S1801 1w Luxeon 1xCR123

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justsomeguy said:The pics you showed earlier of the inside of the light show that it is simple.....just a RAW 1W led with good heat sinking and a cr123 battery with no regulation.

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Thanks for your nice words - glad you like your S1801 - at a great price too.

I think there might be a step up circuitry otherwise the 1w Luxeon driven by a single CR123 at about 3volts might be a bit marginal?

As for upgrading to a 3watt - if you want more output but with shorter runtime - then go for it - but look carefully to make sure about the step-up circuit.

However I really like the S1801 as is - it seems bright enough with very good beam characteristics -
it seems almost a shame to mod it....

But then again I already have a Nuwai Q-3 3watt single CR123 -
so it would be a bit of a duplication -
however I think I would prefer the beam out of the S1801....

...what to do what to do, huh? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

buy an extra S1801 at the great price -
mod one -
and buy a Nuwai Q-3 to compare....
how's that for a true CPF welcome! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Once Quickbeam posts his forthcoming review of the Nuwai 2611X ((1xCR123A, 1W Luxeon, $21.50 at AmondoTech), I suspect that folks will forget about the 1W S1801 as well as $20+ 0.5W lights. The Nuwai uses an optic and a reflector.

Tiny lights like these belong on a keychain. The absence of a keyring or lanyard is unconscionable.

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Paul_in_Maryland said:
Once Quickbeam posts his forthcoming review of the Nuwai 2611X ((1xCR123A, 1W Luxeon, $21.50 at AmondoTech), I suspect that folks will forget about the 1W S1801 as well as $20+ 0.5W lights. The Nuwai uses an optic and a reflector.

Tiny lights like these belong on a keychain. The absence of a keyring or lanyard is unconscionable.

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Nuwai supplies that light to Sharper Image (they charge $30 for it!). It's quite bright with a nice round beam that showed up a good 20' away in a brightly lit store. I almost bought it, but not if I could have a Q3 for the same price. I eventually opted for an Inova T2 (that 5hr+ regulated runtime was too tempting to pass up), but I think I'm going to go ahead and get a Q3 for my dad. He'll find it pretty nifty.

In his chart ranking overall light, Quickbeam ranks the Q1 (Luxeon I) at 14, the Q3 (Luxeon III) at 19. I'm hoping the 2611X will close the gap.

The Nuwai 2611X looks like a nice light.

At 28x28x98mm its spec measuremeant is considerably larger than the S1801 1"x3 3/8" (=25x86mm), and surprisingly longer than the Q-3 (92mm).

I consider even the diminutive ArcAAA to be a bit too big for my keyring - so NONE of these Luxeon CR123 lights would ever live on my keyring.

Even though I applaud the addition of an attachment for a lanyard or keyring to any light -
considering most of the time these Luxeon single CR123 would only ride in my pocket and NOT on my keyring
the attachment is kind of moot for me -YMMV.

However much more important to me is the usable beam quality



Even though the Q-3's beam is noticably brighter - that from the S1801 is much wider and more usable since the difference between the hotspot and the side-spill is much smoother - so the whole beam is usable in a room. Wheras in comparison the Q-3 seems like a "spot" light.

Please don't get me wrong, I like the Q-3 a lot, and like many consider it a great light and great value for money - but for a light to ride in my pocket and used - I think I'd prefer to carry the S1801.....

So the Nuwai 2611X has to do quite a LOT to match the quality of the S1801 or Q-3 - keyring not withstanding.

Of course as always YMMV /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Wow; I see your point. I'm a flood lover myself. The Vortex TC-1 is tinier than the S1801, and its beam is nearly as broad. But its hot spot, such as it is, can't hold a candle to the S1801's.

Hi Y'all /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif,

Thanks for all of your comments.

Vincent, after due consideration, including cost effectiveness, I have determined that the best way to upgrade the S1801 to 3 watt luxeon and RCR123 rechargable battery is to order a Nuwai Q-III @ $29 (2 for $52) from fellow member Amondo Tech and get one RCR123 battery and charger from member Battery Station.

