Inside a chunky USB rechargeable work-light power bank.
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- Опубліковано 10 вер 2024
- Another work light with power bank functionality, but this one has interesting circuitry. It also works very well as a work light, with the run time dependent on your choice of batteries and the intensity setting you use.
A test of the current showed:-
Full = 900mA
Low = 250mA
Flashing = 600mA
Here's a suitable eBay search link to get you started if you want to get one of these:-
www.ebay.com/s...
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
www.bigclive.co...
This also keeps the channel independent of UA-cam's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
What a really interesting battery compartment arrangement!
Yes, I really like that. With this feature, the two brightness levels, and "the big round wash of light" (2:24) I had to pause to go order one before the video was even halfway through.
Only one question remains, what happens when one accidentally installs four 14500 lithium cells (physically the same size as AA batteries)?
I joke, but when you read the comment section on Amazon for 14500 lithium cells you would be surprised how many people just assume that since they are the same physical dimensions as an AA cell then they must be drop in replacements....and, of course, Lithium Ion must be superior to NiMh, so they buy 14500s and install them in place of AA batteries and are angry with the seller for ruining their electronic device or flashlight! That’s why comment sections must always be taken with a grain of salt because there are a lot of idiots out there giving one star reviews because they did something dumb (just as one must watch out for fake 5 star reviews).
@@ethanpoole3443 I also love the 1 Star reviews of people who trash the seller because of something, but have nothing to say about the actual product they are reviewing. My general rules: if something have less than 5 reviews, read them all. If something has more than 10 reviews but less than 3 stars, it's crap. If something has more than 10 reviews and more than 4 stars, take a generalized look at the 4 and 1/2 star reviews or a longer 5 star one. :)
@@ethanpoole3443 Yep most people are not aware that if you are buying some 99cent crap headphones from whish with free shipping they break on plugin becasue thats just about their expected service life.
Pro-tip: don't mistake it for a pair of binoculars.
Why the hell would anyone make that mistake, it doesn't even look binoculars
@@HuntersMoon78 not even night vision goggles. Or those binoculars the have at niagra falls and stuff like that. Or an old viewmaster?
Welp you won the comment section today congratulations 👏😆
You remind me of that guy who compared flashlights by holding them to his eyes. Whichever eye took longer to be able to see again was the one with the brighter flashlight. Sadly he became some sort of SJW for a NGO, so I broke off contact and won't know about the long term effects of this practice.
@@heyarno that's a great idea. Thanks for the tip!
If you wrote an autobiography, the last chapter would have to be called "Other Things Worthy Of Note" :)
That would really be in the style of "Douglas Adams" :-) (Don't Panic! A hitchhikers guide to the galaxy)
The first chapter would be 'I'm guessing...'.
@@RWBHere Half way through: "I might be talking crap."
@@PsiQ and words *_BUT NOT TO WORRY_* inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover ;)
You had me at can’t have enough led work lights.
High mode, low mode, epilepsy detection mode. Why, why add this mode.
I'd suggest that strobe would be quite useful to alert first responders of your location in an emergency. On your person, or on the front porch to be seen from the road.
I don't like it very much either but I agree that it would be great for real emergencies where the longer battery life may save your life. As Против Глобал
mentioned the chip is apparently used for bicycle lights and that's a believable explanation. Meeting cyclists in the dark while the have a superbright flashing headlight is awful though and is illegal (but many cyclists don´t care...) in some countries.
@@bennylloyd-willner9667 Years ago when I still had my motorcycle, the firefly headlight came out. It had that strobing built in to draw the attention of sleepy motorists and keep them from running over the motorcycle as they drifted across the yellow line on the 2 lane highway. They did have the effect of getting motorists attention during the day, but were really best avoided during the hours of darkness lest it put the rider into some stooper and make those deer that are crossing the road move in stop action.
