# Nitefighter BT70 User Review:



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Yes it has arrived!

Nitefighter BT70 2800 Lumens CREE XP G2 7 LEDs Neutral White Light Bicycle Headlight-91.12 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com

Like the BT21 it comes with the storage case. Rather large light as well. This is my first light with more than 4 emitters.

Package includes:

-Case
-Light head
-Battery Pack
-Good Velcro Style helmet strap
-Good charger
-Mounting bands, the Velcro cable strap, extension cable, flood optic, and good, easy to read instructions.



















Now I havent gone through full testing on the equipment, it arrived a couple hours ago. However:

Claim is that it uses Panasonic 3400mah cells, which makes capacity 6800mah:

I can tell you without a doubt, they are Panasonic (Green ones too, not red) 3400Mah. Dont believe me see the picture. And dont worry I have PVC wrap (yellow at the moment) to re-wrap the pack. Did this with the BT21 as well to confirm cell claims.










Initial Impressions:

Light is true to nitefighter quality. Everything included is as well. Light is INSANELY BRIGHT ON TURBO (still seeing stars, no more turning it on in the house lol).

I had a 80% charge panasonic pack ready from last ride so I did a quick current test:

Low= 0.1A

Medium= 0.7A

High= 1.9A

Turbo= 4.8A

Yes your reading that right, 4.8A on turbo.

Im going to hit pavement path tonight and take other NF lights with, do beam shots side by side.

And the Video Review:


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

Aaaaa!!  Waiting for beamshots! The first at the planet.. I bursting from envy)
How long the lamp was in the way?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Sorry not sure i understand your question? Are you asking how long did it take to get my light?


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

Yes)) I am sorry!


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I didn't order mine. It was sent to me for testing and review so it shipped express before anyone else's would have.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

Okay, waiting!!


----------



## GJHS (Jul 10, 2013)

Advard said:


> Aaaaa!!  Waiting for beamshots! The first at the planet.. I bursting from envy)
> How long the lamp was in the way?


Beamshots are coming soon


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ya, im at work for 3 more hours yet, beam shots will come when I get home from work tonight


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

OK first thing:

Was curious as to why wires for battery were so stiff:

Battery pack and light head use 18AWG wire

Next, beam shots. All I have to say is WHY, WHY IN THE HECK DOES A BICYCLE NEED THIS MUCH LIGHT???? This is like a motorcycle light on high beam, it's insane!

Ok this is flood optic only on high (my camera was not liking turbo) and had to turn down to 1/10 second exposure time. Usually run at 1/6.










Ok now first the area that I lit up. Sorry but twisted ankle at work, no bike time tonight. I had to turn camera exposure to 1.3 seconds to get the shot to show what the street light does. Then turned back to 1/8 second exposure for the light on. This is with STOCK INSTALLED "SPOT" OPTIC. The hill all the way behind the house is approximately 100 meters away.



















Correction on the current: 4.8A on turbo.

Head Temps: 110-115 Deg F on turbo on wind tunnel testing


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

tigris99 said:


> .....Yes your reading that right, 4.5A on turbo.


Current draw from the battery or current to the LEDs? Do you know if the LEDs are series or parallel configured?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Draw from pack. I dont test at emitters anymore, too much of a PITA.

They are parallel configured.

Edit: so cant find a current sense resistor in this thing AT ALL.....Instead is what more looks like a small current shunt, around 5A size.

Also, looking at previous calculation methods, seems were getting closer to 1.1A per emitter. That would put us at close to 2800 lumens prior to optics losses. I know this thing is well over 2000 lumens, I have a light (modded mj880 clone) that pushes 1900-2000 and this thing is seriously brighter.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

^^ ( photo )...looks good. Keep in mind though almost all lamps are going to look good on a flat light-colored surface. Good to hear it comes with a very good battery. Actually, I would of preferred a good 6-cell with a lamp like this. At least something around 7800mAh. The more cells the more potential for a longer running high current output.

tig, can you tell me more about the lowest mode? How does it compare to the low mode on the BT40S? Actually, would be great to see a comparison between the BT40S and the BT70.

( edit; also, let us know if there is going to be a group buy price...:ihih: )


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

Thank you!
Agree with Cat-man-do: more comparisons any kind of available, please!
At the second shot - at the most interesting place there is a streetlight. And it`s difficult to assess how much further throw this light. I know, that it`s flood, but in this case it`s time of number transition to quality. In other words, can I tear about at a speed of about 19 mph in the night forest with this light?
And the second question about low mode. Does it admit move safe, and dazzle oncoming not very much?


----------



## sluglike (Jun 8, 2015)

tigris99 said:


> They are parallel configured.


Tigris - First off - Thanks for posting the review!

I contacted Nitefighter a week or so ago with questions about this light. At first they said the LED's were series/parallel. After I asked if that meant that some of the LED's were off when using the lower settings they came back and said that the LED's were all in series.

I'm wondering, were you able to open the light up and see that the LED's are parallel, or is this from their specification?

Thanks!


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Hard to imagine they are a parallel configuration. If each emitter is seeing 1.1A then the driver has an output of 7.7A. That takes some pretty serious power capable components. Certainly possible though. 

7 emitters doesn't work in a series/parallel configuration if all the emitters are the same type. A 7 emitter series/parallel design using 6 XPG2 and 1 XML2 is doable with a modest boost driver. 

A series configuration would have a Vf of ~23V. Nearly a 4X boost from an 8.4V battery. That's not unreasonable, but boost drivers are battery killers IMO. Low efficiency too with that boost ratio. A 16.8V battery would be a much more appropriate choice for a series configured light.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Bt40s vs this, when I get a chance. Everyone must have missed what I typed in the beam shot post 

Parallel is best I can tell last night got interrupted when I was sorting all that out. But I know for sure its not full series. Might be some for of split haven't sorted that yet.

Their Cree emitters on an off-road lighthead, low is really low but still going to be annoying for oncoming ppl. As for speed thing, I will not comment on that. I use a lot less light to ride through dense wooded trails than others. What I need vs what others need is your decision only.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ok findings now:





Confirm 7 in parallel





Also, confirmed my guess was close. .9-1.0A per emitter. I had to put my cutting torch glasses on for this and my eyes still hurt lol.





Vf was following correctly and current was following 80-90% of what output rating would suggest for lumens. So after losses at optics 2500lumens out the front easily.



Also their current sense resistor is exactly what I thought it was. Its a shunt style resistor. Dont know the exact term for it. So I did resistance tests. The chip they use has a 0.15v reference voltage. Resistor is a massive wattage 0.020ohm. Calculation off that again confirms over 7amps, 7.4A to be exact.

Ps: As for the group buy, I dont know depends on if there is enough interest. The last one didn't go so well cause of eBay, though price was cheaper at gearbest.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Bt40s vs this, when I get a chance. Everyone must have missed what I typed in the beam shot post
> 
> Parallel is best I can tell last night got interrupted when I was sorting all that out. But I know for sure its not full series. Might be some for of split haven't sorted that yet.
> 
> Their Cree emitters on an off-road lighthead, *low is really low but still going to be annoying for oncoming ppl. * As for speed thing, I will not comment on that. I use a lot less light to ride through dense wooded trails than others. What I need vs what others need is your decision only.


I'm just wondering how low the low really is. The BT21 low is really low. The BT40S low on the other hand is slightly brighter and more useable for mtb'n. I'm kind of hoping that the low on the BT70 is more like the low on the BT40S or slightly brighter.

*Is this lamp using the same up/down switch as the 40S?*

I already figured that it must be a parallel emitter configuration. Then again it could be a 2S / 4P configuration but to do that it would be necessary to add an extra diode in series with one of the LED's to balance the current flow and to even out the voltage drop. I can't see any reason why that wouldn't work.

*Oh, almost forgot to ask; This isn't one of those lamps that only illuminates a certain number of LED's for each mode is it??*

*edit,,...Will this be available as , "Lamp head only*"?? :ihih:


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Nope its all on all off.

Low is .03A per emitter, its REALLY low. 

Same button as bt40s


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Nope its all on all off.
> 
> Low is .03A per emitter, its REALLY low.
> 
> Same button as bt40s


Will there be a "lamp head only" offered?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Can't answer that at the moment, but im betting we will be able to once my rep comes back into the office later next week.

I will bet to say yes but don't hold me to that.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Nope its all on all off.
> 
> Low is .03A per emitter, its REALLY low.
> 
> Same button as bt40s


That's 30ma. and that is low. I tried to figure output out by using the Cree chart but they really don't list a current that low. I'd just estimate it may be between 25-50 lumen per emitter. When you get a chance please do a photo comparison between the lows...thanks.

Hopefully the low will be bright enough to allow the user to limp out on low if they suddenly find themselves still a good ways out with a very low battery.


----------



## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

Is there enough surface area to dissipate the heat? I can't tell how deep those groves go.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Details of temps in previous posts, just fine and in line for temps if other lights.

I did notice something with the test. Cut off on the pack protection is 5A (same PCB as others) and seems light head tripped it, voltage was still ok on the pack. But im guessing being lighthead runs so close to pack limit and I left it on turbo for 30 mins (or more I wasn't in the room for a bit) that it hit close enough to trip it. Not like anyone should need to run this at turbo for extended periods, except if you have issues with eye sight in low light conditions, lol.



Cat, depends on weather as to what if anything I can do tonight


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Sorry everyone, pull up weather channel, put davenport Iowa (I live north of there) on the map you'll see what im in the middle of lol. No outside stuff tonight.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Details of temps in previous posts, just fine and in line for temps if other lights.
> 
> I did notice something with the test. *Cut off on the pack protection is 5A (same PCB as others) and seems light head tripped it, voltage was still ok on the pack. But im guessing being lighthead runs so close to pack limit and I left it on turbo for 30 mins (or more I wasn't in the room for a bit) that it hit close enough to trip it.* Not like anyone should need to run this at turbo for extended periods, except if you have issues with eye sight in low light conditions, lol.
> 
> Cat, depends on weather as to what if anything I can do tonight


This could be trouble. This is why I said earlier that I would have preferred a 6-cell battery. If the battery PCB is actually tripping because of a current over-draw then that could mean it wouldn't be able to turn back on unless the battery was reset on the charger. That would not be good if your back in the woods and don't have another power source ( or back-up lamp ).


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

Cat-man-do said:


> If the battery PCB is actually tripping because of a current over-draw then that could mean it wouldn't be able to turn back on unless the battery was reset on the charger.


Actually, it depends on the particular IC design/logic. Some of protection boards are self-resetting, and don't require external voltage to trip back.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Well im going to do some testing on it to be sure. Like I said I wasn't near it when it tripped. Could have been the fact of new pack maybe did dip below voltage cut off briefly I have no idea. But ill run it again here soon to know for sure what happened.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

-Archie- said:


> Actually, it depends on the particular IC design/logic. Some of protection boards are self-resetting, and don't require external voltage to trip back.


Well, you may be right. Makes sense to have something reset itself. I guess the question to ask is; Did the lamp turn back on when you hit the switch? If it came back on then it possible did reset itself.


----------



## sluglike (Jun 8, 2015)

tigris99 said:


> Ok findings now:
> Confirm 7 in parallel


Thanks for checking this out.


----------



## MaximusHQ (Aug 6, 2007)

Looks ok, but I think the beam is going to be disappointing for my tastes. To me there is such a thing as too much or maybe I should say too bright of a flood area. My perfect beam, even for the bars, will be brightest in the center of the beam with good throw and then smoothly taper off and dimmer as it extends out to the edges. If the beam is anything like the bt40s then the beam is brightest close up in the flood area and dim in the center of the beam at distance. I know you can fill in the gap in the beam with a throwy helmet light, but in my opinion the bt70 has enough output to do both if they design the right optic. Its hard to tell yet until we see more beamshots, but this is just my initial impression . Thanks tigris for doing the reviews.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Weather looks promising to at least hit the paved path tonight and the field so I can get some good comparison shots.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

MaximusHQ said:


> Looks ok, but I think the beam is going to be disappointing for my tastes.


I have the same taste! But this light expected as flood. And the first beam shot made with flood optic. There are another - narrow optic.

I ordered this light, for all that))


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

MaximusHQ said:


> Looks ok, but I think the beam is going to be disappointing for my tastes. To me there is such a thing as too much or maybe I should say too bright of a flood area. My perfect beam, even for the bars, will be brightest in the center of the beam with good throw and then smoothly taper off and dimmer as it extends out to the edges. If the beam is anything like the bt40s then the beam is brightest close up in the flood area and dim in the center of the beam at distance. I know you can fill in the gap in the beam with a throwy helmet light, but in my opinion the bt70 has enough output to do both if they design the right optic. Its hard to tell yet until we see more beamshots, but this is just my initial impression . Thanks tigris for doing the reviews.


Yeah, I have to agree with everything you said. One of the things I liked about the Gloworm lights is that they managed to create a beam pattern that not only provided decent flood but also gave you some throw.

Still, with the output the BT70 has it should be able to penetrate a bit further than the BT40S to give a very useable beam pattern. Like you, I believe a lamp with this much output should be able illuminate objects clearly beyond 200ft. If three of the optics were more spot oriented I have no doubt it would do just that. Anyway, that's one of the reasons I bought a second BT40S, I wanted to see if the extra output ( when running two in combo ) is going to kick the distance visibility into high gear. If it doesn't it's still going to light up the foreground like daytime.

Every once in awhile I like to remind people that it wasn't that long ago that we were all riding with 10 to 12 watt halogen lighting on our handlebars and we were very happy at that time to have just that. Let's face it, we're spoiled.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

OK need a blood transfusion after that....going out to path to take more beam shots.... OMG couldnt believe the mosquitoes!!!!!!!! I had some beam shots that had lines through the picture from them flying through the shot.

Cat, yes i forgot to get low beam comparison shots, but I did check the 2, BT70 is actually noticeably brighter on low but not by alot.

BT40S on turbo:










BT70 Spot optic up close on high:










BT70 on High:



BT70 on Turbo:










There is ALOT more light down range on the BT70 than bt40S. Brightness at a distance increases far more by level than flood does. That arch at the end is 250-260 ft down from where I stand (I actually marked the pavement last time I was doing beam shots so all are from the same spot).

And yes I know its a bit fuzzy looking, its REALLY humid here especially on the wooded path, so glare just from moisture in the air is annoying.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

Thank you, tigris! 
Was BT40S with Spot optic too?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ya I dont have a wide optic for the bt40s, I bought it lighthead only.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

I thought: "lighthead only" is only without a battery.. :eekster:


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

No light head only usually means exactly that, light head and mounting bands. Bt21 so far is the only exception to that. They include everything except battery, charger and case (well from gearbest anyway, the one on eBay is like everything else, only the light head and bands)


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Cat, yes i forgot to get low beam comparison shots, but I did check the 2, BT70 is actually noticeably brighter on low but not by a lot.....
> 
> ....There is A LOT more light down range on the BT70 than bt40S. Brightness at a distance increases far more by level than flood does. That arch at the end is 250-260 ft down from where I stand (I actually marked the pavement last time I was doing beam shots so all are from the same spot).
> 
> And yes I know its a bit fuzzy looking, its REALLY humid here especially on the wooded path, so glare just from moisture in the air is annoying.


Thanks much tig. If the low mode is a little brighter than the low mode on the BT40S that means it's going to be quite useable. :thumbsup:

Obviously the BT70 has more throw than the 40S. It might not be as dramatic when on single track but at least we know it has more to offer. I would think the output on medium would be more than enough for general riding.

The fact that you had humid conditions when taking the photos only means that on a clear night you will have even more to see.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ya you think your getting rain lol. Its constant here lately. Im praying it stops soon today so it will dry enough to go to nearby trail to hit the dirt tomorrow night.


----------



## stutru (Mar 10, 2010)

I'm waiting to get my BT70 and BT21 I ordered from GearBest. 4600 theoretical total lumens for 150 bucks shipped seems like a good deal! I'm just getting into night riding so I'll let you know my thoughts when it arrives. Hoping the quality is as good as people say for a "budget" light.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Well I own a total of 2 bt21s, a bt40s and a bt70. Seems other than the occasional assembly error at the factory Imo quality is on par with magicshine etc, not quite the quality of the "big boys" but ill never pay that money when I can replace these multiple times and still be below the price of 1 high end light that will still burn out after some years of use.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

So, what do you guys think? For someone who doesn't want to get into modding lights, I'm thinking about a BT70 on the bars and a BT40 on the helmet.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Bt21 better for helmet than bt40. Bt70 may be overkill. Depends if you ride in narrow wooded single track or not. Bt70 for me is way overkill, but if you look at videos ive done, ull see what I ride. If trails are more open then bt70 would be good. My personal favorite is bt21 helmet with spot optics and bt21 stock or bt40s stock optics on the bars. Changing optics isn't "modding" its just like a bike, making adjustments to for your needs. Takes more effort to adjust a seat or change your grips than change optics around


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Mountain Cycle Shawn said:


> So, what do you guys think? For someone who doesn't want to get into modding lights, I'm thinking about a BT70 on the bars and a BT40 on the helmet.


Well the BT70 is certainly enough light for the bars....for the helmet ( if it were me ) I'd consider the BT21 rather than the BT40S. The only reason though is so you have the option to use different optics if you wish for more forward throw.

Other options worth considering ( for a neutral helmet set-up ) would be Solarstorm X3 or the XT40.

Not to mention, you can get the Gloworm products with neutral LED's as well. They just cost more.


----------



## stutru (Mar 10, 2010)

tigris99 said:


> Well I own a total of 2 bt21s, a bt40s and a bt70. Seems other than the occasional assembly error at the factory Imo quality is on par with magicshine etc, not quite the quality of the "big boys" but ill never pay that money when I can replace these multiple times and still be below the price of 1 high end light that will still burn out after some years of use.


I was planning to run the BT70 on the bars and the BT21 on the helmet. Have you tried this combo and do you have a preference for the spot or flood optic on the BT70? I imagine this set up puts out a huge amount off light.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Bt21 better for helmet than bt40. Bt70 may be overkill. Depends if you ride in narrow wooded single track or not. Bt70 for me is way overkill, but if you look at videos ive done, ull see what I ride. If trails are more open then bt70 would be good. My personal favorite is bt21 helmet with spot optics and bt21 stock or bt40s stock optics on the bars. Changing optics isn't "modding" its just like a bike, making adjustments to for your needs. Takes more effort to adjust a seat or change your grips than change optics around


I'm in Southern California, so it's pretty open.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ive only had the bt70 a week, first bt70 that I know of to a rider. And rain has kept me off the dirt. But testing so far, like I put in my post, for me bt70 is too much light on higher modes. Glare from moisture on undergrowth creates horrible glare because its really humid here. And that's on the spot optic, flood optic REALLY brings out the glare from the moisture on the plants. I can run it on medium but that becomes a "what's the point?" when I have a bt21 and bt40s I can use on the bars. Smaller, lighter, and tighter beam. So I can focus the majority of the light on the trail and not get horrible glare (dont get me started on how painful cool white is on the eyes for me, all CW emitters were switch to nuetral in everything I own).

That said, BT70 IS NOT bad. Just too much for where I ride with high humidity at night being a permanent matter. If where you live is drier and more open, your going to love a bt70 on the bars with stick optic. Can ride on that light alone cause its like an atv headlight on high beams lol.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> bt21 with *spot* optics


Where it's possible to read / see more about this?


----------



## stutru (Mar 10, 2010)

Advard said:


> Where it's possible to read / see more about this?


I'd like some more info on this too. Any links to places to purchase new optics for the BT21?


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

My question is: Where's the best place to buy a BT70 and BT21? I'm in Southern California. And thanks you guys for all the great advise.


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

This light really need adjustable steps like Gemini/Gloworm. Omission of this feature makes this a very narrow focused light even with optional optics and especially with the power levels they chose for each step. While I could be wrong, I can't imagine too many would choose to have the power levels set at 100/40/15/2% (Calculated off the amp draw in the OP). I sure it would make very little difference in the selling price to add this feature and I hope Nitefighter is listening because (IMO) it would help them sell a lot more of these lights and give us a more user friendly product.
Mole


----------



## stutru (Mar 10, 2010)

I bought mine off GearBest. They are still in the mail so I can't comment too much on the experience yet. This site seems popular with people on the MTBR forums.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

stutru said:


> I bought mine off GearBest. They are still in the mail so I can't comment too much on the experience yet. This site seems popular with people on the MTBR forums.


I was reading here or in another thread about shipping problems to the U.S..


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

All nitefighter lights are only available at gearbest.com except the bt40s can be had (for fairly high price) on amazon.

Optics we are discussing only for bt21, there is no aftermarket optics for bt70 or bt40s. Optics we discuss for bt21 and other similar 2 xm-l2 emitter lights are available at fasttech.com and leddna.com.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Thing is none of the "budget lights" have programmable drivers that I know of except the kd2 yinding clone. aesthetically more programmable modes to me is overrated and the light difference in these steps is at least noticeable. Like something of 2A then 3A step isn't all that noticeable, not like 1A up 2A. Ya its not much more expensive to add but it still costs more to produce. KD's programmable driver is seriously inefficient compared to say the yinding driver.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> All nitefighter lights are only available at gearbest.com except the bt40s can be had (for fairly high price) on amazon.
> 
> Optics we are discussing only for bt21, there is no aftermarket optics for bt70 or bt40s. Optics we discuss for bt21 and other similar 2 xm-l2 emitter lights are available at fasttech.com and leddna.com.


Ok, I'm not happy with this Gearbest website. I'm supposed to get $5 off promo codes for signing up. But when I applied one of the codes to buy a BT70 light the price went from $91 to $108. I tried one of the other codes, you get ten of them, and the same thing happened. I can't seem to figure that out.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Its because they bt70 is already at a heavy discount, so promo codes dont work. Ive been working with them to fix it on normal products. But ones like bt70 you either get sale price or coupon codes off normal price.

The only discounts you can use on special promo pricing are points.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Its because they bt70 is already at a heavy discount, so promo codes dont work. Ive been working with them to fix it on normal products. But ones like bt70 you either get sale price or coupon codes off normal price.
> 
> The only discounts you can use on special promo pricing are points.


Ok. I'd also like to know what the shipping cost is to the U.S.. But, it doesn't look like I'll find that out till I make the purchase. Do you happen to know what the shipping cost is?


----------



## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

tigris99 said:


> Confirm 7 in parallel


Running LEDs in parallel is generally frowned upon. As they heat up the Vf drops so they take a higher current, and heat up more... and take a higher current... thermal runaway. I hope that LED in the middle has good heatsinking. 
2x3 would be a better solution and with a six cell battery.


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

tigris99 said:


> Thing is none of the "budget lights" have programmable drivers that I know of. aesthetically more programmable modes to me is overrated and the light difference in these steps is at least noticeable. Like something of 2A then 3A step isn't all that noticeable, not like 1A up 2A. Ya its not much more expensive to add but it still costs more to produce. KD's programmable driver is seriously inefficient compared to say the yinding driver.


My XLM U2 equipped Duo has older less efficient emitters than my XML 2 Yinding yet produces approx. 10% more power on my meter. When Gloworm went to the programmable drivers they lost no power nor did it change the runtimes on their batteries. Don't know about the KD driver but having a programmable driver doesn't seem to have hurt the performance of the Duo or Gloworm lights so (IMO) I don't see any drawbacks to having a programmable driver except making it a little more complicated to program. The reason I think this is a big deal on this light is the step from high to Turbo is huge. I goes from mild mannered 1.9 amp draw on high (less than a yinding) to a waaaay more than you need 95% of the time 4.8 amp draw on turbo light producing battery draining monster in one push of the button. Maybe they should make it green and call it their "HULK" light cause they have the same personality traits. Any way I know you yourself have mentioned it would be nice if high were a little higher on the BT21 which is only 600-700 lumen difference between high and turbo but on this light it's easily over twice that amount. I think (I think you do too) that the BT40 would make a better light for most people, but it shouldn't . With a programmable driver or at least a rethink on the preset step power levels it would be everything the BT40 is plus a lot more.
Mole


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

Mountain Cycle Shawn said:


> Ok. I'd also like to know what the shipping cost is to the U.S.. But, it doesn't look like I'll find that out till I make the purchase. Do you happen to know what the shipping cost is?


Oh, I see now, free shipping!


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Shipping price is speed based though. Free takes 3 weeks give or take, paid shipping is about the fastest/middle of stated times.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

MRMOLE said:


> My XLM U2 equipped Duo has older less efficient emitters than my XML 2 Yinding yet produces approx. 10% more power on my meter. When Gloworm went to the programmable drivers they lost no power nor did it change the runtimes on their batteries. Don't know about the KD driver but having a programmable driver doesn't seem to have hurt the performance of the Duo or Gloworm lights so (IMO) I don't see any drawbacks to having a programmable driver except making it a little more complicated to program. The reason I think this is a big deal on this light is the step from high to Turbo is huge. I goes from mild mannered 1.9 amp draw on high (less than a yinding) to a waaaay more than you need 95% of the time 4.8 amp draw on turbo light producing battery draining monster in one push of the button. Maybe they should make it green and call it their "HULK" light cause they have the same personality traits. Any way I know you yourself have mentioned it would be nice if high were a little higher on the BT21 which is only 600-700 lumen difference between high and turbo but on this light it's easily over twice that amount. I think (I think you do too) that the BT40 would make a better light for most people, but it shouldn't . With a programmable driver or at least a rethink on the preset step power levels it would be everything the BT40 is plus a lot more.
> Mole


How efficient a driver is has mainly to do with the design and the components used to provide the power conversions. Better design / components, better driver. The ability to "step" control the output only has to do with the circuits that modulate the output to the load> ( the emitters in this case ). Digital circuits used to control the UI generally use very little power. Regardless, even if they did make the total efficiency of the driver drop this factor soon becomes forgotten once you factor in the fact that you are now custom setting the modes to the "Output" levels that you want. If you want more efficiency / run time, set the modes lower. If you aren't concerned with efficiency and want more, you might then just ramp up the settings, your choice.

I agree the BT70 would be better if the modes were programmable however the present settings on the BT70 sound like they might work very well spaced apart as they are. I say that because when I asked tigress99 about the low mode he said it was slightly brighter than the low on the BT40S. If true that would be great! Low mode on the BT40S is very nice and very useable. I figure the mid and high modes are also a little brighter as well. Now when it comes to the boost mode, I like the idea of the BIG JUMP in output. Remember, there are thermal issues to this lamp. Set the "High mode" too high and the lamp is going to get hot. If it gets real hot that will certainly limit the "Boost mode" run time. With a lamp this powerful you have to understand that you really can't over-use the Boost mode or the lamp is going to automatically drop in output at some point when it gets too hot.

Personally, my use of boost modes is generally very low; usually not more than ten minutes at any one time and that only when at higher speeds. Now for someone who is doing "Mountain descents" where they might be at speed for 20 minutes or more, that person is going to have to be wary when using the BT70 on boost. Hopefully we'll find out more about the thermal drop-down issues of the BT70 as the review progresses.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

Ok, just ordered a bt70 and a bt21. Now the wait begins.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

Cat-man-do said:


> Now when it comes to the boost mode, I like the idea of the BIG JUMP in output.


I put the sedative tablet back into the locker. (My lamp is on the way now)



Cat-man-do said:


> Now for someone who is doing "Mountain descents" where they might be at speed for 20 minutes or more, that person is going to have to be wary when using the BT70 on boost.


But "Mountain descents" it`s means Good ventilation = cooling? *tigris99* wrote
"Head Temps: 110-115 Deg F on turbo on wind tunnel testing"


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Advard said:


> f....But "Mountain descents" it`s means Good ventilation = cooling? *tigris99* wrote
> "Head Temps: 110-115 Deg F on turbo on wind tunnel testing"


Correct. I would like to think that as long as you are traveling 15mph or faster that there isn't going to be any thermal drop-downs. For me though this really wouldn't be a big issue regardless. If I were descending a long mountain single track at speed and the bar lamp auto-powered down to say ~400 lumen, I don't think that would cause me any major problems ( although it might annoy me ). It would just mean that my helmet lamp would have to pick-up the slack.

Generally, if a trail has a lot of technical features I'm not going to be going real fast anyway, downhill or not. That said, if I'm wrong and it _were to be a major issue_ I'd likely run another lamp on the bars ( on standby with Y-cable ) just in case. The number one rule of MTB'n: "Do what you have to do to protect thy butt".


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

znomit said:


> Running LEDs in parallel is generally frowned upon. As they heat up the Vf drops so they take a higher current, and heat up more... and take a higher current... thermal runaway. I hope that LED in the middle has good heatsinking.
> 2x3 would be a better solution and with a six cell battery.


Yeah but all the LED's are going to get hot so the thermal issues are additive. Sure the middle emitter is likely the hottest but that's why the lamp has a thermal protection circuit. I'm sure it's set so the scenario you described doesn't happen. I'm sure when they designed the emitter board that they thought out the heat issues involved. Usually I don't like lamps with auto thermal cut-offs but in this case it really is the only way to go. Without it the LED's would fry.

