Dive light from E-Bay -- Great buy!!!

[Doby45]

The blue one is stock DGX600? What's it labeled and what did it come out to? One I tested was 2600, came out 2100 @ 0.5A draw. A friend just got a DGX and he said the new battery is labeled 3000. I wonder if it really is an improvement.

It is labeled 3000mah and mine that I have all tested out at 2800mah. I have tested four of those batteries as I have three of them and my buddy has one. Needless to say with the testing on the Panasonics, the generic blues will be relegated to back ups of the back ups.

 

[fmerkel]

Sure, but since the light seems to pull ~2.0A by a single test I did the blue battery is good for one hour dive, and the Panasonics are also good for 1 hour dive.

If you want to store any put them at ~ 3.7-3.8v. Zip lock in the fridge (not freezer...though I'm currently doing some freezer testing) is even better.

 

[Doby45]

I could not agree more about the blue battery being good for an hour as I have done that in real life a number of times. Needless to say I am stoked about the Panasonics though. Should be even the more gooderer..

 

[stuartv]

Just FYI, it looks like Xtar have finally come out with a nice battery charger/tester. Highlights:

- 4 slots
- charge 4 x 32650 simultaneously
- charge-discharge-charge mode for testing battery capacity
- USB port for charging other devices (up to 2.4A!)
- functions as a power bank when not plugged in. I.e. put some batteries in the charger and use it to charge your phone from the batteries when the charger is not plugged into AC power
- probes and mode for testing internal battery resistance

$90

VP4 PLUS DRAGON Charger

If you use 26650 or 32650 batteries, this looks like a nicer option than the Opus simply because the Opus will only charge 2 x 26650 at a time. It's more money, but I'd pay the extra just for that.

 

[griffin_pak]

Thank you to everyone for posting reviews here.

Any reviews for using this as a video light? ie with a diffuser?

 

[runsongas]

Just FYI, it looks like Xtar have finally come out with a nice battery charger/tester. Highlights:

- 4 slots
- charge 4 x 32650 simultaneously
- charge-discharge-charge mode for testing battery capacity
- USB port for charging other devices (up to 2.4A!)
- functions as a power bank when not plugged in. I.e. put some batteries in the charger and use it to charge your phone from the batteries when the charger is not plugged into AC power
- probes and mode for testing internal battery resistance

$90

VP4 PLUS DRAGON Charger

If you use 26650 or 32650 batteries, this looks like a nicer option than the Opus simply because the Opus will only charge 2 x 26650 at a time. It's more money, but I'd pay the extra just for that.

well the opus is 32 dollars and change right now. i'm not sure i would pay 90 for the xtar in that case.

Opus BT - C3100 V2.2 Li - ion Digital NiCd NiMH Battery Charger ( US Plug )

 

[Doby45]

ps. My good 18650s are plain red wrappers that were sold as Sanyo 3400mAh, IIRC. And they test around 3200 - 3300. They were about $8 or 9 each from a Canadian seller on eBay, again IIRC.

My good 26650s are Soshine and they were less than $7 each from an eBay seller.

Soshine 4pcs/lot 26650 5500mAh PCB Protected Rechargeable Li-ion Battery B4S2

Just ordered me up some of these. Four of the 26650s should be all I need for some time..

 

[griffin_pak]

Thank you to everyone for posting reviews here.

Any reviews for using this as a video light? ie with a diffuser?

bump

 

[Doby45]

That is a good price for the 26650s, but the Soshines I got on eBay were even less, and they all tested out between 5200 and 5300 mAh.

The SoShines I just got tested in the same range as the ones you mentioned. I would say all in all a great 25560 battery!

 

[CuzzA]

Thank you to everyone for posting reviews here.

Any reviews for using this as a video light? ie with a diffuser?

I tried and failed twice. Once with a diffusing cover. Didn't help. Still had a hot spot.

Then I took one apart and painted the reflector white and it wouldn't turn on. I must have screwed something up. Switch?

Well, I just said screw it and bought the eBay Chinese video light. I'll find a link.

2500LM SCUBA Diving CREE XM-L2 LED Photographing Video Flashlight Torch 18650 US

Here's a test video.


For what it's worth, I was diving in my pool at night while carrying my pony bottle with one hand and holding the tray with the other. So I didn't do a great job positioning the lights. Also my pool was a little cloudy from a little algae bloom we had at the time from tons of rain.

If you're into the UV lights they have one that can switch from white to UV or both. Pretty cool. I think it's about $50.