Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA (TM-310H)

UnknownVT

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Nuwai 0.5watt 1xAAA (TM-310H) from AdvancedMart.com @ $19.99 for 2 (1st class USPS shipping = only $2.50)

I was suitably impressed with the River Rock 0.5w 2AAA that as soon as I heard about a 1AAA version - thanks to Roy in this thread - Is River Rock still a mystery company? - for telling me about this light - I had to get one -
well the price was right for 2......

This is all coincidentally pretty topical see this concurrent thread started by cratz2 Nuwai 0.5W lights -

Packaging - just the light with pocket clip, no batteries supplied -
Nuwai05w1AAApkY.jpg


Size comparison -
Nuwai05w1AAAsize.jpg


It is basically a cut down version of the River Rock/Nuwai 0.5watt 2xAAA

Heads view -
Nuwai05w1AAAhds.jpg


vs. River Rock 0.5w 2AAA
Nuwai05w1AAA_RR2AAA.jpg
Nuwai05w1AAA_RR2AAA2U.jpg

Almost as bright as the River Rock 0.5w 2AAA - almost no practical difference for me (YMMV)

vs. Dorcy 1AAA
Nuwai05w1AAA_Dorcy1AAA.jpg
Nuwai05w1AAA_Dorcy1AAA2U.jpg

Not surprisingly - brighter than the Dorcy 1AAA on a fresh Alkaline, brighter hotspot and brighter side-spill - but oh, that prevalent angry blue color of the Nuwai 0.5watt.

vs. Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium)
Nuwai05w1AAA_FenixL1.jpg
Nuwai05w1AAA_FenixL1_2U.jpg

Obviously not as bright as a good 1watt Luxeon - but not bad at all for a $10 light running on a single AAA alkaline - but again that angry blue color is really emphasized against a Luxeon I with a slight blue-green tint - as with all LED lights everything is "relative" - a side-by-side comparison beamshot really tends to show up differences.

I really like the size and form factor of this light - that's the reason I more or less bought them as soon as I heard about them.

I ordered on Friday Nov/25 and AdvancedMart confirmed the purchase and even sent an USPS tracking number on that Friday - I suspect the package didn't actually go in the mail until this Monday Nov/28, and they are with me today Wed Nov/30 - fast service from AdvancedMart and USPS!
 

cratz2

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Thanks for yet another good write up Vincent!

I have a few of the River Rocks and one each of the Nuwai 1xAA lights - one is single output and one is dual output. I like them all and honestly, the blue doesn't bother me in actual use, just when comparing something with less blue... and pretty much everything has less blue.

I really like the single stage 1xAA light myself... just wish it had a smaller diameter head. Other than that, it's pretty hard to beat for a single cell light at about $10.
 

UnknownVT

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cratz2 wrote: "the blue doesn't bother me in actual use, just when comparing something with less blue... and pretty much everything has less blue."

You got that right :) just about any other LED flashlight is less blue.....
However like you, I find it really doesn't bother me too much in use -
only when comparing with other lights - or shining it during the daytime when one really can only see the hotspot and that looks really blue, sometimes purple-blue.....

cratz2 wrote: "I really like the single stage 1xAA light myself... just wish it had a smaller diameter head."

Yes, I looked at 1xAA - as my choice for a single cell light would be AA - but it was exactly the large head diameter that put me off. Whereas the "larger" head diameter on this single AAA 0.5w, suits the light - somewhat like that on the Dorcy 1AAA - so it enhances the handling and yet the slimmer body helps the ride in my pocket.

Current draw of this Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA = 144mA for AAA alkaline battery with Open-circuit 1.495V

Compare this with the River Rock 0.5w 2x AAA using the same batteries = 60mA, with 2x AAA alkalines both with open-ciruit readings of 1.495V (note this is lower than my initial current draw measurements - as the batteries were new/fresh then)

Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA is pulling from the battery a total of only 0.22 watts
River Rock 0.5w 2AAA is pulling from the batteries a total of only 0.18 watts

We know that the step-up cicuits are no where near 100% efficiency -
so the power at the actual LED has to be even lower.....

So these measurements on both the Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA and the River Rock 0.5w 2AAA would seem surprisingly LOW.

