# New solarforce low voltage version of XP-G drop-in



## SirJohn (Oct 28, 2010)

You can now retrofit those L2R's and L2i's to XP-G. I was just looking at ITC's website and I saw the announcemnt and the listing for the drop-in. Specs say that it is three modes 10%, 40%, and 100%. No flashies. They claim it can go 30 hours on low.


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## rekd0514 (Oct 28, 2010)

Awesome. This is exactly what I wanted for the L2R as I don't like the R2 near as much as the R5. The extra flood and nearly equivalent throw is awesome. Thank you for posting this. I wonder if they have full lights on ebay already.

EDIT: It looks like they don't yet, but you can get an L2R with the drop in for $25 on their website.


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## recDNA (Oct 28, 2010)

But it draws less than an amp right? How can it compete with a 1.5 amp model?


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## sol-leks (Oct 28, 2010)

damn, and I got an L2R with a R2 dropin fairly recently, oh well guess I'll have to upgrade now. Maybe I'll get an extra L2R and give it or sell it away to a friend.


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## sol-leks (Oct 29, 2010)

rekd0514 said:


> Awesome. This is exactly what I wanted for the L2R as I don't like the R2 near as much as the R5. The extra flood and nearly equivalent throw is awesome. Thank you for posting this. I wonder if they have full lights on ebay already.
> 
> EDIT: It looks like they don't yet, but you can get an L2R with the drop in for $25 on their website.



on whose website?


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## MannyDLights (Oct 29, 2010)

There is a New XP-G R5 with a special reflector that shows only the yellow part of the bulb .... It shoots a really tight beam no donut hole ..... We all know by now It's all about the reflector !

I just got one with 3.0v to 18v since I use recharge 3.7V and 18650 on my lights ......

I threw in 2x 3.7v recharge 16340 into a light with a R5 4.2v and  or better said


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## rekd0514 (Oct 29, 2010)

sol-leks said:


> on whose website?



go to solarforce sales and check it out 

shipping is a flat $2


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## sol-leks (Oct 29, 2010)

I only see the l2p sold with the drop in, but they have the dropin alone for 14.99 and the l2r body for 7.99 so that is 23 bucks plus 2 for shipping.


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## offroad (Oct 29, 2010)

I suggested a low voltage XP-G 3-mode to Jo a couple of months ago, glad to see they have it now. I hope the draw is more consistent on these, I have several of the R2 lv 3-mode drop-in's and they vary widely on draw and brightness.


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## Catul (Oct 29, 2010)

Newbie here, trying to make sure I get the right combo - thinking of using the L2r body with this XP-G drop-in and want to make sure it's compatible. My understanding is that with 2xAA you want to use a 0.8v-4.2v head right? So this combination gives me an inexpensive Hi-Med-Lo flashlight with the wonderful XP-G R5 (basically equivalent to my Quark AA^2 regular with less modes)?

Also, does the Memory IC equal parasitic drain?

Thinking of buying this as a gift for relatives, want to keep it cheaper and easier to use. Thanks for any help, much appreciated!


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## sol-leks (Oct 29, 2010)

yep you should be good to go, but I don't know about the parasitic drain thing. I don't think so though.

Only other thing you might want is to buy the replacement bezel if you think they won't like the crennelation.


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## Catul (Oct 29, 2010)

sol-leks said:


> yep you should be good to go, but I don't know about the parasitic drain thing. I don't think so though.



Wonder if the Memory IC works through battery changes? The parasitic drain is important to me, because I'd like to gift these to in-laws as I mentioned and I anticipate these sitting in the drawer for an extended period of time - would hate to have the batteries end up dead when they pulled it out to use.



sol-leks said:


> Only other thing you might want is to buy the replacement bezel if you think they won't like the crennelation.



Is the crennelation useful or just aesthetic? If the latter, I can't see that being a problem?

I was looking at the Romisen RC-N3 II as well, 2 modes using the XP-G R4 for about the same price - any thoughts on how this would compare with my proposed combination above?


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## sol-leks (Oct 29, 2010)

The crennellation can shape teh outer edges of the beam slightly and of course its sharp so theoretically you could poke or whack people with it. The real concern is if you or the people you are giving it to might worry about hurting them selves with it you know, like if it is in a pocket or something. I guess the flat bezel also makes it a tiny bit smaller. It is not a huge difference, but I personally got the flat bezel.

I have a normal rc-n3 and it is a great light and I'm sure the r4 version is that much better. The r5 dropin just came out tho so I wouldnt really know how good it is or what the beam profile looks like while there are many positive reviews on the rc-n3. On the other hand though the modes on the romisen are not very good and it isn't upgradeable. Basically, the solarforce is probably a better choice, but I can't really say for sure.


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## Kestrel (Oct 29, 2010)

That looks like a nearly-perfect budget LED drop-in, the only thing I don't like about it is the mode memory.

It almost looks like it was designed just for us CPFers. :huh:

Edit: Annoying that they call it a "bulb" *5 times* on that webpage though.