@@JerryEricsson I get that but when meeting a couple of strobe light bikes when there is traffic in the city it is harder to see others, like pedestrians and bicycles without strobe lights. I feel for you if you live where there is so many bad drivers. I live in Sweden and fortunately those drivers you describe aren't that many. Not more than motor bikers who ignore speed limits and do unsafe overtakes. Let's be safe and careful in traffic.
According to an eBay listing, it is to prevent camping: "strobe brightness mode can be used when you are in danger of camping out"
I just ordered two of these, one with the two round lens and one with the two square reflectors. I love that they take both AA and 18650, and that they have USB out. Never actually saw this video of yours when you released it, and just searched for eBay USB flood lamp *after* I bought it to see what it was like. Pretty cheap too.
You inspired me to tear apart a laptop charger of mine. My rabbit chewed through the wire so it wasn't going to work unless I fixed that.
No idea what the components are but it breaks the "electricity is magic" mindset. It was also quite fun as there was no easy way in and it took a bit of work.
My rabbits have had a go at most of my cables and cords. The keyboard cord has two joins. I retired the cord on the vacuum because the house rabbit used to chew it when plugged in and switched on at the wall (if I forgot to roll it up), he never chewed on it if it was unplugged or off at the wall. NO HE DID NOT DIE but I could feel tingles when I stepped in the damaged sections. He got an impressive zap when he bit the charger cord for my iPad though, again did not die. My outside rabbits chew garden hoses and have cut the phone line a few times. you name it my rabbits have tried eating it
oh and my cat (at 6 months or so) ate the charger cord for my phone, the phone and cord were brand new on first charge. I still have the phone and cord and the cat, the cat no longer messes with cords and my charging cord is only 18 inches long.
oh wow, I've just realised my flip phone is 7 years old! I still get 6 to 10 days on a charge too with original battery!
@@andrea_frm_dubt8977 When I was growing up on the farm we used to raise rabbits, but kept them in a cage till they were old enough to eat, then, of course we ate them. Very tasty, those tame rabbits nearly as good as cotton tails and more meat! Now I once had a dog who like to chew on cords but he never tackled one with 110 volts for some reason, but he sure did love the cord to my electric blanket. No we didn't eat him....
I have 4 free range pet Flemish Giants and one lived inside for his own safety (his brother tried killing him when they were less than 12 months old). Also I'm in New Zealand, so it's 230V here
My house rabbit has moved back to outside now and his brother is not trying to kill him
I've been seeing similar units to the one you shown in the video as I was searching for flashlights that use 18650 batteries. Nice to see its not too big and would be a nice fit for a toolbox and potentially a good fit for my father who typically needs a wider spread of light rather than a point source from a flashlight.
Can somebody please tell the Chinese we don't want high-low-strobe cycle on every bloody light! Thanks.
Man I agree, every damn flashlight I have from China has that damn strobe and most have the SOS built in. It is getting so seeing the SOS from a window on a home while passing is simply thought of as someone screwing around with one of those damn flashlights and no need to respond as an emergency!
@@JerryEricsson Those are the fancy "5 mode" ones. Even better *cough* then the "3 functions".
I just want on and off. And if it has additional modes, a separate switch. More then happy to pay some extra.
In a flashlight of decent power I would prefer: 10%, 50% and 100% setting.
Exactly. One 100% power mode is good enough and simpler circuit as well. Though I believe that it is designed like that because LED driver circuitry is the same in all Chinese LED flashlight products. Anyway working light doesn't need that but yellow brains most likely can't understand that. I recently bought UV flashlight for UV glue curing. It appeared regular 5W bicycle flashlight with UV led inside and had that same three modes where low light and strobe modes was completely redundant. Luckily in high power mode it definitely works :)
@@KrotowX Found the racist.
