nor like the idea of) threats are necessary. I will say that seeing the bits around Clive's clear space makes me feel a little better about my complete mess of a bench. Thanks, for that Clive.
Ive bought several of these over the last couple of years. they perform well. If you replace the lens with a flat piece of plastic they give a much wider beam, much better for a work light. They seem to be designed for cycling. Biggest annoyance is the headband is small so wearing it with a hat is not possible unless you have a child sized head.. Also the annoying strobe mode is useless.
Would be nice to find a way to disable that mode completely. If you order with batteries they are always counterfeit and far below the claimed mAH rating.
Thanks for the great review!
I have one too and tried pressing the on/off button as you did, same SOS mode. Good to know. Works with two 3200mAh cells like 10 hours in the second 'power saving' mode.
I would put a 3 ohm resistor on that led to 1 save battery 2 protect the led you should get 20 hours
i am guessing the idea of the Red LED is that you are seen from behind when jogging or biking with the light...
Low battery.
Steven King In that case it should not be lit when he powers it with 4.2V from his bench PSU...
I have been using a Cree led mounted on my work helmet for the past year and a half. It's been superb. Very useful on night shifts in dark dingy places. My only gripe with them is how far they project from the helmet. And the cables needing a re solder once or twice as the wire fatigues.
I've always understood that it's best not to use protected cells in a flashlight, because they shut off at a certain voltage to "save themselves. That's great until you find yourself in a position where a damaged cell (but working light) is better than falling off a cliff. If you see what I mean. Thoughts?
+unixhead101 Another reason I don't like flashlights with booster circuits in them. With a traditional 3 x AAA head torch you can at least compensate for the gradually reducing intensity rather than have it pump out high light levels then suddenly tail off dramatically.
+unixhead101 This is a valid point if you are using decent quality lights, but cheapo Chinese lights tend to kill unprotected cells.
+4 Foxsaches very true. I find that the energizer work best as well and I've bought ten +
If you're in a situation like that you should have a backup torch, and a friend who can give you his backup torch if you break both of yours. If I'm doing a night dive on SCUBA I carry my main torch, two backup torches and a strobe. The illumination under 20m of ocean at night nil. You wouldn't be able to see your hand in front of your face; but part of SCUBA training is being able to operate all your gear with zero visibility. The most serious problem is signaling. If you surfaced out of position and didn't have a torch to signal the boat with you would be monumentally fucked.
I got into some "urbex" activity a year or two ago and got obsessed with cheap Chinese flashlights. I've even purchased small ones in bulk to give to relatives and all still work well! (I did find two "duds" in testing that weren't assembled properly)
Still, I like this one just for the battery holder! LOL
I found a similar IC in my flashlight and the two spare pins actually set the modes on mine.
By shorting one to ground it disabled the flashy mode and is just Hi-Low-Off now.
The long press SOS still works.
I like this IC because the switch doesn't carry any current - with my previous flashlights the switch always became intermittent.
i bought one of there cree flash lights it fits in your hand, zoom able light.. 5 modes.. SOS, bright, med, low, strobe.. its a great little flash light for 6.00 i have bought 8 of them to give to family and keep in cars etc.. my mom even keeps on n her purse because its so small.. yet so bright.. very cool technology for the price.. i may have to get a head band one could com ein handy where you need your hands.. id probably get the one with 3 Lights. :D LED flash light crazy bright, cool stuff.
Seems like it's pretty legit for a low-buck version. Features and build quality from the disassembly don't seem bad at all. The battery rundown is probably a feature in some circles though, as you have to consider that some people would rather eke every possible amount of light out of something over protecting the battery. (Not that you'd do that all the time, but in an some emergency it matters.)
I have a few of these. They are really useful for allsorts. In the loft, under the floor, working outside. Emergency backup for walking in winter. Just need to get good rechargeable batts. Many from ebay are fake and nowhere near capacity they claim.
Oh bloody hell I already commented a while ago and can't even remember!