Yes, there are better set-ups. This lamp though is choosing to use 7 emitters. Parallel set-up is the only thing going to work and keep everything balanced.


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

Cat-man-do said:


> How efficient a driver is has mainly to do with the design and the components used to provide the power conversions. Better design / components, better driver. The ability to "step" control the output only has to do with the circuits that modulate the output to the load> ( the emitters in this case ). Digital circuits used to control the UI generally use very little power. Regardless, even if they did make the total efficiency of the driver drop this factor soon becomes forgotten once you factor in the fact that you are now custom setting the modes to the "Output" levels that you want. If you want more efficiency / run time, set the modes lower. If you aren't concerned with efficiency and want more, you might then just ramp up the settings, your choice.
> 
> I agree the BT70 would be better if the modes were programmable however the present settings on the BT70 sound like they might work very well spaced apart as they are. I say that because when I asked tigress99 about the low mode he said it was slightly brighter than the low on the BT40S. If true that would be great! Low mode on the BT40S is very nice and very useable. I figure the mid and high modes are also a little brighter as well. Now when it comes to the boost mode, I like the idea of the BIG JUMP in output. Remember, there are thermal issues to this lamp. Set the "High mode" too high and the lamp is going to get hot. If it gets real hot that will certainly limit the "Boost mode" run time. With a lamp this powerful you have to understand that you really can't over-use the Boost mode or the lamp is going to automatically drop in output at some point when it gets too hot.
> 
> Personally, my use of boost modes is generally very low; usually not more than ten minutes at any one time and that only when at higher speeds. Now for someone who is doing "Mountain descents" where they might be at speed for 20 minutes or more, that person is going to have to be wary when using the BT70 on boost. Hopefully we'll find out more about the thermal drop-down issues of the BT70 as the review progresses.


Hey Cat,
Thanks for the technical explanation of how the adjustable drivers work. Makes it easier to understand why there really isn't any negative aspect to the adjustable drivers other than the extra cost (which should be minimal).

As far as you liking the preset power level settings I think this is something we just disagree on (my Gloworm XS is set @ 40/70/100% compared to the 2/15/40/100% of the BT70). I'm sure some of this is because the terrain we ride in is very different and personal preference too.

Your comments on the BT70 running hot on turbo came as a surprise. The light-head temps Tigress99 published on the BT70 (110°-115°on turbo) seemed quite low to me. The BT21 runs 15°-20° hotter in similar tests and I've found it is good on turbo up to 100° stock and with the addition of one of Vancbiker's finned gopro mounts got me through several miles of single track on turbo, 105° temps., with no step-down a few nights ago. Your right though in the fact that it's better to give it some time and see how it performs for different people in varied circumstances. Looks promising though. Thanks for the reply.
Mole


----------



## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

On lamps like Nitefighter's with dual control buttons, wonder why they don't just employ stepless dimming. MagicShine incorporates stepless in the 816 (from 5%-100%) but it is sort of a PITA because the single control button necessites pausing between directing modes up or down. The BT70's dual control button could allow immediate adjustment with stepless and solve that problem of the odd presets.

I find the four brightness presets of the BT40S interface to be fine and imagine would prefer running two of those (or one of them along with some other NW lamp) on the bars rather than a single BT70, much as I am enamored of the latter's honeycomb array.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

MRMOLE said:


> ....As far as you liking the preset power level settings I think this is something we just disagree on *(my Gloworm XS is set @ 40/70/100% compared to the 2/15/40/100% of the BT70).* I'm sure some of this is because the terrain we ride in is very different and personal preference too.
> 
> *Your comments on the BT70 running hot on turbo came as a surprise. The light-head temps Tigress99 published on the BT70 (110°-115°on turbo) seemed quite low to me.* The BT21 runs 15°-20° hotter in similar tests and I've found it is good on turbo up to 100° stock and with the addition of one of Vancbiker's finned gopro mounts got me through several miles of single track on turbo, 105° temps., with no step-down a few nights ago. Your right though in the fact that it's better to give it some time and see how it performs for different people in varied circumstances. Looks promising though. Thanks for the reply.
> Mole


Thanks for the nice comments MM. I can't remember how I set my newest GWX2 but if my memory serves me I believe I ramped up the low slightly ( from default setting ) and lowered the mid setting so I have just the amount of light I need for normal riding. I do all this because I like a brighter low for slow climbs over gnarly trails and because I like being able to notice a major jump when I go to high. Going from low to medium there is only a small increase but for me this works.

As for the mode spacing of the BT70; don't take those quoted ad figures to heart. Different ads say different things. One ad quoted the low as being "50 lumen". When I read that I said to myself, "WTF"! 50 freaking lums!...are they kidding"! Later I was to find out from tigris99 that the low was slightly brighter than the low on the BT40S. Thank God for that! I have a mini LED lamp/flasher for my road bike rated at 80 lumen and when on steady it is pathetic. :lol:

While I have yet to see the output of the BT70 personally I'm thinking the *_low mode is likely around 200-225 lumen. After that I have to let my imagination fly...medium maybe 400-500 lumen. High is likely 1000-1200 lumen. Boost is of course maximum output ( whatever that actually is, my guess...~2400 lumen? ) Really at this stage without seeing one myself it's a crap shoot._

( * note to above; When I check the Alibaba website they're listing the BT70 at > 100%-50%-20%-10%. I'm betting full output is more near 2400 lumen but that's just my CAt gut talking. Based on that maximum my previous guess-timate for the other modes would be pretty close to actual.

If tigris99 says the lamp doesn't overheat on boost ( with ample air movement ) I'll take his word for it. Still I'd like to take the BT70 for a long downhill just to see what happens but of course I don't own one. I don't live near mountains. The longest hill nearest to me might take me 10-15 minutes to reach bottom, perhaps a bit longer if I don't pedal ( fireroad descent ) but if I don't pedal that wouldn't be as much fun. Matter of fact I might be doing that ride tomorrow. I say "might" because it rained like hell earlier today, I have to think that one out first. "Where to ride after an area wide day-long down pour..:idea:
...that's one of those questions I hate trying to figure out.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ok since I couldn't ride did further testing last night.

The pack protection matter: Had to have been just voltage sag under high load, was not able to trip the stock pack with over loading the current draw.

Seems my previous temp tests were a bit biased. I have moved where I test and work I to my basement and is rather cool down there. In more realistic temps (82F ambient) this thing can get warm and if not enough air flow, thermal step down does work. I recorded temps ranging from 110F all the way up to 136F. But my 60-62F basement it doesn't seem to get more than about 112F on the wind tunnel (which is light head barely fits)

Thermal step down does kick it all the way to medium.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

znomit said:


> Running LEDs in parallel is generally frowned upon. As they heat up the Vf drops so they take a higher current, and heat up more... and take a higher current... thermal runaway. I hope that LED in the middle has good heatsinking.
> 
> 2x3 would be a better solution and with a six cell battery.


Ok:

Thermal run away, not going to happen. Driver has a max current that's it, nothing more. Think you may have missed a few things about today's even cheap drivers. Thats why we have drivers instead of just hooking them directly to a battery. And a thermal step down. VF means nothing for going to low, driver hits max current and done. If emitters heat up and vf goes lower, output suffers.

Series/parallel combo is not a solution to "your concern"(which is a problem that doesn't exist these days) Because that issue could still exist just as easily. The positive side of running a series is less current draw from batteries and less current running through the driver. More current=higher rated components and less run time. Series would cut current requirements in half but then require higher voltage battery pack which isn't a readily available option (most packs and cases out there are 4 cell).

Is a series/parallel better in this case, yes but center emitter would gave to go.

Is there anything wrong and is parallel going to cause some huge issue, HE** NO. lol.


----------



## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

I think the biggest variable is probably the velocity of the air from the fan. Do you have an anemometer? Even a small increase in air speed will dramatically increase the heat removal from the light. I think your fan may be generating way more air velocity than you think. 

I think all bike lights should be able to indefinitely operate on the highest setting at 15 mph of ground speed with ambient temperatures in the 80's F, in my opinion. If they can't do that,then they need more heat-removing surface area. The only exception should be something like a 10,000 lumen super-light that is meant for extreme downhill riding. 

I know there a few riders on this board who ride out in Arizona at 100F. That's probably an extreme outlier, but it would be nice if the lights could handle it without overheating. A light shouldn't need air moving at 30mph, in order to cool the light at the highest setting. That's a badly designed light! 

This light just doesn't seem to have enough surface area to cool the light. I believe the general rule of thumb is 10 square inches per watt. Isn't this light close to 30W? That would require 300 square inches of outside surface area. There's no way this light has this much surface area.

Also, in my opinion, the more output a light has the more it needs a programmable driver. This light is probably in the category of needing a programmable driver.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Varider, not trying to be difficult here but post negatives and saying were wrong without having or testing lights (and having you surface area per watts way, way wrong) is not productive or helpful in any sense. Asking questions, cool, but your post is a bit much on the "trying to discredit for no other reason that hatred for people and products that you know nothing of" side of things.

My fans tested with 2 different anemometers now, one saying 5.8mph, other said 6.7. Being that im a slower rider and ride in hot and humid weather, but most of the time my lights run far cooler during rides than during testing says my air speed is right on.

As for southwest temps, you missing one valuable detail. The head starts at 100F then is powered on. Doesn't matter what it is, in those temps its going to run far hotter. And to not have any thermal issues requires light heads of mass and surface area (or serious lack of output) that would make them completely unusable for cycling.


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

tigris99 said:


> Ok since I couldn't ride did further testing last night.
> 
> The pack protection matter: Had to have been just voltage sag under high load, was not able to trip the stock pack with over loading the current draw.
> 
> ...


Ambient temp. does make a difference. No harm though, better to get this information out there for everyone's benefit. Max shell temps. similar to those I've seen on my BT21 so I expect (not guarantee) it should handle temps. up to just under 100° without step-down as long as you keep moving. For those like me who live in a warm climate it's a good candidate for a "Vancbiker finned gopro mount". Just to clarify, the step-down on the med. setting was with no airflow? Thanks for the update!

(Tigris, I'm still playing around trying to figure a easy/effective way to direct some air across the back of the BT21. Nothing worthwhile yet but if I find something that works I'll notify you).
Mole


----------



## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

tigris99 said:


> Varider, not trying to be difficult here but post negatives and saying were wrong without having or testing lights (and having you surface area per watts way, way wrong) is not productive or helpful in any sense. Asking questions, cool, but your post is a bit much on the "trying to discredit for no other reason that hatred for people and products that you know nothing of" side of things.


tigris99 , I had no idea you had an anemometer. I was merely trying to pose a question. I don't know why you took the wrong way. I sure as hell don't deserve that business about discrediting or hating products or people!

The stuff I wrote about the surface area is something that I have read here in the forum. It was meant as a general question to the forum and not to you in particular. I was hoping whoever posted that would chime in and provide some insight. There's also a similar statement on this cree paper (pdf link)
www.cree.com/xlamp_app_notes/thermal_management

On page 11:


> A rough estimate of approximately 5-10 in^2 of heat sink surface area per watt of heat can be used for a first-order estimate of heat sink size.


So I didn't completely imagine it after all. I was just asking for some clarification as I was thinking of purchasing this product.

Yes, I am a bit skeptical of this light's ability to dissipate the heat at even normal ambient temperatures with it pulling 4 amps from the battery. But hey if you are telling me that the leds reach 110F with a 6mph breeze, then I'll take your word for it.


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

Cat-man-do said:


> Thanks for the nice comments MM. I can't remember how I set my newest GWX2 but if my memory serves me I believe I ramped up the low slightly ( from default setting ) and lowered the mid setting so I have just the amount of light I need for normal riding. I do all this because I like a brighter low for slow climbs over gnarly trails and because I like being able to notice a major jump when I go to high. Going from low to medium there is only a small increase but for me this works.
> 
> As for the mode spacing of the BT70; don't take those quoted ad figures to heart. Different ads say different things. One ad quoted the low as being "50 lumen". When I read that I said to myself, "WTF"! 50 freaking lums!...are they kidding"! Later I was to find out from tigris99 that the low was slightly brighter than the low on the BT40S. Thank God for that! I have a mini LED lamp/flasher for my road bike rated at 80 lumen and when on steady it is pathetic. :lol:
> 
> ...


I just wanted to clarify that (2/15/40/100%) step settings were not Nitefighter claims but calculated off the amp. draw information Tigris got in his tests. OTF light would probably be close to 10-20-50-100% published settings you found since the lights are more efficient at lower power levels (with the exception of the lowest setting, the lowest setting on my BT21 registers 6% of max on my light meter). Also Tigris has modified his case temp. readings using a more reasonable ambient temp. so it looks like your "wait and see how it goes" stratagy was pretty-dxxx-smart. Finally even though you and I disagree on whether 1200-1400 lumens is too big a jump to bridge from high to turbo it actually punctuates my point that a programmable driver would be of benefit for this light. What works for you (and those with similar needs) is a deal breaker for me (and those with similar needs) and could be solved with adjustability. The addition of this feature would make me a potential customer, even though your satisfied with the current set-up make you happier with the light (pretty sure I'm right on this), and expand the customer base this light appeals to (happy Nitefighter).
Mole

(Hope you get to ride tonight! I've been off the bike for about a week now because eye surgery and a good "Cat ride story" would be an uplifting vicarious experience)!


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

110 at 6.5mph at 60-62F. 80+ is a different story now that I actually measured temp difference between my basement and where I was testing previously. My wife kicked me off the kitchen table lol. But used an old card table then some hardwood flooring planks I had to make a solid top for it. Forgot i had some Brazilian walnut and some Tiger Wood my old job gave me cause they were going to just toss them. Solid and nice looking top for doing my tinkering, testing, and reviewing.



I dont have an anemometer myself, know people that do which is how I tested on 2 different ones. I think in the bt21 thread I stated the air flow correction right after I had tested for actual results.



Ya its alot of power to dissipate, but were riding mountain bikes not dirt bikes, needing turbo for all except brief sections....you need to go to the eye doctor lol. High is redonkulous on its own lol. My modded bt40s (xp-g2 s3 3c and driver boosted buy about 600mA iirc) is still not quite as bright on turbo as this thing is on high.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> ( in response to znomit ) > Thermal run away, not going to happen. Driver has a max current that's it, nothing more. Think you may have missed a few things about today's even cheap drivers. Thats why we have drivers instead of just hooking them directly to a battery. And a thermal step down. VF means nothing for going to low, driver hits max current and done. If emitters heat up and vf goes lower, output suffers.... .


Actually* znomit* was not too far off base. Thermal runaway is indeed more a danger in parallel circuit applications but only if the heat management is poor. The idea is if one emitter over-heats more than the others the possibility exist that the Vf ( across the overly heated emitter ) will drop more than the others. When Vf drops across an emitter there is an increase in current through the emitter. This is similar in effect to a decrease in resistance to the component. This then makes the emitter more hotter thus creating the potential for thermal runaway as the current through the emitter increases more and more.

While the driver only supplies so much current, it really doesn't matter. The available current follows the path of least resistance ( basic omhs law dealing with parallel circuits ) What current is available will be rerouted with more current going through the bad emitter as the problem escalates.
Like I told znomit, this should not be a problem because the lamp has a thermal protection circuit to prevent this from happening.



varider said:


> ...I think all bike lights should be able to indefinitely operate on the highest setting at 15 mph of ground speed with ambient temperatures in the 80's F, in my opinion. If they can't do that,then they need more heat-removing surface area. The only exception should be something like a 10,000 lumen super-light that is meant for extreme downhill riding. ..


I entirely agree...Uh...except I really don't think anyone needs 10K lumen for downhilling. 



tigris99 said:


> ...Ya its a lot of power to dissipate, but were riding mountain bikes not dirt bikes, needing turbo for all except brief sections....you need to go to the eye doctor lol. * High is redonkulous on its own lol. My modded bt40s (xp-g2 s3 3c and driver boosted buy about 600mA iirc) is still not quite as bright on turbo as this thing is on high*.


Your last sentence here is very encouraging. I also agree with your opinion that the "high mode" should be enough for most riding. *If it's as bright on high as you indicate no one should be disappointed when using the high mode.* Heck, if the medium is *450-500 that would be good enough for me for general moderate paced riding. (*This is about what I try to set my Gloworm X2 medium mode on.)

Anyway, from what you said it sounds like the high mode on the BT70 might be around 1400-1500 lumen. I don't know about anyone else but that's way more light than I need for general ( medium pace ) riding.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Too me it just seems like a "false fear post". Making it sound like bt40s, most solarstorm lights, any lights that use more than 2 emitters on 8.4v pack a danger to use. 

I know there is more technical matters too it but now 50% of people are going to read this thread and see the bt70 is really dangerous. Those that read further will then realize all they can use is 1 or 2 emitter lamps cause they aren't parallel.

See where im going. The risk is tiny and the drivers have safety mechanisms in the extremely rare instance it happens. Just like the "omg lithium batteries will kill my family and burn my house down" rep they have cause same kind of posts.


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

Cat-man-do said:


> Anyway, from what you said it sounds like the high mode on the BT70 might be around 1400-1500 lumen. I don't know about anyone else but that's way more light than I need for general ( medium pace ) riding.


If in fact these numbers are accurate it would make the BT70 far more usable for me (1500 being my preferred setting for a off-road/bar/NW emitter setup) but I remain skeptical. Don't know if it's possible to get that much OTF light out of a 1.9A battery draw, numbers don't add up to me.
Mole


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

tigris99 said:


> Thermal run away, not going to happen. Driver has a max current that's it, nothing more. Think you may have missed a few things about today's even cheap drivers. Thats why we have drivers instead of just hooking them directly to a battery. And a thermal step down. VF means nothing for going to low, driver hits max current and done. If emitters heat up and vf goes lower, output suffers.


In theory, 7 emitters in parallel will equally share the drive current. Reality is that out of 7 "identical" emitters there will be difference in the Vf for each emitter. The emitters with the lower Vf will flow more current than the ones with higher Vf. The lower Vf emitters will then heat up more than the ones with higher Vf. Hotter emitter means lower Vf and more current flow and so on and so on. Very good thermal path between all the parallel emitters will help minimize the potential for runaway, or.....

One can avoid all this by matching the Vf among the LEDs to be run in parallel. A .05V difference in Vf will be fine. I've seen almost .2V difference in Vf while sorting XPGs for my 6 up light. Nitefighter could be sorting the emitters, or could have their supplier do it, or maybe just putting whatever they get in there. Who knows?



varider said:


> This light just doesn't seem to have enough surface area to cool the light. I believe the general rule of thumb is 10 square inches per watt. Isn't this light close to 30W? That would require 300 square inches of outside surface area. There's no way this light has this much surface area.


In building my lights, I've found that 1 sq. in. per Watt will keep a light in the 120-140 range while riding at a moderate speed (8-10 mph) in the 50-65 degree air temp range. Double that area and a good walking pace will do. These numbers are for housings with the fins parallel to the direction of airflow and directly opposite the LED mounting surface. For lights with longer thermal paths or fins perpendicular to air flow, they may not work.

10 sq. in. per Watt would be excellent for heat management, but would make for some huge lights.


----------



## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

Vancbiker said:


> In building my lights, I've found that 1 sq. in. per Watt will keep a light in the 120-140 range while riding at a moderate speed (8-10 mph) in the 50-65 degree air temp range. Double that area and a good walking pace will do. These numbers are for housings with the fins parallel to the direction of airflow and directly opposite the LED mounting surface. For lights with longer thermal paths or fins perpendicular to air flow, they may not work.
> 
> 10 sq. in. per Watt would be excellent for heat management, but would make for some huge lights.


Thanks for the info!


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Too me it just seems like a "false fear post". Making it sound like bt40s, most solarstorm lights, any lights that use more than 2 emitters on 8.4v pack a danger to use.
> 
> I know there is more technical matters too it but now 50% of people are going to read this thread and see the bt70 is really dangerous. Those that read further will then realize all they can use is 1 or 2 emitter lamps cause they aren't parallel.
> 
> See where im going. The risk is tiny and the drivers have safety mechanisms in the extremely rare instance it happens. Just like the "omg lithium batteries will kill my family and burn my house down" rep they have cause same kind of posts.


No worries. It's just folks here talking asking questions and raising concerns. No different than any other review of a Chinese made lamp. No reason to get over defensive. The BT70 looks to have a lot to offer but at the moment you are the only one that has one so all the questions or doubts will seem to be aimed at the things you have said. When more people get theirs I'm sure there will be more opinions to deal with. Regardless, I don't think there is going to be anything to worry about as long as the product doesn't start to fail catastrophically.

_**I offered to reviewed this lamp as well but apparently the people who supplied the previous Nitefighter product to me for review decided not to even respond to my e-mails._ While I can take a, _"Thank you for offering but we need no more reviews"_ response, I get somewhat perturbed if no response at all is given to my e-mail and I'm totally ignored. FWIW, I'd buy one ( just like I did with the others ) but I have to wait for "light head only" to be offered. I'm not going to drop $91 for the full set-up.

( **I don't offer to review lamps that I think might be junk and I have refused to review some lamps because of that. )


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Only bad thing typing on a forum, words from one person can come across differently to others. I just try to avoid fears of malfunctions that can be dangerous unless warranted. Chinese lights cause enough fears lol, so trying to help people realize that some like real solarstorm, yinding, nitefighter, some KD lights, are a few steps above that junk and nothing to worry about.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ok so gearbest gave me a coupon code for like $3 off current price ($91), so price is $87.99. Code is BT70GB


----------



## SlSto (Dec 4, 2013)

Any news on light head only?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I'll post when/if there is any info on getting a lighthead only. Its one of those things where demand has to be there I think.


----------



## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

Cat-man-do said:


> I entirely agree...Uh...except I really don't think anyone needs 10K lumen for downhilling.


Don't lie Cat, you know you would buy one


----------



## sluglike (Jun 8, 2015)

SlSto said:


> Any news on light head only?


 Contact Nitefighter directly for this. I paid less than $40 total for mine using Aliexpress. Of course it's on the slow boat and won't be here for another couple of weeks.


----------



## SlSto (Dec 4, 2013)

sluglike said:


> Contact Nitefighter directly for this. I paid less than $40 total for mine using Aliexpress. Of course it's on the slow boat and won't be here for another couple of weeks.


Thanks for this advice. Did you contact them through aliexpress or the [email protected] e-mail?


----------



## sluglike (Jun 8, 2015)

I contacted them through the sales email address asking for a lighthead only. We then did the sale through AliExpress.


----------



## SlSto (Dec 4, 2013)

sluglike said:


> I contacted them through the sales email address asking for a lighthead only. We then did the sale through AliExpress.


Thanks. The jury is out on whether i get one as I have the BT40s and BT21 plus a number of other lights that I really don't need. This forum is dangerous - I had a 9 month break and coming back has been costly!


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Lol ya I feel you on that.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

sluglike said:


> I contacted them through the sales email address asking for a lighthead only. We then did the sale through AliExpress.


Do you have the AliExpress link where you got the lamp only?


----------



## arc (Sep 9, 2004)

MRMOLE said:


> I just wanted to clarify that (2/15/40/100%) step settings were not Nitefighter claims but calculated off the amp. draw information Tigris got in his tests. OTF light would probably be close to 10-20-50-100% published settings


 I'm really new to this stuff and am wondering what would happen if you were to change the current sense resistor to lower turbo mode to a more useable level.

Would the lower light levels reduce their output in a linear amount or does it mostly affect turbo mode?


----------



## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

All modes would lower (at least with typical Chinese drivers). They generally use PWM to regulate lower modes as a percentage of high (or Turbo in this case). 

-Garry


----------



## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

arc said:


> I'm really new to this stuff and am wondering what would happen if you were to change the current sense resistor to lower turbo mode to a more useable level.
> 
> Would the lower light levels reduce their output in a linear amount or does it mostly affect turbo mode?


Eveything will scale down.

Tigriss have you done a tear down yet?


----------



## sluglike (Jun 8, 2015)

Cat-man-do said:


> Do you have the AliExpress link where you got the lamp only?


I don't have a direct link. I emailed them, made arrangements for the lighthead only and then went to the link they have and placed an order. They then sent a link back with the adjusted price.

On AliExpress you can sign up and place an order without entering your CC information. It was odd, but that's how it worked for me. Email them at the address further up in the thread and they can get you set up.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Well be careful, just informed why gearbest doesn't have them as light head yet, they have almost none left in NW tint to sell as light head only. So better make sure their NW. Gearbest will be stocking them in a couple weeks or so when they are ready again.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

My acquaintance with GB began with a disappointment( The order date is Jun 25, 2015 08:46:57 AM, and the status is still "Processing". I ask them why? They sent an answer: "We are now testing the items (QC check) for you. Please kindly wait 3-5 days for the order to be shipped."
What?? A week out to send the goods which is in stock?
What are they testing?
I feel like a fool .. :skep:


----------



## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

Advard said:


> What are they testing?


Maybe they are checking that the batteries are actually batteries...
Review: GearBest Triple XM-L2 3 Mode Bike Light- Mtbr.com


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

Maybe.. But it is unfair to start testing product for sale upon payment. Yes, even during the week (( I even paid for expedited shipping ..
I wrote to them that I am from mtbr. In the war, all means are good ..


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

I hope you don't actually believe they're testing anything.  But in my personal collection of "reasons" used by Chinese sellers in response to the questions about delayed orders, "testing" wasn't encountered yet...


----------



## GJHS (Jul 10, 2013)

Ok just got mine in and WOW is this thing bright. Initial impression of the Nitefighter lights is quality, everything is packaged in a nice case, including an extra optic and the anodizing is perfect. The tint, similar to the BT21 is very neutral, maybe 4-5C. I was worried about it with the BT21 yet out on the trail, it's nice and bright without any real yellow and blends well with my 3C XT40.

One thing that remains a question is the switch, it's a bit recessed and the high and low buttons are kind of small. It's one big soft silicone button/cover with switches behind it, yet you really need to push it in quite a bit in the right spots to to go brighter or dimmer. I'm wondering if it will be easy enough on a technical, bumpy trail at speed. I would have preferred a more rigid toggle that extended out.

All in all these are the best budget kits on the market, so thanks Tigris and even Andy, who first introduced us to Nitefighter.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Advard said:


> Maybe.. But it is unfair to start testing product for sale upon payment. Yes, even during the week (( I even paid for expedited shipping ..
> 
> I wrote to them that I am from mtbr. In the war, all means are good ..


Im on it, not sure what's going on but it'll get taken care of asap. Are there any other items in your order besides your bt70. I have seen delays caused by other items that went out of stock, trying to buy loose cells can mess with expedited shipping, etc.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

To be correctly, I might add, there are a few cheap things in order. It may be a delay because of them, not because of the lights. But I think it's all the same is not fair. The money that I paid for acceleration - already lost(
Please do not answer me so as not to divert the topic aside. And I am sorry for offtopic.


----------



## Desert Runner (Apr 30, 2015)

Tigris99 Any group buys coming up on the bt70? My Girl friend has my new Bt40s and loves it. LOL


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

No group buys just the coupon code on top of the discounted price on the site. Code is BT70GB


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

OK GOT A BREAK FROM THE WEATHER FOR A FEW DAYS, well hopefully a few days, but going out tonight to test the bt70 out. Thinking I need more gopro mounts for the bars  Reviewing a new gopro clone too and testing my custom bt21 tonight. Had to steal my sons gopro mount adapter so I had enough as the one with the camera isnt for handlebars.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

FINALLY!...Gearbest is providing the BT70 lamp head only ( Yea! ). Click on the option for "Simple Set".


----------



## kwarwick (Jun 12, 2004)

Cat-man-do said:


> FINALLY!...Gearbest is providing the BT70 lamp head only ( Yea! ). Click on the option for "Simple Set".


Not that I need one, but I couldn't resist at that crazy price. I half think that's a mistake similar to the BT21 light head when it was first listed.


----------



## Fourtrax (Mar 17, 2013)

Cat-man-do said:


> FINALLY!...Gearbest is providing the BT70 lamp head only ( Yea! ). Click on the option for "Simple Set".


Link? not seeing it on GB site.

nevermind. It shows up now.


----------



## stutru (Mar 10, 2010)

I just received my BT70 and BT21 shipped from GearBest and noticed that neither of them came with the GoPro adapter that was supposed to be included. Did anyone else have this issue?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Their not included anymore, they haven't been but they must have forgot to update the site info. Nitefighter stopped making them cause they are made wrong anyway.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

Cat-man-do said:


> FINALLY!...Gearbest is providing the BT70 lamp head only ( Yea! ). Click on the option for "Simple Set".


Package does not contain even a replacement lens?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Its lighthead and mounting bands only, that's how they all are (except bt21). Have to buy the kit to get the other stuff.