That battery compartment is oddly satisfying.
tehlaser
Agreed 😂
Just one addition, since I am using this light for about half year, take care for your 18650s: circuit board in this work light doesnt have any battery drain protection. I already lost two batts to find this out. Either use protected cells (yes, it fits nicely), or keep an eye on voltage and do not leave batteries there for long time without use. About light beam - yes, it is fairly good. I do not use powerbank function neither charging function, so I cannot write anything about that. Only modification I did, drilled few holes around body - COBs are going wild with temperature over time.. :)
Thanks for taking time to provide the current measurements. They seem very efficient at low light setting.. Both this - [[oo]] and the Police alarm clock lamp.
i actually have one of these. i gave it to a friend who lives in the countryside and they love how useful it is. the only bummer thing is how easy it is to turn on in the bag.
Maybe I missed it but, you didn't answer the most important question. Is this light worth a crap or would I be better off grabbing a candle out of the junk drawer?
I have a very similar light labeled with the craftsman brand and I find it a really handy little device. Its great for working on cars, its thin enough you just slide it under the car and it gives a nice wash of light and the stand feature is also kinda handy. It's not exactly the best thing in my tool box but I kinda like it.
It's fine. Like most other similar LED work lights. Puts out plenty of light and lasts for a good length of time on a set of fully charged cells.
I have this exact light, but bought from Amazon. I would say its definetely worth $12. I paid $16 on Amazon and it came with 2 18650 batteries. I don't have a meter, but would ballpark it at 800 lumens. I use it when working on cars and its perfect for that. Light has a nice wide beam.
I've had a single led one for a year for so. I really like it, lots of light and last a few hours. My only complaint is the stand is too easy to collapse.
Ben Gordon I just bought one. Thought it was cheaper than the others I saw. But those were name brands. How is it holding up?
Just bought a pair of these and your excellent appraisal (as usual) saves me the time of tearing them down myself!
Impressed with the double battery configuration.
I dig it. From frozen kansas we are going to get to -7 Frankenstein tonight. just 500 miles northeast in shitcago -25 Frankenstein. My vehicle broke down its driven me crazy to not work on it, but you learn at these temps just looking at it other things will break this weekend we are supposed to hit 55ish Frankenstein so I'm gonna be patient work on it then. Thanks for another video. Cheers.
There with ya in Northern Ohio.. -8 franks now with -30ish wind.. Stay safe up there..
We got up to 25° freedom (-4° universal) today here in my spot of the Midwest, so it's time to bust out the shorts and t-shirts again.
I hear you there I live in Cuba Kansas
@@philiprizek6384 I might have drove thru Cuba once or thrice I used to avoid the scales on i70 so I'd run 36 across mo and into kansas, most of the time I'd bypass the scales then eventually end up on 75 south to paola. But I might have tried your route a few times.
@@raymondmucklow3793 thekimks@gmail.com I work for Walters oil out of Cuba the truck to haul fuel with is a 87 long nose peter peter with b series cat engine what broke on your truck I wonder if there's an app that give you traffic updates on scale houses i d know on Google maps if you dug into it enough it would tell you how busy certain places were probably by using cell phone GPS
Mine just came in. So I am back to rewatch. Works great! Thanks for the video. Can do without the flash mode.
i like how that light looks on the box, and when you take out it's absolutely different looking thing
36 dislikes? What were you expecting from the video? Another great one Clive!
No kidding huh they hit dislike because their little brains couldn't comprehend the lingo..
These look so cool - ive ordered one
New world record in saying "doubleA" within a minute in the beginning :) It's as pleasing to hear Clive say that as Stephen Fry saying probably in sketches :)
I just bought a set of these because of this video. But I got the ones with the 2 square ones in them. They're pretty nice little lights👍🏼
I have a bigger, more rectangular version. Works great. I use it all the time. Very rugged and practical. Mine doesn't do AA but I have 2 18650s in it.
I have this light and it works great. It had a good price also. Thanks and take care.
wish someone would come out with chip that dose Not have Flashing mode -
Great teardown video. Did you measure the LED wattage? Some sellers are advertising these as being 50W on ebay!
I was also wondering what current those chips are run at.
