Cyclist0107

Not sure how much night ridding I'll be doing but I took the plunge and placed an order for the following:

Ultrafire WF-501B Philips Luxeon K2 Red LED Flashlight
Aurora AK-P7-5 HA-III SSC P7-C 2-Mode 900-Lumen LED Flashlight
TrustFire Protected 18650 Lithium Battery
UltraFire 3.6/3.7V Battery Charger
Universal Bicycle Mount

Now from my reading through some threads, some people have had some issues with poor QA on some of the torches and chargers from DX.
What should I look for when they arrive?
Solder Contact Points would be one. Is there anyway to make sure the 18650's are good? or are they a crapshoot also?

ThanX

Cyclist0383

Which charger is it?

As for the batteries, most likely they will be either good or DOA, meaning that they have a very low voltage. Batteries are actually one thing that DX does manage to gt right most of the time.

As for the light, aside from sloppy soldiering, give it a good shake and see if it stays on or changes modes on you. Exactly which light is it? There are several that fit your description.

Cyclist0107

Duly Noted

Ultrafire WF-501B Philips Luxeon K2 Red LED Flashlight - item# 20333
Aurora AK-P7-5 HA-III SSC P7-C 2-Mode 900-Lumen LED Flashlight - item# 15739
TrustFire Protected 18650 Lithium Battery - item# 5790
UltraFire 3.6/3.7V Battery Charger - item# 1251
Universal Bicycle Mount - item# 15642

Unknown Cyclist

10/10 You've certainly been paying attention and doing your homework.

I'd say you've pretty much got an unbeatable combo there.

My set up is very similar, how are you going to mount the red LED torch ?

I use one of these on my seatpost:



Fenix Flashlight Bike Mount

It fits the torch and my seatpost perfectly and detents to exactly the right angle

I'd say you've selected a nearly perfect set up, providing of course that you have decided against a dedicated cycle light ?



I'd say just a quick visual inspection then use and enjoy, the quality/quality control on my Aurura is excellent. I've got a few of those chargers and lots of the same batteries. I'd say you've selected very wisely and unless you are very unlucky you will probably be delighted with it all. I can only give DX 10/10 on all of these items.

Cyclist0107

Unknown Cyclist,
ThanX, I've only had my bike for 3 weeks and have been reading alot.

I have not decided on a mount for the red LED torch yet. Getting a Topeak Rear Rack and Topeak Trunk Bag for dad's day, so the light might end up on the rack some how?? I think the trunk will sit as high as my saddle.

Cyclist0383

That's the charger that has some dodgy units. Check out these threads over at DX about the problem. A good WF-139 should flash red-green-red while charging and then solid green when the battery is fully charged. If yours doesn't do this their may be a problem.

There is also a user here, kuan, who has both a good and a dodgy WF-139 charger, both bought from DX. You could PM him if you have any issues. I have the WF-139, but I bought it from a different supplier, so I only know how the good one works.

https://www.dealextreme.com/forums/De...hreadid.206189
https://www.dealextreme.com/forums/De...hreadid.258251
https://www.dealextreme.com/forums/De...hreadid.287199

https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1251

Unknown Cyclist

Be very wary when following advice about the WF-139 chargers.

A lot of what is being said about this charger is complete and utter rubbish.

I've now spoken to more than a few people who have bought the WF-139s recently and are using them and are completely happy with them - go with current reviews and not ancient history.

Unfortunately, this 'rubbishing' has now got to the stage where some forum members are scared to recommend their purchases based on their own experience, because they get attacked and their opinion is belittled.

"A good WF-139 should flash red-green-red while charging" - This is complete tosh. None of mine do and I've now spoken to many people who have genuine WF-139 chargers that also don't flash in this manner.

I've also emailed Ultrafire directly about this.

I don't know why there is so much scaremongering, but a large part of it relates to a very poor thread on another forum, where some very dodgy unscientific testing took place.

I'm very sorry that you have been subject to this on what is otherwise a great and sensible forum.