The flat rate shipping from Amondo Tech at $4.95 is nice.

The safety provided by the Battery Station setup is nice. It allows a freshly recharged battery to start out at 4.2V. It shuts down the battery at 2.5 volts, thus protecting the battery from being ruined by allowing it to become undercharged. Of course one may carry as many charged batteries as one needs and then recharge them as time allows. All of this comes at very reasonable prices, considering that the batteries may be left on the charger and that they can be charged hundreds of times.

Any of Y'all who are worried because S1801 does not have a ring or hole to mount a lanyard for wrist or neck should just pop off the rear decorative metal ring. This will provide a groove for mounting. A search using the terms: +Orb +Raw, will show several ways to mount a lanyard using a groove like what is provided on the Orb Raw.

HeeHeeHee, maybe I will just drop that RCR123 into the S1801 and wait for smoke. After all, they are cheap, at least until Golden Gadgets runs out.

Thanks to you all,

just steve

Do let us know if it smokes with RCR123. I am itching to purchase RCR123 setup. I know for a fact that I can light up amd make it successively brighter by using
1 NiMh AA
2 NiMh AA
3 NiMh AA
4 NiMh AA
I was only using it for few seconds but it at least did not smoke instantly on 4 NiMh AA

By the way, one find day my S1801 just stopped functioning when I went to use it. I thought the battery died or the switch came on accidentally. It is impossible to feel if the switch is on or off.

After going home and puttting another battery, it was still dead :-( Then I put single AA and hotwired it and it came on. Check the switch and there was no continuity. Before taking apart the switch, I just tightened it using an icepick. It started working fine and the battery was fine too. So watch out for loosening of the switch internals.

- Vikas

Vikas Sontakke wrote: "Do let us know if it smokes with RCR123. I am itching to purchase RCR123 setup."

Please see this thread:
Nuwai Q3 with RCR123 + Nano Charger

The S1801 was considerably brighter using a rechargeable RCR123 (rated at 750mAh and nominal 3.7V) and got pretty hot in the short duration to take beam shots.

S1801 (1watt) on RCR123 compared to Q3 on regular CR123 -


Rechargeable 750mAh RCR123 initial voltage = 4.07V; end of test = 3.97V
Panasonic CR123 (non-rechargeable Li) = 2.97V

S1801 Current draw -
Rechargeable RCR123 = 740mA
regular NON-rechargeable CR123 = 470mA

It would appear as if the S1801 probably would not last very long using rechargeable RCR123 for any length of time since it is bascially drawing about 3 watts out of the RCR123.

However there is now apparently a 3W Clone Flashlight C1L that looks like the same body of the S1801 sold by Emilion for $17 that is actually spec'd to run on rechargeable RCR123.

3watt Clone 1x CR123 @ Emilion

This might be worth looking at.......

This is about the S1801 from another thread -
Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium) ( 1 2 3 ) (page 3 Post #65 )

UnknownVT asked: "Did the single CR123 battery (in the S1801) last throughout all her usage - or did she have to change batteries?
- if she had to change batteries, roughly how long did the CR123 seem to last in the S1801?"

justsomeguy responded: "When she went to a business meeting at Galveston she took the S1801 with the original battery in it, in the bottom of her purse. It was some off brand called Goldston (or something like that). That battery failed suddenly after less than 1 hour. Luckily I had also given her a zip lock bag with a new Surefire battery. That one was used for over 1.5 hour."

Yes, Golston is the brand of CR123A that's originally supplied with the S1801.

Less than 1 hour does sound terrible as runtime.

However how long have you had the S1801? -
and did you and/or your wife use the light before she had to use it in Galveston?

I am only a "Lite" (ha-ha! - pun intended ) user of flashlights -
but remember I am a flashaholic - which normally means any chance I get to use a flashlight...
Both my samples of the S1801 (received 12/04/2004 and 4/16/2005) are still on their original supplied Golston CR123A batteries, and both seem as bright as each other and when I recently put in a fresh Panasonic CR123A for the Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium) comparison beamshots. That's over 10 and 5 1/2 months of intermittent "lite" usage.