The current/wattage was never measured in the video, but if it can run on AA alkaline batteries then it is likely a safe bet that it’s no more than perhaps 10W. Besides, if it could run anywhere near 50W I would think it would need to explicitly state that high drain 18650s were a requirement as that would be around 15A at the battery terminal (particularly with just one 18650 installed) and they would need to monitor the battery temperature.
These look familiar, I think Texaco petrol stations were selling something similar in 2017, but only one COB with a lens, about £15 IIRC, but only for 4 x AA batteries. Lasts quite a while (i've still got the original batteries in mine and it's still good)
Great Video Big Clive
Dual battery choice is great! I just decided to order one!
Minions novelty light.
Damn, I wish you hadn't said that. I really do. Because now I want one.
Im glad someone else noticed
I was just about to say that as well
Great Video!! Thank you for your time putting this together.
We spent 3 years on the road from fall through spring to avoid the very harsh winters of South Dakota. This year we have been forced to remain in our summer home due to family health issues. At any rate, when on the road, we found it a real pain in the ass to have to set up all our network devices to the new wireless routers at each stop for a couple of days to a month. So I found a little portable wireless router that runs on USB power by HooToo, she was cool and made such things much easier as at each stop, I would simply enter the menu on the mini router and leave the broadcast network to the same settings as our home router. So all our stuff works great no matter where we are after a few minutes setting the router in our rig. Well the first one went to hell so I replaced it with one that has a built in power supply (looks like 4 18650's by the size) and doubles as a power bank. Now that we are grounded for the winter, I brought the little device in the house and it is acting as my primary power bank because of it's great output and power availability. I also programed her so if I need to come up with an old machine that can't deal with modern routers I can turn the little guy on and run it with WEP so the old stuff can log on.
Pretty usable little thing!
Oh wow that’s nice! The battery options are good for us flashaholics. Shame it has no low-low or moonlight modes. Watching on to see if it is easy to replace the emitters.
The two COBs on one PCB makes it a bit awkward, but you could probably fudge in two luxeon star style LEDs.
I like multi function devices, power bank, lamp with ajustable stand which doubles as a handle for a very 'light' knuckle protector.
An another useful feature these lamps have is that you can turn on the light then reconnect the charging lead and the light will draw over 400mA of current, presumably powering the COB and maintaining the 18650, the Red LED flashes in this configuration. I have the twin square COB, nice lights.
The charging circuitry seems to be completely independent of the light, so I'd guess that if you plugged in the lead it would balance at an equilibrium of cell voltage and LED current. At full output it would never be able to fully charge the cell to 100%, but at low output it would.
Man, you are very thorough with the analysis of products! A-Fuckig-mazing,!!! Genius!
Fantastic content and enjoy that voice immensely.
If you want, you can also use a high-power UV laser to etch the carbon off the top of the resistor.
just bought one thanks for the review
Love the Norn Iron accent at 5:18 😂
Is there no way to disable that annoying flashing mode on these things? Does anybody ever want that?
....... You would have to hack the code in the micro, I concur though,
it's only Gilligan that would find that mode useful.
A slow flash mode (e.g. 0.5-2Hz) can be useful for safety since it is typically more visible at a distance than a steady light, but I really do not get the unreasonably high flash rates that many of these chips seem programmed to generate.
Though I do have one pet peeve regarding many of the chipsets that support an SOS mode - aside from the questionable use or the ethics of many users frequently transmitting an SOS without a true emergency - many of the chipsets that implement an SOS feature do not properly transmit “SOS”, instead they literally transmit the equivalent of “S O S”, which is not a proper SOS signal. A true SOS is not sent as three distinct letters but as a single symbol, so there should be no inter-symbol delay between each of the three letters (e.g. “di-di-di-dah-dah-dah-di-di-dit” rather than “di-di-dit dah-dah-dah di-di-dit”).