You'll soon have a WF-139 and can let everyone know what you think of it.

n4zou

I purchased everything you have on your list. I am very happy with everything! I've had the flashlight for quite a while now and use it on my bikes and everywhere else. I go nowhere without it. I have used it for self defense. An individual approached me demanding my wallet. I pulled my flashlight, put it in rapid flash mode which blinded him. I then struck him with it on his forehead. He dropped the knife and held his head as he ran away because blood was freely flowing into his eyes. The assault crown works fine. I've never had trouble with the flashlight even after striking someone in the head as hard as I could. Heat is not a problem when the flashlight in the mount. The mount needs a thin peace of rubber for use on straight handlebars. Road bike handlebars do not need the rubber. Old inner tube rubber works fine. The Flashlight mounts fine in the mount without the rubber bushing supplied with it. It's very easy to loosen the screw and remove the flashlight from the mount while riding and put it back in and tighten the screw. I use a dynamo light as well as this flashlight. It's nice to turn on at stops when the dynamo light stops working (because you stopped). When riding at night on busy streets I run my dynamo light and have the flashlight operating in strobe mode. I always point it down so as not to blind others but it's still very visible. My batteries worked great as did the charger. Your going to be very happy with everything you ordered.

Cyclist0107

uke,
That is correct, I purchased the two mode torch. From my readings, the more modes a torch has the possibility of more to go wrong.

Unknown Cyclist/Ziemas,
As for the WF-139 charger, as some put it "it's a crap shoot". I have found the manual on line and here is a quote "The red LED indicator light will FLASH glow to indicate a normal charging mode." No mention of alternating between red and green while charging.

I'd like to thank everyone for the kudo's, I think my reading payed off. I will definetly post my findings, with pictures for all to scrutinize.

Cyclist0383

I just dug my WF-139 out of storage to test it. It seems that the green leds are always on, with the red ones glowing over them. So, when it flashes red you can see the green leds underneath. Thus, the red-green-red flash pattern. Maybe some other users can chime in if they have the same behavior on their WF-139 charger.

Unknown Cyclist

Hi Absolute,

I really don't think it is a crap shoot as I've spoken to a few people who have purchased these recently and out of about 10 WF-139s from DX all have functioned perfectly.

Just checking mine now, no sign of any flashing, however, I think it's actually more important to make it clear that it does function (charge lithium ion batteries) perfectly.

Also, there is evidence that there has been more than 1 revision of the circuitboard, so there is no point in assuming all WF-139s will actually work identically, older ones could have different specifications.

Having emailed them, I'm waiting for a reply from Ultrafire about this.

In the mean time, there's no evidence to suggest you shouldn't buy a WF-139 from DX and plenty of evidence to suggest that it is a sound buy from them.

Unknown Cyclist

Hi Absolute,

If the Aurora 2 mode single 18650 is anything like 2 x 18650 2 mode Aurora I have, (which is quite likely) then you'll probably find that the low mode is set by a resistor in the tailcap. Then again, as it's 1 x 18650, it could have a completely different driver

Every time I use mine I use it on both high and low with complete reliability so far.

I couldn't be happier with it, my final choice was between the Aurora and the MTE and I'm glad I settled on the one I did.

Cyclist0107

Finally, my order arrived. Charged the batteries without any issues. Lights stay red then go green when charged.

Ultrafire WF-501B, The fit and finish is good, threads loosen and tighten smoothly.

The Aurora AK-P7-5 HA-III SSC P7-C 2-Mode 900-Lumen LED Flashlight is flawless. Gotta say the silver colour one is sharp looking.

Gyro

Glad to hear that Absolute. I ordered they same less the red, due to this thread. The order left Hong Kong on the fifth, hopefully it won't end up on the bottom of the Pacific somewhere.

Cyclist0107

Gyro,
Nothing bad said about the RED LED.

It was discussed how the chargers RED LED functions. Sorry to misread through the posts.

I wouldn't worry about the arrival of your order, DX will get it to ya.

annc

I have a WF-139 that I bought from DX less than a year ago. When charging, the red light does flash green. The flash is very quick; you can see the green for only a fraction of a second. If your charger stays red, take a closer look; the flash maybe happening and your eyes may have missed it.

Gyro

I'm sure. I already have one Planet Blinky "Blinky 1" on both sides of rear wheel arm supports.

cc700

i was very close to making the same exact order a week ago... but i already have the MTE P7-d SF-15 (sku 22567) and a pbsf so i decided to save my money and wait a bit.

post up on the aurora, i have a ton of trouble with the driver/switch on my sf-15.

Cyclist0107

Here are a few pic's.
The torch is solid, no noise at all when shaken, no movement from the battery either.
The silver goes nice with my bike. Just had to add a wrap of inner tube so the mount would tighten up.

Gyro

Got my aurora today, man it is bright. Can't want to try it out tonight. Question for Absolute or any one with the same charger.

I found with the batteries being charge, if I roll the batteries in the charger with my finger the LEDs change from red to green and back as I do this. Anyone else seen this?

Cyclist0107

Next time I have the batts in the charger I'll give them a roll. Never touched it the first time I charged the batts.

And YES the light of the Aurora is bright.