ah, cheers z1ppy, I was looking at torch-shaped lights... some of them are butt-ugly. Lots of very useful pointers, thanks!
Bike Forum
The 1200 lumen DX Light
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Posted 8 months ago #
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****, sorry that a different story again, main pointer DO NOT buy a 3 mode one, get a 4/5 mode one as the medium mode on these is extremely useful to extend the light battery life but still have a usable light for say road & canal work (though the same is true for those 'bike lights' above). The low on the 3 mode version (high/low/flash) is rubbish and is only of use to let ppl know 'your' there. Oh and I found my original P7 torch to be quite heavy on my head and very very difficult to keep steady once your up to speed (lots of vibration on the bars/head).
Posted 8 months ago # -
Just ordered the http://www.dealextreme.com/p/mj-872-waterproof-4-cree-xp-g-4-mode-1600-lumen-white-led-bike-light-with-battery-pack-set-80953
from Ebay £ 89 delivered from the UK dealer inc free helmet mounting, anyone used one yet???, looks fantastic value for money if its reliable and as bright as it claims !!
Posted 8 months ago # -
Posted 8 months ago #
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Z1ppy.
Here is the pill, board and heat sink.Heat sinking is effective so the board should be ok on a long full power run.
the good thing about the light is that is las loads of scope to mod in the future when higher bin emitters are available - or driven harder with another board.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Zippy, cheers for the link to the review. Just wondering if my Hope One will be too heavy to be helmet mounted, will have to test it.
Posted 8 months ago # -
****, sorry that a different story again, main pointer DO NOT buy a 3 mode one, get a 4/5 mode one as the medium mode on these is extremely useful to extend the light battery life but still have a usable light for say road & canal work (though the same is true for those 'bike lights' above). The low on the 3 mode version (high/low/flash) is rubbish and is only of use to let ppl know 'your' there. Oh and I found my original P7 torch to be quite heavy on my head and very very difficult to keep steady once your up to speed (lots of vibration on the bars/head).
Fine, good. Alternatively or also get the 6Ah battery pack, then 3 modes is fine. Even on high you'll get 4-5 hours on high.
Posted 8 months ago # -
VCC is not just about battery life, you just need high for traipsing down the road between trails or up the canal, where a decent beam is still required - a medium setting. Also I find it's not polite to swamp the rider in front with a better light than he's using (on steady bits)..
Posted 8 months ago # -
There is another DX one without the assault crown, which seems pointless anyway. The battery pack looks a bit 'unwaterproof' though.
Posted 8 months ago # -
VCC is not just about battery life, you just need high for traipsing down the road between trails or up the canal, where a decent beam is still required - a medium setting. Also I find it's not polite to swamp the rider in front with a better light than he's using (on steady bits)..
I see what you are saying, but anyway my 2 lights are different. My torchythebatteryguy ebay sub66 type light has 5 modes (L M H H-Flashing Strobe) and a 6Ah battery pack . My Magicshine clone has 3 modes (L H and H-Flashing Strobe) and a 4.7Ah pack. I like to ride with either of my lights on pavements and on roads with the high flashing.. which is obnoxious for sure and often gets complaints, but I am not a big lover of my fellow man and so do it anyway.. likely someone will try and slap me one day, but I will be ready... ...and low or high (or medium with the torchy light) on trails and canal paths etc.
Posted 8 months ago # -
I used a combination of parts from the new DX XM-L light and the original bastid to create a pretty good light.
Every-so-slight rattle of the glass so a teeny bit of tape needed, but that's it.
It's a broad flood now of a good brightness. Definitely more light than the p7 and with no hotspot.
I couldn't get 2 working lights out of the combo though, so I may purchase a spare reflector at some point so that I've got a full backup.So my setup is at the moment.
XML flood on bars.
XPG spot on helmet.Posted 8 months ago # -
I haven't kept up.
I have two p7 lights. What is brightest this moment in time? Is a single XML brighter?
Posted 8 months ago # -
Fotunately DX are good with returning faulty items.
The 180 day warranty Magicshine give on the batteries and chargers tell you something about the quality.Posted 8 months ago # -
LOL @ the TBB, s'not like you have any interest in running down DX, is there?
Van cough cough, for the money the XM-L is the brightest you can get cheaply, there are seemingly more powerful 3/4 XP-G light available too, but they start to double/tripe in price compared to the P7/XM-L - though no doubt well worth it (if required).