All the flashing modes, including the so called SOS are gimmicks. The flash mode is very easy to include and costs very little to add, but means the seller / manufacturer can add it to the feature list. But how many people nowadays take any notice of a light that is flashing? Not many. And these are too bright to use as a warning light if your car breaks down. So in everyday life, the flash mode(s) have no practical use.
One of my pet hates. I bought a set of three led lights intended for putting in cupboards. The switch (tap the dome) was understandably lousy (cheap). The inclusion of flash mode and, despite microcontroller, lack of software debounce, meant that I could be hitting the thing a dozen times to get it to cycle through off, bright, medium and flash to get back to off. Absurd. Bin. I don't imagine the makers ever imagined that someone would want a cupboard light to flash, but a simple two push on/off latch is as cheap as the mechanism in a disposable biro. And software debouncing costs nothing per unit. I could tell them how to do that for the rubbishiest switch.
Yes easy... Just don't select it lol.. Very annoying useless feature.
Those series diodes will waste a Volt or so, but they will also prevent over-discharge of NiMH cells, thus prolonging their life. Thanks Clive.
Awesome video thank you Clive! This stuff is just so interesting to me I can't stand it! I wish and want to know all this stuff that you know, but please don't take that the wrong way my friend! Again, great video!
I saw that listing on ebay, and wonder how the other versions of it differ intermally. It'd be nice to be able to get one without that useless flashing option!
Hey man!Love the videos. Much love from america
I was looking at one of these today on Amazon. They're available for just under $9 USD with free shipping. I may pick one up.
thanks Clive, just ordered one . but only cos I like the two eye effect..........
Thanks.
Clive - Did you measure the current & voltage *at the COB* also? 7:20 "It's more important to know what the current is" by which I think you meant to find the wattage. Totally thought you were going to do that. (I ordered one of these about halfway through the video.) I take it your current test in the description was from the battery supply, right? Full = 900mA
/ Low = 250mA etc.
I also noticed the board can have 2 more positives (L3 & L4) but are not utilized in this device.
Some companies use the same pcb in different units so they may have slight variations in the circuitry, one is used for a specific application and the same pcb is used to do another application, both are the same boards ,just used differently or have the options available for other uses.
The double doides are quite strange indeed. I think 3 AA batteries would be more efficient? Same capacity since they are in series or am I missing something here? Seems like two steps forward, one step back. Oh, and the mosfet Q4 has a on-resistance of 85 mOhms at 4.5V
Ordered one on AliExpress right after finishing the video for 9€. Gonna be real handy when working on my car!
Yeah, 3 AAs would make more sense from an electronic perspective. Given the diode drops are going to come in around 1.3V you'd get almost the same run-time with four batteries + two diodes as with three batteries.
I suspect the use of 4 AAs is from mechanical considerations. It might be difficult to come up with something that would keep 3 AAs from rattling around in the space created by allowing for 2 18650s whereas 4 fill the compartment nicely.
3AA gives you more or less the same voltage as a single Lithium if you use rechargeables. It would have been so easy to add a bit of circuitry to use one or the other with a proper charging circuit for both.
@@bdf2718 That, plus how irritating is it to buy batteries for a device that needs an odd number of batteries? Most consumers would have to buy a 4-pack and then have one single battery rolling around to toss in the kitchen junk drawer and probably forgotten until it's past its prime. I highly doubt anyone thought of a customer's feeling about that, but I think of that when I buy battery-operated devices. Especially since I have NiMH batteries and the (now dead) charger only recharged in pairs. It's a PITA to have one dead battery waiting around for another dead battery so I can recharge them both.
I've since replaced that charger, since it would only charge cells to 1.3v before showing all batteries were bad. I replaced the charger with one that charges individual cells (and all batteries test within 5% of stated capacity) so an odd number of cells in a device doesn't matter to me so much anymore. But it used to be a factor in my decision between similar devices.
I'm with you on that. I ordered one of these, and I'm going to move the connection from the 4th AA to the 3rd AA and block off position 4. And also short out the diode pair. Of course I'll test first to make sure it works okay. I'll be using NIMH anyway so it won't be 4.5v, more like the 4.2 max of lithium.
