cheap chinese video light review

[Addison Snyder]

It has the clear plastic surround of the push button switches. Can they be removed?

Yes. I use a set of cuticle clippers like a really small spanner wrench. I personally suggest replacing the switches with a peizo switch (see here).

the led's flash showing they work,but neither switch functions.

If the actual light is flashing on-off, that's likely indicating an error in the board from a short or something. Odds are nothing is actually damaged beyond getting wet. You can probably save it easily by drying the board and use isopropyl alcohol Q-tips on anything that looks remotely sketchy on that board. Or just buy a new one for like 50 bucks.

 

[Addison Snyder]

Has anyone managed to remove the front glass?

I was wondering how to get remove the front glass too.

So I took some calipers and made some measurements of the diameter of the light, ran some numbers to come up with where the edges of the 3 "pockets" are in the flashlight head, and reaaal carefully piloted holes and put some screws into a 2x4. The result is a jig that I can use to wrench in/out the head of the flashlight. I added little slices of surgical tubing to minimize the steel screws cutting into the lighthead (was originally planning to make a small batch of reworked lights to sell at-cost).
Pretty much I made a custom 3-pin spanner wrench. Guessing that the factories that make these have some real specialized ones made. Any machinists on this thread know of a better tool to use?

 

[Addison Snyder]

I found an issue (or two) with using the Piezo switches, or at least with the ones I have available. The pulse width on them only appears to be very short, almost not enough for the torch circuit to detect.

Crazy, I didn't know that could be a problem. I guess I got lucky with my switches, they work perfectly (maybe pulse-width is correlated to size of the switch?).

 

[MATTKINZ]

thanks for the responses.

regarding the switches, i'll have to find the piezo switches and I already have the JB weld.

I did find small reed switches in the past, maybe McMaster-Carr ??? they have lots of things for use in DIY activities, I bought spring steel springs from them to make spring straps for my force fins some years ago.

Now that I think about it, I got them from a hobbyist electronics site. The were selling things like aduino setups . I think if you search for DIY computer or electronics you may find the reed switches. Here's one site. see littlefuse reed switches.. didn't check shipping. reed switch | Octopart

to remove the front lens holder, i found the slots in the ring om my light were crescents and fit perfectly the round edges of drywall screws, Using 2 screws and a piece of scrap wood, i screwed the screws to the proper distance to perfectly fit the span and easily removed the front lens holder.

My light unit seems to be held in place with a gasket, will work on that if needed. if switches can be repaired, i may use a little lexel around the lens and screw the holder back in with the "spanning wrench"

I appreciate all the help I get on scubaboard, It is good to know there are still DIY people around that do things themselves and help others with advice.

recently serviced and old scubapro Mark V , and Conshelf XIV first stage. Fun to do projects. mk

 

[MATTKINZ]

Regarding 18650 batteries, this guy had made a good video where he tested a number of batteries to see which one was best for charge and calculated based on cost per energy delivered. If interested. mk

which 18650 battery is best lets find out - Bing video

www.bing.com

 

[SwimmingFish]

They didnt scam you, you're supposed to use button top 18650's with these lights. They are longer than the flat tops you're using. All the big shops mention this in the product description, sometimes they call them pointed batteries.

No, I wasn't supposed to use button top batteries at all, and yes, they did try to scam me (at their own expense in the end).
We don't know each other, so you don't know what I tried to buy. If you're gonna reply to anything, kindly make sure you have the facts right, otherwise you're misleading everybody.

I sincerely like the current DIY work on this thread on changing the switches. I'll probably try it in the future, or if my latest attempt to buy these lamps cheaply succeeds, I'll probably try to do some heavier modifications, wiring multiple lamps to the same battery...