When twin/tripe XM-L light start appearing, hopefully cheaper, the XP-G will become redundant, IMO of course.Posted 8 months ago # -
I have a Hope 4 on my bars and a Hope 2 on my Helmet, not the cheapest configuration but they work, don't need to be tampered with and have been faultless for two years until I damaged the connectors. Sent back to hope and returned within a couple of days fixed FOC.
Just don't get this obsession with buying cheap stuff from asia and fiddling with them, it gets nasty when I light fails whilst bombing down through some woods at night I presume, or do we all simply ride canals at night??
I wonder how many people try and make their own cheap tyres, brakes etc???
Posted 8 months ago # -
GM so you paid £300 for the Hope 4 and £175ish for the Hope 2? (aprox, ignoring discounts)
£500(ish) for lights that are no better than a couple of DX torchs for £100?
To some of us that makes no sense, and for the majority you just plug the DX lights in and go - no messing required.
Why is that so difficult is that to understand?
Posted 8 months ago # -
I wonder how many people try and make their own cheap tyres, brakes etc???
People buy cheap tyres and brakes don't they? They change brake pads for better performance. They run tubeless conversions with tubed tyres.
But anyway, if you can buy a cheap light-set and with minimal modification make it work better and more reliably and save several hundred quid in the process, it doesn't seem like such an awful thing to do.
And if you run a two-light combo off road, like most people do, a failed light, expensive or cheap, isn't the end of the world really.
Posted 8 months ago # -
I've got a lab where I can measure these things.
The original DX P7 "900 Lumen" was measured to be ~500.
I've measured the Smudge XML to be ~800 lumen. This is similar to the DX "1200 lumen" light, same LED and a similar drive current.As said, the beam is very tight, so the Lux (amount of light at the centre of the spot at a fixed distance) is much higher in the single XML lights due to the lens.
Posted 8 months ago # -
torchythebatteryboy - that's a really useful website you have, thanks!
Posted 8 months ago # -
chriswilk - Member
I've got a lab where I can measure these things.
chriswick. do you have a integrated sphere ? great toy
What else have you tested for lux? i've been a flashlight collector for years and i'm interested to know just how far out some of the claims are.
Posted 8 months ago # -
may sound a strange question but I have a 1200 lumen light on the way from DX and was wondering whether if it was used as a light to work by ( either as a head torch or fixed) would this be likely to cause overheating issues and therefore be inadvisable ?
Posted 8 months ago # -
on and on,
yep, got several integrating spheres in the lab.
So far I've only tested lights from Trout and Luminous, plus the Smudge single XML and the original Magicshine.kaiser, so long as you don't use it on full then it will be fine to work by.
A few months ago I bought my daughter a reading light from Ikea (so she can read while her sister is asleep). It is a single LED, and I think that it is a P7, just with the current turned down a bit.Posted 8 months ago # -
geordiemick00
Some of us like hacking/modding things. That's part of the appeal of cheap stuff for me personally. I can buy a few bits and bobs and get hacking. End up with a light that's cheap, reliable, bright and the right spread for my tastes. And I enjoyed doing it.Oh and as for the canals comment. That's just a cheap and pointless dig. Last week we were halfway across Cut Gate at 9:30pm. Similar stuff most weeks (although often closer to home/pub).
Sure some people's Magic Shine / DX lights fail, but then I've been riding with people when their Exposure/Hope lights fail too. Between the group of us, we've always got plenty of spare lights (because many of us run dual light setups) for when stuff like that happens. Crashes happen, bike stuff breaks. We also carry spare innertubes, mech hangers, chain links, etc, etc.
Posted 8 months ago # -
does using a matt tape to diffuse the hotspot not lose some of the overall brightness ? Also ...what's the best way to do it ..cover the whole glass ... or just a small central strip ? Or is there a better way?
thanks
BillPosted 8 months ago # -
Or is there a better way?
I bought the fleabay modded front glass which widens the beam
not tested out and about but looks good, arrived superquick as well
Posted 8 months ago # -
Bigndaft is that the one from the states ..single or triple pack ?
please report with conclusions!Posted 8 months ago # -
kaiser - my experience with tape was that it was useless.
It didn't diffuse as far as I could tell, just dim. So I tried putting a bit in the middle to reduce the hot spot, but it just gave me an overall less bright light.Posted 8 months ago # -
Talking of modding, does anyone know what's the maximum voltage that the drivers in these lamp units will take?
Posted 8 months ago # -
big_n_daft - Member
I bought the fleabay modded front glass which widens the beam
Very interest in how it performs & which one you bought?
Posted 8 months ago #
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