----------



## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

kwarwick said:


> Not that I need one, but I couldn't resist at that crazy price. I half think that's a mistake similar to the BT21 light head when it was first listed.


I hope not because I just dropped in on one. At that price who can resist?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

OK better Comparison of BT40s vs BT70

BT40S on turbo:



BT70 on turbo:



Working on sorting out the little video I got from tonight. Gotta say this SooCoo C10 gopro clone is FREAKING WAY BETTER THAN MY ION at night!!!!


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

Nice hotspot!! It would be better to see more the comparison of low and high) and BT70 - the difference between the lenses ..


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

Does anyone have the thought about the remote switch for this light?
I do not think of anything better than two of these buttons
Waterproof remote switch - $10.00 : Easy2LED.com, The store for LED DIY


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> Its lighthead and mounting bands only, that's how they all are (except bt21). Have to buy the kit to get the other stuff.


I look at beamshots and thinking: did I need the second lens? It is useful?


----------



## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> OK better Comparison of BT40s vs BT70
> 
> BT40S on turbo:
> 
> ...


You may have mentioned it earlier but how does using the different lenses compare. Like Avard, i am curious as to what I am missing by just ordering the lighthead...


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

The other lens is a wider beam pattern. There is pics earlier in the thread of the wide angle optic.



I can't answer if you'll find it useful or not. Advard ordered a kit last I knew so he gets the lens with it.


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

*GearBest Expedited Shipping*


When I made my last order (6/24) I noticed the "expedited shipping" option had changed from DHL to Hong Kong UPS. China to Arizona delivery in 7 days, a little longer than my DHL experience but still a good value for less than $3 extra. Thought I'd post to give everyone an idea of what to expect using the expedited delivery option.
Mole

(Looks like things have changed on the website. What less than $3 is now $14.53.
A bit pricy for me but at least this is an example of how long it should take. Hope it's just a website glitch!)

"ORDER AMOUNT EFFECTS SHIPPING PRICE"


----------



## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

MRMOLE said:


> When I made my last order (6/24) I noticed the "expedited shipping" option had changed from DHL to Hong Kong UPS. China to Arizona delivery in 7 days, a little longer than my DHL experience but still a good value for less than $3 extra. Thought I'd post to give everyone an idea of what to expect using the expedited delivery option.
> Mole


Hmmm. When go on the site the expedited shipping is $14.53 extra. Am I missing something?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

The cost changes based on your location. Its not the same for everywhere. Its what the shipping couriers charge to deliver express shipping to your location


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

???????? I checked the site and placed a mock order and I guess things have changed since 6/24 or it's a website error because what was less than $3 is indeed now $14.53. If this ends up being correct for a inexpensive light this probable isn't the best way to go. I'll fix my last post.
Mole

"ORDER AMOUNT EFFFECTS SHIPPING PRICE"


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

I ordered even tho don't really need it but for the 31 bucks couldn't resist. However, took screen snap shot of order but never got conf that I ordered. Does this take a bit. Usually U get immediate conf and email they are working on it. Hmmm.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Takes a few minutes for the email to send to you.

Mole, for me its usually around $11 for that option. Not sure why it keeps changing cause at one point I got expedited for $1. Wonder if website is just bugged. Their system isn't always the greatest cause they keep messing with EVERYTHING lol. Just look at the 20 different shipping methods they use.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

MRMOLE said:


> ???????? I checked the site and placed a mock order and I guess things have changed since 6/24 or it's a website error because what was less than $3 is indeed now $14.53. If this ends up being correct for a inexpensive light this probable isn't the best way to go. I'll fix my last post.
> Mole


I've noticed something similar


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> There is pics earlier in the thread of the wide angle optic.


I found it. But without comparison - it is difficult to understand how it shines ..
Nitefighter BT70 User Review:- Mtbr.com


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

tigris99 said:


> Mole, for me its usually around $11 for that option. Not sure why it keeps changing cause at one point I got expedited for $1. Wonder if website is just bugged. Their system isn't always the greatest cause they keep messing with EVERYTHING lol. Just look at the 20 different shipping methods they use.


My last 2 orders from GearBest I got the $3 rate, too bad if this is a permanent change 'cause I liked this option. It won't stop me from buying from them since I've had no problems, I'll just wait a little longer like I did on my Yinding. Taking a positive outlook about this, It will be like getting a free light-head after every 10 orders! 
Mole

"ORDER AMOUNT EFFECCTS SHIPPING PRICE"


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Advard said:


> I found it. But without comparison - it is difficult to understand how it shines ..
> 
> Nitefighter BT70 User Review:- Mtbr.com


I only have one light head and limited time (time to ride my bike is far more important than all this ) but it is wider, less throw beam pattern.


----------



## stutru (Mar 10, 2010)

When I bought the BT70 and the BT21 in the same order, I got Hong Kong UPS expedited for free. Ordered on the 24th and got it delivered the morning of the 30th.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

stutru said:


> When I bought the BT70 and the BT21 in the same order, I got Hong Kong UPS expedited for free. Ordered on the 24th and got it delivered the morning of the 30th.


I just ordered those two together, on 6/27. So far, no shipping confirmation or anything.


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

stutru said:


> When I bought the BT70 and the BT21 in the same order, I got Hong Kong UPS expedited for free. Ordered on the 24th and got it delivered the morning of the 30th.


Thanks for posting this, it got me thinking. I did a couple of more mock orders and it appears like the shipping charges depend on how much you spend. Seems fair to me but it would be nice to know what to expect before you order.
Mole


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

*Tigris, Help Please!*



When you get a chance could you check on the "Expedited Shipping" charge policy please. I did a few mock orders with the results being $14.53 on a BT70 light-head, 3.53 on a BT21 kit, $0 on a BT70 & BT21 kit combo. It would be nice to know what to expect in advance so we can plan our orders with consideration for the most cost effective shipping too. Thanks!
Mole


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

My prices are lower. $11, $1.30, $0 in the same order as yours. Based on all the orders ive done the shipping charge varies based on price, weight/size, and location of delivery. My expedited is between the international ????? (can never remember what it's called) and DHL, yet to see the ups option though ups drives past my house daily so I would have figured itd be cheaper even if a day or 2 slower than DHL.


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

tigris99 said:


> My prices are lower. $11, $1.30, $0 in the same order as yours. Based on all the orders ive done the shipping charge varies based on price, weight/size, and location of delivery. My expedited is between the international ????? (can never remember what it's called) and DHL, yet to see the ups option though ups drives past my house daily so I would have figured itd be cheaper even if a day or 2 slower than DHL.


Thanks! This has been informative for me any way on dealing with GearBest orders. Makes the light-head only option far less attractive unless your not in a hurry. FYI, Shipping charges on my UPS order were slightly higher than the DHL order for the same product.
Mole


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

I read my own forum - long time sending is a "normal thing" for GearBest. And support lies plays a not better role in this case( I do not know what to do.. Wait?
How much? I wrote support agent through a social network..


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

Advard said:


> I do not know what to do.. Wait?
> How much?


I don't think there's any universal recommendation. As long as PayPal protection isn't expired, you're safe anyway - so, relax and treat this as a common "side effect" of buying from China...


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

Also ordered yesterday AM and never even received any confirmation that I even ordered. Usually you get something that says they received the order and will fill it, etc, etc.

I saved the order confirmation page to my computer just in case. Is this how they work and the product just arrives anytime, 1 week, 2 3 or 4. Whatever, don't really care, not in a hurry but would at least like a confirmation that they have the order. Huh.


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

mb323323 said:


> Also ordered yesterday AM and never even received any confirmation that I even ordered. Usually you get something that says they received the order and will fill it, etc, etc.
> 
> I saved the order confirmation page to my computer just in case. Is this how they work and the product just arrives anytime, 1 week, 2 3 or 4. Whatever, don't really care, not in a hurry but would at least like a confirmation that they have the order. Huh.


All my orders I got a confirmation notice from GearBest and a notification from PayPal that they had paid the vendor (within a hour). I'd send GearBest an email if I were you, something doesn't sound right.
Mole


----------



## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

I just went to order the lighthead-only option and it says it's on backorder until July 20. So I bet people who ordered one in the last two days won't get one until that shipment comes in. I decided to delay my order.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ya the complaints on several forums about that I finally convinced them to fix the site so it says "backordered" or "preorder" depending on the situation. Work in progress but all of us are actually being heard and gearbest is trying to improve.

Mb323323- if you didn't get an email from PayPal then you didn't finish putting your order in. In which case you wont get an email because the order wasn't put through and paid for.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

Mb323323, it seems to me, first of all, you need to visit PayPal and see is there something about this payment. It is most important.


----------



## SlSto (Dec 4, 2013)

Would I be very disadvantaged using a 5800 gw battery. Would be predominantly using medium, occasionally using high, and rarely using turbo. Trying to decide whether to get light only or set. I already have a good collection of batteries.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> My prices are lower. $11, $1.30, $0 in the same order as yours. Based on all the orders ive done the shipping charge varies based on price, weight/size, and location of delivery. My expedited is between the international ????? (can never remember what it's called) and DHL, yet to see the ups option though ups drives past my house daily so I would have figured itd be cheaper even if a day or 2 slower than DHL.


Like MMole, I too am trying to understand the shipping options. *My question; which of the Gearbest shipping options is really going to be the fastest. * I'd be willing to pay $10 or so for shipping but I want the items in at least 5-6 work days.

DHL is okay but in the few times I've had orders come through them they really don't like to leave a package without someone to sign for it. In my situation that doesn't work out very well. In a pinch I can call DHL and have them hold the package at the airport depot. In my line of work I know where all the major shipping couriers are located at the airport. I hate doing it that way but it's what I have to do when dealing with DHL.

UPS on the other hand will usually leave the package at my door.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

As long as their good batteries your fine. Cheap Chinese packs wont cut it for this light. Medium and high will be no problems at all, its turbo that a high end pack is needed otherwise run time and output is going to suffer badly. Just remember, run time is based on cell capacity, smaller rated pack, less run time.

@ cat, if you gave a phone number, DHL txts you and gives you a link where you can authorize to just leave it. I just told my driver leave them since they have a signature on file and all is fine. Fastest shipping is expedited but light head is out of stock atm.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> ...As long as their good batteries your fine. Cheap Chinese packs wont cut it for this light. Medium and high will be no problems at all, its turbo that a high end pack is needed otherwise run time and output is going to suffer badly. Just remember, run time is based on cell capacity, smaller rated pack, less run time...
> 
> .


If I were to buy a BT70 lamp head, even though I have some very good 4-cell batteries I would definitely consider buying a reliable 6-cell battery using at least very good Sanyo/Panasonic or Samsung 2600mAh cells. The BT70 coupled with the Xeccon 7800mah ( Samsung ) soft-shell battery would be perfect. ( *Note; some Xeccon batteries are shipped from USA but some aren't. Supplies always limited. )

Going forward, if Nitefighter was smart they should offer this lamp with a 6-cell BAK 7800mAh option ( for maybe $15 more ). Do that and the full kits would be flying off the shelves. Heck, if they did that I would of bought one when first available.

I'm going to hold off on the BT70 for now. I'll wait till my Solarstorm XT40 neutral comes in before I decide to toss down more money. Not to mention I still need to send off the Gloworm for retro-neutral refit. I really do want to use my Gloworm X2 again! I'm spending way too much money this year on bike light ***t. I need to wind it back some.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

^ Does that battery come with the right connector?


----------



## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

Mountain Cycle Shawn said:


> ^ Does that battery come with the right connector?


No, they switched over to using their proprietary square connector. I think they can me made to fit, but I'm not sure. I always thought switching connectors was a big mistake.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

Well, that really sucks!


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

I have two Xeccon batteries with the square connectors and they fit my BT21 fine. Water proof would be another story but you can get round to square adapters from Xeccon.
Mole


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Mountain Cycle Shawn said:


> ^ Does that battery come with the right connector?


*Yes, it does*. The square-ish ( Xeccon ) rubber connector on the battery *comes with an adapter but really it isn't needed.* The square-ish connector actually works *BETTER* with the typical ( round ) MS connector then the original but that's my opinion. If you own one you will see what I mean. It also works *BETTER* than the standard ( round, MS ) connectors when using the Solarstorm products.

FWIW, all of my lamps use either typical MS connectors or the Solarstorm connectors. With the SStorm plugs there is no need to use the screw on sleeve ( with Xeccon battery ) as the plug end nestles nice and tight inside the square rubber outer cover. While I can use the SStorm lamp with standard MS connectors as well the Xeccons are better and have a tighter fit.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

I am very disappointed with GearBest store. The support continues to lie about quality control. But the store agent contacted me and said: "The reason is that the flashlight mount in your order is out of stock now, and we have already purchased it"
How can it be? After I paid for the factory set!
And again playing for time: what kind of flashlight mount exactly?
How long should I wait?
What are the solutions to their problems - not at my expense?
I am close to the opening of Paypal dispute((

Where else sold Nitefighter BT70 ?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

That is what I tried to explain. Its a problem being worked on, one part of your order is out of stock. That's what is holding it up. I finally have them fixing the website (will be a long process) that any item out of stock says backordered so you are aware of it prior to order.



The agent was my rep, I forwarded the issue to have it looked into. Actually its a good thing that these matters are being posted here, its getting the message to those in charge over there that their way of doing things isn't working, so they are making changes.



Advard, just tell them to ship the flashlight mount later (wont be fast shipping) and all will be good to go hopefully.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> Advard, just tell them to ship the flashlight mount later (wont be fast shipping) and all will be good to go hopefully.


Thank you, tigris. I understand your rep uncorrectly( Look at the correspondence with support.. They do not consider that the flashlight mount is not in stock. At the same time, they closed the dialogue without my consent! But my questions is not more offensive than in their false responses.
Who should I ask to send all without mount?
(In general - they had to offer it. And long time ago it would have been good. And while the story is reminiscent of fools home. And, apparently, I'm insane here ..)

I am writing here about my problems because it can warn other people.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

I won't do business ever agiain with this company. They sent me a PP invoice trying to get me to pay another $174 for the bt70 and 21 lights that I already paid for a week ago. And, still no shippng confirmation.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

I found another store offering BT70. But I do not have affairs with it.
DealsMachine: Nitefighter BT70 7 x Cree XP - G2 Rechargeable Neutral White LED Bike Light ( 2800Lm 6 Modes Full Package )


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

Just I was chatting on the GB. They continue to claim that the goods in the QC! And I have to wait a little more .. For the first time encountered such a madhouse( The fact is that, so it can take a long time. There are no guarantees!


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Mountain Cycle Shawn said:


> I won't do business ever agiain with this company. They sent me a PP invoice trying to get me to pay another $174 for the bt70 and 21 lights that I already paid for a week ago. And, still no shippng confirmation.


Just send them the PayPal transaction info showing its already paid. Biggest problem is language barriers, so communication problems. Granted these issues come up (I see them with every site that's in china, get aggravating I know) and they shouldn't.

Im doing best I can and progress is slow, but the more aware (postings on forums) they are made of the problem and how unhappy people are becoming over it, hopefully it will help get the issues corrected more quickly.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Advard said:


> I found another store offering BT70. But I do not have affairs with it.
> DealsMachine: Nitefighter BT70 7 x Cree XP - G2 Rechargeable Neutral White LED Bike Light ( 2800Lm 6 Modes Full Package )


Always good to have another option. Thanks for the link.

Advard, I'm sorry to learn that you had a bad experience with Gearbest. When dealing with any Customer Service Support from a Chinese website it is very important to exercise patience. It is also VERY important to be very polite and clear when filing a complaint. It is also important to understand that sometimes there are going to be unexpected delays in receiving the product that you ordered. This is very much standard procedure when buying anything from a Chinese website and Gearbest is no exception to this rule. I too have had my last order from Gearbest unexpectedly delayed. While I am not happy about it I accept it because they are the only ones to give me a decent price for what I wanted. ( *Not to mention the only ones to offer the product I wanted )

Believe me, it doesn't matter what Chinese website you buy from. All of them operate pretty much the same. The biggest differences are in what products they offer and how well they handle shipments and other customer related issues. While we now know that Gearbest is far from perfect we do know that they endeavor to please. They are one of the few Chinese companies to actively offer specific products and group deals to the forum members. Occasionally they will run short on stock. It happens.

Going forward, it is my hope that Gearbest will be more forthcoming when they decide to backorder. They need to keep the buyer updated on the status of their order. If something cannot be shipped immediately because of a shortage of stock the buyer needs to be notified immediately. For what it's worth, not all companies will do this before they delay an order so it's not that unusual. Hopefully Gearbest will be quick to remedy this very important customer service issue.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Mountain Cycle Shawn said:


> I won't do business ever agiain with this company. They sent me a PP invoice trying to get me to pay another $174 for the bt70 and 21 lights that I already paid for a week ago. And, still no shippng confirmation.


First, "do what tigris said".

Second, check your paypal account. Make sure there wasn't a problem with the Credit account being used. It's possible the payment never cleared if there is a problem with a credit card. I doubt this happened but you never know.


----------



## GJHS (Jul 10, 2013)

Back when I first asked GearBest to customize some lights for us, we were given a direct customer service person named Dora who ensured that we got great service. She moved up to another department and was replaced by May, who handles this forum and is assisted by Nefertari.

If you have any issues, contact May first and skip GB general customer service. Customer service is out of touch with what the forum is discussing and slow, which is why we have our own rep.

Her email is [email protected].


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

On the bright side (no pun intended) all my area trails are OPEN, no rain in forecast till monday afternoon. Already rode today after we decided to call it done on getting overgrowth and downfall cleared. Still got some to do tomorrow (weed clearing on trail sides, downfall all clear) but hopefully getting out to do some night riding after fireworks tomorrow night wont be out of the question with the wife. Sunday for sure though at the trails I used for bt21/bt40s videos.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

Well, I do not know. I feel happy or capricious child?
Whatever it was - we won!
I want to thank my mom, because she gave birth to me. (stop laugh!))))
I would like to thank all those people here, who made efforts to ensure, that high-quality bike light become more accessible.
I want to thank everyone, who supported me here, on the forum.
And special thanks to *tigris99* and *GJHS*. Without they help (*Nefertari*, thank you!) only hopelessness was waiting for me..

Ladies and Gentlemen!
My order shipped today.
(of course, maybe not yet - until Monday. Who knows? But this is the result of)
Shipped, without God dammit mount, which should be sending later.

There were no without misunderstandings. In a letter from GB written:
"The package should normally take 10-25 business days to arrive (approximately)."
But, when I paid for delivery it was: "Standard Shipping 6 - 8 business days"
Well, wait and - see!


----------



## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

My humble opinion about the BT70 head only version available from GB is that it should come with the mount and both wide and spot lens.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Well they could probably offer it but it would cost more. No light heads in this price range come with extra optics, have to source then yourself. Usually even kits dont come with a different optic, you get what you get and that's it. I think its cool they actually supply a different beam pattern with the kits.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ok after riding tonight:



You don't want the wide angle lens anyway. Stock lens is plenty wide enough and wide angle really kills output out the front. Not in a way of lumens lost, but it becomes REALLY floody (ill try to remember to set up a controlled beam shot to compare the 2). The spot on the stock optic is really big with some spill and lots of throw. Wide angle more or less kills the throw and spreads the spot over the entire area of the beam.

I dont like it as even on my other trail options that are wider, beam just TOO wide. The huge spot with a little spill of stock lens is AWESOME though. I ran it on medium alot of the time high on the fast decent at the end.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> You don't want the wide angle lens anyway.


Well, you said what I wanted to hear! :yesnod:


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

MK96 said:


> My humble opinion about the BT70 head only version available from GB is that it should come with the mount and both wide and spot lens.


With this lamp?!! You want a flood optic?!!...WHY? This lamp more than likely has more spill than any other lamp out there. FWIW, I noticed when running two BT40S lamps that use the standard spot quad optic that I have so much light in the first 100ft. that it actually changes the glare factor in the foreground because it is so bright.. Nope, If I'm using two lamps ( or more emitters in the case of the BT70 ) I need more of that light to go forward. I have enough in the foreground with just one BT40S.


----------



## pilotwithnoname (Jul 5, 2015)

I would like to get the BT70, but have some questions about the battery pack. Would a solarforce pack with removable 18650 cells work with this? I already have a charger and a bunch of 18650's, and would like to use them instead. Is there a holder that is recommended by this forum that will work with this lighthead?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

As posted before:

Requires quality brand name cells, and plenty of capacity

Has magicshine style connector will need to use matching style

Have to use no less than 4 cell 8.4v pack with brand name cells. 8.4v 6 cell is preferred but not required.


----------



## pilotwithnoname (Jul 5, 2015)

tigris99 said:


> As posted before:
> 
> Requires quality brand name cells, and plenty of capacity
> 
> ...


Right, I saw that. Are there any battery holders that you recommend that have the magicshine style connector? I do not have a magicshine light, so I don't know what it looks like. If not, I can solder up a connector to the solarforce holder, can I get that on gearbest too?
thanks


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Oh and the protection circuit matter : 



Replicated it last night while doing "real world testing" on the heat on turbo mode. Was while not moving seems current spiked just briefly (fully charged pack) but unplugging it and plugging it back in, it reset and was fine the rest of the time. Only does it if left on turbo on a fresh pack. Seems they didn't account for the current spike that happens with all drivers (can briefly spike above regulation very briefly) and the max output of Panasonic cells. 



So just limit use of turbo for the first few minutes if using stock pack. It only does it the one time when head first heats up on turbo and that's it.


----------



## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

I don't know the angles of both optics. If the spot optic is sufficient I am happy with that. I am used to my Power 7-up dual setup that both use reflectors and the beam seems very wide.



Cat-man-do said:


> With this lamp?!! You want a flood optic?!!...WHY? This lamp more than likely has more spill than any other lamp out there. FWIW, I noticed when running two BT40S lamps that use the standard spot quad optic that I have so much light in the first 100ft. that it actually changes the glare factor in the foreground because it is so bright.. Nope, If I'm using two lamps ( or more emitters in the case of the BT70 ) I need more of that light to go forward. I have enough in the foreground with just one BT40S.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

If ur used to reflectors the spot optics are going to provide far more flood than your used to. And the spot is huge too.


----------



## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

When I compared the yinding with optics and the 7-up with reflectors the yinding was spotty. Hence I thought it would be nice to have 2 lenses and decide after trying 'em out.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ya the yinding to me is spotty stock. I dont like the wide optic for this cause you loose too much light, the stock one the spot itself is going to be more what your used to but the spill will be more smooth from spot to outer edge, and the area outside the spot is better illuminated. Reflectors actually usually have a tighter spot, less smooth transition vs optics.


So last light I needed to discharge one of my fenix cases with unprotected Panasonics in it. So I just used this light since it pulls 4.8A on turbo......

Now I see why it can trip protection circuit. It hit 5.5A draw off my 2 cell pack before I turned it down to high. First light ive seen do that, jump that much over stock testing when I plug in a fully charged fenix case with Panasonics in it. DEFINATELY DRAINED THE PACK IN A HURRY lol.


----------



## Action LED Lights (Nov 11, 2011)

tigris99 said:


> As posted before:
> 
> Requires quality brand name cells, and plenty of capacity
> 
> ...


We have just added 2 new Magicshine packs that might be of interest. The MJ-6038C, a 6200mAh 4 cell pack built with Panasonic cells, and the MJ-6036P, a 9300mAh 6 cell pack also with Panasonic cells. (the MJ-6036 would need a MJ-6070 adapter for the connector)


----------



## hah72215 (Mar 31, 2008)

So I am looking to start nightriding and have no lights at all. Would the BT70, full package with battery included, be enough? I'm thinking helmet mounted. Or is a bar mounted light necessary as well with this light? 

Which 2 would you get if you were to start from scratch like me? Thanks.


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Get 2 separate light systems. That way when one quits, you'll still be able to get back to the car.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

And I just have a spare battery ..


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

No way I would put this on the helmet though this thing is a beast of a light. Use something smaller and use this on the bars. This as a kit (has confirmed Panasonic cells) is good to go for bar light.


----------



## hah72215 (Mar 31, 2008)

Ok, I ordered the BT70. I'll try it on the bars and go from there.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Its not a good idea to night ride without at least a flashlight for back up. If you forget to charge your battery, or out longer than battery will run, etc, you can be stuck without any light. At least carry a decent flashlight and way to mount it for emergencies.


----------



## sluglike (Jun 8, 2015)

I received my BT70 lighthead today. This is very high quality for the price. 

I haven't had a chance to ride with it yet, that will come later this week. In the meantime I've shined it against the wall in the garage to see what it had. 

The amount of light on the highest setting seems very similar to the TrustFire TR-D014. The transition from the hotspot on the BT70 is much more gradual than that of the D014. I never cared for the strong hotspot on the TR-D014 and am pleased with what I've seen so far.


----------



## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Yes, it seems that TR-D014, Power 7-up and BT70 draw nearly the same amount of current from the packs. It is just the optics vs various reflectors.


----------



## SlSto (Dec 4, 2013)

Just looking at the X6 review and the mounting of leds and this got me thinking there wasn't much info on this for the BT70. I think read something somewhere but can't find it now. Do the leds mount onto a solid board that is part of the body and therefore helping to transfer heat from leds directly to the body.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

They all mount one big PCB that sits on a solid flat surface that's part of the casing. Exact same way as the bt40s (thought I posted a pic I must not have cause I can't find it)


----------



## SlSto (Dec 4, 2013)

tigris99 said:


> They all mount one big PCB that sits on a solid flat surface that's part of the casing. Exact same way as the bt40s (thought I posted a pic I must not have cause I can't find it)


Thanks


----------



## dawgman25 (Nov 14, 2010)

So if this is run on the bars, what is a great light to compliment on the helmet? My current favorite combo is an XT40 on the helmet with a Yinding on the bars.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I use bt21 on the helmet with glowworm spot optics. If your xt40 is neutral white version then keep using it if you like it for a helmet light.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

OK video review done, got some good trail riding in tonight, but forgot to set my camera to 720 at 30FPS...so quality not the greatest, sorry. Didnt realize it till I started compiling the hole video. But still pretty good, see how finished product comes out.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Video won't play.


----------



## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

tigris99 said:


> They all mount one big PCB that sits on a solid flat surface that's part of the casing. Exact same way as the bt40s (thought I posted a pic I must not have cause I can't find it)


----------



## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

It's still being processed.



Cat-man-do said:


> Video won't play.


----------



## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

tigris99 said:


> OK video review done, got some good trail riding in tonight,...


How did you mount the BT70 for this shoot, tigris, on the bars? It scares me when the spot strays off the trail. Guess that wouldn't happen so much with a helmet mount, or when using the diffusing lens?

Also, and sorry if I missed this, is the OEM plastic mount on this lamp the same as the one comes with BT40S or is it shaped a little differently to accommodate the wider barrel? How is the base under the rim of the screw head, is it as thin as on the BT40S (which has been a problem for a number of users)? Thanks.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Mounted on the bars, I had a helmet light on just can't see it through the bt70 lol. And with frame rate as high as I had it, u dont see the spill. Never had any issues seeing the trail. The mount appears about identical, not going to try and measure to see it its any different.

Oh and the missing pic of the housing behind the emitters


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> OK video review done, got some good trail riding in tonight, but forgot to set my camera to 720 at 30FPS...so quality not the greatest, sorry. Didnt realize it till I started compiling the hole video. But still pretty good, see how finished product comes out.


Really great review, thanks! Hopefully mine will show up soon, along with the bt21. It sounds like you're pedaling a tank in the video.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ya my hub isn't exactly quite and that camera has a really sensitive mix. Also on 1x10 NW chainring, its a bit noisy which I like for night riding.


----------



## dawgman25 (Nov 14, 2010)

You feel there is enough flood with this light on the bars? How does it compare for flood with a Yinding? Looks a bit spotty on the trail.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I dont have a gopro or fancy camera, its an Ion Air Pro I got for $100 on black Friday. Neither I or the camera im reviewing do a great job showing the spill. Especially at 60 fps lol. There is plenty of spill to illuminate the area around the spot. That's why I included the beam shots in pitch black conditions, can capture what im seeing better than a compact action camera


----------



## thunderstruck (Jun 15, 2009)

OOS, can't add to cart. :-(


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

thunderstruck said:


> OOS, can't add to cart. :-(


??? Not sure what the issue is, last time I checked website was working fine and has been for everyone else.


----------



## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

tigris99 said:


> ??? Not sure what the issue is, last time I checked website was working fine and has been for everyone else.


The lighthead is "backordered" but you can still order it.
The full package is "out of stock" with no option for ordering. 
Nitefighter BT70 2800 Lumens CREE XP G2 7 LEDs Neutral White Light Bicycle Headlight Suit-86.55 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I checked as to why, they don't have a time from nitefighter as to when they will be able to restock. They are doing as we asked. Once nitefighter gives a time frame for delivery of next shipment to GB, GB will update the page for backorder, then normal once shipment arrives. Thankfully they are starting to fix the "unknown time to ship waiting game" we used to deal with.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> They (GB) are doing as we asked.