Hi Vincent,

I ordered the flashlight in June 2005. I used the flashlight for a few minutes after it arrived. Monica noticed it and said that it looked cute. I said "do you want it?". She took it and said it did not look "military" and put it in her purse. At that time I went and got a ziplock and a spare surefire battery to put with it.

She also has a Dorcy (3aaa) from Sam's Club in her car. It is the one labeled Element. It also has 3 lithium aaa cells in a zip lock bag with it.

Steve

justsomeguy wrote: "I ordered the flashlight in June 2005. I used the flashlight for a few minutes after it arrived. Monica noticed it and said that it looked cute. I said "do you want it?". She took it and said it did not look "military" and put it in her purse. At that time I went and got a ziplock and a spare surefire battery to put with it. "

I'm impressed on two counts - the thoughtfulness of a dutiful husband making sure she had a spare battery -
and I'm sure she was grateful when she had to use the S1801 in Galveston.......

The other count on her comandeering the light in the first place

I have feeling she probably has used the light since June, but won't remember how much - because I really don't think she took the light just because it was cute looking - but possibly because she liked the way it worked (ie: its output/performance) - and probably Galveston was where she had to use it a lot continuously........?

Of course this is all guesswork on my part.
But I'd suggest being extremely careful not to appear to be cross-examining her oo:

Price check on the S1801 -

GoldenGadgets usually lists them over at eBay (do a search for S1801)

However they have what looks like a regular/permanent listing with only a price of $12 (+$8 shipping, total = $20) -
Aluminum Luxeon Star 1W LED Flashlight S1801

The total including shipping of $20 - looks like the cheapest price for the S1801 listed on eBay.

The original supplied Colston brand CR123A battery in my first S1801 finally dropped to dim today.
I actually saw the brightness level drop.

Some measurements of current draw -

old Colston used CR123A -
2.69V (open circuit)
0.27A S1801
0.12A 9LED "Bowling Pin"

good Panasonic CR123A -
3.05V (open circuit)
0.45A S1801
0.28A 9LED "Bowling Pin"

Notes:
this is over 10 months' worth of intermittent and lite usage -
(very UNscientific definition of "lite" - occassional use for ad-hoc beam comparisons, beamshots, outdoors comparisons for reach/throw + general play by "flashaholic"...)

the drop in brightness was relatively "sudden" and quite noticable.

Even when "dim" S1801 actually still gave "plenty" of usable light - it's probably approx 1/2 the level compared to a fresh CR123A.
Just as an indication the S1801 in its "dim" state still gave about as much light as the 9LED "Bowling Pin" on a good CR123A, or slightly less bright than a "Xnova" 8 new on a good NiMH AA -
even though both these lights are really of different beam characteristics.

Some comparison beamshots

vs. Bowling Pin 9LED on good CR123A


vs. 8LED 1AA "Xnova" New on good NiMH


vs. MJLED drop-in for MiniMag 2AA on good alkalines


I noticed that the S1801 "dim" on the old Colston CR123A - seemed to be getting dimmer - by the time I compared it with the MJLED in MiniMag 2AA - I thought it had dropped more in intensity -
checking the measurements after these beamshots gave -
old Colston CR123A
2.51V (open circuit)
0.16A S1801
0.08A 9LED "Bowling Pin"

Then I realized I really should have compared the S1801 "dim" with one on a good CR123A (since I have two)



The few minutes' rest seemed to pick the Colston CR123A up a little - at this point it was definitely less than 1/2 the brightness - so perhaps once the CR123A has dropped to this dimmer level it's not going to last much longer?
old Colston CR123A
2.56V (open circuit)
0.18A S1801
0.08A 9LED "Bowling Pin"

I'm obviously not going to keep this old Colston CR123A in my S1801 (I've actually put it in the 9LED "Bowling Pin")
But it is nice to know that although there is a noticable drop in brightness - the S1801 still manages to give pretty usable light on the dim level.
The drop is definitely noticable (a charateristic of lithium batteries) so this gives a good indication to change batteries - but in an emergency the S1801 on a tired old CR123A still manges to give some usable light.