Hi there Clive.
I do have many Chinese flash lights,some head torches too.From very cheap £1 to £60 MagLites and Led Lenser ones.The CREE leds are fairly cheap these days and in your lamp you have CREE T6 i believe it is 4000k,as it looked light blueish. Some light modders run these leds at 4A+ but you need a lot of heat sinking for that.With a proper 18650 Bat you can get it above 2A on high.
Trow that UselessFire in a recycle bin and get yourself an used laptop battery you will find better 18650s in it.There are a lot of crappy and dangerous 18650s on ebay, and some decent ones in between. There will be a big difference with a decent battery and longer life.
Have fun and be safe.
You know what you are doing anyway.
Just watched two of your videos ... and there is two new again. Keep it up forever!
I do like how you stated that the amount of amps for it was "Ample"
+fluffboyjr12 ample by a shitload, specifically.
I must get one of these for my nighttime motorcycle riding! Thanks Clive!
Just for everyone's convenience here's the link to where i found this product on Amazon. It it $14.99 US.
www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00QMFKFYS/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1TBVW9LIF1ADQ
+A. Zak OK, that last link was for a nonfocusable version. Here is the focusable version, and for $19.99 US it comes with 2 DoubtFire 18650 cells and a non-trustable charger.
www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00NIOCZIK/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1ZVYDKE3EQ0PV
mharris1270 I bought one, and other than the directly mains referenced power supply it is a decent product.
I have their bikelamp, same modes you need to cycle thru :) With zoom, quite rugged. The switch needed cleaning after couple of weeks but seems to hold on now. Apart from the switch, i could call it actually really good, the zoom is really handy and the small one has also a lot of power for it's size.
Doh, having read through the comments the cyclist aspect has been mentioned LOL, On a completely different topic. I'm a spark by trade and many people ask me about upgrading from Halogen down lighters or incandescent down lighters to LED and even upgrades from and too the relatively short lived compact fluorescent technology. Having thought about it I realised just how complexed the subject becomes so I think the man for the job is you.I know GU 10s are easy to change like for like but electronic ballast driven 12v halogen can get tricky if the ballasts have a minimum load expectation. The old Eyeball spots 240v BC or ES can present issues in locating the right lamps. I thought I know rather Large clive understands the UK maket for lighting solutions and would more than likely have some fittings to demonstrate how it all works. Thanks Clive regards Sean
+Sean Regan I recommend against using the original electronic halogen transformers. They put out a high frequency spiky wave that peaks at about 30V. Better swapping them out for generously rated regulated 12V DC supplies for the longest reliability or swapping completely for GU10 lamps.
+bigclivedotcom Totally agree. The reason I thought it worthy of a video is that on inspection some 12v Halogen transformers will work okay with LEDs especially the old transformers where as the electronic ones don't like the low load of LEDS. sometimes you find that a whole room or area has any number of transformers serving 1 or more lights each. finding and replacing them can be a pain and if they are screwed down out of reach even more so. with LED 1 driver can be used to power larger numbers of fittings. sometimes its better to rewire them all and connect them to 1 LED Driver. However I rather hoped you might do a video showing the various different ways of upgrading to LED showing some common scenarios from existing halogen installations. Its an often asked question thrown at me and of course each installation is different. I hope youll agree and maybe cover the subject in future videos cheers Clive
I think the original use for the headlamp was for biking and they just kept it in all the models so they can rebox it for other uses. The red LED in back is so when you're biking at night on the road people can see you from behind.
Reminds me of the head torch I bought from Lidl about 10-ish years ago described as a CREE LED, but looked like a really oddly shaped white LED (which looks greenish-white now compared to more modern white LEDs), only mine is powered by 3x AAs, has three brightness modes, no seizure-inducing flash mode and a little LED gauge for the battery level, damned if I can recall what I paid for it though... :)
And the impromptu "behind the scenes", that was quite fun... :D
Quickest workspace tour ever!