It is very nice - read this!! Keep it up!


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> OK video review done, got some good trail riding in tonight, but forgot to set my camera to 720 at 30FPS...so quality not the greatest, sorry. Didnt realize it till I started compiling the hole video. But still pretty good, see how finished product comes out.


Very nice review, well done. :thumbsup:

I'm still on the fence about getting one of these though. The video certainly makes it look more spotty than I imagined. Originally I thought this lamp was going to be a flood monster. Now I don't know what to think.

During the trail portion of the video you are using the lamp on high ( not boost ). Still at that level it looks like it has very nice throw. It just bothers me that I'm not seeing much to the sides. Like you said, this could just be the camera settings or perhaps the camera lens itself. I also figure that if the forward throw is that intense the camera might not be able to adjust to the light reflecting back from the sides. Then again the trail you rode seemed to have a lot of tall foliage that is very close to the trail, this too doesn't help illustrate how well the lamp works in the peripheral as almost the whole video has a somewhat "tunnel like" feel. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing because some single track is so tight and so over-grown with foliage that that is exactly what it is like to ride when riding a trail like that at night. I ride lots of trails that are exactly the same thing so I know what it's like.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

both beam shots were done in 0 ambient light conditions, just because both my video cameras kind of "tunnel" things a bit. That way the actual full effect could be captured. To get those shots i have to adjust about everything on my camera a few times to capture what im seeing. The video cameras mainly focus on the hot spot and loose the rest. Some day ill be able to afford a camera with a good enough sensor that it will do better at showing the transition in the spill. My phone does better but not risking it (explain why a cell phone captures better night video????) on the trails.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Oh I had a couple PMs about the camera I was reviewing (and used to shoot some of the video) so heres a link to that review video as it works nicely for day and night, and is stupid cheap for everything it comes with (and camera actually works well so far)


----------



## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> I checked as to why, they don't have a time from nitefighter as to when they will be able to restock. They are doing as we asked. Once nitefighter gives a time frame for delivery of next shipment to GB, GB will update the page for backorder, then normal once shipment arrives. Thankfully they are starting to fix the "unknown time to ship waiting game" we used to deal with.


I ordered the light only on July 1st. After not seeing the light was not shipped by July 7th, I contacted Gearbest to get an update. They said the light was backordered and would be back in stock July 20th. They offered to cancel my order if I wanted, but I decided to wait. With the long summer daylight, I haven't really needed to use lights to ride for awhile.


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Does the BT70 use the same mount as a BT40?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Uses same, has capacity for larger though.


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Cool! I've got someone looking for a finned adapter for a BT70. Hopefully they can be the same.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Well bt70 is ALOT bigger, the normal sized finned mount will do very little. I'll take a pic of the 2 side by side in a bit


----------



## Mountainking7 (Nov 8, 2014)

Hah! Took 1h30 mins to get through that thread! The upside of being sick I guess!
Have a few questions:
1. Can anyone link me to a "go pro" style mount that will work with the headlight? (fix on bars)
2. I assume from that I read 2 cell packs won't cut it. Some one posted a pack priced at $70 ish. Way overpriced. Any decent 4 cell battery holder out there that is compatible with the Nitefighter to be plugged in? (No modding involved)
Thanks!


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Its either buy the kit or pay for a good pack. There are no cases out there that I know of that come with magicshine style connectors. Its a pain but price to pay for a big light lol.



2 cell packs is a no. Cheap cells in a no. $70 for a Panasonic pack that's prebuilt and you know is done right isn't bad at all. Obviously there is other options but you need a pack that can handle a 5A continuous draw. And for run time u want from it.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

Got my bt70 and 21 in the mail. I'm at work so I'll post more later. Gotta question: Should the batteries be charged before I use them the first time? It doesn't say in the manual. Thanks! The toxic smell of the packaging is making me sick! But the lights look good.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Mountain Cycle Shawn said:


> Got my bt70 and 21 in the mail. I'm at work so I'll post more later. Gotta question: Should the batteries be charged before I use them the first time? It doesn't say in the manual. Thanks! The toxic smell of the packaging is making me sick! But the lights look good.


Always charge before use, you can briefly check that the lights work before charging but at storage levels packs will have very little run time.

@ mountain king, missed the gopro question, contact vancbiker, he's the one that makes the gopro adapters, you'll have to source your own mounting screw to put the adapter in the head and your own handlebar mount.


----------



## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

Mountain Cycle Shawn said:


> Got my bt70 and 21 in the mail. I'm at work so I'll post more later. Gotta question: Should the batteries be charged before I use them the first time? It doesn't say in the manual. Thanks! The toxic smell of the packaging is making me sick! But the lights look good.


Yeah, put them on the charger. They don't ship them empty as they might short out, but they are probably not fully charged either.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

Mountain Cycle Shawn said:


> Got my bt70 and 21 in the mail.


Congratulations!
Awaiting for impressions!!


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Always charge before use, you can briefly check that the lights work before charging but at storage levels packs will have very little run time.
> 
> @ mountain king, missed the gopro question, contact vancbiker, he's the one that makes the gopro adapters, you'll have to source your own mounting screw to put the adapter in the head and your own handlebar mount.





varider said:


> Yeah, put them on the charger. They don't ship them empty as they might short out, but they are probably not fully charged either.


Thanks guys. Just one more ? about charging. Will these chargers shut off when the battery is fully charged? Or, do I need to be around to unplug them. I do plan on putting them somewhere safe in the garage during charging.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

Ok, so I have the 21 light and battery attached to my Met Parachute helmet. It was a pain, but I have two of these helmets, so the light and battery will stay on it. The quality of both the 70 and 21 seem to be very good. And, again the toxic smell of the packaging was very bad. I'm not allergic to anything, but it gave me a headache, made my eyes water and my face itch, after I touched it. I'll leave the bags open for a couple days to air out. Both the 70 and 21 are very light. But, these are my first bike lights, so I have nothing to compare to. I can't wait to use them and I'll post more after I do.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Charger will shut off automatically.

The toxic smell I of concern I never noticed any toxic smell. There was an odor which just smelled of plastic and such, pretty normal smell to.me since I work in plastics factory. Now what exactly smelled? The bag, inside the bag, inside both bags??? I know the bt70 smelled a bit funky when I first got it, some cleaning agent they used I guess.

I would actually separate the components and cases and try to locate where the smell is coming from. Chances of actual problem are very slim (you may be sensitive to something used in final cleaning and prepping ) but toxic smell to me says check the batteries. Easy to do. Remove pack from pouch, bottom of pack has a square rubber plug, remove that. Pops right out. If the pack is leaking you'll know when you remove that bottom rubber piece. I ONLY SAY THIS as to eliminate all possibility of a bad cell in a pack. Its rare, very rare, but it happens. And with this being your first light set up, last thing I want is a rider getting hurt buy a damaged battery pack because they didn't know there was a problem.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Mountain Cycle Shawn said:


> ..... Will these chargers shut off when the battery is fully charged? Or, do I need to be around to unplug them. I do plan on putting them somewhere safe in the garage during charging.


No the tipical charger doesn't shut off when light goes from red to green but continues charging at currents descending to 0. You should read http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night...-ion-charger-2sxp-battery-packs-944978-3.html and reviews about chargers. I doubt the one you got is significantly different.

Personaly I would not trust any charger and live it unattended over the night. Well it happens I forget to unplug it but in general :nono:

BTW: can anyone check output voltage of the chargers from BT 21,40,70 sets just to compare with the others?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Oh I figured they just cut current at green (never really bothered to check into it since packs are protected), but between pack protection and charger not allowing over charge I think we're good (wouldnt trust cheap chargers but the ones with these seem ALOT better)

@ Vancbike: here is the pic of the 2 light heads. Tilt the bt70 down a bit and it blocks most air flow. I dont see a need for a finned myself, that standard aluminum magicshine adapter is all I use and its fine. Though I run on medium and high, turbo for me is just too much and a waste of battery power for riding around here. To be effective I think a bigger mount is going to be needed. The 20mm contact mount you made me is a good width for fins. BT70 has a 35mm x 9.8mm flat contact surface on the bottom. But machining seems to be slightly off balance so just something like my 20mm flat has poor contact due to a .15mm step on one side of the flat surface. Also due to location of mounting hole and wire, magicshine style with fins added is going to be easiest route, wire out the rear of the mount.

Sum it up: 35mm x 9 mm flat contact surface, magicshine adapter style with extra wide fins added, mounting hole for mine is 9.5mm from forward edge of contact area.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

tigris99 said:


> Oh I figured they just cut current at green (never really bothered to check into it since packs are protected), but between pack protection and charger not allowing over charge I think we're good (wouldnt trust cheap chargers but the ones with these seem ALOT better)


That's good to hear. I've never came across 8.4V Li-Ion charger from any bicycle light set that would actualy cut off the current when light goes green. Can you check at what current that happens and what is the voltage of battery pack after some rest?

Do you have charger from all three NiteFighter sets and are they equal?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

BT40S and BT21 appear exactly the same (i dont have bt40s charger, but pics look identical to my bt21 charger), BT70 charger is still big but a bit narrower and longer instead.

Of the 2 I trust the bt21 charger more, it has full RoHS and UL compliance logos where as BT70 one does not. Its a more generic information decal without the extra compliance logos. I normally use my bt21 charger, bt70 one seems to work just fine and still looks like far better quality than the cheap crap we see with other lights. But if you want on to trust to leave a pack on over night, the bt21/bt40s version is the one I trust. All my stuff is stored in my house and charged in my house. But i have lipo charging pouches from my RC days(if you know anything about lipos, they make Li-Ion cells look like AA batteries when it comes to damage they can cause).


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

tigris99 said:


> ...But machining seems to be slightly off balance so just something like my 20mm flat has poor contact due to a .15mm step on one side of the flat surface.


I'm getting the opinion that the nitefighter lights have pretty loose tolerances on their housing machining. BT21 have dimensions change up to .5mm and so it seems with the BT70. This is not really any different than the rest of the cheap Chinese lights though. It's the main reason I don't provide a mounting screw with my adapters. Too much variation in hole depth or thread depth or wall thickness.



tigris99 said:


> To be effective I think a bigger mount is going to be needed.


Making a production version of the jumbo adapter that was custom made for you will require I build a new fixture for the CNC machining. Not going to be cost effective for what I expect to be small order quantities. In order to keep the price under $20 the current fin size will have to do.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Charger will shut off automatically.
> 
> The toxic smell I of concern I never noticed any toxic smell. There was an odor which just smelled of plastic and such, pretty normal smell to.me since I work in plastics factory. Now what exactly smelled? The bag, inside the bag, inside both bags??? I know the bt70 smelled a bit funky when I first got it, some cleaning agent they used I guess.
> 
> I would actually separate the components and cases and try to locate where the smell is coming from. Chances of actual problem are very slim (you may be sensitive to something used in final cleaning and prepping ) but toxic smell to me says check the batteries. Easy to do. Remove pack from pouch, bottom of pack has a square rubber plug, remove that. Pops right out. If the pack is leaking you'll know when you remove that bottom rubber piece. I ONLY SAY THIS as to eliminate all possibility of a bad cell in a pack. Its rare, very rare, but it happens. And with this being your first light set up, last thing I want is a rider getting hurt buy a damaged battery pack because they didn't know there was a problem.


The batteries are ok and charged up in about three hours. The smell is pretty much the same smell when you open up a 100 pack of CDs that come in the plastic tower. It's a toxic smelling, cancer causing type of smell. I woke up with a headache, which never happens to me unless I'm sick.

I didn't check the model numbers on the chargers. But, they look the same and are the same size for the bt21 and bt70 lights that I got.

One more question about batteries and charging. Is it better to run the batteries completely dead before recharging or does it not matter?

Thanks again, you guys, for all your help. I'll report more as I get a chance to use them.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Only run down to protection cut off IF YOU HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE. Its best to change the pack/recharge before every use, and never store completely dead and try to avoid storing completely charged for more than a couple days.


----------



## noobbiker888 (Jul 12, 2015)

I received my BT70 and it doesn't come with the mount that was in the photo on the gearbest website. I'm irritated. That's false advertising. One of the reason I bought it was because it had that gopro mount thing that looked like it'd be easy to use with my gopro mount. It instead has some half circle looking thing. Anyone can point to to some links where I can buy a gopro adapter that works well with this light? I figure I just have to unscrew that weird half circle black thing, and find the right gopro adapter, and just screw that in. Then once that's attached to the light just screw them in go a normal gopro mount like you would an actual gopro camera. But which adapter should I buy. Thanks!


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

noobbiker888 said:


> .........and find the right gopro adapter, and just screw that in. Then once that's attached to the light just screw them in go a normal gopro mount like you would an actual gopro camera. But which adapter should I buy. Thanks!


I'm getting close to releasing an adapter specifically for the BT70. Middle of next week or so. Keep an eye on this thread for the announcement. If you are in a hurry, I have adapters that with a bit of modification you could make fit.

See the link in my signature line for info.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I believe all the nitefighter threads mention not coming with gopro adapter, it doesn't work with handlebar gopro mounts (mount wad rotated wrong way) but nitefighter hasn't gotten as far as updating product info.

The weird half circle thing is actually a standard bar mount with most lights these days, the rubber orings with tabs are the straps that hold it to the the bars. They do work but this light really needs a bigger one.

Vancbikers mounts are the ONLY option (and he's an awesome machinist so they are great mounts) for gopro adapters for the all of these budget bike lights.

Ps:gearbest posts product info straight from manufacturers. So details may change that gearbest is unaware of until we tell them.


----------



## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Wow the Nitefighter BT70 light head only (Simple Set) is now only $29.89 on GearBest, what a steal!

Tigris, from your comparison pic it looks like the individual lenses of BT70 array are much larger than those of the BT40S, maybe they're about the same size as the standard 20mm optics typical on XM-L/XM-L2 lamps — might that expain the superior throw, even when operated at lower amps than the BT40S?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

The optics size will make a difference but that's not a whole lot compared to the fact the bt70 simply has almost twice the emitters. 2 emitters @1A put out noticeably more light than 1 emitter at 2A type matter applies here. The optic pots for each emitter though are no where near 20mm each on the bt70. 12mm maybe. Though I agree, it does still help a bit.


Even at that, my mj880 clone that's now using 6 xp-g2s on carclo mini triple optics has and identical beam with optics that are half the size of the bt70 optics.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> Even at that, my mj880 clone that's now using 6 xp-g2s on carclo mini triple optics has and identical beam with optics that are half the size of the bt70 optics.


tigris, give a link please? I want to look at your lamp)

Heck.. My bt70 come)) Whith american type electrical plug )))))
Bag really stinks)
Outwardly lamp looks like almost high end product.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-diy-do-yourself/mj880-clone-expirament-981162.html#post12071130


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

I forgot to mention, when I got my 70 and 21, the return address on my package was from Irvine California. There was a customs declaration on the back. It had a value of $22 on it. So, I'm kinda confused as to where it came from.


----------



## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Wow $29.89? That's tough to pass up on. I tell myself this light serves me no real purpose other than to use up lots of batteries! Must resist.

-Garry


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

I previously tested my bt70. 
Not at bike, therefore too early to draw definitive conclusions.
But I can tell already that stock optics (the only one in complete "head only")
gives a fairly narrow beam.
thereby, a wide optics looks interesting. It shines noticeably wider
while still quite farther throw beam.
I am glad that I has bought a full set.
But, as already mentioned above, the battery needs 6 and 8 cells.

I really liked low mode! 
It is economical and it is very effective DRL. It have good visibility even at bright sunny day.


----------



## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

Do you have to buy the kit to get both optics, or can you buy them separately? I remember reading that you have to buy the kit in order to get both optics, but I just want to confirm.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

To my knowledge, additional optics for bt70 is only available in a full set. Tigris?


----------



## Desert Runner (Apr 30, 2015)

Advard said:


> To my knowledge, additional optics for bt70 is only available in a full set. Tigris?


I was told by Gearbest you have to buy the full set to get the optics. I just ordered the full kit yesterday and it already shipped !!!


----------



## sluglike (Jun 8, 2015)

varider said:


> Do you have to buy the kit to get both optics, or can you buy them separately? I remember reading that you have to buy the kit in order to get both optics, but I just want to confirm.


My 'lighthead only' order did not include the additional optics.

I have not seen the wide angle optic available separately.


----------



## kwarwick (Jun 12, 2004)

sluglike said:


> My 'lighthead only' order did not include the additional optics.
> 
> I have not seen the wide angle optic available separately.


The optics used in the BT70 look a lot like Ledil Anna optics:

Cutter Electronics


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I'll measure tonight see if dimensions are the same. Ledil optics are supposed to be some of the best (well above carclo)


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> I'll measure tonight see if dimensions are the same. Ledil optics are supposed to be some of the best (well above carclo)


YES, please.


----------



## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

Looking back at the beamshots that tigris posted (Link), I don't think I even need the flood optics. It already looks very floody to me. I believe those pictures were taken with the spot optic, but I'm not sure sure.

The one ledil optic goes out 29 degrees, that might be way more flood than anyone needs on a mountain bike. I've never tried that kind of super-wide optic personally, so that's just my guess.


----------



## StillAlive (Jul 22, 2015)

i hope gearbest send this week the bt70 light only ... i can't wait for see that turbo mode lol


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Sorry everyone, the Ledil Anna wont fit. Too small. BT70 optic diameter is 45.5mm and the Retaining ring inner diameter is 43.2mm. Anna is only 40mm. Height is the same.

Odd though because emitter PCB is is 40mm. Also the legs on the optics are on the outer edges, not in the middle.


----------



## Mountainking7 (Nov 8, 2014)

Hi again Tigris. I was checking this battery pack on GB and read your review on it...
Will it be ok to use this on the BT70?
Customer Reviews for Solarstorm New 2S2P 8.4V 2000mAh Dual Water - resistant 4 x 18650 External Battery Pack for Bicycle Light Digital Device | GearBest.com


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

It should work, but the voltage drop would be to high for BT70 on turbo. I don't recomend it unless you do serious mod and change the cable to 20AWG. About moding you should read aproprate thread on this forum.

And for sake of long run time and less voltage drop on higher modes I would recomend 6 cell battery pack.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Sorry everyone, the Ledil Anna wont fit. Too small. BT70 optic diameter is 45.5mm and the Retaining ring inner diameter is 43.2mm. Anna is only 40mm. Height is the same.


:sad:

Yeah, I figured as such. The BT70 optics were likely custom ordered. Sure would be nice though if we had the option to order a custom optic. Would be nice to have more of a narrow beam pattern but really for the bars the current stock optic is probably a good choice. BT70 might be too heavy for the helmet but "Whoa", if it wasn't too heavy and a more narrow field optic were available it would make a killer helmet light.

tig, can you weigh the BT40 ( lamp only )? I just want to know if it might be too heavy for the helmet. If you could compare to a SSX3 or XT40 that would be great.


----------



## Mountainking7 (Nov 8, 2014)

Thanks cat-man-do. I guess it will wait then until a better pack comes along! Or I can get the full set on a bargain or something!


----------



## kwarwick (Jun 12, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Sorry everyone, the Ledil Anna wont fit. Too small. BT70 optic diameter is 45.5mm and the Retaining ring inner diameter is 43.2mm. Anna is only 40mm. Height is the same.
> 
> Odd though because emitter PCB is is 40mm. Also the legs on the optics are on the outer edges, not in the middle.


Darn! I guess that puts a bit of a kink in any ideas I had of modding this light with standard 7up boards. Something like 7 x XP-L high intensity LED was what thinking of.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

All that is written below - my personal opinion.

I did not like the wide optics. Wide enough, but it is dangerous to ride fast. It does not fit me ( So, set the "head only" - is justified.
Low mode in this light - outstanding. This is probably one of the nicest surprises. It almost does not blind oncoming even if the headlight does not drop down!
Next, a second mode. It's a blast! Such a leap after the first! The second mode is enough for a leisurely ride. In almost at all conditions.
The third mode - working. You can even go almost fast. The fourth mode is necessary in order to kill the battery) It is better than third - not much a visually. Turn it on only when absolutely terrible - on the slopes.
Light at the set "head only" - Best Celler.
But I already want another)


----------



## Fourtrax (Mar 17, 2013)

tigris99 said:


> The pack protection matter: Had to have been just voltage sag under high load, was not able to trip the stock pack with over loading the current draw.


Anyone else have pack protection issues with the full kit battery? Friend of mine has the full kit and the light will shut off after 10-15 seconds on Turbo with a fully charged pack (at least the charger thinks it is fully charged). Have to unplug and re-plug in the light to get it to turn back on. No issues with all of the other modes.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Actually this was discussed early in the thread. I posted not to run on turbo right after charging because the driver will spike above 5A and trip the over current protection. Its an inherent issue of buck drivers to spike the current up to 500mA above where the driver is set. Unless your dealing with high end drivers. This light runs right near the limit, 4.8A draw from the pack. The reason none of the other lights do it is because the spike is never more than just over 3A and pack protection trips at 5A.


----------



## noobbiker888 (Jul 12, 2015)

Vancbiker,
Do you have the gopro style mount for the BT70 yet? I bought one from best buy but the screw was way too big for the BT70. Anyone else have my problem of trying to find a gopro-style mount/adapter for the BT70 that can be used with a gopro-style handlebar mount.


----------



## kwarwick (Jun 12, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Actually this was discussed early in the thread. I posted not to run on turbo right after charging because the driver will spike above 5A and trip the over current protection. Its an inherent issue of buck drivers to spike the current up to 500mA above where the driver is set. Unless your dealing with high end drivers. This light runs right near the limit, 4.8A draw from the pack. The reason none of the other lights do it is because the spike is never more than just over 3A and pack protection trips at 5A.


Have we confirmed the BT70 uses a buck driver? Looking at the photos it seemed like the 7 LEDs are wired in series, and if so they would have to use a boost driver to get the necessary 21v or so from a 2S battery pack.


----------



## Fourtrax (Mar 17, 2013)

tigris99 said:


> Actually this was discussed early in the thread. I posted not to run on turbo right after charging because the driver will spike above 5A and trip the over current protection. Its an inherent issue of buck drivers to spike the current up to 500mA above where the driver is set. Unless your dealing with high end drivers. This light runs right near the limit, 4.8A draw from the pack. The reason none of the other lights do it is because the spike is never more than just over 3A and pack protection trips at 5A.


Thanks for the info. Didn't put the 2 and 2 together when I went back thru the thread. I'll have him try Turbo after the battery has discharged some.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I confirmed it as a buck driver and their wired in parallel etc. I checked all that right when I got it (discussed towards begining of the thread)


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

noobbiker888 said:


> Vancbiker,
> Do you have the gopro style mount for the BT70 yet? I bought one from best buy but the screw was way too big for the BT70. Anyone else have my problem of trying to find a gopro-style mount/adapter for the BT70 that can be used with a gopro-style handlebar mount.


I've got a test one out right now. Waiting on some feedback about fit and function.


----------



## kwarwick (Jun 12, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> I confirmed it as a buck driver and their wired in parallel etc. I checked all that right when I got it (discussed towards begining of the thread)


So then it sounds like this is really an issue of poor engineering on the part of Nitefighter. It seem they haven't done their homework and have incorrectly set over-current threshold for the protection circuit in the battery pack they supply with the BT70... two of us have already encountered this problem so one wonders if more of them will do this if tested the same way?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

well 3 of us  

Its not a "design flaw" as its just the same protection circuit I see in about every pack I have opened. They just didnt take into account the spikes from the driver that can happen and use a higher threshold protection pcb.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> well 3 of us
> 
> Its not a "design flaw" as its just the same protection circuit I see in about every pack I have opened. They just didnt take into account the spikes from the driver that can happen and use a higher threshold protection pcb.


I know this sounds odd but I consider this something positive. It means the lamp is designed to provide more current but the battery protection is cutting the current. The simple fix is change the board on the battery to one that provides more current. Of course that's not the best solution. The best solution is to buy just a lamp head and buy a 6-cell battery somewhere else. Just make sure you know the specs on the next battery.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Or built it yourself with 7A balancing PCM as I've described in:
http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night...terproof-bicycle-battery-packs-gb-982688.html


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ledoman, you forget most people here dont want to use a soldering iron near a li-ion battery  I know I "pucker up" when I change a connector on a protection PCB on a live pack. Heck I dug out some plastic tools for replacing cell phone screens for doing it too, only metal that comes near it is the tip of the iron, and only because I have to lol.

But for the brave ones, CHECK OUT THAT THREAD. do the power bank project and have a 6 cell panasonic pack for 20 minutes worth of work and around $30 usd


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

No I'm not, that's why I've used word "OR" at first place. So I've just pointed out to the good and cheaper alternative solution.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Well we did for get another solution; Buy one of those 4-cell holders and use non-protected cells. Of course if the cell holder uses it's own protection I have no idea if that would produce the same result. Of course if it did you could remove the protection and wire direct. Not the safest thing to do but it would work. The cheapest non-DIY method would be to order a Hunk Lee 6-cell battery. The slightly more expensive non-DIY alternative would be to see if you can buy a 6-cell *Xeccon battery. ( *if in stock )


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Cat, technicaly speaking those holders are not apropriate for higher currents. There is to much resistance in the springs, wires and protection circuit. Also the wires are way to thin. Regardless of cell quality you would experience noticeably voltage drop. For higher currents (>3A) I would recommend only welded/soldered packs with at least 20AWG wires and low resistance PCMs (if any at all). Not to speak about connectors. Any other high resitance solution would make some sort of problems (premature fall back, cut off, low voltage indication, etc...).

I'm not shure even Hunk's battery packs are apropriate for >5A. Would need to know what PCM he is actualy using in each pack. Same could be true for any other ready to use protected packs. Mostly they are on low current (ie. cheap) side. Of course there are (and should be) some better ones supporting their high power lights (Lupine comes in my mind with their low resistance wires and better connectors) and very few of them declares constant and spike max. current.

All above is meant to be aware with high current situations where losses (resulting in voltage drop) are exponetial to the current rise. And this is not aimed to Cat directly but to the whole community. Things are getting complicated if you look them closer. As long you are on the relatively low power side things are usable as they are. When you go higher, then....


----------



## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Li-PO might be handy here, in hardcase with ESC/LVA/LVC or any kind of working protection. The only thing that remains is to diy an adapter to fit Li-Po connectors.

Another solution might be to add a larger filtering capacitor to the driver to prevent spiking but that involves some delicate soldering thou.

My $0.2


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Well yeah...( @ ledoman )....I don't like holders myself just for the sake of using friction contacts. 
Now about standard 6-cell batteries; I figured that most are likely using some kind of 7A poly fuse circuit, 4-cells likely 5A. Like I said, you can always ask before buying.

I think the Nitefighter people should of provided 6-cell batteries with the BT70 but I already said that a while back.


----------



## mtbiker493 (Aug 29, 2006)

I think my BT70 may have died completely after only 3 rides. At first it was shutting down when switched to Turbo and would turn back on after unplugging. Now it will not come on at all, no matter what battery pack I try (and I have 4). It flickers for a brief moment but that's it. Gear best said they will send me a new kit, but the cost is $45.00.
On a side note, after removing the back cover, I discovered that the negative battery lead was hanging by a thread. Re-soldering it did not solve the problem so apparently the damage is done.


----------



## sluglike (Jun 8, 2015)

I've been using my BT70 with the 6 cell pack that came with my Trustfire D-014. I haven't had any issues with it shutting down when started on Turbo mode in the 15 or so outings that I've used it on.

I have a feeling that a Hunk Lee 6-cell pack would do the trick.



Cat-man-do said:


> .
> 
> I think the Nitefighter people should of provided 6-cell batteries with the BT70 but I already said that a while back.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

mtbiker493 said:


> I think my BT70 may have died completely after only 3 rides. At first it was shutting down when switched to Turbo and would turn back on after unplugging. Now it will not come on at all, no matter what battery pack I try (and I have 4). It flickers for a brief moment but that's it. Gear best said they will send me a new kit, but the cost is $45.00.
> On a side note, after removing the back cover, I discovered that the negative battery lead was hanging by a thread. Re-soldering it did not solve the problem so apparently the damage is done.


Well I guess eventually someone is going to get a bad one, it happens. If it flickers that's not good. If you know that the battery works than you "should" only need the lamp head. That should be less than $45..BUT..you shouldn't have to pay anything if the product was faulty. Too bad your first post had to be about your new lamp that didn't work right.


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

mtbiker493 said:


> On a side note, after removing the back cover, I discovered that the negative battery lead was hanging by a thread. Re-soldering it did not solve the problem so apparently the damage is done.


There's good old rule: any Chinese-made device (bike lights are no exception) should be opened and inspected prior to use. Typically, it prevents serious problems caused by bad assembly and quality control...