Back to the topic and the lamps, and some points raised in the last posts:
1. That aluminum metal the lamps are made off can me made in millions of different designs and colors with small different details. Still they use the same 4 batteries and the same LED types/ amount, and the same circuit board, thus the same design.
If anyone speaking chinese can point to which factory specifically makes them, than we can find out when they will update the buttons as well.
2. I don't remember if I mentioned earlier, but you can run these lamps with only 1 (one) 18650 battery. The light will be lower and will gradually dim faster. Putting the light in a small bucket doesn't really show it as good as putting it in a bathtub, with a color chart or anything colored beside. The QH14-7 is maximum 6-7000 LM
3. I'm not a pro on circuits, but from my experience it looks like these LED take all power they can get, thus high capacity / lower drain (10A) batteries will output the same lower current for longer, and keep the same output power for longer, while slightly lower capacity / higher drain (30A) batteries will have a higher output in the beginning, with the dimming becoming visible after 30-40 min.

But I see people recommend other lamps in the 50-100 USD range while this was supposed to be a thread for cheap lamps.
Here are the prices one can find in China for these lamps:

批发_供应_阿里巴巴

s.1688.com

https://detail.1688.com/offer/607453359246.html 115 YUAN ~ 17 USD for the COB variant

https://detail.1688.com/offer/598930958922.html?spm=a26352.13672862.offerlist.60.115d1e62iIUCLP - 200 YUAN ~ Around 30 USD for the other 3 variants.

But you cannot order them from those places. You have to contact those factories, and if you're lucky and they speak English, maybe you can get some directly, otherwise you have to use a 3rd party acting as a "China shipping agent" which will buy the lamps for you and arrange the shipping to your destination. Every 3rd party I talked to practically doubles the price. Either free shipping inside China and then expensive shipping China-EU or expensive shipping in China and cheap shipping internationally. And they all take a fee for their service. And at the end you end up with pretty much no warranty, since you're buying directly from the factory without a contract. So if you want 10 useable lamps, you have to actually buy 12-14, to account for some duds, and the price of 12-14 + all the shipping approaches the price of 50-60 USD/ lamp...

I'm trying my luck now once again on Amazon:
- 35 USD for the QH27 variant.

And I once again found that newer variant I mentioned earlier (KlixTrio):
- The lamp I tried to buy and the seller tried to scam me.
- And the same lamp today.

This newer variant has the same 4 batteries, in a different compartment, and simply more of the same LEDs. (Leading to a max of 30 min at full power if batteries allow). And when I discovered it 2 years ago, there were variants building on the other QH14 lamps, using 12 x4 or 12 x7 instead of 6 x4 or 6 x7 LEDs.
But since they use the same 4 batteries, they're probably not so popular since they last for a shorter time, and they're probably a real fire risk if you leave it on in a bag with clothes when ambient temperature outside is already 20-30 degrees Celsius.

I highly doubt the lamps will arrive though, due to the sellers actually making the simple mistake and using the Chinese market prices on the Amazon marketplace...

 

[SwimmingFish]

Regarding the buttons/switches, does anyone have any experience with the switches/buttons on this lamp:
W167 8 x CREE XM-L2 cool white LED 6800 lumens shine LED diving photography light
The innovation looks very nice; but the lamp is not worth that price...

 

[Scuba-Lad]

Regarding the buttons/switches, does anyone have any experience with the switches/buttons on this lamp:
W167 8 x CREE XM-L2 cool white LED 6800 lumens shine LED diving photography light
The innovation looks very nice; but the lamp is not worth that price...

Check my previous posts on here, I've been looking around for a "ready-to-go" magnetic switch but cannot find one. Almost like each manufacturer is using a custom design. The ones you link to here look like they might be magnetic, judging by the height of the switch and the price. They also have a locking mechanism if you zoom in on the photo, which is interesting. It would be cool if we could find a reasonably priced supplier for this kind of thing

 

[Scuba-Lad]

No, I wasn't supposed to use button top batteries at all, and yes, they did try to scam me (at their own expense in the end).
We don't know each other, so you don't know what I tried to buy. If you're gonna reply to anything, kindly make sure you have the facts right, otherwise you're misleading everybody.

I sincerely like the current DIY work on this thread on changing the switches. I'll probably try it in the future, or if my latest attempt to buy these lamps cheaply succeeds, I'll probably try to do some heavier modifications, wiring multiple lamps to the same battery...