I have a pocket torch / flashlight, that says "Cree" It uses one 18650 also. On high it it gets uncomfortably hot after just a few minutes. It claims to have an output of 1700 lumens running a Cree, T6 7 watt LED.. I can tell you, it will over power my 55 watt headlights in my car. Mine is the old style, if you use it on low, it will be on low when you turn it off and back on again. I found one very interesting. Even on low power, it is so bright, using it to see the inside of a PC is hard to do, one reflection blinds you! Almost to bright for daily use. Better for tactical.
Hey Clive you should take a look at a Fenix or Thrunite headtorch. If you are impressed by the brightness of this, then a real one will blow your socks off!
I bought the same from Amazon. It came with batts, wall and USB chargers. Worked well for a while then the batts got very weak. Bought some good Panasomic batts and it works well.
I found out about the SOS mode by plugging the USB cable into a PC. It jumps into SOS mode for some reason.
I do wish it could focus to a wider beam sometimes.
The red LED is possibly for Cyclists
+Daniel Hutson I have different model but it glow red when battery is low and green when fully charged.
+Daniel Hutson It also might serve spelunkers, and miners well. I was a commuting cyclist and this light would have worked well on moonless nights and roads without white edge markings to stay on tarmac surfaces. The incandescent headlight I did use back in the nineties had a well focused beam I swung back and forth to establish the edge of the road and avoid punctures. I would have loved this unit back then. The red led would have added to the rear flashers we did have then.
No. It's red because red does not make your eyes strain and adjust at night so you don't lose your light vision. Everyone who actually uses a headlamp for outdoors activities knows this.
For safety or as a target ?
When I was in the US Army Basic Combat Training course back in 1970, we were issued two small strips of luminous tape, it was to be applied to the back of our helmets for night operations. When we were walking through the deep forest of the great Northwest on Fort Lewis Washington, you could see where the fellow in front of you was by this tape. You were supposed to strive to walk just the right distance where the two strips seemed to just separate, and thus be safe from bumping into each other in the ever so dark night. It seemed to work, however I never again saw that tape being used anywhere for anything in the following 8 years of active duty.
I like your desk, you should do a video showcasing it
I assume the Red LED on the back, is so colleagues can easily find you from behind and gives them an indication as to where you are, for proximity.
If you can see where their light is shining, you still do not know exactly where they (the source) is. So you don't actually knock them off the cliff ETC.
If you can find someone's head in the dark, chances are they will be just below it.
Also good when riding a bike, to be seen from the rear.!
Hey mate i have taken apart a similiar light and even thought the board says CREE on the MCPB its most likely a latticebright all these lights seem to be the same internal just look different on the outside mine is the same as yours!
The specs sheet is right i measured my current at the LED it can do about 2.4amps!
Could you do a video on some of the other "Cree" LED lights from China? There are a lot for $0.99 shipped on eBay, advertised at 2000 lumens and the like, in aluminum colors. I'd love to see a breakdown of one of those.
Red LED on the back ... Quite useful, actually; Assuming it's really, really, really, dim, and switchable on/off.
Hi Clive, Not read through comments but the Red LED might make the unit appealing to cyclists white front red rear. thought it worth mentioning. cheers for the vids.Sean
I've just discovered your channel and haven't seen all your videos but I have to ask if you have an oscilloscope. It would be cool to see the change in duty cycle or frequency at different power settings and just what frequencies they use.
Oh my... the end surprised me.
great video Clive. I have a couple of the cheap 7 LED "Cree" lights for the front of my bike (offroad use). for around 20 quid they are amazing value. the multi led ones have a small boost converter inside the light unit itself (and no reverse polarity protection). different brands all seem to be based round the same template design. Same modes available (full, half and strobe - not sure about SOS, will have to check) and mine both have an obvious flicker on half mode. clamps and battery packs they provide are terrible.