----------



## Psycho1 (Aug 26, 2014)

Does anyone have a discount code? In the lady couple days it went from just under 90 to 108 now.


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

-Archie- said:


> There's good old rule: any Chinese-made device (bike lights are no exception) should be opened and inspected prior to use. Typically, it prevents serious problems caused by bad assembly and quality control...


+1

Seeing the poor assembly quality of the Chinese lights I've opened up, I would not go out on a ride with one until going through it.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

there is no more discount codes at the moment. Just wait a little bit if $10 is a big deal, theyll drop the price again at some point (really wish they would stop changing the prices so often...)


----------



## Psycho1 (Aug 26, 2014)

Yeah they changed the price by $20 since the weekend.. I'll keep checking, Thank-you


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Psycho1 said:


> Yeah they changed the price by $20 since the weekend.. I'll keep checking, Thank-you


If there is no more "group buy" discount I'd recommend just going to their customer service link and explain where you saw the product ( here on MTBR ) and then requesting the previous price. If you do this be POLITE. RUDENESS is never rewarded with the Chinese. They will either say yes or no but it doesn't hurt to ask.


----------



## mentawais (Feb 16, 2005)

Can it solve "turbo mode issues"?Is it Cable conector compatible to BT70´s
8.4V 3900mAh 6 x 18650 Portable Rechargeable Water - resistant Battery Pack -m from GB
-


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

A cheap pack isn't going to run the light well at all. Going to need a decent 6 cell, hunk lee on eBay has packs at a good price that will work well.


----------



## mentawais (Feb 16, 2005)

This batery 6cells pack from Hunk Lee could be the good one?A Panasonic NCR18650 7.4V 9300mAh Li-ion battery 6*3100mAh cells to 2S3P W/PCM


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

mentawais said:


> View attachment 1005771
> This batery 6cells pack from Hunk Lee could be the good one?A Panasonic NCR18650 7.4V 9300mAh Li-ion battery 6*3100mAh cells to 2S3P W/PCM


Yes, but you want to confirm that you get the standard plug and that the PCB protection will allow at least 7A output. The photo you supplied shows the 6-cell with Solarstorm plug ( threaded ). You can ask Hunk Lee a question by using his website. Now as long as you have a battery bag that will work with the battery than you're set.


----------



## mentawais (Feb 16, 2005)

May you know Hunk lee website cause I didn´t had any sucess in google search for Hunk Lee website.regards


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

PVC Tube, Li-ion 1S 3.7V items in A-OK battery store on eBay! 
Please tell us back what PCM he is using.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Earlier today I compared the price of the Hunk Lee 7800mAh 6-cell with the same 6-cell battery from Xeccon ( MTBrevolution ) using the same cells. The Xeccon was $2.50 more. Looks like the HL's are not as good of a bargain as they used to be. The Xeccon batteries comes with a nice pouch ( or hard case...your choice ) nice looking wires/connectors and can be shipped from USA if they have the one you want in stock... The Hunk Lee's have no pouch and use connectors that are less than ideal and are shipped from China...What would you choose? If it were me, for $2.50 plus the extra shipping cost I'd buy the Xeccon battery without question and have it in 3 days ( if in stock ). 

All things considered; If I were to buy a BT70 ( lamp only ) and buy a battery to go with it I'd go with the Xeccon 7800mAh 6-cell battery. Now if they had none it stock I would find out how long I would have to wait. Either way it will take the BT70 likely a month to reach you in the USA so if you have to wait a couple weeks for the battery from MTBrevolution to reach you I'd still get the battery before the lamp ( most likely ).

I'm not knocking Hunk Lee. He will build a battery using the cells you want. I just wish he used better connectors. Oh, almost forgot you need to request a longer connection wire if you want it longer. Standard HL wires are not that long.


----------



## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

Cat-man-do said:


> Earlier today I compared the price of the Hunk Lee 7800mAh 6-cell with the same 6-cell battery from Xeccon ( MTBrevolution ) using the same cells. The Xeccon was $2.50 more. Looks like the HL's are not as good of a bargain as they used to be. The Xeccon batteries comes with a nice pouch ( or hard case...your choice ) nice looking wires/connectors and can be shipped from USA if they have the one you want in stock... The Hunk Lee's have no pouch and use connectors that are less than ideal and are shipped from China...What would you choose? If it were me, for $2.50 plus the extra shipping cost I'd buy the Xeccon battery without question and have it in 3 days ( if in stock ).
> 
> All things considered; If I were to buy a BT70 ( lamp only ) and buy a battery to go with it I'd go with the Xeccon 7800mAh 6-cell battery. Now if they had none it stock I would find out how long I would have to wait. Either way it will take the BT70 likely a month to reach you in the USA so if you have to wait a couple weeks for the battery from MTBrevolution to reach you I'd still get the battery before the lamp ( most likely ).
> 
> I'm not knocking Hunk Lee. He will build a battery using the cells you want. I just wish he used better connectors. Oh, almost forgot you need to request a longer connection wire if you want it longer. Standard HL wires are not that long.


He will use a different connector if you want as well.


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

Mine came in today. I was surprised, as I only ordered it like a week ago. Looks awesome, but they sent me the wrong charger. Anybody else have that problem? 

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk


----------



## sluglike (Jun 8, 2015)

dirtdawg21892 said:


> Mine came in today. I was surprised, as I only ordered it like a week ago. Looks awesome, but they sent me the wrong charger. Anybody else have that problem?


That sucks. Do you have a charger that will work with that battery pack? What's different about the charger they sent you vs the one you were expecting?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I saw another post somewhere about people here in the states getting RU charger and vise versa. Seems nitefighter forgot to mark the boxes (or marked them incorrectly)


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

dirtdawg21892 said:


> Mine came in today. I was surprised, as I only ordered it like a week ago. Looks awesome, but they sent me the wrong charger. Anybody else have that problem?
> 
> Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk


Contact customer service and tell them what happened. They will send you a replacement. Then go to ebay and buy a cheap compatible charger that is shipped from the USA. I figure it shouldn't cost more than $6 plus shipping. Gearbest will send you another charger. In the mean time you shouldn't have to wait a month before using your lamp. Not to mention that it doesn't hurt to have a back up charger. Here's another good option


----------



## Desert Runner (Apr 30, 2015)

I actually received the wrong charger to. And what Gearbest is doing is sending out adapters from the euro plug to the US plug.You can also buy these at most electronic shops is what I did Works fine...


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Desert Runner said:


> I actually received the wrong charger to. And *what Gearbest is doing is sending out adapters from the euro plug to the US plug.*You can also buy these at most electronic shops is what I did Works fine...


Yeah, you used to be able to buy simple stuff for electronics just by visiting the local Radio Shack. Sadly with Radio Shack going out of business ( for 95% of their stores ), you have to look else where for stuff like this now.

On the other hand you can buy a Euro adapter almost anywhere on the web but if you're going to do that you might as well just buy another charger as there is really not that much difference in cost. Believe me, when it comes to electronic accessories it pays to have more than one of any one thing. 

....typical stuff I have back-ups for; Chargers, O-rings, plastic O-ring mounts, torches, drop-ins, extension cords, battery packs and separate cells.


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

Alright, I will send them an email. Thanks guys!


----------



## StillAlive (Jul 22, 2015)

waiting for the deal price ... 36.97 $ now... :\


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

id say thats a pretty good price being the price of the other 2 much smaller nitefighter lights lights. They only usually drop the price down at first because the quantity of orders that come through shortly after they start selling them and review is done. After that price usually goes back up a bit and stays there.


----------



## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

You could always email GearBest, tell them you are being referred from the MTBR review thread and request a coupon code now that the price has gone up. There's a good chance they'll give you one.

-Garry


----------



## mentawais (Feb 16, 2005)

*Good quality!!!*

Nice lights I didn't had any issues in the turbo mode last night first ride ,I thinkin termal sink could be a issue maybe,i bought a battery pack to replace my solar storm but it is a close battery pack plus not compative to solar storm conector


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Solarstorm has their own style of connectors, they uses ones with a threaded cap. The solarstorm case needs modified to be decent anyway. Im hoping that battery pack you bought isnt that cheap one from gearbest, could see some issues with it as shown in ledomans review and runtime for B70 is going to be very short.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

mentawais said:


>


I can see springs are already brownish color instead of golden. This means they have been hot and they lost their strength. Have you make some sort of short or there was to high current for them?


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

*Finned GoPro adapter for BT70 available now*

I've now got stock on finned adapters for the BT70 for those users that would like some additional heat management. Adds ~3 square inches of surface area. PM or e-mail via my website link in my sig. for info.


----------



## mentawais (Feb 16, 2005)

*broke heart*

I catched a few rain drop in my last ride my BT70 isn't working anymore:madmax:


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

The only way rain would have gotten into the head and caused damage is if oring wasn't reinstalled correctly and it was more than "a few rain drops". Mine has been out in alot of rain and wetness without issue.


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

mentawais said:


> I catched a few rain drop in my last ride my BT70 isn't working anymore:madmax:


Have you disassembled & checked it prior to use, or started using right out of the box?


----------



## mentawais (Feb 16, 2005)

tigris99 said:


> The only way rain would have gotten into the head and caused damage is if oring wasn't reinstalled correctly and it was more than "a few rain drops". Mine has been out in alot of rain and wetness without issue.


You are right the rear button had moved then allowed water in ,I put the headlight in the sun lights to try dry up ,right now it just give a simple blink and turn off


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

I received my BT70 Tuesday. Light head only. Took about 2 months b/c they were out of stock I guess.

Here's my ?'s.

Initially, the light head wouldn't turn on right out of the box. The green light in the back came on but when I pressed it nothing. Green light did stay on. I tried all my batteries, same thing. After a while and playing w/ it, it came on. Phew. 

After taking a better look, it look like there are 3 small screws that hold the face plate on. This seems to be missing 2 of those screws. Check the photo and see if U can see that. 

Should I email GB and ask them what to do. Will they actually respond. The light was only $31.

As far as the light itself, it looks good, feels like it's well built but quality control leaves a little to be desired. The light is bright. I have the older style (5 years old now) DiNotte XM-L3 dual. This is brighter by a bit on high and def brighter on turbo. Has somewhat of a hot spot but if still covers a lot of area. I'm guessing the high mode is about 1200 lumens and turbo is around 1500. Not bad for 31 bucks. However, on turbo it sucked the batteries dry pretty fast. I'm going to look into a 26650 pack.

Let me know what U all think I should do based on your experiences w/ GB.

Thx

MB

SORRY, CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO ATTACH PHOTO. LAME.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

There is no screws that hold anything on with these. The front and rear caps are threaded. Very confused as to what your talking about there.



A 26650 pack is going to do very little, only a little bit more capacity, as we discuss already, a 18650 6cell (2s3p 8.4v) will do much better. If you have packs being drained too fast its going to be due to your packs. The pack that comes in the kit version is 6800mah and lasts a well over an hour on turbo.

By the way, you have to use something like Photobucket to load pics here. Can't just attach them straight from your computer.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Tig, depends on what mb323323 used for indication of depletion. If it was status leds, there are many reasons for that. Old/bad battery, low discharge curve, big voltage drop due to bad connectors and/or to thin wires. 26650 cells has tipicaly higher voltage curve than 18650 so this might actualy help a bit triggering status led later on. Of course if all other things are apropriate.....


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ya true, I didn't think of what he was using for reference. Being how it was worded I just assumed weak battery pack unable to carry the load for long so light would give low voltage warning quickly.

The voltage curve side of 26650 cells is what has me considering making a 2 cell pack for helmet use from them. I just started checking into them about a week ago so not fully up to speed on them vs 18650 yet. Only thing ive really looked at was the voltage curves and discharge capabilities vs 18650.

@mb323323:
These lights pull just under 5A on turbo, more than any other bike light ive seen or looked at so far by alot. Even a 2s2p Panasonic pack has issues running it on turbo more than an hour. If you plan on using turbo alot I would figure u need 5000mah capacity in the pack per hour you want to ride between charges.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

I'm not keepeng in touch with current capacities of 26650. If you are looking more for a voltage curves then 26650 might be better. Capacity wise more 18650 cells could be better nowadays. I would compare price, weight, capacity and voltage curves. When looking voltage curves compare aproximately same weights. For example 2x18650 (two in parallel) with 26650 ie. 0.5A curve for 18650 with 1A curve for 26650.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ya that's what ive been doing. Current capacities for cells that are easily available is 4000mah - 4200mah for quality cells. So gain a little capacity, but gain a much better voltage curve.


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

Thx yes they were older batteries (DiNotte about 4 years old) and a newer cheapo 4 cell supposedly 6400 mah but we all know the real deal there. The newer actually did the best but still this light blew thru that in 15 min.

My question is whether a 6 cell 18650 6k mah is any different than a 4 cell w/ the same mah rating.

I was looking at this as well. Though it says 8k, probably realistically 5k. Just a guess.

8.4V 8000mAh 26650 Rechargeable Li - ion Battery Pack-15.84 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com

EDIT: Or a 4 cell same mah rating 26650 pack. Sorry.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

6 cell pack vs. 4 cell pack of same capacity is not the same. You stress 4 cells more than 6 and voltage drop would be higher. Of course it depends on aplication wether this is important or not. Shurely it is with higher current load (tipicaly used in multi led lights and/or regulated drivers) and voltage level indicators (status leds) can show low capacity to soon as only thing they can recognize is voltage level not the amount of energy.

If you are talking about 6x 18650 vs. 4x 26650 then situation can be different as above since the 26500 cells maintain less voltage drop. Still you should compare energy/weight ratio if you want to be more accurate.


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

So I took my light for the first "real" ride since I got it, and it did great - for about an hour. 
The trouble started when I kicked it into turbo for a fast trail. After less than 10 minutes, it cut out with no warning. The indicator light was still green, and I was moving pretty quick the whole time it was on high (although it was a hot night, so overheating isn't out of the question) 
I assumed that it had reached a certain temperature and kicked into some protection mode, but even after returning to ambient temperature, it refused to turn back on. 
When I got home I plugged another lamp head into my battery pack just to isolate the problem, and sure enough it fired right up and indicated a full charge. 

TLDR: I think my lamp head overheated and it won't turn back on. 

Anybody else have a problem like this or have any idea what may be up? Should I contact GB about a warranty? 
As I said, this was the first time I used it for more than 10 minutes at a time. 
Thanks 

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

After you unplugged the battery pack did you plug it back into the light head (or another battery into the bt70 lighthead)??

We all have ran into the turbo issue. Its the protection circuit on the battery from what we've seen. Light head spikes above the 5A limit of the circuit and trips it.

Overheating doesn't shut the light off, that's done by thermal step down.

I would check what I asked first before worrying that the lighthead is dead. When that protection trips the indicator leds for some reason are unaffected, not sure why but the battery pack is the only cause ive been able to figure out because I can't repeat it on an unprotected pack.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

If it doesn't work with other battery or with current one (if that is ok with another light) then it might be also something wrong with the wires. I've seen sometimes the solder joints are very bad or even at led pcb the wire was loose or desoldered because of the heat. In one case led has deslodered a bit, just to make short. Luckily it was XM-L2 which stands higher temperatures than older XM-L and was still working when reflowed again.

So I would inspect internals and if you have DMM, I would (carefuly!) check voltage on the wires that comes to the driver so you can see if the cabling is OK.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

dirtdawg21892 said:


> So I took my light for the first "real" ride since I got it, and it did great - for about an hour.
> The trouble started when I kicked it into turbo for a fast trail. After less than 10 minutes, it cut out with no warning. The indicator light was still green, and I was moving pretty quick the whole time it was on high (although it was a hot night, so overheating isn't out of the question)
> I assumed that it had reached a certain temperature and kicked into some protection mode, but even after returning to ambient temperature, it refused to turn back on.
> When I got home I plugged another lamp head into my battery pack just to isolate the problem, and sure enough it fired right up and indicated a full charge.
> ...


I was going to comment on this but I see tigris beat me to it. Likely the battery is tripping it's own protection circuit. I would highly recommend using a good 6-cell battery or a good sized hobby Li-po battery. The other option you might try ( if you have two equal capacity 4-cells ) is to use a "Y" connector and use two batteries in parallel. Not sure who sells the proper Y- connector but it's not the same as the one designed to run two lamps with one battery.

Next ride you go on bring two batteries along if you have them. Then when the first one bugs out immediately switch to the other battery. If the lamp comes back on it's not the lamp. If the lamp over-heats it should just power down to medium ( or low? ).

Anyway, going forward I think someone needs to contact Nitefighter and inform them of this issue as it is a potential safety hazard. It's one thing to have the lamp power down but it's a completely different issue if the battery cuts off all power to the lamp unexpectedly leaving you in total darkness ( if only using one lamp ). If the battery supplied by Nitefighter is doing this the problem needs to be addressed and/or recalled by Nitefighter.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Looks like I'm about to eat some of my own words. I know I said I wasn't going to buy one but with all the talk about bad batteries and cutoff problems I just have to have one of these to ...... with. 

I won't be getting the complete set though, just the lamp head. When I get it I'll test it using a couple types of batteries. Heck, for $36.97 ( less than a tank of gas ) I should have a bit of fun with it even if I don't end up using it very much. Well, once again my curiosity has gotten the best of me. Thank God these things don't cost hundreds.


----------



## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Cat-man-do said:


> Well, once again my curiosity has gotten the best of me. Thank God these things don't cost hundreds.


Like I did and bought two  They were $29 each but still $37 is a great value.


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

tigris99 said:


> After you unplugged the battery pack did you plug it back into the light head (or another battery into the bt70 lighthead)??
> 
> We all have ran into the turbo issue. Its the protection circuit on the battery from what we've seen. Light head spikes above the 5A limit of the circuit and trips it.
> 
> ...


Yes, I tried both. Battery is fine, but the light head won't turn on.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I would contact gearbest or nitefighter for warranty, that's a new issue to have. I would also unscrew the rear cover make sure a wire didn't come loose or something, joys of budget Chinese lights, quality control is sometimes lacking badly.


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

Ok, I got it. Basically the wires that connect the switch board to the driver board were squished against something, and when it got hot the insulation melted and caused a short. (see discoloration on red wires) 









Easy fix, but I was pretty pissed when the light cut out while bombing through a trail at cruising speed. I recommend everyone check the wire placement before using it in any situation where the light is critical.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

MK96 said:


> Like I did and bought two  They were $29 each but still $37 is a great value.


So MK, what's your take on these lamps. (?) Are you pleased with the output / beam pattern? Are you getting problems with thermal drop-downs ? Since you have two does that mean you've tried using one on the helmet ? ( if so how did that work? )

Hopefully I won't have to wait a month before the thing ships ( like I did with my last order from Gearbest ). I figure the rush to buy should be over so hopefully they have some in stock.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

ledoman said:


> If it doesn't work with other battery or with current one (if that is ok with another light) then it might be also something wrong with the wires. I've seen sometimes the solder joints are very bad or even at led pcb the wire was loose or desoldered because of the heat. In one case led has deslodered a bit, just to make short. Luckily it was XM-L2 which stands higher temperatures than older XM-L and was still working when reflowed again.
> 
> So I would inspect internals and if you have DMM, I would (carefuly!) check voltage on the wires that comes to the driver so you can see if the cabling is OK.


Once again, the wiring issue as I've suggested. Nice to hear you could fixed it.


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

Thanks, I apreciate the guidance.
Other than the wiring issue, I love this light. Thanks to all who contributed to the thread.


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

dirtdawg21892 said:


> .....I recommend everyone check the wire placement before using it in any situation where the light is critical.


I'd add some hot glue or neutral cure silicone to the inductor and the electrolytic capacitor too if they don't already have some on them. I've seen the legs of the inductor break due to vibration on two MS lights after several months of use.


----------



## Mountainking7 (Nov 8, 2014)

The more I read about those yindings and nitefighters the more I think the Fenix BC30 I bought is a total bargain....


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Not really, its more these are less than $30, you get what you pay for, you want cheap, expect to actually have to make sure everything is good to go before use. Can't expect $100 quality in a $25 light . (would be nice and nitefighter/yinding is better than most.)


----------



## .40AET (Jun 7, 2007)

Has anyone found a quality 6 cell battery to power this light? No $12 Chinese junk please. 

Thanks 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ya action-led and xeccon both have them. The lights come with the standard connector most these lights use.


----------



## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

dirtdawg21892 said:


> Ok, I got it. Basically the wires that connect the switch board to the driver board were squished against something, and when it got hot the insulation melted and caused a short. (see discoloration on red wires)
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The green board that is in your finger, is that where the switch is mounted or is that the led board?. I haven't seen too many internal pictures of this light. I always thought that there was solid wall behind the led plate. Are the leds mounted on third board which isn't shown?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

The picture is from the back not the front, the rear cap screws off and exposes the driver. What's in his hand is the switches/indicator leds. The emitter board is sitting on a solid wall for the case on the front. Pics early in the thread iirc show the views from front and back of case open.


----------



## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

Ok I get it now. I saw picture of the lens removed, but I don't think there's a picture of the led board lifted up to show what's behind it.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

No picture, its in what I typed when it was brought up. Taking tons of pictures and trying to load them here gets aggravating after a while so I try to stick to the important stuff. Plus trying to fully tear this light down is a BIATCH lol.


----------



## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

I ordered two but each one came alone and was shipped on different date. I didn't look at the internals and so far I didn't notice thermal drop-downs. I am arranging my time to look at the inside.

Oh I ordered two to be used on the helmet and the bars or just a dual setup on the bars. I plan adding a remote switch for the mode change and already have PTT microphone switches to use for this intent.

To the output - oh heaps of flood light coming from the small body. I got a weight savings as a bonus. The BT70 is cheaper than the 7-up XM-L(2) now. No "rose" pattern that I notice using my older 7-ups with reflectors. I didn't compare the output of 7-up XM-L(2) with the BT70 side to side but my estimation is that they might be very close. Overall the pattern is nice. More throw than BT40S, heaps of flood that I need during the upcoming season in forests. The helmet and bars combo works well unless you combine modes with bigger output difference. The mode changing on the helmet light is uncomfortable with the switch and for a frequent use this has to be modded. Very happy with the light overall.



Cat-man-do said:


> So MK, what's your take on these lamps. (?) Are you pleased with the output / beam pattern? Are you getting problems with thermal drop-downs ? Since you have two does that mean you've tried using one on the helmet ? ( if so how did that work? )
> 
> Hopefully I won't have to wait a month before the thing ships ( like I did with my last order from Gearbest ). I figure the rush to buy should be over so hopefully they have some in stock.


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

varider said:


> The green board that is in your finger, is that where the switch is mounted or is that the led board?. I haven't seen too many internal pictures of this light. I always thought that there was solid wall behind the led plate. Are the leds mounted on third board which isn't shown?


Yes, this is the switch board. I opened the lamp from the back. indeed there is a solid wall behind the led board. so yes, 3 PCB's total inside the lamp head.


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

Which of these cheap batteries you all think might work best. Basically there is a 6 cell 26650 and an 8 cell 18650 or a 10 cell 18650. Also, I read somewhere that some of these sellers use filler batteries that aren't even hooked up and they are really 4 cell batteries. Curious on your thoughts. Thx.

Aliexpress.com : Buy 8.4V 36000mAh 6* 26650 Rechargeable Battery Pack Bicycle Light Accessories For LED Bicycle Lights from Reliable light powder suppliers on Outdoor convenience store | Alibaba Group

Aliexpress.com : Buy 12x18650 8.4V 16000mAh Rechargeable Li ion Battery Pack for Bicycle Light With Pouch from Reliable battery operated shower light suppliers on Outdoor convenience store | Alibaba Group

Aliexpress.com : Buy 8.4V Max 12000mAh 8x18650 Battery pack For 8.4V LED Bicycle Light With Pouch from Reliable bicycle spoke led lights suppliers on Outdoor convenience store | Alibaba Group


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

I wouldn't trust any based on description except the number of cells as you can count them. Regarding capacity you can easily divide their numbers with at least 2 or 3. You can't say which one would be better. They are all pretty bad. You can't get quality for that price. 

If it was me, I wouldn't buy any of those.

PS. If they can tell you the correct weight this might tell you something.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

@MK96; Thanks for the feedback. 

@MB323323; If you're going to go Chinese with the battery I'd order a Hunk Lee 6-cell. Just make sure the PCB protection will allow a 10A output current. Not that you'll need 10A but doesn't hurt have a little extra. After that I'd ask for a little heavier duty connector wire just to be safe. All these things you should be able to request before buying. Whether they can be provided for is another. Of course if it were me I'd just buy a good 6-cell from a reliable source. ~~~

Found out last night that my BT70 has shipped. Looks like I was right, they had them in stock. Should have it in 18 days. I have a 6600mAh 6-cell Xeccon ( hard-shell ) battery that was given me over a year ago that I've never used so it will be interesting to see how well it will work with the BT70.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

mb323323 said:


> Which of these cheap batteries you all think might work best. Basically there is a 6 cell 26650 and an 8 cell 18650 or a 10 cell 18650. Also, I read somewhere that some of these sellers use filler batteries that aren't even hooked up and they are really 4 cell batteries. Curious on your thoughts. Thx.
> 
> Aliexpress.com : Buy 8.4V 36000mAh 6* 26650 Rechargeable Battery Pack Bicycle Light Accessories For LED Bicycle Lights from Reliable light powder suppliers on Outdoor convenience store | Alibaba Group
> 
> ...


As expressed earlier in this thread, go with brand name packs. Hunk lee, xeccon, action-led. None of those will hold up to the bt70. The kit comes with Panasonic cells because of this reason.


----------



## kwarwick (Jun 12, 2004)

I'm very impressed with the design and quality of the BT70, but one thing I find poorly thought out is the cable exit point at the back of the handlebar mount.

I don't know if my sample is worse than others, but I find it almost impossible to get the cable out of the way of the o-ring attachment point. The problem is they used such a heavy gauge wiring that it is almost impossible to bend it enough to get out of the way. I would also be concerned that bending it over and over at this point will eventually crack the sheathing, especially if you ride in cold weather. 

One solution I can see would be to mod the cable channel in the handlebar bracket to allow the cable to exit off to the side. Otherwise I could use my favorite Hope handlebar bracket, but then the grommet/strain relief for the cable seems like it needs to be replaced to keep it waterproof.

Anyone else come up with a solution?


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

I don't have BT70, but my common method of similar light's modification is, to replace the mount with more robust one, and (if necessary) replace strain relief with better & watertight one.


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

Thx all.

Cat, let us know how that battery works. I'd be interested how long it runs on turbo.

By the way, I used mine for the first time w/ a cheap battery (4 cell) and it didn't do too bad. As long as I didn't turn it on turbo it was fine. I ran it for about an hour on high and could have kept going. I turned on turbo tho before and it shut off completely. Had to recharge again so I just didn't use turbo.

The light head got pretty dang hot on high downhill but I'll have to wait and see how it works in Winter as it was 70+ still outside in evening.

MB


----------



## SubieTrader (Apr 7, 2011)

I'm looking to buy a light setup for my after work rides as they will start getting dark soon. After reading all of these pages and many others I've narrowed it down to the NiteFighter lights. I'm going to get a BT21 for my helmet but am undecided on the handlebar light. I ride mostly technical trails here in Colorado where more light is definitely better. I'm curious to hear thoughts on 1 BT70 centered on the bars vs 2 BT40s, centered or more likely offset left and right on the bars. I would probably also end up using these lights for early morning back country skiing when trying to get an early ascent (possibly only the BT21 to save weight though). Let me know what you think when you get a chance.


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

SubieTrader said:


> I'm curious to hear thoughts on 1 BT70 centered on the bars vs 2 BT40s, centered or more likely offset left and right on the bars.


IMHO, two less-powered lights with separate batteries are better than single powerful one: you have the redundancy in case of failure or flat battery, and configurable combined beam.


----------



## SubieTrader (Apr 7, 2011)

Thanks for your input Archie. One other question came to mind. If I wanted to use these for multinight rides when camping (think Moab, etc.) how would I be able to charge them, say off of a power brick (USB setup)? Is there an adapter I could buy?


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

SubieTrader said:


> I'm looking to buy a light setup for my after work rides as they will start getting dark soon. After reading all of these pages and many others I've narrowed it down to the NiteFighter lights. I'm going to get a BT21 for my helmet but am undecided on the handlebar light. I ride mostly technical trails here in Colorado where more light is definitely better. I'm curious to hear thoughts on 1 BT70 centered on the bars vs 2 BT40s, centered or more likely offset left and right on the bars. I would probably also end up using these lights for early morning back country skiing when trying to get an early ascent (possibly only the BT21 to save weight though). Let me know what you think when you get a chance.


I've tried two BT40S's on the bars, I wouldn't go that route. If you want to run two lamps on the bars one BT40S and one BT21 works okay. One for flood , one for throw.