@@arfyness yea when he said even 3 AA wont work i was confused, 4.2/3 = 1.4 so each ni-mh cell will get a good charge. let us know what you find out!
Given the size of that, they could have doubled or more the number of batteries and still had it fit in that housing. The reason I point that out is that this could be a spare phone charger, light, power supply thing, just by adding some more batteries. If you look at all the portable battery packs that range from 1 phone recharge, to jump start your car, you're kind of in that size range. If you added those lights to a $20 power supply / phone bank charger, you'd have something more usable. I'd like to see this at $5 more, and 3X the batteries and more amps to a few more USBs.
........ Yeah, I too would pay 3X that price for 4X18650 and a intelligent 2A 5v output.
@@robbieaussievic Amazon has one, but the light isn't as powerful. You should be able to wire in a more powerful light. They have a number of these to choose from. I'd like enough power to jump my motorcycle or top off a car battery like those small boosters. www.amazon.com/Yuly-iPhone-Xiaomi-Battery-Charger/dp/B07L56KJP3/ref=pd_day0_hl_469_5?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07L56KJP3&pd_rd_r=03922396-26ac-11e9-a720-93fce9026ffb&pd_rd_w=0rxF0&pd_rd_wg=zfkHK&pf_rd_p=ad07871c-e646-4161-82c7-5ed0d4c85b07&pf_rd_r=PTEV5JDMMKWV4ZW6H6VE&psc=1&refRID=PTEV5JDMMKWV4ZW6H6VE
The problem you will run into, though, is that most power banks intended for charging devices and providing light will run the batteries in parallel and use a boost converter to reach 5V for USB and utilize standard low drain (safer) lithium ion/polymer cells. By comparison, those that are intended for jumpstarting vehicles will typically have three cells wired in series (~12V) and utilize a buck converter for the USB ports (and may, or may not, power the light) - the jumpstart output is literally the direct output of the three lithium cells in series - and must use high-drain (greater fire risk) lithium ion/polymer cells (there is also the added risk that failure within the buck converter could pass the full 12+V to your 5V USB port). Not only that, you really need to have the cells effectively spotwelded together to handle the hundreds of amps that vehicle starting can command - even a few extra milli-ohms of added contact resistance can generate a lot of localized heat at hundreds of amps (not to mention added voltage drop) - so user serviceable batteries are not especially practical at loads of up to 500-1000A.
I don’t know that we really want the Chinese marketing ultra-cheap jump starter kits direct to consumers given the greater risks of fire such high drain batteries present if not properly protected and the Chinese penchant for frequently eliminating key safety elements for greater profit without an outside third-party carefully watching over them to prevent corner cutting. At least the RC crowd generally understands the dangers their high-drain batteries present during charging, but how many average consumers are that educated in the risks? The lithium jumpstart kits are one device I’m actually willing to pay a premium for in exchange for the knowledge that proper attention has hopefully been paid to the critical safety elements.
Nice one :) One question which I could have missed in an earlier video. What software do you use for editing these videos? And do you do lots of it, or is it mostly one take (apart from when you take photos or doodle out stuff off camera)? Thanks from a quite recent fan :-)
I just add sections together with vidtrim-pro. Everything is recorded, joined and uploaded from a phone.
if you think of starting making your own videos, but with more editing, I´d say blackmagic resolve 15 is really nice! i´m using it, it´s free, it does all my preferd editing, and easy to learn :)
FYI, when using that program... you need a pretty good computer to handle the system, i´ve realized haha. bought a "cheap" (about 1000$ new) "gaming" laptop to handle it
final cut is really expensive though xD it´s true, it wouldnt be the same if he started to edit his videos haha
@@TVV-04 --> I totally agree. Here's my vote to keep BigClive's video style the same forever.
@@TVV-04 Personally, I barely understand a word he says... But I edit all of my videos on my phone too with action director. DIY videos with 50-100 clips, many minutes long. Works great.