So are these LEDs under-driven, or is the 0.5 watts rated some other way?
 
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UnknownVT

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jimmybrown2 wrote: "How does the Nuwai 1AAA compare with the Dorcy 1AAA?"

There are direct side-by-side comparison photos of the size, heads, and beamshots (normal, and -2 stops exposures) in the opening review post - as well as some comments regarding their beams.

If those don't address your question - perhaps if you could please be more specific - I or CPF can try to answer those.
 

win67

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Have one 0.5 Watt AAA from Nuwai and it is for the trashbin because the switch doesn't make good contact, the light flickers, have been trying everything - now trashbin (ok that's not true comes in deepest shelf, maybe sometimes doing some modding...)

Have two 0.5 Watt AA lights from Nuwai. Very blueish. One is ok. The other has a discentered led with a big donut. One of the switches is scratching, but still working.

Have one 0.5 Watt AA dual stage light from Nuwai (TM 317). Wonderful light! Bright! White! About 8 Hours on high, about 40 Hours on low (tested with Sanyo NiMH 2500 mAh). Ideal for reading etc. Beats the fenix in low light mode for runtime and brightness.


So the 0.5 Watt Series from Nuwai for me is "Nuwai Lottery". 50% good, 50% for the kids to play with....
 

UnknownVT

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win67 wrote: "Have one 0.5 Watt AAA from Nuwai and it is for the trashbin because the switch doesn't make good contact, the light flickers, have been trying everything - now trashbin
So the 0.5 Watt Series from Nuwai for me is "Nuwai Lottery". 50% good, 50% for the kids to play with...."

Do you have any other AAA 0.5watt Nuwais?

I found that the River Rock(/Nuwai) 0.5w 2AAA (TM-311) tailcap is interchangable with my 2 samples of the Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA (TM-310H).

You might want to try another tailcap on the TM-310H.

The tailcaps on the TM-310 and 311 are pretty simple - there are 3 metal "lobes" that make contact with the body tube end when screwed down or the tail-switch button is pressed, so those lobes should be exposed/proud of the surrounding plastic to make good contact with the body tube end.

These lobes should show electrical continuity with the central spring that makes contact with the battery "-"ve end.

I'm sure you probably know all this - and I didn't mean to be over-simplifying things, but just wanted to check.

I agree about the lottery thing - all 3 of mine have come up "blue"
icon15.gif
 

jimmybrown2

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I see it now, thanks. I don't know how I missed that. It was the middle of the night at work, I'll blame it on that.



UnknownVT said:
jimmybrown2 wrote: "How does the Nuwai 1AAA compare with the Dorcy 1AAA?"

There are direct side-by-side comparison photos of the size, heads, and beamshots (normal, and -2 stops exposures) in the opening review post - as well as some comments regarding their beams.

If those don't address your question - perhaps if you could please be more specific - I or CPF can try to answer those.
 

UnknownVT

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Reading the blurb on the back of this Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA (TM-310H) - there is this point -

. DC/DC regulator maintains stable light output for maximum duration, light output does not drop off like and(sic) unregulated LED.

This would also seem to apply to the 0.5 Watt LED Flashlight (Nuwai 2AAA batteries) N2FX-TM311H - the AmondoTech.com webpage says - the same thing -
"DC/DC circuitry maintains stable light output for maximum duration, light output does not drop off like unregulated LED. "
I think the TM-311H is the same as the River Rock 0.5w 2AAA

So it looks as though these lights are truly regulated in the the true sense as we understand it?
 

Roy

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UnknownVT

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Roy wrote: "From the looks of my runtime plots on the TM-310H and TM-311H, I don't think I call them regulated...DC-DC yes...but not regulated. "

Thanks Roy - I agree -

I mentioned it because of the wording on the TM-310H packaging and the pages at both AdvancedMart and AmondoTech for the light - would seem to indicate true regulation.

The River Rock 0.5w 2AAA (same as TM-311H) - packaging wording seems pretty explicit as well -
". Regulated Circuitry
Provides Maximum Light
Output throughout Entire
Battery Life"


Whereas at Shykuang (the manufacturer of these lights) their:

TM-310H page

and

TM-311H page

do NOT mention regulation.