I think the juries still out on the BT70. It puts out a lot of light but it gets really hot when on turbo. There's been some discussion on how long it can run on turbo before the lamp powers down. For your purposes I would take that into serious consideration. If you're riding in Co. you are going to be doing some long downhills. You need the lamp to maintain it's brightness on that long 45 minute or so descent. The other issue you need to consider is the battery. If you decide to buy a BT70 just buy the lamp head and buy a separate ( very good brand name ) 6-cell battery because you're going to need it. ( Note; I have a BT70 on order so more feedback on that when I get the lamp in. )

The last issue you need to consider is what to run on the helmet. Since you seem to be interested in lamps with neutral LED's you might want to take a serious look at the Gloworm XS. The XS can be fitted with all spot optics and is a proven favorite of many people ( no I don't own one ) ( Note: Gloworm lamps can be special ordered with neutral LED's ).

I don't ride the kind of stuff that you ride as I live a good ways from anything that classifies as a mountain. But if I did...beyond a doubt I'd want the best most reliable lamps I could get at a decent price.

Last but not least, you might want to take a good look at the "Amoeba" lights built by Scar. He can build you a 3-up that just might be what you're looking for. Not sure if he has neutral LED's but since he's the one that builds them I'm sure he could get you a nice set of 3- XM-L2's in a nice 3C tint. Matter of fact, I might be interested in one of those myself. Of course if the XP-L "High Intensity" emitter is available in 3C I'd be REALLY interested in one of those.

A couple more parting thoughts: Lately I've been contemplating on whether it is really necessary to use a "neutral LED lamp" on the helmet when using a neutral led lamp on the bars. At certain times of the year a regular cool white lamp on the helmet might work fine. Since the helmet lamp is designed to project farther from the bike ( when at speed ) the combo of neutral and Cool white light might actually work better in some situations. This of course is just an idea on my part. Since I have lots of lamps I'll be testing this out this theory out in the next couple weeks. The only reason I'm mentioning this is because before I had the neutral Solarstorm helmet lamps I was running the BT40S ( bars ) with a Solarstorm ( cool white ) XT40 on the helmet and for the most part it seemed to work well. More on that issue as I do more testing. One thing I do know is that I love a neutral lamp on the bars. That I have no questions about.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

You cant charge the batteries for any of these lights off USB/power bank. You need a charger or extra charged packs to last for a camping trip.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

SubieTrader said:


> Thanks for your input Archie. One other question came to mind. If I wanted to use these for multinight rides when camping (think Moab, etc.) how would I be able to charge them, say off of a power brick (USB setup)? Is there an adapter I could buy?


Like tigris said that's not going to work. If you're car camping you can charge your batteries using an inexpensive power inverter or just buy a cigarette plug adapter for your battery which is pretty much the same thing. An inverter will let you use your normal 110 volt charger in your car by plugging into your cigarette plug. This works with electronics that usually don't draw more than 10-25 watts of power.

Now if you are camping in the mountains without support you need to adapt another strategy for lamp use...( ie...smaller less powerful lamps, solar charger, dynamo..etc. Note, a large 4-cell battery is not going to charge well on a typical portable solar charger. Single 18650 cells ( or AA's ) on the other hand might be doable. )


----------



## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

Has anyone considered buying a bunch of tiny heat sinks like for a computer and thermal gluing a ring of them around the outside of the body? Maybe that could help with the over heating.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

JediMindTrixR4Kidz said:


> Has anyone considered buying a bunch of tiny heat sinks like for a computer and thermal gluing a ring of them around the outside of the body? Maybe that could help with the over heating.


I've heard of people doing that before but I'm sure it would add a funky look to the lamp. Of course if you know someone that is a machinist I'm betting you could get them to make you a really nice clamp on heat sink.

Of course if you are going to run a BT70 on the bars you can add an ( all aluminum ) vanc Go-pro adapter and mount that to the bars using an aluminum Go-pro bar mount. Doing that would add a bit more aluminum for sinking heat.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

All these lights get hot, turn them down when going slow. They are meant to run hot just not too hot. The finned gopro adapter with an aluminum gopro mount does alot more than heat sinks that will barely have any contact with the case.


----------



## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

Yeah I saw a pic of those metal adapters, that will probably be happening. I'll know better when I have the thing in front of me but I've got an idea for a ring of gold colored sinks going around the middle that might look cool on my black and gold bike. I'm looking online for these cool crystal shaped heat sinks my friend had back in the day too, they might look neat going in a ring around the lens. They, uh, maybe some elmers and glitter.


----------



## SubieTrader (Apr 7, 2011)

Thanks Cat and Tigris. Carrying large extra batteries is not ideal for real camping trips but I don't see another good option. I've considered the Anker 15,600 mAh Powercore dual usb 2.4A per outlet power banks (small for the juice, high quality batteries from my use of other Anker products, easy to have a second one ready to go) combined with two of the USB powered 1200LM 3 mode CREE LED lights from amazon. With only one LED per light that seems like it would be under powered compared to the 4 and 7 LED setups of the NiteFighter or alternatives. They get great reviews but I doubt that most of the reviews are from mountain bikers. Also they wouldn't be waterproof at the battery connection since it's USB. 

From what Cat said and what I've ready on the BT70 it seems that until they get the battery situation (6-cell) and the heat dissipation figured out I'll probably not go that route. Thanks again for your follow up.


----------



## windysurfer (Jul 11, 2015)

Can anyone recommend a 6 cell battery pack suitable for running this light ( a link or two would be very helpful) I had planned to run it with a solarstorm 4 cell battery pack and 4 3400 mAh batteries but would like a bit more run time if possible

cheers


----------



## windysurfer (Jul 11, 2015)

Can anyone recommend a 6 cell battery pack suitable to use with this light please ( a link would be great)

cheers


----------



## .40AET (Jun 7, 2007)

So I ordered a BT-70 and a BT-21 and selected Expedited Shipping for $4.50. Ordered on 8/23, ship confirmation on 8/27 arrived on 8/31. A well spent upgrade from free shipping. 

Good luck


----------



## thingswelike (May 16, 2006)

Just for balance - here in the UK i used free shipping. Ordered on the 17th arrived on the 28th - maybe I was lucky.


----------



## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

Hi everybody,

I have been messaging with Hunk Lee about potential batteries for this light and his packs have PCM's that can handle 7A current. Should work great with this light.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Everyone keeps missing what we keep posting regarding battery packs.



How many amps the PCB can handle is one part but not all of it. The light pulls between 4 an 5A.



Solarstorm case with loose cells wont work, itll burn that case up especially because the wires are so tiny. If it doesn't fry the case in a short time, the voltage drop caused by the case will be horrible, cutting run time short.



Buy the kit if you dont have battery packs (and NOT CHEAP CHINESE CRAP BATTERIES)



If you want more run time then you need you get a 6cell 8.4v pack FROM HUNK LEE, MTBREVOLUTION.COM(Xeccon), OR ACTIONLEDLIGHTS.COM



And to clarify a detail of how to determine run time:



1A = 1000mA

1000mah battery= 1A of power for one hour

So for every amp we post that a light draws 4.5amps, then a 4500mah battery pack will run it for 1 HR.


----------



## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> Everyone keeps missing what we keep posting regarding battery packs.
> 
> How many amps the PCB can handle is one part but not all of it. The light pulls between 4 an 5A.
> 
> ...


I am going with this one. Should give me plenty of run time, even on turbo!

A Sanyo Li ion 18650 7 4V 10400mah Battery Pack with PCM 8Cells to 2S4P w Plug | eBay


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Except the plug isn't the same as the one for the bt70, you have to contact them directly to get the correct plug on that pack. Not sure why he still uses those plugs, only one company of light uses them, all the quality lights besides solarstorm use magicshine style.





Connector will work but wont "lock" in so can come loose while riding.



Oh and you can get a 6 cell pack with same capacity and itll be almost 100g lighter and smaller, should be about the same price, just uses better cells. Not that the cells are bad that you linked, just a 6 cell Panasonic pack costs about the same, get the same capacity just better performance regarding voltage sag.

Except the connector issue, the rest is my "inner light geek" coming out so if it doesn't matter to you just ignore the rest beyond that connector issue


----------



## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> Except the plug isn't the same as the one for the bt70, you have to contact them directly to get the correct plug on that pack. Not sure why he still uses those plugs, only one company of light uses them, all the quality lights besides solarstorm use magicshine style.
> 
> Connector will work but wont "lock" in so can come loose while riding.
> 
> Oh and you can get a 6 cell pack with same capacity and itll be almost 100g lighter and smaller, should be about the same price, just uses better cells.


Hunk Lee will put whatever plug you want on it, just let him know. I purchased a 4 cell pack from him last year and he put the screw type connector for no extra charge.

I contemplated a 6 cell but I have an existing 8 cell bag that straps to the frame already. I'll trade the 2 cells of weight and a dollar more in cost for that extra run time 

6 cell panasonic 9300Mah $58.95
8 cell sanyo 10400Mah $59.95


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Oh I assumed he had the 6 cell Panasonic 10200mah pack (3400mah Panasonic cells).

I also thought it was a "special order" thing for the connector (ppl made it sound that way which is why I haven't gotten a pack from him).

Still not bad pricing for his packs if you have pouches already, especially for 8cell pack. I'll keep that in mind when I need a beastly brick pack.


----------



## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> Oh I assumed he had the 6 cell Panasonic 10200mah pack (3400mah Panasonic cells).
> 
> I also thought it was a "special order" thing for the connector (ppl made it sound that way which is why I haven't gotten a pack from him).
> 
> Still not bad pricing for his packs if you have pouches already, especially for 8cell pack. I'll keep that in mind when I need a beastly brick pack.


I went back and looked and he actually does have the 10200Mah 6 cell pack for $64.95. Tempting if I could find a cheap 6 cell bag. He also has a mammoth 13600Mah 8 cell Panasonic pack for $86.95 for the marathon night ride


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Dont go with an overly cheap bag, the same pack is at mtbrevolution(xeccon) for $75 with a really nice pouch (I have 2 pouches on the way from them). The cheap single strap pouches fail constantly and the battery bounces and smashes into the frame cause of being loose and no padding.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

.40AET said:


> So I ordered a BT-70 and a BT-21 and selected Expedited Shipping for $4.50. Ordered on 8/23, ship confirmation on 8/27 arrived on 8/31. A well spent upgrade from free shipping.
> 
> Good luck


*^^*...:shocked: You don't say! And to think mine shipped the same day as yours, I won't have mine for two more weeks and I live maybe 10 miles from you! :madman::incazzato: Frickin' catcrap! Would someone do me a favor and kick this ( my arse )> :ciappa: REAL HARD!...damn, next time I'll try the expedited shipping. BTW, how do you like the BT70?

*@mtrain;* I would of went with the 6-cell using the same cells ( Samsung 2600's ) but yeah, having a compatible pack holder is important. Since you have one for 8-cells I suppose that makes sense. I just need something that can handle the current. I don't need huge capacity because I only use the high modes for minutes at a time.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Cat I tried to tell you express via DHL is fast, you didn't believe me


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Cat I tried to tell you express via DHL is fast, you didn't believe me


Well I knew it would be faster but not as fast as ".40AET" said that he got his ( 3 days after being shipped ). THAT IS FRICKN' FAST!. I thought it might speed things up a bit but not like that. I mean the stuff is coming from the other side of the planet. Usually takes 3 days just to get something from UPS ground inside the USA.

Well one thing for certain, next time I order something from Gearbest I'll try the expedited shipping.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Well im starting a review for a cool hydropack for them this weekend, has a flexible solar panel on the back of it (detachable) for charging phones and such. Shipped out sunday night (my time) from them I got it this morning.


----------



## Swissam (Apr 8, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> OK need a blood transfusion after that....going out to path to take more beam shots.... OMG couldnt believe the mosquitoes!!!!!!!! I had some beam shots that had lines through the picture from them flying through the shot.
> 
> Cat, yes i forgot to get low beam comparison shots, but I did check the 2, BT70 is actually noticeably brighter on low but not by alot.
> 
> ...


Good God that's a lot of light. Must.Resist.Buying........waiting for Cats review. But this looks perfect for my night riding which has fast descents. 
Question. Two bt40's vs one bt70?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

2 bt40s isn't going to be any better except the bt70 is going to have more throw.



But fast descents doesn't mean you need a light this big, personally im yet to ride a trail you can see that far straight ahead of the bike because the trail has curves and such. And a light this big can drown out a helmet light, rendering it useless because you bar light is so bright it makes it hard for your eyes to adjust to see the helmet light when you turn your head to look around a corner.

This is light I say use if you ride out in the wide open terrain like the southwest. If you ride in the woods and such, there is no point in this light, most of its output is wasted with the trees and such blocking the light and creating glare that messes up your night vision and will wash out any shadows created on the trail surface making it appear the surface is smooth and making roots, drops, etc seem alot smaller on the other side than they are.


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

What about this battery from Hunk Lee. Sanyo cells, 7800 mah 6 cell 18650 but $45.

1x Sanyo Li ion 18650 7 4V 7800mAh Battery w PCM Inside 6Cells to 2S3P w Plug | eBay


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

Or this seems good too. Samsung cells 9000 mah 39.95 H.Lee.

MagicShine LED Bike Light Battery Li ion 7 4V 9000mAh by Samsung 30A Waterproof | eBay


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Afaik Samsung 30A are 4.35V cells so you would get only 2500mAh out of it when you charge them with tipical 4.2V per cell. HKJ tested 30B version HERE. 
So with 8.4V charger you would get 7500mAh and not 9000mAh out of pack.


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

Cat-man-do said:


> Well I knew it would be faster but not as fast as ".40AET" said that he got his ( 3 days after being shipped ). THAT IS FRICKN' FAST!. I thought it might speed things up a bit but not like that. I mean the stuff is coming from the other side of the planet. Usually takes 3 days just to get something from UPS ground inside the USA.
> 
> Well one thing for certain, next time I order something from Gearbest I'll try the expedited shipping.


FYI the expedited shipping has worked good for me too (less than 1 week typical) but is only cost effective for larger purchases. The $3.50 charge for a BT21 kit changes to almost $15 for the light-head only option.
Mole


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

ledoman said:


> Afaik Samsung 30A are 4.35V cells so you would get only 2500mAh out of it when you charge them with tipical 4.2V per cell. HKJ tested 30B version HERE.
> So with 8.4V charger you would get 7500mAh and not 9000mAh out of pack.


Glad you pointed out the difference with the 4.35 volt cells. Still 7500mAh isn't a bad battery using a standard charger and since the battery won't be charged to capacity the battery should last longer ( although that's not really a big factor ). I still can't find a 8.7 volt charger for a battery pack. Unless you own a hobby charger that gives you the option to adjust the voltage to spec. you won't be able to charge to capacity.


----------



## redwarrior (Apr 12, 2007)

tigris99 said:


> And a light this big can drown out a helmet light, rendering it useless because you bar light is so bright it makes it hard for your eyes to adjust to see the helmet light when you turn your head to look around a corner.


Funny, I was thinking about exactly this riding tonight. I've got a Magicshine MJ-872 on the bars & an 808 clone on my helmet. I'm going to need another set of lights for my girlfriend & was thinking BT70 for the bar but looks like my best bet is a BT40S & another 808 clone for a spot on the helmet. Thanks for confirming my line of thought!


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Im not a fan of 808 clones, I like dual head with narrow optics instead, spot is a tad bigger and beam is much smoother than the 3 layered spot of reflectors. But that's me.


----------



## redwarrior (Apr 12, 2007)

tigris99 said:


> Im not a fan of 808 clones, I like dual head with narrow optics instead, spot is a tad bigger and beam is much smoother than the 3 layered spot of reflectors. But that's me.


I've never used one. Do you have a recommendation to look into?

Edit: Scratch that. Looks like BT21 with 15 degree optics would be a good option.


----------



## .40AET (Jun 7, 2007)

tigris99 said:


> Cat I tried to tell you express via DHL is fast, you didn't believe me


I was shocked at how fast it showed up. I went back and checked all of the dates on the order.

I'm still searching for a good 6 cell battery, probably get the Gemini battery. I'm planning on working the Patapsco After dark rides into my week so that I can keep riding this winter.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

.40AET said:


> I was shocked at how fast it showed up. I went back and checked all of the dates on the order.
> 
> I'm still searching for a good 6 cell battery, probably get the Gemini battery. I'm planning on working the Patapsco After dark rides into my week so that I can keep riding this winter.


Why not get a battery pack from mtvrevolution.com, can get a 10200mah Panasonic cell pack for cheaper.


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

What about the Sanyo pack for 44.95. Looks like it's the standard 7.4V pack. Am I missing something.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I was just pointing out you were linking a $107 pack for a 6 cell when xeccon has the same thing for $75. The Sanyo pack will work fine, Panasonic pack will just give you alot more run time.


----------



## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

Scratch that post, they gave a price that was too low. I'm waiting on a new code. Dang.

*edit again*

Ok, looks like I won't have to wait for a code, GB went ahead and lowered their price on their site for everyone  The BT70 kit is now only $88._59 _with free shipping.

Nitefighter BT70 2800 Lumens CREE XP G2 7 LEDs Neutral White Light Bicycle Headlight Suit-88.59 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com

I'm going to go ahead and get an order going with them for the BT70 kit and BT21 head. Final total with expedited shipping and insurance is about 8 dollars cheaper than the DM site. This will be fun


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Just post it here, that's about what they were selling for when we first did the review (think it was $85 then). Nice one on getting another code.


----------



## reinholdus (Oct 11, 2005)

del


----------



## reinholdus (Oct 11, 2005)

deleted


----------



## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

I've been running mine with a 4 cell from Hunk Lee but I wanted some more run time. I ended up getting the 10200 Mah from MTB revolution. Although it looks like it doesn't have the screw type connector so there might be some cutting and soldering in my future....


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Did you change the connector on the bt70 because it doesn't come with a screw type, it come with same snap type that the xeccon battery does.


----------



## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

Yes, all my existing packs have screw connectors so I switched my BT70 to one. I like the piece of mind of not having to worry about the cord coming loose.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

The snap types honestly NEVER come loose. And simply cut and solder is dangerous with liion packs. I have changed connectors on a pack but means cutting the pack open and changing at the protection PCB so I dont fry the pack. Im the opposite though, if something I have has the screw connector, I get rid of them (though the more expensive 2 pin ones are nice, going that route on my DIY build).


----------



## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> The snap types honestly NEVER come loose. And simply cut and solder is dangerous with liion packs. I have changed connectors on a pack but means cutting the pack open and changing at the protection PCB so I dont fry the pack. Im the opposite though, if something I have has the screw connector, I get rid of them (though the more expensive 2 pin ones are nice, going that route on my DIY build).


My first cheapo Chinese setup used to vibrate loose which is what made me switch to the screw connectors. I've been using these ones for the last couple of years and they have problem free for me.

5pairs of DC5 5 2 1mm Waterproof Connector for MagicShine Light Connection Blk | eBay

Do you have a link to the 2 prong ones you mentioned? I would love to check them out.


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

one of my emiters has gone out. i'm not sure why, nor does it really affect the light output (still plenty bright for me), but it bugs me that this has had so many little issues after the bt40 was so dependable. 
i guess im just having a bit of buyers remorse. the bt40 suited my needs, but i got greedy and dropped $90 on a buggy overkill light i didn't need.
i cant complain though, im still riding and having fun, and thats what its all about.


----------



## mentawais (Feb 16, 2005)

dirtdawg21892 said:


> one of my emiters has gone out. i'm not sure why, nor does it really affect the light output (still plenty bright for me), but it bugs me that this has had so many little issues after the bt40 was so dependable.
> i guess im just having a bit of buyers remorse. the bt40 suited my needs, but i got greedy and dropped $90 on a buggy overkill light i didn't need.
> i cant complain though, im still riding and having fun, and thats what its all about.


I had dropped $93 US for a BT70 after 4 rides suddenly it turned off let me in the dark,I sent it back to GB to repair and I dropped another $37 US for a B70 headlight but after some many other guys experienced BT70 issues showed here I start to think it is just another crap bad quality product:madman::madmax::nono:


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

dirtdawg21892 said:


> one of my emiters has gone out. i'm not sure why, nor does it really affect the light output (still plenty bright for me), but it bugs me that this has had so many little issues after the bt40 was so dependable.
> i guess im just having a bit of buyers remorse. the bt40 suited my needs, but i got greedy and dropped $90 on a buggy overkill light i didn't need.
> i cant complain though, im still riding and having fun, and thats what its all about.


Where did you buy it from? Contact the vendor for a return. I'm surprised that only one LED could fail and not see two go out. :skep: ( 2S / 2P ? .... 
4 Parallel ?...:skep: ) Are you using a BT40S?

Bad stuff happens. I had a Gloworm X2 go winky on me once. Long story so I'll not tell it but I got a new one to replace it from the vendor.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Bt70 can have 1 emitter go out and rest be fine. All in parallel. Odd that it happened but it does happen.

And its not a bad quality light, just lacking in quality control sadly. Down side of buying china lights. Thankfully they have a warranty and such, that's what its for (though a giant headache)


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

got it from GB, still waiting on the US charger too. 
I have submitted another ticket explaining the problems ive had (i told them about the short that caused the light to cut out on a fast trail) and politely requested a new lamp head.
i hate having to bother them with my problems, but i know that's what its there for.


----------



## Appel (Dec 10, 2014)

I ordered a BT70 from GB in the beginning of august and got a confirmation mail that "shipped your order out today" the 11th of august. Now to the interesting thing. I just used internal GB points and refund money from a complaint I had earlier as payment for this order. I have not had any issues with the shipping from GB before. But now I notice that I did not receive a "dispatch confirmation picture" for this order as I use to get (a picture of the actual envelop in the shipping confirmation mail). I will give this a couple of more weeks but I suppose it will be difficult to sort this out as I picked the free, untracked delivery option.


----------



## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

^They might have changed their system then. I just put my first order in a week ago and a couple days ago got an email saying it was shipped, but there was no photo. I paid for expedited with insurance too so maybe they don't do that anymore.


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

My recent orders shipped Sep-02 and Sep-07 both have pictures of envelopes...


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Yesterday was suppose to be the big day. Didn't happen. Hopefully today but if it doesn't come by Wednesday I'm going to be mad. With my luck it will come and then rain for the next 3 days...


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

My experience w/ GB is only 1 time but I bought the BT70 and paid but never even got any conf of shipping or anything. I figured I'd just wait it out as I ordered in early July and didn't really need it and also from experience knew this can take forever to arrive. Sure enough my BT70 arrived about 6 weeks later w/o warning. This is just how they do business I guess though some of you actually get confirmation w/ photos it seems. It'll probably just arrive someday.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

mb323323 said:


> My experience w/ GB is only 1 time but I bought the BT70 and paid but never even got any conf of shipping or anything. I figured I'd just wait it out as I ordered in early July and didn't really need it and also from experience knew this can take forever to arrive. Sure enough my BT70 arrived about 6 weeks later w/o warning. This is just how they do business I guess though some of you actually get confirmation w/ photos it seems. It'll probably just arrive someday.


I never knew anything about confirmation photos. I just take their word if it ships it ships. Didn't come today though. Can't stress out over it because I have other things to worry about. Looks like it's my year to have multiple car problems. I have to drop the car off at the shop ( again..:madman: ) and likely it'll be another $1200-$1400 down the drain before it's over.


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

My current GearBest shipping woe's are @ day 35 since "shipping confirmation" with no light-head received. It makes me feel some what better to know I'm not alone but also has taught me a lesson, "NO MORE FREE SHIPPING"!!! My other GB orders all involved "Expedited delivery" and were delivered in less than 7 days. I went the free delivery route this time because when only ordering a light-head the expedited delivery was almost $15 ($3.50 for the full kit). Any way lesion learned, never again, I'll just wait till I have a big enough order to qualify for more reasonable expedited delivery charges. I emailed GearBest last night about this but have not received a reply yet. I'll post their response when I receive it. mb323323 thanks for your post, makes me hope-full I might receive my order soon and it's not just lost.
Mole


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

*60 days*

GearBest's response was to re-confirm my shipping address (which was correct), call my local post office, and check back with them (GearBest) if I had not received my shipment within 60 days of the shipping confirmation. Tired of waiting but will have to be patient.
Mole


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

My BT70 quit on me last night. Good thing I always ride w/ 2 lights. The back lights up when pressing the button but the LED emitters do not come on anymore. I sent GB message and will let you all know the outcome.

MB


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

mb323323 said:


> My BT70 quit on me last night. Good thing I always ride w/ 2 lights. The back lights up when pressing the button but the LED emitters do not come on anymore. I sent GB message and will let you all know the outcome.
> 
> MB


sounds like what happened to me, i would crack it open and see if theres an obvious short or some other easy fix.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Open the front and see if the wires are still soldered to the led pcb. There might be bad soldering joint or they run to hot and melt the solder. Also I would check wires at driver side.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Were you running it on turbo when it cut out? Just asking cause the battery pack protection boards are under rated for the current.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

mb323323 said:


> ....The back lights up when pressing the button but the LED emitters do not come on anymore.....


Tig if this is the case it is not problem with the battery pack.


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)




----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Dirt, can you open it and take a picture of leds, particulary the one is not working? Try to get reall closeup and sharp picture so we can magnify it even more.


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

Tigris99, no didn't even have it on. And I haven't been using turbo as it sucks the batteries fast.

I plugged it in when it got dark and nothing. (except the green in the back)

MMole, how did U email GB. I can't seem to send massage w/o opening an acct.

Oddly, as mentioned in my previous post somewhere, I never even received a confirmation or an order or a shipping notice, etc. I ordered and just waited and didn't even know if the order went thru. I got real busy and just didn't have time to deal w/ it for 31 bucks which is probably how this will end.

Oh well, back out come the trusty Dinotte XML-3's that never fail. Just need new batteries which I should order pretty quick. Prolly get them from Hunk Lee.

MB


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Bt70 has a warranty. And the dinotte should run fine off the bt70 pack, pack is Panasonic cells.

Ledoman, actually rear indicators will come back on. When pack trips due to load there is still some output till it is reset so it will run full output again. Only over discharge protection will fully cut power.


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

mb323323 said:


> MMole, how did U email GB. I can't seem to send massage w/o opening an acct.
> MB


I have an account with them, Not sure if you can get a warranty ticket without one.
Mole


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

tigris99 said:


> Ledoman, actually rear indicators will come back on. When pack trips due to load there is still some output till it is reset so it will run full output again. Only over discharge protection will fully cut power.


Yes exactly, that's why I've told the battery pack should not be the problem when the indicators turns on but leds don't.


----------



## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

Ouch... lots of lights dying out there. Hopefully I got a good one. My GB order came today, I put it in on the holiday weekend so lets say it was about a week and a half expressed to NY. I have more waiting though, I had to put a support ticket in because I got one of those goofy foreign plugs so can't charge my battery. The battery came with a little juice in it so I at least got to turn the 21 and the 70 on. WOW. I did the 70 first which went through all the modes, so I was really impressed with how bright the 21 still was by comparison (just turning them on in a half lit room to test). 

Question about the BT70 kit- in the pictures and description it says it has a gopro mount, but mine came with the same rubber band mount as the 21 and no extra gopro adapter. Is that normal?

Cosmetically speaking, there's just a little chipping on the black by the back panel that caught my eye. Hopefully that's normal and not indicative of a refurb. 

Gonna go for a little test ride later with what battery life I've got. Can already tell these blow any lights I've used before away, this will be cool.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

As has been posted alot, nitefighter stopped with the gopro mounts before we started getting them for review. Gopro mounts for all these lights is a customer thing done by vanc biker.

As for lights dying, many just plug and play, which you should be able to do, however being they are cheap lights, assembly issues are to be expected and the heads popped apart to make sure everything is good to go before use. Sucks but happens. And I haven't been recommending bt70 (or any light of its size) due to issues and really they just aren't needed for most riders anyway. Bt40 and bt21 are the way to go for nitefighter right now. Solid and dependable lights. 

That said I haven't had any issues besides turbo tripping pack protection with my bt70. Its not that its bad, just pack circuit isn't rated for the current these lights are capable of. My light has functioned fine what little ive used it. I have other preferences, my modded light for my bars (or bt40) and my bt21 for helmet duty.


----------



## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

Oh ok I totally missed the gopro part. I got a hold of Vanc already, definitely going to grab a couple mounts. 

I just opened the back and front to take a peek, didn't dig into the guts at all. Guess I should review those posts with the inside pics and make sure everything is good before continuing. I rode for an hour earlier at about 60 degrees out running the bt 21 on medium and it felt cold when I got back. I rode around a little with the 70 and cycled through the settings, it should be great for what I want it to do filming. Or killing vampires. The 21 is perfect for riding around streets. Definitely very happy so far, hopefully I can get at least a year use out of them after my plug comes.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

JediMindTrixR4Kidz said:


> Ouch... My GB order came today, I put it in on the holiday weekend so lets say it was about a week and a half expressed to NY. I have more waiting though, I had to put a support ticket in because I got one of those goofy foreign plugs so can't charge my battery.