Couple of interesting experiences.

(1) One of my S1801's (my #2) seemed to have developed an occassional flicker - most noticable when I've just opened and closed the flashlight battery tube and tailcap. It seemed easy to cure either by tapping/smacking the light - or unscrewing and re-tightening the tailcap.

This bothered me enough that I thought more about it - and from my experiences with the 0.5w 1AA - AdvancedMart LED-005S and its connectioin through the threads - I looked more closely at this S1801 - the threads on the body tube did not look as bare as I thought - there seemed to be some of this silver anodizing in there.

More inspection the pretty substantial end of the body tube was anodized and non-conductive - so as a cure I speculated that if I remove the anodizing from the body tube end - it then should make another and much btter electrical connection with the retaing ring in the tailcap.

Out came my trusted Swiss Army Knife (waddya mean which one? - the one with the metal file of course - actually a Victorinox Champion Plus) - supported the file on a flat surface and ground away on the body tube end (stuffed some tissue paper in the tube to prevent ingress of filings) Checked the conductivity with my DMM - then finished by "polishing" the tube end on some cardboard and paper - cleaned everything up with a swab with WD-40. That's wehn I discovered the alumium ratining screw ring in the tailcap was not quite as tight-tight - so I cleaned and tighten that as well (so that may have been the cause of the flicker).

Anyway - a long story - long - this S1801 no longer flickers - at least in all my "trials" - only more time will tell if I have truly cured this problem.

(2) I have managed to unscrew the head of this same #2 S1801 - see Post #12 above - and the off-centered looking LED is actually caused partially by off-centered hole of the reflector.

I found I could actually alter the focus of this light by unscrewing the head to achieve a nice tight hotspot at about 1/2 turn out (coincidentally the LED looks well centered in the reflector in this position) - although I still like the slightly defocussed hotspot in the fully screwed down position, because it is bigger and more useful. But at least one can adjust the focus of this light by unscrewing the head.

Like any flashaholic I'm always looking for better, and better stuff - brighter the better......

So when the Fenix L1 v2.5 arrived, it instantly became my favorite 1 watt Luxeon light - because of brightness, beam quality, size, form-factor - and most of all amazingly running on a single humble alkaline AA battery.......

But once in a awhile one has to look back -
mostly it seems to confirm the steady improvement in LED flashlight technology - we are getting brighter, smaller and cheaper flashlights all the time.......
However by being backwards (deliberate pun ) one may rediscover a gem -

and this is the case with this modest $20 - S1801 1watt 1x CR123
I posted previously above about being able to focus the light by unscrewing the head on my #2 sample......

S1801 #2 Stock vs. Focussed overall beam shot -


S1801 #2 Stock vs. Focussed - HotSpots -

The differences are pretty minor - so one has to look very carefully at the beamshots to see any difference - it's not enough to make any difference to me in practice - but it's "nice" in theory to be able to focus this light to make th ebam quality even better - its' still not "flawless" - but it is about as "flawless" as many high-priced beams that are advertized as "flawless"

S1801 #2 focussed vs. S1801 #1


Similar - but a slight difference in TINT - and this brings me conveniently to the tint - as can be seen my #2 seems to have a pretty great "neutral" tint - at least according to my digital camera (Canon A70 - with fixed Daylight white balance) - this would approximate to good sunlight - and Canons are pretty accurate with their colors.

This also shows that my #1 seems slightly less bright - nothing that is apparent in practice and slightly warmer perhaps with a very slight tinge of green in the yellow - again in use I can't tell the difference - it's only because they are side-by-side that seems to emphasize any tint difference (I might even like the #1 more in use).