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## Catul (Oct 29, 2010)

Yes, this does look perfect for the price! I think no mode memory would make it less-confusing for my in-laws, easier to remember that it always comes on in Low mode, for instance.

The bigger deal to me is this "Memory IC" - does anyone know if it has parasitic drain? That wouldn't work well for a light that will likely be stored in a drawer for extended periods of time. This is the only thing preventing me from hitting the Buy button in my cart


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## photoncannon (Oct 29, 2010)

Newbie problem here. On the Solarforce web site I am only seeing 2 XPG drop-ins *LC-XPG (R5, single mode, 3V-18V)*
***LC-XPG (R5, 5 modes, 4.2V-8.4V)*
** 
I am not seeing an R5 3-mode or an R5 below 3V
 
would someone be kind enough to point me in the right direction? Thanks


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## Catul (Oct 29, 2010)

photoncannon said:


> would someone be kind enough to point me in the right direction? Thanks



Look at the link in my post #10 above


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## offroad (Oct 29, 2010)

Just ordered one of the new 3-mode low voltage XP-G drop-in's. Will be be powering with 2x AA eneloops and will post comparison to the 3-mode R2 when it arrives.


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## sol-leks (Oct 29, 2010)

good man!


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## qguy (Oct 29, 2010)

How would these low voltage lights compare (lumens/brightness) with say a Nitcore EX10 ?


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## Kestrel (Oct 29, 2010)

offroad said:


> Just ordered one of the new 3-mode low voltage XP-G drop-in's. Will be be powering with 2x AA eneloops and will post comparison to the 3-mode R2 when it arrives.





sol-leks said:


> good man!


+1. :thumbsup: The clincher will be how well this module performs (i.e. output) on 2.4Vin rather than the standard 3.7Vin. Looking forward to your report.


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## Trancersteve (Oct 29, 2010)

I have just seen this drop-in and hit the purchase button.

I will compare the drop-in running in a L2P body with a single 18650 cell and then with the L2R body with 2xAA.

Shall see how it goes


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## Flashfirstask?later (Oct 30, 2010)

Just saw this new XP-G R5 dropin myself and if I win a certain auction I might also go about buying one of these.



photoncannon said:


> Newbie problem here. On the Solarforce web site I am only seeing 2 XPG drop-ins *LC-XPG (R5, single mode, 3V-18V)*
> ***LC-XPG (R5, 5 modes, 4.2V-8.4V)*
> **
> I am not seeing an R5 3-mode or an R5 below 3V
> ...



When they meant low voltage they meant one that works well with say a single 18650 and be at 0.8V-4.2V. The ones before were for broader voltage ranges which does not have as good a regulated runtime on say a single 18650 for example.

In case you still missed the link http://www.solarforce-sales.com/product_detail.php?t=RB&s=10&id=113


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## ChibiM (Oct 30, 2010)

offroad said:


> Just ordered one of the new 3-mode low voltage XP-G drop-in's. Will be be powering with 2x AA eneloops and will post comparison to the 3-mode R2 when it arrives.



Im very curious as well. 
Yesterday ordered the L2i and would like to know if it would work with a 3xAAA!?


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## offroad (Oct 30, 2010)

ChibiM said:


> Im very curious as well.
> Yesterday ordered the L2i and would like to know if it would work with a 3xAAA!?



It should, even just off the charger 3x NiMH would be about 4.2v, alkalines 4.5v. Lithiums would be 5.1v so not sure about using them but might be fine with voltage sag.


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## Ecolang (Oct 30, 2010)

offroad said:


> It should, even just off the charger 3x NiMH would be about 4.2v, alkalines 4.5v. Lithiums would be 5.1v so not sure about using them but might be fine with voltage sag.




Thing is, the 5.1V is only for about 4 seconds. Lithium primaries drop voltage really fast. The first ones I got dropped so fast I decided they were a waste of money. Then I discharged one to death and got more than I expected. The higher initial voltage is very, very short lived.


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## ChibiM (Nov 1, 2010)

anyway, the drop in is on its way.. together with the SF L2i
looking forward to it..


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## Trancersteve (Nov 1, 2010)

Mine is also on its way .. I expect it to be here sometime next week.

From the photo I have seen of the drop-in it looks like it has a SMO reflector.


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## Kestrel (Mar 17, 2011)

3+ pages of user feedback on these dropins were lost in the crash.

One issue that was reported is that operation on 1x LiIon might be too much for these, with some reporting strobing / flashing. (Not much of a concern to me BTW - this module is an excellent match with 1xCR123 or 2xAA configurations IMO.)

Below are some beamshots comparing this module to the first-production run of the Malkoff M31W (actually neutral).

Standard exposure
Malkoff M31W (5000K), 2xAA NiMH ___________Solarforce XP-G low-voltage, 2xAA NiMH









Underexposed
Malkoff M31W (5000K), 2xAA NiMH ___________Solarforce XP-G low voltage, 2xAA NiMH








Furthermore, I also compared the above to the Solarforce on only *1*xAA (NiMH) and the beamshots were pretty much identical - fantastic performance from such a low input voltage IMO.


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