What! You got yours before I got mine!....:incazzato:...

I probably shouldn't say this but if I got one of those Euro-plugs and didn't have an adaptor.......I likely cut into an old extension cord and solder the wires directly to the Euro plug and cover with some electrical tape... :ihih: ( Of course if you have pets or young kids crawling around you might want to do this somewhere that won't catch the house on fire or fry the little ones...:devil: ( * Special note: If you do as I say be sure "Not" to have the extension cord plugged in while doing the soldering. :thumbsup


----------



## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

lol don't feel too bad, I'm down to the 50% orange color indicator so my fun runs out soon  

I haven't touched a soldiering iron since high school, that would probably end poorly haha

Was just riding around with the bt21 some more, hell of a light.


----------



## gipsyman (Nov 18, 2014)

Cat-man-do said:


> What! You got yours before I got mine!....:incazzato:...
> 
> Cat,
> 
> I just received a BT70 from Gearbest yesterday. I ordered it a week after you did but I selected America Line (Expedited Shipping). Unfortunately, the one I received is a poor performer. It is nowhere near as nice as the one Tigris99 received. The amperage reading is only 2.23 amps on Turbo. Low is 100 ma, Medium is 390 ma, and high is 1.15 amps. I opened the light head up but didn't see any loose wiring or bad solder joints. The neutral color LED's are nice though. I submitted a support ticket to Gearbest to see if they would do anything about the low performance.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

gipsyman said:


> Cat-man-do said:
> 
> 
> > What! You got yours before I got mine!....:incazzato:...
> ...


----------



## gipsyman (Nov 18, 2014)

Cat-man-do said:


> gipsyman said:
> 
> 
> > Well that's not particularly a good thing to hear. According to what you are saying the output on yours would only be half of the original. I would think that would be quite easy to tell if you have some other lamps to compare it too.
> ...


----------



## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

When you guys opened up the backs, did you have a big white plastic ring keeping the circuit board in (and possibly water out)? I guess there's no reason for me to go in there anyway since I probably wouldn't know what to look for problem wise, figured I'd try to take a look anyway. Does that ring unscrew out or something? I'm wondering if that's new so you can't get in there.

Also, does anyone have a link to a youtube video that would show how I could test the amps on mine? My friend has voltmeteres and stuff, probably has the right gear somewhere in his basement.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

gipsyman said:


> I took some lux measurements of my Nitefighter BT70. On turbo drawing 2.23 amps the lux reading was 15000 at one meter. The ceiling bounce lux reading was 180. That compares quite well to my Gemini Olympia which draws 2.05 amps and has a 14800 lux reading at one meter and has a ceiling bounce lux of 180. My $49.88 triple XML bike light draws 2.05 amps with a ceiling bounce of 134. My Sky Ray S6 draws 2.17 amps with a ceiling bounce of 157. I like the neutral color of the BT70 better than all of my other lights though. I was hoping the Nitefighter was going to be a lot brighter because I already own several lights in the 1200-1700 lumen range. Maybe I just got a dud. Reading back through the BT70 thread I noticed some of the shipments from Gearbest were being held up due to quality checks. Perhaps Gearbest can check performance better on lights that are sent standard shipping rather than expedited or am I only dreaming? Anyways I hope you receive a better specimen than I did.


One of the greatest problems of buying "Chinese" can be "lack of consistency" when it comes to availability of OEM components of a popular product. Sometimes when they run out of certain components the supplier will use parts that are not as good as the original. Quite possibly that is what might be happening. I sure hope not but I have a bad feeling about this.

Of course the other possibility is that the one you have is in fact "defective". When mine comes I have the ability to check the the current flow from the battery. Unfortunately I've misplaced one of the connectors I need for making the test. I can make another one but I'd hate to cut up another extension cord. Hopefully I can find it so I don't have to do that.

Anyway, I hope the one I get is fine or else Gearbest is going to be getting a nasty email. The sad part is that it probably isn't their fault. They don't make the lamps they just sell them. If some internal circuitry was changed within the lamp they likely wouldn't know nothing about it.

When mine comes I'll be able to tell right away if something is wrong just by judging the output. For the sake of everyone who is ordering one of these lets hope the one I get is a good one cause if it's not, that will mean that a major change in the product has taken place. Gearbest will have to be notified and this could mean a recall if all the new ones are under powered.

Of course it's possible that a change was made in the lamp due to the heavy current draw of the original and the fact that the battery PCB could not handle the load ( for very long ) when on boost ( or so it has been said ). In the mean time I'm crossing my fingers and hoping nothing has been changed. If I get a bad one ( or one that I feel is under-powered ) I WILL be asking for my money back.

gipsyman...thanks for the heads-up warning.


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

I recharged several batteries thinking my lighthead doesn't work due to the battery. Not the case as the lighthead doesn't work w/ any of the batteries now.

Guess I'll open an acct w/ GB and see if they'll replace it.


----------



## Joy4ride (Jul 12, 2015)

*My BT70 has blew up*



















Hi guys,
My BT70 is dead only after using it for a short ride in the park.
It seems that it was some kind of short-circuit inside because let me tell you what it happened.
In the evening, wanting to go outside for a ride, I just plugged it the power jack to the battery pack and puched the button to test it before lefting home.
As from the firts plugged in, the light start by itself on turbo mode and I had no control to turn it on low from the switch. I unppluged it and then plugged it again to the battery pack. The same thing happened. I keeped it on for some 20-30 seconds, the power lead became very flexible and hot (also the light became very hot) and I unplugged it from the battery pack.
I let it to cool down and after that I replugged it in. Now the light start again by itself, but now it starts on the lowest mode and it stay only in this mode. Medium, hight or turbo mode is no more possible.
I took apart the silicone button which cover the swich from behind, and I put my nose there. It smells like something inside was toasted.
After that I opened the light, and here is what I found (pictures attached).
What kind of CI is that which blew?
Am I able to find that 8 pins CI for replacing it?


----------



## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

Wow!! That is some really bad soldering :eekster:


****


----------



## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

Square chip with concentric rings on it let out the magic juice

***


----------



## gipsyman (Nov 18, 2014)

JediMindTrixR4Kidz said:


> When you guys opened up the backs, did you have a big white plastic ring keeping the circuit board in (and possibly water out)? I guess there's no reason for me to go in there anyway since I probably wouldn't know what to look for problem wise, figured I'd try to take a look anyway. Does that ring unscrew out or something? I'm wondering if that's new so you can't get in there.
> 
> Also, does anyone have a link to a youtube video that would show how I could test the amps on mine? My friend has voltmeteres and stuff, probably has the right gear somewhere in his basement.


The big white plastic ring holds the mode switch board in place. You need to pry it out with a hook type dental tool or something that won't scratch the light case. Or you could put a piece of thin cardboard on the case edge and just use a jewelers flathead screwdriver. The mode switching circuit board then comes out. At this point you can see the driver board. To disassemble further you will need snap ring pliers to remove the driver board.

To check current you will need either a 8 volt power supply with a 5mm by 2.1mm jack (standard Magicshine battery connector) which is the easiest way. Or you will need a standard Magicshine jack and plug wire set. You could cut up a Y-adapter set to create this. Then you connect the negative battery terminal wiring direct to the light wiring negative jack. Connect the positive battery wiring to the amp meter positive terminal and the negative amp meter terminal to the lamp positive input. That way you have the amp meter in series with the battery to lamp positive current. I'll bet there is a Youtube video of this.


----------



## gipsyman (Nov 18, 2014)

Cat-man-do said:


> One of the greatest problems of buying "Chinese" can be "lack of consistency" when it comes to availability of OEM components of a popular product. Sometimes when they run out of certain components the supplier will use parts that are not as good as the original. Quite possibly that is what might be happening. I sure hope not but I have a bad feeling about this.
> 
> Of course the other possibility is that the one you have is in fact "defective". When mine comes I have the ability to check the the current flow from the battery. Unfortunately I've misplaced one of the connectors I need for making the test. I can make another one but I'd hate to cut up another extension cord. Hopefully I can find it so I don't have to do that.
> 
> ...


I just received a response from Waiola at Gearbest. They are going to check with their Product Department to see if it is a quality problem or a change in product specifications. They asked me to check back in 3 days to see if they have a solution to my underpowered BT70c light head.


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Joy4ride said:


> ......Am I able to find that 8 pins CI for replacing it?


Pretty sure that is the microprocessor chip. Even if you replaced it the light would not work as it has to be programmed.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

*@ Joy4ride,* Yep, looks like the board was damaged right from the start. Very poor quality control. If the control switch wasn't working likely an internal short somewhere. Not surprising that it fried. Contact customer service for a replacement. Odds are the next one will be fine.


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

It was repeated many times: any Chinese light should be opened & inspected before use. In my experience, I've seen many lights where particles of aluminium and micro soldering drops were present inside - if not removed, they can cause shortages in electronic components under vibration...


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

BTW, it looks like there's no any thermal paste between LED base and outer case on the picture in message #438?


----------



## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

Thanks for the reply gipsy. 

I'm just running the 21 so far to conserve battery life because they sent me the wrong charger. They said they will refund $5 so I can buy one myself, or I can give them $2 more to have one sent.... So I'm checking a local store tomorrow. I rolled the dice with the 21, but the 70 I will definitely be opening and checking out before running hard. 

I caught a buck out tonight, had the 21 on medium and his eyes lit up out of nowhere. I switched it to turbo and if I had the camera mounted might have got a nice shot. I'm sure the 70 will be a lot of fun for that. 

Crazy blowout there Joyride.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

AIght figured I better jump in here:

All my testing I messed up the original driver in my BT70, emailed Nitefighter, they shipped me a replacement driver/switch set.

New driver, pulls in the 2.4A range off the pack.

Still really bright though, going to it test it compared to a couple other lights, but my modded 880 clone that runs 6x xp-g2 s3 is maybe as bright from the quick check I did upon installing the new driver.

But these new drivers I like better than the original. Just operate smoother, less glitchy. 

Update:

Tested against my MODDED bt40s (s3 bin emitters, about 200mA more per emitter drive current) and my 880 clone:

Bt70 is NOT as bright as it once was, but not a big loss either. Still way out shines s both in close and throw against the bt40s. My 880 clone I switched back to spot optics to test. Before the BT70 was noticeably brighter when compared side by side (couldnt tell a difference unless you put the lights side by side). 880 clone is about 2000 lumens (2100+ till it warms up) after losses due to optics (about 15%). Now bt70 is about the same so didnt loose a terrible amount, 2-300 lumens lost im estimating

Ill take that due to the draw being cut in half. Not sure what they did but being the original got HOT, pulled almost 5A etc, now its almost as bright with less draw and doesnt heat up so damn fast (and I have the original case just new driver) Im guessing they did something RIGHT. At least in my book.


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

tigris99 said:


> New driver, pulls in the 2.4A range off the pack.


Instead of former 4.8A ? :eekster:



> But these new drivers I like better than the original. Just operate smoother, less glitchy.


What it means? It change modes gradually, like Yinding?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Archie, read edit now too 

the original driver didnt seem to respond quickly to button clicks. Not as quick to respond to button input and not as responsive to a really rapid click, sometimes mode would change, sometimes if i clicked too fast it didnt register I pushed the button. Now its like my other nitefighter lights, quick to respond to even the fastest clicks. I didnt really pay attention to the mode transition if it was smooth or just sudden change.


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

Well, maybe 1st version of driver was ineffective and consumed most of extra current for its own heating then. Hard to tell without actual lux measurements...


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Tig, do you have pictures of this new driver? It would be interesting to compare to the old one. Archie might spot something explaining this big difference.
Is the shunt wire still present?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ledoman they look the same best I could tell, didn't both paying too much attention, just looked it over for amt major differences.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Next time you get a chance, please take a good picture. I doubt it is only firmware issue.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I agree, doubt its a firmware issue only. I wont be pulling the driver again though since mine works fine and I know everything is solid since im the one that soldered all the joints.

Ps, yes the shunt style resistor is still there on the new one.


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

Sorry to derail thread a bit but can someone tell me how to send contact to support center of GB w/o an order number or if there is any other means of contact.

Thx


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

At least, you can submit a question on Support Center - gearbest page, or start online chat...


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Alright, figured I better jump in here:
> 
> All my testing I messed up the original driver in my BT70, emailed Nitefighter, they shipped me a replacement driver/switch set.
> 
> ...


What lamp was used to take the photos? The old or the new?

If the configuration of the LED's is the same ( all in parallel ) I can't see how the output could be anywhere near the original.


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

Here's what could be a better cooling version of this lamp except it's using old LED's, XML T6. Maybe they can update the LED's but housing looks like it would help cool the light.

UltraFire 7500lm 8-LED White 3-Mode Bike Light w/ 8.4V Battery Pack, Power Display - Grey + Gold - Free Shipping - DealExtreme


----------



## Mountainking7 (Nov 8, 2014)

tigris99 said:


> As for lights dying, many just plug and play, which you should be able to do, however being they are cheap lights, assembly issues are to be expected


I would not exactly call the Nitefighter cheap lights. For that price, I would expect better QC or the light not to fail that often to be honest.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Cat, I simply changed the driver in my original. Old driver still worked but it was a bit funky acting. Not sure what photos your referring to, the ones in the review were all the original set up. The current set up looks no different, still same emitter mcpcb and all.

My guess on loss may be a bit low. The more lumens total output, the less noticeable visually the lower output/higher output is till you hit a larger gap, especially with optics that create a strong hot spot.

That said, I decided to take both lights to the park. And my bc30r as they rate actual out the front give or take a few lumens. Gives me a reference for 1600lumens. minimum my 880 clone puts out is 2100 on high, but being that Cree rates it minimum @ 85C and my emitters were never on long enough to get that hot, say more towards 22-2300 as an "educated, calculated guess". The fact that you cant tell my fenix bc30r (1500-1600 lumens actual on turbo) is drowned out Id safely say Im pretty close.

So I played with both in close and visual throw. In close (spot pointed low) the flood of the bt70 is a tad brighter, which gives the appearance of more light. Tilt them up on the other hand is where the higher lumens in my 880 clone show up. Not a huge amount but the throw is better, but viewing angle of optics is identical for the spot. Before the bt70 was better both in close and at range before.

Conclusion, loss is around 400 lumens, maybe 500. Gonna say 1900-2000 lumens now from the 2400 range (after optics). So much more substantial loss but still far brighter than the other nitefighters.

@mountainking: nightfighter light heads are same range as all other "cheap but not total crap" light heads. even bt70 head was selling for $30 at one point. All the extra cost comes in the actually good included bits and using brand name cells. Look at the prices of other chinese lights, heads cost the same, with batteries they are cheaper and included packs with those more often than not are crap.

BUT I AGREE, QC should be far better during assembly. Assembly is pretty much the failure point (except for the plastic used for the bar mount, wrong type of plastic for this use). An emitter going out, that happens to even the best lights. Thats why they have a warranty


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

alright, on a ride last night i hit a bump in a steep section and the light cut out and wouldn't turn on again. this is the second time it's failed on me when i really needed it, and needless to say i am not happy about it. they never responded to my previous inquiry about my burned out led or the previous short that left me in the dark the first time. i'm really getting fed up with GB's lack of responsiveness. as of now im stuck with a $100 light that doesn't work and nobody responding to my e-mails. i still haven't received the US charger that i was promised (like, months ago) either. more than a little disappointed with the whole experience.


----------



## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

Bummer, sorry to hear.



*****


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Well this concerns me a bit, dealextreme has big notes all over their site about being unable to ship to Hong Kong....this is where all our shipments go through before coming to other countries. Something isn't right here because customer service isn't helping you guys out and people aren't getting results.


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

dirtdawg21892 said:


> i'm really getting fed up with GB's lack of responsiveness. as of now im stuck with a $100 light that doesn't work and nobody responding to my e-mails.


This isn't specific to GB: they're totally identical to any other Chinese web shop. I've had both positive & negative experience with them; as with others, the resolution of particular problem depends on the person you're contacted, phase of Moon, and other related factors.

Fortunately, there's PayPal for "hard cases", so you don't loose your money - but your time isn't covered by any kind of protection...


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

I tapped my non working light head on the ground several times and now it works again.

Needless to say I won't be going out w/ it as my only light.

I guess bottom line is U get what U pay for. ALWAYS.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

If tapping made it work again I wouldn't use it till I opened it up and found out why.


----------



## MaximusHQ (Aug 6, 2007)

tigris99 said:


> If tapping made it work again I wouldn't use it till I opened it up and found out why.


Yeah me too and I'm no electrical expert, but I would have to look and see if anything obvious is going on. Mine came with the power/mode switch installed backwards so that the up button lowered the level, but I opened it up and was able to reverse it. It helped having yours and others pictures of the light opened up. Of course you should always have a backup light anyways, but if you have two Chinese lights then I would have a 3rd backup light like at least a good flashlight. The Nitefighter lights are a good value if you get one that works well though.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

The more bt70 failures due to improper assembly the more and more im trying to steer people away from them until nitefighter gets them sorted. 95% of riders dont need these big things anyway.

BTW, one thing WE ALL TELL EVERYONE RIGHT WAY, NEVER EVER, and I say again NEVER EVER go out with one light!!!! I dont care if its $1000 light, never go out with just one. At least carry a decent flashlight so you have light to get home in the even something goes wrong. You never know if your going to crash and the light or the battery pack get damaged or even on a high end light, something CAN fail. Chances are 100x lower of it happening BUT IT CAN HAPPEN. 

I need to find the link I saw a couple weeks ago that explained the do's and donts of night riding. cause not going with only one light was top of the list of DON'T DO.


----------



## MaximusHQ (Aug 6, 2007)

Forgot to mention mine's the bt40 though not the bt70, but the tail switch looks the same so it's probably the same fix with the reversed tail switch.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ya bt40 and bt70 are about the same for that, been a long while since I had my bt40 open.


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

mb323323 said:


> I tapped my non working light head on the ground several times and now it works again.
> 
> Needless to say I won't be going out w/ it as my only light.
> 
> I guess bottom line is U get what U pay for. ALWAYS.


Check for the short that I found on mine, the wire from the controller to the driver melt to something and short. Tapping could move them enough to fix it, but hit them with some electrical tape and it should go away.


----------



## mhokeli (Jun 1, 2015)

The buttons is a bit difficult to use with full finger glowes. Couple times the rubber has come loose while i try to adjust brightness. And hard to hit up or down with glowes on. Easier with just one button or it should have bigger spacing between up and down button.

Sent fra min SM-N9005 via Tapatalk


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

I was contacted by Nefertari from GearBest, and they did a fantastic job of restoring my faith in the customer service department over there. Thank you!


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

dirtdawg21892 said:


> I was contacted by Nefertari from GearBest, and they did a fantastic job of restoring my faith in the customer service department over there. Thank you!


My turn now. I filed a ticket with Gearbest telling them I have not received my shipment yet. We'll see how this goes. Today I checked the local Post Office just to be sure they didn't have it. Anyway, I figured since I waited 12 days beyond the normal time it usually takes for me to get a shipment from China it's time for me to say something about it. ( In my case it usually takes 16-18 days after the item has shipped before I get it ( *with free shipping.. )


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Cat, this was the answer on my question about BT21 I'm still waiting for:

_*"We are extremely sorry that you have not received your order yet.
With international surface mail the delivery is slower than expidited shipping(ie DHL).
There are some external factors which may cause some delay on delivery time, such as remote locations, peak shopping and shipping periods, Holidays and Festivals, weather, customs clearance.

Your order has been shipped out on Aug 14th，therefore your delivery deadline will expire on Oct 14th.
Please free to contact us on that date if you haven't received the package.

We can resend or refund to you based on our company policy.
We also stongly recommend going to your local post office in case they received it.

Thanks for your understanding and assistance. Hope you will receive your package soon."*_

So in the company policy they have 2 months period before they take any further actions.


----------



## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

There should be national holiday in China till October 7th. Expect some delay in the response.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

ledoman said:


> Cat, this was the answer on my question about BT21 I'm still waiting for:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


_Translation_ ^^ =


> " Sorry, but we ran out of stock and had to back order. Of course we couldn't tell you that it would take 2 months or no one else would order from us". "People who paid more for expedited shipping got theirs first because we held some aside for people willing to pay more money...sorry about that".


Actually I got a response right away. Basically I'm being told to be patient and that my order will come. Message from CAt to Gearbest: Sorry, I'm not going to wait two months for my order. My patience only goes so far. No other Chinese company I've ever ordered from ever took 2 months to send me something with standard shipping. To me this looks like they are trying to encourage future buyers to use the more expensive shipping. Sorry but I'm not buying their excuse that something outside of their control is delaying the shipping.

When I placed my order ( more than a month ago ) I explicitly requested that if my order could not ship within 10 days they were to cancel my order. Three days later I received an email saying the order had shipped. If I don't get it by Friday I'm cancelling the order. Need I say, I can't see myself ordering anything else from Gearbest anytime soon. ...Oddly, I was also told that since I didn't use expedited shipping that there was no way to track the item ( like I don't already know that  ) > _Translation_ >


> Hey, stupid American...next time spend more money and you will get your order from our reserved stock....chop chop.


Believe me people, it doesn't take two months to get something mailed standard shipping from China unless there is a National week long Chinese holiday and you ordered during the holiday. Now if something gets back ordered it will take longer. Gearbest was criticized before for not telling folks that their orders were out of stock. It seems now the solution they came up with was to just lie about how much stock they have and then tell people the delays are caused by "outside sources". I look at it this way; "Fool me once, shame on you...Fool me twice, shame on me". I'm not buying it....anymore.


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

Take it easy!  During recent years, I've had problems with essentially all the Chinese web shops I'm using (about dozen of them). None of them were "blacklisted", though, and I'm still getting ordered stuffs in wast majority of cases...


----------



## Appel (Dec 10, 2014)

This is interesting. I'm still curious why I did not receive a "dispatch confirmation picture" like I use to get in my dispatch mails from GB.

See earlier post: Nitefighter BT70 User Review: - Page 17- Mtbr.com


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

-Archie- said:


> Take it easy!  During recent years, I've had problems with essentially all the Chinese web shops I'm using (about dozen of them). None of them were "blacklisted", though, and I'm still getting ordered stuffs in wast majority of cases...


I'm just saying....My last order took two months because it was back ordered...only they didn't tell me that when I initially ordered. A month later I get an email telling my the order had "JUST" shipped! :shocked: 18 days after that email I got my order.....can you catch my drift here? Not long after other people are also complaining that their orders are also being back ordered and not being told in advance. Gearbest claimed they would fix the problem and notify people when orders are out of stock....That was a while back. Same stuff is happening now only now they have a new excuse. It's too coincidental that all of a sudden there are unaccountable delays with standard shipping. Tomorrow I'm getting new lenses for my ten year old glasses but I'm telling you, glasses or no glasses I can read the writing on the wall here.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

In my case the order ought to be shiped out since I've got message about it and I can see the picture of shipment in my account. So it's very likely not their fault unless there was just empty envelope or they missed to dispach it somehow. 

Cat, can you check your GB account and see if there is the picture of your shipment or not?


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

ledoman said:


> In my case the order ought to be shiped out since I've got message about it and I can see the picture of shipment in my account. So it's very likely not their fault unless there was just empty envelope or they missed to dispach it somehow.
> 
> Cat, can you check your GB account and see if there is the picture of your shipment or not?


Yeah, there's a photo. Doesn't matter because there's no post mark.

What I'm now figuring out; Used to be if you ordered free shipping the article was shipped via ( Air ) China Post. Looks now that they might be shipping these on the proverbial ,"Slow boat from China". This is what is referred to as "Surface mail". My understanding is that surface mail can take up to 6 weeks to reach destination port. This assumes no delays because of bad weather. Then of course it has to go through customs and then be shipped via US Postal to your local P.O. and then to you. All of that might take another 6-8 business days. Yep, looks more and more like a 2 month wait.

My understanding is that it takes 7-8 days for a shipment to reach USA using regular Air China Post. This explains why it usually takes about 16-18 days for me to get my packages.

I need to ask Gearbest more questions. When I have time I will be doing that. Whatever the answer I'm learning a new lesson the "Hard Way"...through the school of hard knocks.

*@Archie*: Take it easy?...Yeah, whatever. I guess I might as well because right now the entire area where I live is being hit with a boat load of rain. That said, whether I'm dealing with a boat load of **** from China or a boat load of rain from the north I'm Royally screwed. If the lamp comes tomorrow it won't matter cause I won't be able to do anything with it other than to shine it on a wall. :madman:


----------



## RS VR6 (Mar 29, 2007)

I don't think it takes a month for anything from any part of the world...unless they are shipping from the middle of the Arctic. I've received stuff from Taiwan and the Ukraine in under seven days. A frame from China took under two weeks once it shipped. Longest I had to wait was just under three weeks for a mobile phone cover from Hong Kong. It was $.99 with free shipping.

I don't think I can wait two months for something that is claimed to be in stock. Only way is if it's a pre order for something I really, really want.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Depeds on where you live. For me where I live in Europe it is 3 weeks average. US people are somewhat spoiled cause a lot of traffic going their route therefore getting things sooner.

Cat since we are on the different parts of the globe and we having common problem I think we just fall in a same "hole": probably our parcels were or still are lost in a some postal depo or whatever. It happens from time to time. 

Another thing I've noticed going through all my last orders at GB, all or most of my orders were sent by Swedish, Swiss or Netherlands Post - ordered mostly some batteries, though. But starting with missing one GB used China post. I'm wondering what would happen with all subsequent ones. Since the first next in the row was sent Sep 11th it's to soon to conclude anything.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

ledoman said:


> Depeds on where you live. For me where I live in Europe it is 3 weeks average. US people are somewhat spoiled cause a lot of traffic going their route therefore getting things sooner.
> 
> Cat since we are on the different parts of the globe and we having common problem I think we just fall in a same "hole": probably our parcels were or still are lost in a some postal depo or whatever. It happens from time to time.
> 
> *Another thing I've noticed going through all my last orders at GB, all or most of my orders were sent by Swedish, Swiss or Netherlands Post - ordered mostly some batteries, though. But starting with missing one GB used China post. * I'm wondering what would happen with all subsequent ones. Since the first next in the row was sent Sep 11th it's to soon to conclude anything.


According to Gearbest's website, all of the forms of free shipping are now said to take 25-50 business days. When I read that I was surprised. Free shipping used to be promised within 10-30 days. Almost all of my China free shipping orders used to get to me within 18 days.

If you have the option for Netherlands Registered Post ( air ) that is listed to be delivered within 7-10 business days. Supposedly NRP does service the USA and the added cost is only $1.99 USD. The only reason I didn't chose that option was because I knew I would have to be home to sign for the package. I figured at the time that I was willing to wait another week and just have the postman leave in my mail box. Boy did I get that wrong! :incazzato:


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

No I don't have option to choose shipping company. Hence, I've tried to purchase some quadcopter and I don't have any option at all, not even free or expedited. Their system keeps asking me to choose one, but there is none.  

Oh, well, now I would think twice before order from them. But GB is not alone, FastTech had some issues for long time, they solved things, but probably loose some customers along... China business....


----------



## Structure (Dec 29, 2003)

Anybody mounted the BT70 on their helmet?

I realize the popular option is BT70 bars and BT21 helmet. I have a decent bar light and am looking for a new helmet light. Tried the BT21 and it's great but am going to sell it to a friend shortly. Trying to decide whether to reorder the BT21 or try the BT70. 

I have a Dinotte XML-1 on the helmet currently so while I'm good to ride, I'm mostly playing around and looking for a brighter option.


----------



## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

I would probably only mount the 70 on a helmet as a headlamp during a legit emergency situation, like a natural disaster with long term power out. It's kind of a beast.


----------



## dawgman25 (Nov 14, 2010)

SolarStorm XT40 is about is big as I would get for a helmet. Great helmet light, but you can feel it on there.  You might want to try that one.


----------



## stutru (Mar 10, 2010)

I had my BT70 fail on me last week. At first when I'd turn it on, it'd flash quickly and then go off. After a few attempts at that, the green light would turn on the back with no light. It then progressed to the smell of electronics burning at which point I gave up and opened up the light. I didn't see any visible shorts although I didnt have the circlip pliers to fully remove the driver. 

GearBest has refunded me 30 bucks and now I'm trying to decide what to replace it with. The battery and all the extra stuff is still great so I only need a new light head. Worth getting the BT70 again for ~$36 or should I go for something different? I have the BT21 as well. I was doing that on the helmet and BT70 on bars. I think something with more of a spot profile would work best with the BT21. Any suggestions?