Oh, i just got one of these and was pretty miffed about the “incredible” multifunction button. Who on earth wants their work light to go into strobe using it??? Could you pleeease show us how to get rid of this horrible “feature” and just have it on/off and nothing else? Maybe bypass the controller?
Love your videos :)
I saw this video and bought one soon after. I was working on a squirrel fan the other day and noticed strobing. Don't usually see that from a flashlight.
Some of these regulate the intensity with pulse width modulation. It can result in strobing effects.
@@BigClive It was just a "what the hell am I seeing moments?"
Try setting it on high instead of low.
For $12 it's not too bad of a light to have around for power outages or camping. May be I should send you over a energizer 2 in 1 light I have like 10 of for camping/ power outages/ anywhere a basic flashlight/ area night is needed.
If you attach a length of elastic to both sides of the front plate you could use it as prescription safety glasses 😂
Clive I want you to look at a flashlight. Not just any flashlight, but the Emisar D4. Its an 18650 powered sun simulator!
The red led flashing.. what does that mean when it’s charging? I don’t have the book but it started out solid red. Not sure if it means it’s fully charged or not
Bangood seems to have these lights on sale for $7.8
*********** Hey Big Clive!!!! I Just figured out some power banks have output power on their micro USB charge ports. Maybe go back and check your's out, I used a Micro "Y" Splitter to test mine and out of the dozen or so I own, I have 3 that can do it and there's no amperage limit, it'll just let the power drop until it cuts out!!!! All 3 of mine can do at least 3Amps before dropping to 4.2v, but one can do 3.5A before it drops!!!!!! PS. these Units are only rated for 2.1A Output...
Instead of using four batteries and 2 diodes to waste power, they should have gone for 3 AA batteries. There is a boost converter anyway. If you use 3 NiMH then they could even get some charge up to 4,2V (1,4V per cell) and Alkaline will not really take much current at all.
Clive likes his led lights!
I'm amused, they're using MOSFETs as polarity protection diodes, as they don't want the loss of the diode drop, then elsewhere they're using diodes because they do want that loss!
Would love to see you making things out of all these parts
is it safe to leave this charging - will it stop charging once charged or will it overcharge the 18605s?
Seems like a decent light, and I'd bet JML the "As seen on TV" brand will sell them for £59.99 a piece, seeing as they sell a twin-pack of £1.99 LED lightswitches for £16... :P
Big round wash of Light...Circuit photographs great idea...
Help! Some questions
1- The USB out put works also with 4xaa or only when 18650 are used??
2- Does it give same brightness when using 4xAA or 18650?
3- Can it recharge the 4xAA or the recharge function only works with 18650??
Thanks a lot!
I have one but no matter what batteries used be it AA or 18650s it just drains my light even when turned off??
Love your videos
very interesting channel
Would it be possible to to power this from a USB adapter that is connected to 18v Milwaukee battery?
HeadsUp. Draws power when off.
It could be exciting to put one 18650 one way around and the other one in opposition . I wonder if there is a fusible link to counteract this between the 18650. As they thought of reverse polarity 👍
If you added the extra leds for the alternating effect would it work? I always wanted to try that when you find extra features not included on the boards.
may i know the usb output amps and time when putting 4 energizer L91 lithium AA batteries?
I have fairly similar lamps with lenses and other one with double flat COBs. The front moulding is different.
What is a COB LED? - I looked it up, Chip On Board, the rectangular type with multiple LEDs compared to SMD or Surface Mounted Device which is cheaper and circular.
i like how you just buy stuff to tear em down ^^
I realize it takes off-line time to do, but for a battery-powered anything, it's always nice when a review tells you how long a fully-charged battery will power the DUT. Even better is to plot the battery voltage over time (=battery life) while also monitoring the light current to see if it's truly constant current or one of these cheap blast light sources that is bright at the outset but dims as the battery voltage falls. Also, how long do the battery types power the VBUS output line?
any word on over under charge protection with the Li-Ion cells and can it run with the power plugged in oh is it water proof thanks
Not waterproof. Probably splash resilient. No obvious under-voltage cut off, but the LEDs will not be conducting by that point anyway. It can be used while charging as the two sections are separate. But at full intensity the cells will not be able to fully charge as an equilibrium point between charge current and LED voltage will be met.