Back to the topic and the lamps, and some points raised in the last posts:
1. That aluminum metal the lamps are made off can me made in millions of different designs and colors with small different details. Still they use the same 4 batteries and the same LED types/ amount, and the same circuit board, thus the same design.
If anyone speaking chinese can point to which factory specifically makes them, than we can find out when they will update the buttons as well.
2. I don't remember if I mentioned earlier, but you can run these lamps with only 1 (one) 18650 battery. The light will be lower and will gradually dim faster. Putting the light in a small bucket doesn't really show it as good as putting it in a bathtub, with a color chart or anything colored beside. The QH14-7 is maximum 6-7000 LM
3. I'm not a pro on circuits, but from my experience it looks like these LED take all power they can get, thus high capacity / lower drain (10A) batteries will output the same lower current for longer, and keep the same output power for longer, while slightly lower capacity / higher drain (30A) batteries will have a higher output in the beginning, with the dimming becoming visible after 30-40 min.

But I see people recommend other lamps in the 50-100 USD range while this was supposed to be a thread for cheap lamps.
Here are the prices one can find in China for these lamps:

批发_供应_阿里巴巴

s.1688.com

https://detail.1688.com/offer/607453359246.html 115 YUAN ~ 17 USD for the COB variant

https://detail.1688.com/offer/598930958922.html?spm=a26352.13672862.offerlist.60.115d1e62iIUCLP - 200 YUAN ~ Around 30 USD for the other 3 variants.

But you cannot order them from those places. You have to contact those factories, and if you're lucky and they speak English, maybe you can get some directly, otherwise you have to use a 3rd party acting as a "China shipping agent" which will buy the lamps for you and arrange the shipping to your destination. Every 3rd party I talked to practically doubles the price. Either free shipping inside China and then expensive shipping China-EU or expensive shipping in China and cheap shipping internationally. And they all take a fee for their service. And at the end you end up with pretty much no warranty, since you're buying directly from the factory without a contract. So if you want 10 useable lamps, you have to actually buy 12-14, to account for some duds, and the price of 12-14 + all the shipping approaches the price of 50-60 USD/ lamp...

I'm trying my luck now once again on Amazon:
- 35 USD for the QH27 variant.

And I once again found that newer variant I mentioned earlier (KlixTrio):
- The lamp I tried to buy and the seller tried to scam me.
- And the same lamp today.

This newer variant has the same 4 batteries, in a different compartment, and simply more of the same LEDs. (Leading to a max of 30 min at full power if batteries allow). And when I discovered it 2 years ago, there were variants building on the other QH14 lamps, using 12 x4 or 12 x7 instead of 6 x4 or 6 x7 LEDs.
But since they use the same 4 batteries, they're probably not so popular since they last for a shorter time, and they're probably a real fire risk if you leave it on in a bag with clothes when ambient temperature outside is already 20-30 degrees Celsius.

I highly doubt the lamps will arrive though, due to the sellers actually making the simple mistake and using the Chinese market prices on the Amazon marketplace...

The newer variant appears to have the same crappy (eventually leaking) switches as previous, however the battery compartment looks like a huge improvement over the previous model. Looks like it might even have the cathode as part of the battery compartment too, meaning the outer case is not used for the negative current, thus avoiding potential cathodic corrosion. Difficult to be sure without seeing the inside of the lamp head.
The heads of my 18650's are shredded due to the circlip cutting into them as I rotate the battery compartment closed / open. This is due to the circlip that holds the circuit board in place slicing into them as parts of it don't sit flat. Bad design from the factory. I've yet to figure out a way to secure it in place without the circlip that still allows me to get the circuit board out if needed.

I was also wondering if there was a real cheap diving torch out there (i.e the output is not interesting) that comes with a magnetic switch that I could butcher and use the switches....

 

[sprockjohnson]

Crazy, I didn't know that could be a problem. I guess I got lucky with my switches, they work perfectly (maybe pulse-width is correlated to size of the switch?).

I tried this as well based on the piezo switch you had recommended, however with a different Chinese made canister light using the same cheap LED switches, and had a similar experience. The latching on the piezo was not enough to turn the light on or off but would, with long enough and hard enough pressing, cause it to cycle through the different intensities. Possibly a different piezo switch would do better but it also might be a dead end depending on the latching circuit requirements.