JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

[Citivolus]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

There is currently some flooding in the GuangDong province in China, with over 10,000 factories currently closed according to some sources (see http://new.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=12522 )

I'm not certain if JETBeam is directly affected or not, but I'd give them a few days leeway in this situation. It is highly unlikely that their employees can even get in to the office under these conditions, and personal issues may understandably be taking priority.

Regards,
Eric

 

[BeamJunkie]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

I sent Jetbeam a second notice about my Jet II having short runtimes and I got a response. Here's what they said:

Dear Haley,

Thanks for your email!
The largest current of JET-II IBS is 1.6A.
It will easily lead to circuit protection if the performance of some battery is not good enough. We suggest you to use battery with better performance or reduce the brightness.
If any other question or suggestion, please feel free to contact us. Thanks!

Have a nice day!

JETBeam Group
R.Z.


Holy Cow......1.6A, from a RCR123! No wonder I was only getting 12 minutes on max. It was amazingly bright. I did another test on 50% and got 58 min and 39 seconds, which is on par with Selfbuilts review. So now I'm wondering if my unit is maxing out at a higher amperage, thus the short runtime on max. Either way, it looks like I'm stuck with it because Jetbeam doesn't see their product as faulty when it doesn't live up to advertised claims.

I've backed off my highest setting to about 75% and it gets about 30 minutes runtime and seems to be about the same brightness as max to the eye.

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

Holy Cow......1.6A, from a RCR123! No wonder I was only getting 12 minutes on max. It was amazingly bright. I did another test on 50% and got 58 min and 39 seconds, which is on par with Selfbuilts review. So now I'm wondering if my unit is maxing out at a higher amperage, thus the short runtime on max. ... I've backed off my highest setting to about 75% and it gets about 30 minutes runtime and seems to be about the same brightness as max to the eye.

Yeah, I'm coming to believe the max output of the IBS circuit on RCR is not a good way to run the light.

Putting aside the obvious heat issues, a ~20min runtime on 100% in my testing means ~3C discharge rate! oo: Not a good idea for Li-ions, IMO. Frankly, I think the default Hi setting (which is around 75%) is a good practical max limit to run these lights at (~30min runtime, or ~2C).

It sounds like your runtimes are on par with mine at these reduced settings, which is a better place to be. I'm going to save 100% for short bursts on my Jet-III.

Oh, and I'm happy to report JetBeam is sending me a Jet-II PRO! So now I'll be able to directly compare the beam pattern and build differences between the lights. It will take at least a week for the light to get here, and then a few days to get the comparisons up. Stay tuned ...

 

[coors]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

Wow to 1.6 amps for the Jet II IBS, on high! Makes me wonder what the Dereelight DBS would do at that current level, instead of the 1.0 and 1.2 amps they are pushing the LED at. According to the reviews the Jet II IBS is putting out over 11,000 lux in the center spot @ 1 meter, while the Dereelight DBS is pushing out nearly 30,000 lux...@ 1.2 amps. The incandescent yellow of the R2 @ 1.6 amps would be very nice, for short bursts, I'm betting. Can someone tell me if the yellowish incandescent R2 emitter color is a good thing to have for seeing well in snowy conditions?
I just received my first "thrower" flashlight ever, today (thank you, Eric!) and it's able to light up a bridge which is exactly 634 meters (0.4 miles)down the road from my driveway. The Jet II IBS center beam wouldn't even make it half this distance, but I really like it's wider center spot a lot more for every day use. I'm really wanting to get another Jet II IBS, to replace the one that I gave to my dad, when I can. After reading the information shared on this thread I would probably not run it for such extented periods @ 100% anymore. Thanks to all...for the great info, here!


coors

 

[phantom23]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

'Coors', Jet pulls 1,6-1,8A from the battery but only 1,2A goes to the emitter.

 

[coors]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

Ahhh...ok, thank you for the correction. That takes some of the mystery out of the equation. I was thinking that the DBS's large reflector was doing a mighty job of getting nearly 3x the lux readings over the "harder driven" emitter of the Jet II IBS.

coors

 

[rayman]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

'Coors', Jet pulls 1,6-1,8A from the battery but only 1,2A goes to the emitter.

As you can see in the tests of Citivolus it's only about 1,5A.

rayman

 

[Citivolus]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

As you can see in the tests of Citivolus it's only about 1,5A.

rayman

JETBeam says it can hit 1.6A (see #122), I suspect this would be when nearing the end of regulation. I have not measured it at that voltage myself.