What would happen if you use 14500s in stead of AA batteries? Would it make some fun popping noises, or just blow some components quietly?
I bought a single round cob version with 3 x18650 1500 built in, after a week the run time had dropped to about an hour so I replaced the batteries with good quality 3000 Ma cells, lasted a few charges, now the pcb is dead and just drains the batteries, the power bank function never charged my Samsung S9 or S6 but did show it was connected.
For whatever reason, many mobile devices (phones and tablets) will not reduce their charge rate to match what a battery bank can deliver so long as the mobile device is powered on - when powered on they want to charge as fast as they can at 5V even if the battery bank or power supply specifically advertises it can not support such, so the device either refuses to charge at all or it trips the overload protection on the power bank. Interestingly, many will charge at USB 1.1 specs (500mA) of the device is actually powered off before connecting. My iPad, for example, will refuse to charge if the power bank advertises less than about 2A - but if powered off first it will charge at 400-500mA just fine, but no faster than that.
Out of curiosity, does the actual COB itself still work or did they overdrive the COB to the point that it has failed shorted (as diodes typically do) and/or burned up the PCB? It is also possible that there could be poor solder joints or even haphazardly soldered wires that have shorted to neighboring components if you have not yet cracked it open to inspect. But then that is the nature of cheap Chinese goods, it’s a literal crapshoot where sometimes you get a winner and many times a loser.
I have a few like this, both with the round and square lenses. The round lens version is like a projector lens, so the light is more focused. The square lens version is flat, so the light is more scattered. Both are useful; the square lens version is great for lighting a space (such as in a crawlspace), while the round lens version is great for working in a confined space (such as under a car).
@ 3:25 I tried the USB output to charge my phone during an extended power outage, but it did not work for this.
Scary robot battery!
That Chinese tea heater works great to help keep the water warm in my bathtub
Does it charge the AA batteries over USB?
cool, I ordered the same from Bangood last week for just under 7€
I have two of these, but they were branded CAT
Anyone notice the picture on the box, wasn't what Clive actually got....? I much preferred the twin square than the bullseye version!
The other two models were also on the front, but I couldn't see if there was any kind of mark to indicate which one it was. Might have been on the side.
Have you ever considered working on a design for one of these lights? Would be interesting to see the process to design to a price point.
Anyone else noticed the recent change in the supply of micro usb female sockets?
Must say I like the no flared edges version from now better
Will it run while recharging?
Bigclive, where can i order reliable 18650 batteries ?
other then that what do you recommand 3xAA rechargable or 2x18650 for this light ?
On Amazon I have fared well with both Solaray and Orbotronic lithium cells and they have all delivered their rated capacity to within +/-10%.
You will get far more runtime from two 18650 lithium ion cells (up to about 25Wh total with two true 3400mAh cells) of decent quality and capacity than you will from three or four AA NiMH cells (about 12.5Wh maximum with four high capacity cells of 2600mAh each) in series. If you do opt for rechargeable NiMH cells then go with four cells (~4.8-5.0V total voltage) and bypass the two dropper diodes - but do not use the built in charge feature as that is designed only for lithium ion cells, so NiMH cells will have to be manually charged with an external NiMH charger whereas the two 18650 lithium ion cells can be charged using the built in micro USB charging port. The two dropping diodes are meant to reduce the roughly 6.4V of four fresh alkaline AA cells to 5.2V or less so that the USB port voltage does not get too high with fresh batteries, literally wasting the better part of one AA battery.
Round lens version looks like a Disneyesque steampunk robot face or something.
Smart