You can take the light off the band also. On the rear there is a small indent for your thumbnail
or similar. Lift the lever slightly and the light slides off the plastic carrier.
You sir are a brave man, putting an ultrafire cell that close to your body, those things are leathal when used in high amp situations, actually you should do a teardown and see what is in it, i would imagine a lot of sand for a start :)
Looks like a XM-L T6 LED and at 1.5a should be putting out around 800-900 lumens, but doesn't look like it will dissipate heat too well so will quickly drop to closer to 600 lumens.
Tested one today, it's more like max 400lumens. Really crappy compared to other flashlights using a cree xml.
Clive I have recently come across a product-type I think you will like/be terrified by. It is the mains-fed whirlpool bath machine. You put them in the bath and they create bubbles and water jets.
+goose300183 I hope it's unearthed, made in China and sold on eBay cheaply and with submerged mains voltage contacts. That would be a proper electro-bath.
www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Sears-Dazey-whirpool-turbospa-model-2265-/252304441390?hash=item3abe84402e:g:J4AAAOSw~OVW1HMw
The little tab on the led retaining ring is probably a 'dog tooth' that gives the steps when you rotate the focussing ring.
In the states, those were sold as bicyclist headlights. That was the excuse for the red LED.
Other people drop the bass or a cup of coffee. Big C drops the voltage and the iPad! :D
I think the red led is for riding a bike.
This flashlight is good. (compared to other Chinese headlights) Only really bad downside is the zooming mechanics. The o-ring will break quite fast and it's there to provide friction when zooming and to hold it's position.
I love the glee in your voice when you say, ''take it to bits''....you Love your work! LOL
HOLY FUCK I jumped a little at 17:38 when he dropped the camera xD
I have the Atomic Beam brand of this. The switch is on the side of the headband though and it only uses 1 18650 or has the adapter for 3 AAA cells.
Ha many of these Chinese lights boast an output of 2000+ lumens. I have an old Maglite with a genuine cree led upgrade fitted. It's rated at around 180 lumen. I tried out a 2000 lumen light off ebay as a comparison and it was only slightly brighter. I also have a torch from also that is rated at 500 lumen. That light is far brighter than the ebay 2000 lumen torch. I think the Chinese add an extra 0 when giving a lumen rating.
Great video.
ATB Steve.
Those lumens are "Chinese lumens" ;)
Clive, about shipping the batteries from China, there was a recent ICAO rule change that effectively banned lithium batteries as cargo on passenger airplanes. I'd expect that to be a factor in the clampdown you've noticed.
the xml-t6 should be driven at 3 amps. Also word of caution, the batteries in one of these install in parallel, if someone doesn't pay attention and installs the batteries in the conventional series way you are creating a dead short.
I put foam tape on the back and front part of mine because they're uncomfortable to wear for an extended amount of time.
For the price, I can't complain. They're bright and my Samsung 18650 cells last several hours if they're charged with a decent 18650 charger.
Also, I'm assuming the red light on the back is added as a safety feature, say if you were riding a bike or something.
The LED is likely a Lattice Bright CREE knockoff. Very commonly used in low budget "CREE" lights. I could tell already by the really cold color temp when it was turned on by itself. Lattice Bright used to even copy the CREE model names as well but recently changed them.
The led on the back and the flashing are for cyclists. I use this exact one in my shop, and it holds up shockingly well in that harsh environment as chap as it was!
My ears perked up when you said pinball machines too, why oh why have you never treated us to vids of them!
As for the lamp in this vid, I have the same unit with the charger and batteries as with your bothers, the batteries were UltraFire brand claiming 4200mAh and weighed about 48g, the capacity of was less than 900mAh ,they were soon disposed of. The charger too seemed a bit rubbish and instead I purchased some branded Panasonic NCR18650B's and the Xtar VC4 charger.
I don't see any flicker looking at the light or its output, but do notice anything fast moving looks like its strobed. And btw, The white plastic retainer/reflector on mine is smooth, yours looks like its been abused somehow.