Regards,
Eric

 

[phantom23]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

It should hit 1,6A at the end but it should start from 1,2A and grow up. Jet pulls 1,6 (sometimes 1,8, depends on cell, multimeter) constantly which means it's most efficient at the endand quite inefficient with fresh cell

 

[Steve L]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

It should hit 1,6A at the end but it should start from 1,2A and grow up. Jet pulls 1,6 (sometimes 1,8, depends on cell, multimeter) constantly which means it's most efficient at the endand quite inefficient with fresh cell

As the voltage of the cell drops the driver needs to draw more current to keep the total power constant(Watts=Voltage x Amps)

 

[phantom23]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

As the voltage of the cell drops the driver needs to draw more current to keep the total power constant(Watts=Voltage x Amps)

I know. That's how the driver in Dereelight works. IBS draws constant current so less power when battery is almost empty (and more power when fully charged). Difference between 'less' and 'more' power is lost.

 

[LGCubana]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

I think that I've been holding out long enough, as the supplies of the Jet II IBS seem to be diminishing.
&
I prefer the adjustable head of the Jet II, vs. the Jet II Pro.

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

I think that I've been holding out long enough, as the supplies of the Jet II IBS seem to be diminishing.
&
I prefer the adjustable head of the Jet II, vs. the Jet II Pro.

BTW, in case anyone missed it, I did a direct head-to-head comparison of the two in this review:

JetBeam Jet-II PRO review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, etc.

 

[abuhannibal]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

Like LGCubana, I decided to go for the Jet II and not the Pro b/c I really liked the idea of the adjustable focus. Was, and am, rather concerned about runtimes given the data posted here. But I just was up on the roof checking some work we had done and brought the Jetbeam with me... hafta say, I have never seen something so small with throw like that!!!!!!! So I will back off the max setting to avoid too much current drain... but it's nice to know this thing can shoot photons like there's no tomorrow, and I figure with the new upcoming AW RCR123's it should be a blast!

 

[Tohuwabohu]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

I got my JET-II PRO IBS a few days ago.
It looks like JetBeam did update the driver board. The positive contact is a solid metal disc. My JET-II PRO IBS that I got in the same package has a driver with a spring on the positive contact.

Light output and runtimes of my JET-III PRO are very good: 104 minutes at max. level, 146 minutes at default high and 228 minutes at 50%, measured with one new protected 18650 battery from AW.
I posted a runtime plot and two scope-graphs showing the ramping sequence and the special function selection in the german MesserForum.net

My JET-II Pro has disappointing short runtimes: 12 minutes on max.
With the same protected RCR123 from AW and a spacer the JET-III PRO I get 25 minutes and the light is even brighter than the JET-II.

The new driver in the JET-III seems to be a big improvement or my JET-II is faulty.

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

I got my JET-II PRO IBS a few days ago.
It looks like JetBeam did update the driver board. The positive contact is a solid metal disc.

Thanks for the pics Tohuwabohu.

FYI, this is is new driver board format for all the JetBeam IBS lights. I am currently finalizing my Jet-I PRO EX V2 review, and it has a similar looking board. JetBeam has confirmed for me this will be going into all their lights (including the Jet-II and Jet-IIIs, as shown above).

As for the issue with short runtimes on max with a single RCR, this is discussed in my separate Jet-II PRO review. Since we are talking ~3C discharge rate (at best), it's not surprising there are some issues here.

 

[MojoLight]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

Does anyone know if the old or new IBS have reverse polarity protection?

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

Does anyone know if the old or new IBS have reverse polarity protection?

I was going to mention it in my new review ... but yes, JetBeam confirms the new IBS circuit design has reverse polarity protection.

 

[MojoLight]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

I was going to mention it in my new review ... but yes, JetBeam confirms the new IBS circuit design has reverse polarity protection.

Ummmm "new IBS circuit design"....does that mean the old IBS with the spring on the positive end doesn't have polarity protection?

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: JetBeam Jet-II & *Jet-III PRO* IBS Review - RUNTIMES, COMPARISONS + FOCUS SHOTS!

Ummmm "new IBS circuit design"....does that mean the old IBS with the spring on the positive end doesn't have polarity protection?

JetBeam never mentioned anything about having reverse polarity protection on the original IBS lights. The look of the new contact head is similar to other lights that offer the feature, so I inquired and they confirmed that the new version has reverse polarity protection. I don't know whether or not the original spring design did, but I suspect not. I will ask to confirm this point.