So it looks as though the marketing company(s) are claiming regulation when there is only DC/DC step-up.
 

UnknownVT

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More than one source/manufacturer of 0.5watt LEDs?

I was looking more carefully at my recently acquired 0.5w 1AA - AdvancedMart LED-005S and comparing it with the other 0.5watt lights I have like this Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA (TM-310H) and the pretty popular River Rock 0.5w 2AAA (same as the Nuwai 0.5w 2AAA TM-311H).

On looking at the LED dies I noticed that the AdvancedMart 0.5w was of a different size.

Here's the Heads view photo used in my 0.5w 1AA - AdvancedMart LED-005S review -
AdvM05w1AAhds.jpg


Looking more carefully at this photo - the AdvancedMart 0.5w LED die is definitely smaller than those of either the River Rock or Nuwai 0.5w LEDs.

This could also explain the different color tint (and focus) characteristics between this AdvancedMart 0.5w which is noticably less blue than those of the Nuwai/River Rock 0.5w - which all seem very obviously blue tinted to me.

I would hazard a guess that the 0.5watt LED in the AdvancedMart 1AA light is from a different manufacturer than those in the Nuwai/River Rock.
 

UnknownVT

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Just for completeness here's a direct side-by-side comparison with a classic (original) ArcAAA (circa 2003)

Size .................................................................................... Heads view -
Nuwai05w1AAAsize2.jpg
Nuwai05w1AAAhds2.jpg


vs. original ArcAAA (2003)
Nuwai05w1AAA_ArcAAA.jpg
Nuwai05w1AAA_Arc2U.jpg


I'll repeat my comments on these side-by-side comparison beamshots -
One has to be careful looking at these comparison beamshots - even though the beams are in the same picture side-by-side and have received the exact same exposure, focus, scaling, color balance etc. - the failing is the limited dynamic range of the camera (or even film) the hotspots are WAY brighter and grossly over exposed -so do not show the difference in brightness - so the dimmer light always seem brighter than it is in the normal exposure. I use the normal exposure really to compare the beam characteristics and the vital side-spill/corona.

The -2 Stops Underexposed beamshot is an attempt to show the differences in brightness - again the hotspots are still somewhat grossly overexposed - so it is still not a very good indication of the difference in hotspot brightness - although in the comparison between this Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA and the original ArcAAA (2003) and the Dorcy 1AAA in the opening post - one can just see the ArcAAA (and Dorcy 1AAA) hotspots are noticably dimmer - both showing their color artifacts. Also the Nuwai's side-spill shows brighter in the -2 stops underexposed shot over either the ArcAAA or Dorcy 1AAA.

I also took some more current draw measurements since my discussion in the River Rock 0.5w 2AAA thread.

My DMM seems to give quite different current readings between the 10A and the 200mA scales - I have been told that this seems to be the case even on good and expensive Fluke DMM's. Nevertheless this does not inspire confidence in my readings - I'll just report them without comments - I used 4 alkaline AAA batteries 2x Duracell 2x supermarket own brand (Kroger) they all are in good condition and as far as I can see they all seem as bright as each other - I have two of these Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA (TM-310H) -

(A)= 10A scale
(B)= 200mA scale

Duracell alk AAA 1.485V
light #1 = 0.25A (A) 139mA (B)
light #2 = 0.16A (A) 139mA (B)

Duracell alk AAA 1.484V
#1 = 0.25A (A) 139mA (B)
#2 = 0.16A (A) 138mA (B)

Kroger alk AAA 1.461V
#1 = 0.34A (! A**) 0.27A (A) 138mA (B)
#2 = 0.16A (A) 137mA (B)

Kroger alk AAA 1.468V
#1 = 0.31A (! A**) 0.25A (A) 134mA (B)
#2 = 0.16A (A) 138mA (B)

** when I got these high current readings on the 10A scale -
I repeated them and for some reason got lower readings - go figure......
 
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LEDninja

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UnknownVT said:
I have two of these Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA (TM-310H) -

(Duracell alk AAA 1.484V
#1 = 0.25A (A) 139mA (B)
#2 = 0.16A (A) 138mA (B)

Kroger alk AAA 1.461V
#1 = 0.34A (! A**) 0.27A (A) 138mA (B)
#2 = 0.16A (A) 137mA (B)
Is one of the RR much brighter than the other? One seems to draw a lot more current.
 