I paid just over £10 for mine with free shipping, and I'm very happy with it. I did complain about the batteries and that I didn't recognise the LED as the claimed CREE Q5 model, but after very nice communication from the seller I found out the LED did turn out to be a CREE, but the XP-E R3, and it looks pretty impressive on the data sheet.
The one concern I have is that the electronics wont shut down when the voltage gets too low, so I think it could damage your expensive 18650's if you leave it on by accident. Also the battery compartment on mine only took the button topped 18650, not the much more common flat top cells, but a quick hack to move the positive terminal plate to inside the battery compartment from outside of it worked fine for flattop cells.
Would love to see a tour of your pinball machines :D
Back in the days when I was in school, learning how electricity works, the schematics of a flashlight looked something like that:
Battery - Switch - Lamp.
It's pretty simple, really. I don't see why you should build overly complicated microcontrollers to turn a freaking light on and off. It's just more stuff that can break down and has to be replaced, or in that case, has to be discarded for a new one because you can not replace it.
The red LED is meant to be seen not used to see by. So we don't want it bright and blinding people behind. In my opinion they are correct to have it the way they do.
white/blue LEDs apparently self current limiting and tuned for 3.7V batteries. so they have no extra resistors or anything.
the Red LED on the back is for safety purpose like if you used it while riding a bike on the road for instance.
the Ultra Fire batteries are the most ripped off batteries, if you can be sure they are original one's then the rating should be fairly accurate, some however are reclaimed laptop batteries re-covered in new plastic cases (I heard) so beware...
Red led for use on a bicycle?
the red LED isnt pointless if youre a cyclist, that head torch would be pretty damn good for cycling because its so bright and you have the red light for the back of your head, an all in one package
I have one like this from Amazon. Great torch but the charger was a deathtrap and I had to mod it to incorporate a fuse and greater clearances. I didn't test the charger enclosure for flammability (obviously) but I never leave it charging unattended
I made a few boxmod's with 18650's and oh boy those things are dangerous, you don't want it against your head............
what do you do with all the things you take apart and dont reassemble?
not bad quality for 5 pounds it looks well made :-)
Back LED is a "head count" light, so if you go face down in the mud you're still blinking.
Clive you should check out a good headlamp like a Zebralight H600W. I would love to see a teardown and reverse engineering on that.
It seems most of these style LED flashlights have the annoying strobe effects. I have a decent hand held one I bought off fleamazon and I it's a "touch" button so very easy to switch to strobe when turning on/off. I'd have to look into what it would take to take it apart without breaking it so I can just change the circuitry. I like the idea of using the standard lithium ion cells though as you can always have a separate charger and spare cells and have lots of light for a long time if camping or something then charge the cells back up with a solar charger during the day.
Same one I picked up for a friend!, Wasn't sure how decent the charger was though
Clive I have one similar to this. It now won't work unless plugged into a charger. I am keen to get learning about electronics. Do you have any idea what could be wrong with it
What kind of screwdriver are you use to take the headlight apart ?
You actually scared the shit out of me when the Ipad felt haha
That can be a bit embarrassing! Smells bad as well.
Thank you for taking it apart now I do not have to
i changed the wires to thicker ones and the amps increased by 20-25% very nice :D
but what can i do more (in the circuit) to get more power? the lifetime of the LED doesnt matter...
Always felt the same way about the ultrafire cells. Very unnerving. However fire plays such a powerful and mythical role in chinese culture and history its unlikely to change.
I've had a few head lamps over the years and find the part that seems to fail most is the elastic head band which is really annoying seeing as though the main bits are usually well made and would last a very long time.
Also have a few "UltraFire" 18650 5,000mAh batteries and the name really put me off especially after the incidents of fire caused by lithium batteries over the years.
That tumble gave me quite the frighten.
we have three that have held up for three years they do get warm after a wile
Can you put links to datasheets for the ICs in your videos, please?