It is exactly this sunlight-like tint that I like so much about these S1801 - and its beam shape/distribution - a wide side-spill with good focussed hotspot.

S1801 #2 Focussed vs. Fenix L1 v2.5

In comparison the Fenix L1 (v2.5) is about the same brightness and its beam is more "flawless" - but its tint is inferior when compared directly side-by-side with this S1801 (#2).

However before anyone thinks that I'm trying to assert that the S1801 is "perfection" and superior to the Fenix L1 - please see this thread:
Fenix L1(P) a counter-point
BOTH these lights are (typical) 1 watt Luxeons - and although they are "bright" and wonderful - they both are in-between-y for me - ie: not bright enough for true outdoors and distant work, and too bright for my closer tasks - to the point of really uncomfortable/dazzing for handheld reading.

Well I really wish this S1801 could be as bright as a Nuwai Q3 on 3.6V RCR123 (rechargeable)


To be fair the Nuwai Q3 is spectacular on 3.6V RCR123 rechargeables
and only "very good" on regular 3.0V CR123A (non-rechargeable)

One has to be careful "reading" these beamshots - these two Nuwai Q3 sets are not directly comparable - their exposures are "optimized" for the comparisons of the actual 2 lights in the photos.

Look more carefully at the two -2 Stops Underexposed beamshots where the differences in brightness levels are more emphasized. One can see that in thje 3.6V RCR123 version there is a greater difference between the brighter Q3 (on RCR123) and the S1801 than the beamshot using the 3.0V CR123A (non-rechargeable).

Back to tint - when I compared the AdvancedMart 0.5watt 1x CR2 (see AdvancedMart 0.5watt - Lithium Lights (CR2 & CR123) ) I was very enthusiastic about its tint -
the CR2 version seemed to me to have a better tint than the highly-regarded 1 watt Luxeon Fenix L1 v2.5


S1801 #2 Focussed vs. AdvancedMart 0.5watt 1x CR2

This has put it into more context the S1801 (#2) tint seems even better and in comparison the AdvancedMart 0.5w 1x CR2 seems blue.

BUT in practice I like both tints and I tend to use these 0.5watt AdvancedMarts more around the house especially the 0.5w 1AA - AdvancedMart LED-005S - even though its tint is bluer still - the AA and the CR2 versions are what I am using, and infactuated with - at the moment.

Re: S1801 with Cree on RCR123

I ordered CREE XR-E P4 and couple of 3.6 RCR123 from DealExtreme. Yesterday I swapped the Luxeon with Cree and put in the RCR123.

Holy Batman! This puts the S1801 in completely different category.

One of the nice thing about this flashlight is that the Luxeon Star is on threaded insert and thus ability to raise Cree Star so that it can be focused.

Now it stomps all other lights including Fenix L1P, MrBulk's LGI, Costco 2AA and Dorcy 3D. You turn on this light a in medium sized room and you see sunlight!

If I can find 2mm thick copper spacer with the diameter of the star heatsink with two holes on the edge and matching long screws, it would be a better job.

With that spacer, the Cree and Dorcy 3D would be some combination!

- Vikas

Even after getting few more assorted DX and KD Cree and SSC lights, S1801/Cree/RCR123 still trounces them all.

The only other light which comes close is Dorcy 3D 1W. I would like to upgrade the Dorcy with SSC but given how good Dorcy is without any changes, I am little bit reluctant to mess with it.

- Vikas

Re: S1801 with Cree on RCR123

Vikas Sontakke said:

If I can find 2mm thick copper spacer with the diameter of the star heatsink with two holes on the edge and matching long screws, it would be a better job.

- Vikas

Click to expand...

If you want to be frugal, file some pennies and solder them together...walla!

Even after getting few more assorted DX and KD Cree and SSC lights, S1801/Cree/RCR123 still trounces them all.

Click to expand...

I thought exactly the same (albeit with an SSC rather than Cree) until I put an SSC star into my DX LILL - same total output as the S1801 (w/SSC), but 3.5x the lux (so almost twice the throw)