UnknownVT

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LEDninja wrote: "Is one of the RR much brighter than the other? One seems to draw a lot more current."

Nope, both the Nuwai 0.5w 1AAA (TM-310H) are about the same brightness.

If you look at the (B) 200mA scale readings they seem about the same - I am at a loss to explain the 10A scale 0.34 and 0.31A readings - I was not able to repeat them.
 

Hondo

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The difference between the lights on each meter scale I cannot explain. But I think I know why you consistantly get lower current readings on the 200 mA scale, as do I. The meter has higher internal resistance on that scale, and does not therefore actually run the light at the same current as in actual operation. The 10 amp scale should therefore be closer to the actual current. I say closer, as there is still a finite resistance being added to the circuit by the meter on that scale as well, just not as high as on the 200 mA scale.


As for the Dorcy 1AAA comparison, I had the same experience when I got my two Nuwai 310's from Amondotech. Then I got my first Nichia CS's from Grumpy. Now I would say the modded Dorcy is about the same overall output, with much warmer color, but without the concentrated hotspot of the Nuwai. Makes me prefer the Dorcy again - too bad there are not .5W Nichia CS's available for modding these!
 

UnknownVT

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Just received a couple more Nuwai TM-310H 0.5w 1AAA from LED_experimenter's Dealer's corner Sale thread.


These are in "titanium" - I was a little hesitant because the River Rock 0.5w 2AAA (same as the Nuwai TM-311H), alternate color to black is silver and having seen pictures of the TM-310H elsewhere on the web I thought it was just silver but called "titanium"

To my pleasent surprise the anodizing is a blue-ish grey, not exactly what I'd call titanium - but still pretty nice.

Nuwai05w1AAAsizeTi.jpg


The photo shows it quite a bit darker than it is in real life - but it is hard to represent (semi-) shiney finishes. It is a pale blue-ish grey anodized finish.

Nuwai05w1AAAhdsTi.jpg


This close up shows the difference between these Nuwai 0.5watt LEDs to the ones in the 1AAA 0.5w AdvancedMart LED-050AAA .

I now have 4 of the Nuwai TM-310H in hand and they are very consistent - that is consistently and obviously blue tinted, but they are bright (for their size and running on 1AAA) - with pretty concentrated hotspots - so the impression is that they are very bright for their diminutive size.

Overall I remain very impressed with this handy little light. I quite like this "titanium" color - I intend to keep one of each color and give the other two as gifts.......
 

UnknownVT

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2x 0.5watt vs. 1watt Luxeon

while I still have too much time...
icon11.gif

I had fun putting two 0.5watts together and comparing the combined output with a 1 watt Luxeon -
please see Post #31 in thread - 0.5w 1AA - AdvancedMart LED-005S

So I thought I'd do it again with two of these Nuwai TM-310H 0.5w 1AAA compared with the now well known Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium)

2x Nuwai TM-310H 0.5w 1AAA vs. Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium)
2xNuwai05w1AAA_FenixL1.jpg
2xNuwai05w1AAA_FenixL1_2U.jpg

The combined hotspot(s) kind of matches the 1 watt Luxeon Fenix L1 v2.5. The side-spill corona however falls short (emphasized in the -2 Stops underexposed beamshot)

Control shot -
single Nuwai TM-310H 0.5w 1AAA vs. Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium)
Nuwai05w1AAA_FenixCtrl.jpg
Nuwai05w1AAA_FenixCtrl2U.jpg

These control shots show that the 0.5watt Nuwai 1AAA holds up quite well - but is noticably less bright than the Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium)
 
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vic303

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I just got a tm310h from LED exp. too from his sale. I also like the silver/grey color. It's become my pocket light already. I have bigger brghter lights for outdoor nav/security, but for around the house in the dark or under the computer desk chasing toys...it works fine & is a nice host for a stray AAA rechargeable I had. It provided me some light for over 9hrs constant-on the other day on a not-fresh 850Mah AAA. Now, after a couple hrs it WAS dim, but with dark-adjusted eyes I could still read print with it. It's also the only twisty tailcap light I have that twists easily...
 
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