----------



## dawgman25 (Nov 14, 2010)

Go with the BT40 instead and put a few bucks in your pocket. BT21 on the helmet and BT40 on the bars.


----------



## stutru (Mar 10, 2010)

The price delta is pretty small. I think the question is to chance the reliability of a new BT70 vs the more proven BT40s?

Nitefighter BT40S Cree XP - G2 1600lm Neutral White LED Bicycle Light Bike Headlamp-32.72 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com (BT40s for $32)
vs
Nitefighter BT70 2800LM Cree XP G2 Neutral White Light LED Bicycle Headlight ( Simple Set )-36.97 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com (BT70 for $36)


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

If I was me, bt40s no question. Most dont need the output of the bt70 anyway, so why bother with the huge light and hassle of dealing with all that. Bt40s has been problem free as far as we all know, and puts out plenty of light on high or turbo for most of us. I have my bt70 light head sitting on my shelf, works awesome (and everything inside is perfect) but its a beast. I use the pack from it for my other bar lights though


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Structure said:


> Anybody mounted the BT70 on their helmet?
> 
> I realize the popular option is BT70 bars and BT21 helmet. *I have a decent bar light and am looking for a new helmet light. *Tried the BT21 and it's great but am going to sell it to a friend shortly. Trying to decide whether to reorder the BT21 or try the BT70.
> 
> I have a Dinotte XML-1 on the helmet currently so while I'm good to ride, I'm mostly playing around and looking for a brighter option.


So what bar light are you using? If one is to recommend a helmet lamp it helps to know what you want to use as a bar lamp.

~~~~~~~~~~~...............~~~~~~~~~~~~~...........~~~~~~~~~~

*Gearbest BT70 shipping update!* Continued from post #483

Confirmed by Gearbest; My order shipped by "Surface Mail".... rft:
So I guess that means I have about 20 more days to wait... :nono:.....:incazzato:

Word of warning to others; Don't order "free shipping" from Gearbest unless you want to wait 2 months to get your order. Matter of fact don't order from any option that doesn't list the waiting time less than 2 weeks. This completely sucks. Never had anything I ever ordered "free shipping" take longer than 18 days ( except from Gearbest ).

...Of course I should add here that I might have been lied to. It might have been back ordered and they are just telling me it shipped "surface mail". Either way it adds up to the same thing


----------



## stutru (Mar 10, 2010)

tigris99 said:


> If I was me, bt40s no question. Most dont need the output of the bt70 anyway, so why bother with the huge light and hassle of dealing with all that. Bt40s has been problem free as far as we all know, and puts out plenty of light on high or turbo for most of us. I have my bt70 light head sitting on my shelf, works awesome (and everything inside is perfect) but its a beast. I use the pack from it for my other bar lights though


I think I'll go with the BT40s. Here are some pics of what happened to my BT70. I contacted nitefighter and they said they'd send me a new circuit board.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Please make a pictures of new one and publish it here so we would see if there is any difference. Great pictures, BTW.


----------



## Structure (Dec 29, 2003)

Cat-man-do said:


> So what bar light are you using?


Magicshine MH-816E with a Hope mount on the bars.

With the Dinottie XML-1 on the helmet.

The BT21 was great. I'm just daydreaming about puting the BT70 on the helmet, but it sounds like that would just ruin a good thing.


----------



## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

If it was available, I'll get 2 of the new circuit boards. Just to have some spares. Here seems that the control uC and main FET are gone forever.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Structure said:


> Magicshine MH-816E with a Hope mount on the bars.
> 
> With the Dinottie XML-1 on the helmet.
> 
> The BT21 was great. I'm just daydreaming about puting the BT70 on the helmet, but it sounds like that would just ruin a good thing.


Man a bt70 on the helmet....oh hell no lol. Talk about neck problems. The thing is huge.

Now bt21 on the helmet and bt70 on the bars, that's a good combo. I should throw my bt70 on my scale and check the weight, never did it and probably should.


----------



## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

tigris99 said:


> Man a bt70 on the helmet....oh hell no lol. Talk about neck problems. The thing is huge.
> 
> Now bt21 on the helmet and bt70 on the bars, that's a good combo. I should throw my bt70 on my scale and check the weight, never did it and probably should.


Bout 140gr for the BT70, the Power 7-up and the TR-D014 are more beefy > 300gr


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

MK96 said:


> Bout 140gr for the BT70, the Power 7-up and the TR-D014 are more beefy > 300gr


I also have a TR-D014 and can confirm it's a boat anchor. 
So heavy it broke the stock plastic mount. Currently trying to get a GoPro mount set up for it.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Vancbiker makes aluminum gopro adapter mounts (all those plastic mounts are basically the same). He can get you the magicshine gopro adapter, then just a simple handlebar mount.


----------



## Swissam (Apr 8, 2008)

Still waiting for my BT40s to show up. Anyone else having shipping problems/delays from Gearbest? :lol: :rant:


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Jup, it is exactly 60 days since I've payed for BT21. But we are in the wrong thread. :/


----------



## StillAlive (Jul 22, 2015)

I just have a conversation to the Contact Person :	Andy Wong (Sales Director) with skype and he tells me that just have discountinued the BT70 lol but the bt40 no ,i'm having problems with gearbest and i'm waiting from a bt70 from july with 1 payment problem and now just wait for another ... i hope arrived in the next weeks or something... , what do you guys think ? if you want i can put the skype conversation here


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

COntact gearbest and find out if they are really going to get anymore in. If not they need should refund your money for it. It doesnt surprise me they discontinued it, too hard to make one that big with that kind of output and the price people want to pay for it. I do know they are working on other new lights as well so well see what surfaces in its place.


----------



## StillAlive (Jul 22, 2015)

right now it's out of stock on Gearbest... 4 mounths and i don't have it... this is ****ing crazy , payment fails.. and send failed ...amazing , and now discontinued wtf is this


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Gearbest has no control over nitefighter. Payment issues r what happens when you dont use PayPal. Ive read about it a few times. As for the shipping issue with the bt70s, That I have no idea.


----------



## Action LED Lights (Nov 11, 2011)

I occasionally read through threads like these and for the life of me can't understand why people spend so much time trying to save a few bucks buying a light from some unreliable vendor selling lights from some small time Chinese company with unreliable products. 
I'd rather be riding my bike.
If you need to save some bucks buy a Magicshine. They've been around building bike lights since 2005 and while they do sometimes have issues they fix them. Order from us and you'll have the light in 2-3 days. (in the US) Have a problem with it and we'll fix it. We do warranty service on all Magicshine lights we sell. Magicshine has a new line of lights coming out that are very aggressively priced that range from a single XM-L2 to 2, 5, and 8 XM-L2's.


----------



## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

Action LED Lights said:


> I occasionally read through threads like these and for the life of me can't understand why people spend so much time trying to save a few bucks buying a light from some unreliable vendor selling lights from some small time Chinese company with unreliable products.
> I'd rather be riding my bike.
> ........


This for the win ^^^^^ :thumbsup:

*****


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

No arguments on any point except one thing:

Neutral white emitters. Few and far between in lights. But more and more are learning cool white aren't better, their actually worse for night riding. So everyone that wants neutral white has to go with the options available. Very slim in the budget range atm.


----------



## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

Kind of interesting, I asked you guys want temperature (K) you were calling warm and you told me. I have since ordered some LED's from Digikey and Mouser that offer LED's in "binned" configurations and I thought the color was terrible. Way too yellow, reminded me of the older halogen days. Not really warm or orangish at all. When I look at the pictures of what you are calling "warm" and pictures of my lights using LED's that I have gotten from a reputable supplier at 6000K, they look very similar. How do you know what temperature of LED it is that you are actually getting from these Chinese suppliers? It is no mystery that they go of the cheapest components that they can find. The cheaper, less desireable LED's are using up in the higher 7000K range which I think you may be calling as cool white. 

Look at the fiasco when you first requested warm LED's from one of the Chinese suppliers. Everyone was getting different tints. I don't think the even Chinese know what they are shipping.

Just a thought.


***


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Scar, I ran side by side tests against known emitter tints (color temps). Warm white and neutral white are actually 2 different things where im concerned. I own all 3 ranges.



0-2 series tint is the cool range. 3-4 series (4-5000k, though 4000 is pretty warm/yellow) is neutral, 5 on up is warm. 5000k tint seems to be the go to neutral and its what cree refers to as 3 (3c and 3d). We get a mix between 3 and 4 series tint. Nitefighter is 3c, so is yinding NOW, ones like fenix are 4c.


Also, your lights utilize reflectors (not a dang thing wrong with it except) which separates the yellows alot more noticeably than using most optics.


Problem with cold tints is washout and glare. 5000k range seems to be a good balance. Personally I hate cool white with a passion after using neutral white. But that's me.


----------



## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

For the record I was told by GB that US power adapters are still out of stock after having been sent the wrong kind in early September. 

No issues with the lights though, really happy with them. I've used the 21 quite a bit and it is amazing. The 70 I only used for one night but no issues so far after running on turbo for about 15 minutes and high for 45.


----------



## MaximusHQ (Aug 6, 2007)

Neutral is less harsh on the eyes than cool white, and it makes colors easier to distinguish between on the trail. That's the only reason I am using a cheap Nitefighter light on my bars instead of my ~6,000k Lupine Betty. In the fall here with all the leaves on the ground you catch a lot of glare off the leaves with cooler tint lights and less with the neutrals. Cool to me is above 5,000k. I have one light that uses MT G2 at 5,000k and I like that, but I prefer warmer. There's a reason cavers use warmer emitters with preferably HI CRI because you can distinguish the colors better and at the same time it is less harsh on the eyes. My nicest light is in the ~4,400k range and has a very slight rose tint to it. It's wonderful in the forest at night. It makes it easier to pick up detail on the trail not to mention the warmer color makes the trail seem more inviting and not that cold sterile look you get from the typical 6,000k and above lights. 

For road cycling the neutral tint is an improvement too. The reflective streets signs can be especially harsh with cooler tinted lights. They were even worse when I ran my NR HIDs back in the day. The neutral white warmer tint cuts down on that reflective glare a bit and takes out a bit of the harshness. 

The only benefit to cooler tinted lights is they are better if you want to be seen by others because of the harsh color produced they grab attention more. So they are better for a "be seen" type of light. At this point I wouldn't even begin to consider a light that is above 5,000 kelvin for a bike light, headlamp, or flashlight and will be looking for HI CRI options for the most part.


----------



## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

Did they really discontinue this light? I was still mulling over a purchase. Cat did you ever get yours?


----------



## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Maybe they had some issues with the driver. The last batch comes with a new one and has lower current output (and lumens also).


----------



## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

I've had fun lately with the 70. I've ran it a few nights now for an hour or more on Turbo and smooth sailing. It's Buffalo and been in the 35-55 degree range at night, so the light body hasn't even got very warm yet.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

varider said:


> Did they really discontinue this light? I was still mulling over a purchase. Cat did you ever get yours?


 No I have not received my BT70 from Gearbest yet, will be 2 months tomorrow. I found another Chinese website that is selling them but I'm not going to order another. I don't want it that badly. That and I'm just not sure I can trust that they actually have the product.

To me I find the whole ordeal very strange. Yes, sometimes the Chinese websites run out of stuff but usually if something is back ordered it is only for a couple weeks. This is the first time I've seen a complete dry-up of a particularly popular Chinese product. It's very unlike the Chinese to miss an opportunity to sell a product in high demand. I'm still betting that the one I ordered is never going to show up.

The fact that Gearbest has run out of BT70's and the fact that this is the first time I've not received an order in a timely manner is too much of a coincidence for me not to think that I was lied to when I was told my order had shipped.


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

Cat, U can buy mine if U want. BUYER BEWARE though. LOL. Sometimes U have to tap it to come on. You can't really use any battery on turbo or it cuts out. Maybe a very high end battery.

Mine basically sits in a drawer now.


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

So I received my warranty light the other day... And it shipped with the European charger again even after specific email exchanges. 
I don't mind and I'm not going to bother them with it, I'm still very happy that they sent me another kit and made an effort to resolve my issues. 
I will be going through this lamp before any serious use to make sure the wires are protected and away from hot parts that will melt and short them.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

mb323323 said:


> Cat, U can buy mine if U want. BUYER BEWARE though. LOL. Sometimes U have to tap it to come on. You can't really use any battery on turbo or it cuts out. Maybe a very high end battery.
> 
> Mine basically sits in a drawer now.


Thanks MB ( and to tigris99 ) *for offering to sell me theirs.

Actually I just have to tough it out. Since I review Chinese lamps on a regular basis ( and get stuff for free sometimes ) and talk about Chinese lamps all the time, I need to on occasion pay dues by buying stuff from the Chinese myself...for better or worse. That said I need to let this play out so people know what can happen when you buy Chinese. To be fair to the vendors and other people selling lamps on MTBR this is something that needs to be done so potential buyers see that they might not want to go the route of buying Chinese. This means I have to take my lumps ( just like everyone else ) when things don't go right. ( To Scar and Jim ( Action LED ) )...I'm going to let this play out and let people know how bad things can go.


----------



## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

So GB hasn't said anything to me about the 70 being discontinued, but they have me waiting for the charger to get back in stock so they can finally send me the right US style plug.... It will never get back in stock if they have discontinued...

I'm wondering if I should suggest they send me a plug from a BT40 kit. Could someone who has both lights check and see if they use the same charger?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

They ALL use the same charger, so no worries there, doesn't have to even be nitefighter, just a 8.4v liion charger with dc connector.


----------



## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

Cool thanks, I sent them a message to see if they'll just send me one from another kit.


----------



## muggomagic (Nov 1, 2015)

Long time reader, 1st time contributor. 

I ordered a BT70 off the back of this thread on August 15th. It was despatched on the 20th August. It never arrived, I submitted several tickets to gearbest and eventually (October 10th) they agreed it wasn't going to turn up and because I hadn't paid for insurance they only offered me half the value as store credit. I wasn't happy with this so submitted a dispute via PayPal. Then on October 19th I received an update to the support ticket saying they had despatched another BT70 to me. 
Finally on October 31st my light arrived! 
I'm glad it's sorted, but not happy that GB weren't going to send another light until I raised a dispute via PayPal.


----------



## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

stutru said:


> I think I'll go with the BT40s. Here are some pics of what happened to my BT70. I contacted nitefighter and they said they'd send me a new circuit board.
> 
> View attachment 1020546
> View attachment 1020547


Stutru,

Curious how this worked out for you? Did Nitefighter send you a new circuit board? Mine fried in a similar fashion.


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

Let us know how long your light actually lasts and works.

Mine was bad out of the box but worked if I tapped it on a counter or something. I've used it a grand total of 5 times. The button in the back to turn off/on now broke and I'm very easy on things. I pushed it in to turn on and it stays pushed in now.

I'll have to take it apart and repair it.

Thankfully I still have my 5 year old working DiNotte dual XML-3 w/ same batteries. Yes, the batteries aren't as new but they work pretty good for 5 years old. The BT70 is basically junk in my opinion but that's just me. Some of you seem to have better experience.

Bottom line tho, BT70 3 months, 5 rides 31 bucks light head only so about $6.20 a ride. The DiNottes 430 5 years hundreds of rides (ride 1-2 times a week at night and never leave home w/o them) so figure at least 300 rides $1.43 a ride.

Cheap is not always the cheapest.

MB


----------



## mentawais (Feb 16, 2005)

mb32323 I agree 100% I had same bad experience!!


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

mb323323 said:


> ....The BT70 is basically junk in my opinion but that's just me. Some of you seem to have better experience.
> 
> Bottom line tho, BT70 3 months, 5 rides 31 bucks light head only so about $6.20 a ride. The DiNottes 430 5 years hundreds of rides (ride 1-2 times a week at night and never leave home w/o them) *so figure at least 300 rides $1.43 a ride.
> 
> ...


Well, to be fair if you're going to use 300 rides as a part of the comparison it has to apply to both sides of the equation. Now to do that you would have to factor in a replacement cost for the BT70 lamp head ( $35? ) and then calculate the total cost per ride.........of course the problem with that is that no one can get one now so that is the "F" factor in the equation.

The strange thing about the BT70 is that when it was first released it was only available for about two months. That fact alone is very unusual. I can't recall this happening to any other "Brand Marketed" Chinese made lamp. On the other hand I do recall Gearbest running out of a similar type of lamp just about a year ago. In that case I was suppose to review the lamp for free but the lamp I was to review was apparently discontinued. Gearbest never offered an explanation and I never asked for one.

Yes there have been problems with the quality of the BT70 but truthfully I don't think anyone would be complaining if it were just possible to get a replacement. With this type of lamp if one goes bad you replace it with another. That's assuming of course that you feel the lamp was nice enough ( when it was working... ) to justify the replacement cost and assuming that getting a replacement is no big deal. Unfortunately, in the case of the BT70, sadly that fact doesn't appear to apply. Anyone that bought one, actually got it and had it work properly got lucky. The others who bought one, didn't get it or got it and had it fail got screwed.


----------



## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

It's the Chinese roulette game we all play here. Don't have such high expectations and the letdown won't be so bad. 

-Garry


----------



## Desert Runner (Apr 30, 2015)

I used my BT70 For dozens of rides and no problems. Even had two crashes with it mounted to the bars. It's been flawless the whole time.

My point is there might be some bad ones that made it by. But overall for the money it's worth the gamble...


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

garrybunk said:


> It's the Chinese roulette game we all play here. Don't have such high expectations and the letdown won't be so bad.
> 
> -Garry


Yes but with Gearbest it seems they have introduced a new version of the Chinese roulette game. With the new version when you lose the house immediately closes down the game and doesn't give you a second chance to win.


----------



## Swissam (Apr 8, 2008)

muggomagic said:


> Long time reader, 1st time contributor.
> 
> I ordered a BT70 off the back of this thread on August 15th. It was despatched on the 20th August. It never arrived, I submitted several tickets to gearbest and eventually (October 10th) they agreed it wasn't going to turn up and because I hadn't paid for insurance they only offered me half the value as store credit. I wasn't happy with this so submitted a dispute via PayPal. Then on October 19th I received an update to the support ticket saying they had despatched another BT70 to me.
> Finally on October 31st my light arrived!
> I'm glad it's sorted, but not happy that GB weren't going to send another light until I raised a dispute via PayPal.


Currently in the same boat. They offered a 50% refund. I said I want a 100% refund or the light sent with air shipping or I will settle it with PayPal. Waiting for their response. I ordered on the 9th of September.



Cat-man-do said:


> Yes but with Gearbest it seems they have introduced a new version of the Chinese roulette game. With the new version when you lose the house immediately closes down the game and doesn't give you a second chance to win.


I agree, avoid Gear Worst. They are NOT honest.


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

I've had both good and bad experience with GearBest, but don't think you'll have to avoid them. As long as you pay via PayPal, you're safe - and in fact, all these Chinee shops are more or less the same: you'll never know whether you'll get what you've ordered in reasonable time, or not. Just keep trying!


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

-Archie- said:


> I've had both good and bad experience with GearBest, but don't think you'll have to avoid them. As long as you pay via PayPal, you're safe - and in fact, all these Chinee shops are more or less the same: you'll never know whether you'll get what you've ordered in reasonable time, or not. Just keep trying!


Just filed my ticket with Gearbest. Now to see how fast their customer service gets me a refund.


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

The replacement they sent me kept cutting out whenever I went over a big bump. After messing around with different packs and lamps I narrowed it down to the battery pack. This is what I found:









Easy fix, but a little QC would go a long way.


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

Nice picture...


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

I guess the QC an all these lights is going to be suspect. And that's to be expected I guess b/c the price is really 60-80% less than a similar product w/ good QC.

If you are good at modding, then go for it as in the case of the BT70, it was bright for sure. You would never ride w/ that light by itself. As a matter of fact, you would probably never ride w/ even 2 and no other back up.

MB


----------



## cor35vet (Jul 19, 2015)

Just in case anyone cares: I orderd the BT70 lighthead only from GearBest on "Jul 22, 2015 08:55:45 AM". I have ordered it with the free shipping method since I wasn't in a hurry 
Turns out that was a mistake .. I never received the light and had to message their support like 4 times to be told that I can't get a refund because I didn't pay for insurance lol.

Well I opened a dispute on paypal and got the money back but now it's getting really dark outside and I'm still using two XM-L2 flashlights (which are really bright but I need more!!!) on my bike :v

Guess I'll need to look out for another light or hope that the BT70 comes back in stock (and pay like $10 more than initially since I bought it when it was $30 [+NL post this time])


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

cor35vet said:


> Just in case anyone cares: I orderd the BT70 lighthead only from GearBest on "Jul 22, 2015 08:55:45 AM". I have *ordered it with the free shipping method since I wasn't in a hurry
> Turns out that was a mistake *.. I never received the light and had to message their support like 4 times to be told that I can't get a refund because I didn't pay for insurance lol.
> 
> Well I opened a dispute on paypal and got the money back but now it's getting really dark outside and I'm still using two XM-L2 flashlights (which are really bright but I need more!!!) on my bike :v
> ...


Look, I've been ordering stuff from Chinese websites using free shipping for years. I've never had an order not arrive and never had it take more than 1 month to arrive.

You didn't make a mistake, you just got lied to and screwed over. Not your fault. I'm in the same boat. Hopefully I'll get my money back.

Edit: Almost forgot; I sent Nitefighter an e-mail as well. I asked them why the BT70 is no longer available. No response yet to my inquiry.


----------



## StillAlive (Jul 22, 2015)

Hello Cat , i'm too in the same boat from 17 agoust and now i have the money and the same for gearbest because paypal , so... i have already talk to the contact seller on the web of nitefighter he tell's me just is boss makes the decision to discontinued the BT70 and that's all... and i can buy the BT40s ... , you guys can talk too here (skype) Andy Wong (Sales Director)
86-13138169668 Bike Light Manufacturer , sorry for my english maybe it's not very good haha


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

I received a reply back from Nitefighter. Their stated reasons for discontinuing the BT70 is that their was, "Not a strong market demand ", for the product and that there was, " a high defective rate " on the product. 

Of course my response to this is "BS" on the first reason and "Yeah, probably the truth" on the second. Likely though I think the biggest reason for discontinuing the BT70 was that the company had some kind of production problem that couldn't be easily fixed without some re-tooling or product redesign. Perhaps sales of the BT40S and BT21 were so high they couldn't keep up with demand and had to give up on the 70. They did say that next year might bring some new products so perhaps there will be a new high-output model some time next year.


----------



## mentawais (Feb 16, 2005)

*one day we'll learn...*

I just received my new BT70!!!







tonight I'll test it:thumbsup::madman::madmax:


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

mentawais said:


> I just received my new BT70!!!
> View attachment 1028220
> 
> tonight I'll test it:thumbsup::madman::madmax:


Lucky you. So how long did it take to get yours? Just hope nothing is wrong with it because there aren't going to be any new ones anytime soon....at least as far as Nitefighter is concerned.

Of course this doesn't mean that some one won't decide to make a cloned version and sell it under another name.


----------



## Ozzy43 (Mar 24, 2012)

I had somewhat considered looking into some cheaper lights until I stumbled across this video


----------



## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Very cool video! BUT it's comparing mostly outdated Nitefighter lights notably missing the BT21 & BT70. Would have loved to have seen the BT21 in that video. Thanks for sharing!

-Garry


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Well heres what the new nitefighters look like together:


----------



## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

Question for you DIY'ers and modders out there. It seems like most if not all of the BT70 failures are in the driver board. Any thoughts on replacing the stock board with an aftermarket one?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

For me personally, not worth it. Its a big and bulky light head (not to mention its been discontinued) with limited options for modifications without machining. Plus no aftermarket way of using the switch set up on the case. Just alot of work to make a case of mediocre design useable.

Not to mention cost makes it not really worth it.


----------



## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

I'd just add some more heatsinking to the components that pop out either finned metal or some thermal silicone glue like fujik or both


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

I like mine.


----------



## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

Are Nitefighter going to re-release an updated version of this light?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

no its discontinued, not being updated anytime soon. Too many issues trying to make a light like this work for the cheap price.


----------



## Joy4ride (Jul 12, 2015)

If someone want to sell/donate his broken /deffective BT70, I am interested to buy/get it for parts.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

So, on the 4th of July I put my BT70 on my bike and headed to a local mountain top to see the fire works. I've only used it a couple times. On the way back, flying down a steep hill, my BT70 went bark at around 30mph. ****, the only thing I could do was lock up the rear brake, to keep me going as straight as possible and come to a stop without hitting anything or riding off the double track. It worked, I didn't fall and I was happy to ride home in the dark. Today, I took the back off and pulled the white plastic ring out and pulled out the switch. I had it glugged into the battery. I took a small flat screw driver and pushed on the switch connector, with the 2 black and 2 red wires, on the light side, and the light came on. So, I turned it off and pulled the connector off, and one of the black wires came out. I stuck it back into the white connector and I swear I heard it click in, but it could be my imagination. I plugged the connector back in, which was a real pain, and the light works. I've smacked the **** out of it on my knee and leg and I can't get the light to fail. But, I still don't want to trust it. Where could I buy the little write harness with the 2 white connectors with the 2 black and 2 red wires that go from the switch to the board inside the light? Even if I replace that, it'll still make me a little nervous. I guess I'll have to start using 2 lights.


----------



## Dirt Road (Feb 6, 2016)

Wow. No backup with gravity doing its magic? Great outcome non the less. God bless america👍


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

That's a specialized part, not something easily acquired without electronics knowledge. And what your explaining is insanely easy to fix (at least in my opinion), take me longer to get the rear cover off than to fix the connector.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> That's a specialized part, not something easily acquired without electronics knowledge. And what your explaining is insanely easy to fix (at least in my opinion), take me longer to get the rear cover off than to fix the connector.
> 
> Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


How should I fix it, besides just plugging it back in? It's a pretty tiny little piece to work with.

Also, does anyone know what size the little screw is that holds the half moon bar mount to the light head? I could mount my 21 to my helmet without the bar mount if I had a longer screw. Also, where can I get the rubber mounting rings? I lost the small one today.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

Hey, could I take the mount off the head of my 21 and use Velcro to mount it to my helmet? It's a Met Parachute and it has a flat camera mount that I could mount it to. Or would the light melt the Velcro?


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

Ok, I'm doing a test. I took the mount off the head and put a piece of Velcro on the bottom of the head. I'm going to run the light till the battery dies and see if it melts the Velcro.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Velcro isn't strong enough and the heat will cause the adhesive to release.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Velcro isn't strong enough and the heat will cause the adhesive to release.
> 
> Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


I've had it on high for over 20 minutes now. The Velcro isn't melting, the glue is holding fine and I know it'll hold the light. The BT21 is super light. I am using some very burly industrial strength Velcro.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

I swear this helmet was made for the BT21. The battery attaches perfectly to the back using the Velcro thought the vents. And, it's not heavy.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I use my set up with a 2 cell pack that way but now I went to scotch lock Velcro cause I got tired of fishing the Velcro through.

4 cell weight on my helmet is too much, I tried it the other night cause my 2cell needed recharged and I was paying for it by the end of the ride. My neck started bothering me causing a headache. But I can get 2-3 hrs out of a 2 cell pack since I regulate power levels to only what's needed through sections.

Though a lot easier to do having a set of Ituo lights. So much better than my nightfighter lights and I can tweak the beam pattern much better than my glowworms.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

How should I fix that black wire? I just pushed it back into the white connector and plugged it back in. Is there anything else I should do?


----------



## Mentor (Aug 14, 2015)

Mountain Cycle Shawn said:


> I swear this helmet was made for the BT21. The battery attaches perfectly to the back using the Velcro thought the vents. And, it's not heavy.


I have a BT21 on my MET Parachute too, and agree, it fits great. I don't feel the weight at all (I do keep the battery in my pack though). I don't put the light on the helmet's GoPro mount, it sticks up too much and I worry about it catching a branch. I find I can wedge it into a hole in the visor in a way that the head has a very low profile. The cable routes through the back to the goggle stap clip so the wires are neatly tucked out of the way.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

I ended up taking the camera mount off and mounting the light in front of it to get the proper aim. I ran the light on the bright setting till the battery died. The Velcro held up and the glue is still as strong as new. It seems to pint up, but when I put the helmet on and sit on my bike it seems to point in the right direction.


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Mountain Cycle Shawn said:


> I've had it on high for over 20 minutes now. The Velcro isn't melting, the glue is holding fine and I know it'll hold the light. The BT21 is super light. I am using some very burly industrial strength Velcro.


Scar has been selling direct velcro mounting for his Amoeba lights for years and it seems to be just fine. Unless the BT21 gets a lot hotter than an Amoeba, I'd say it will work fine for you.

Only issue I see is there is no easy way to adjust the aim. Sure you can stop and move the light fore and aft over the radius of the helmet but that is nowhere near as easy as having a small range of pivot in the mount that can be tweaked on the go. I usually find that I'll tweak the aim a couple times per ride. Usually to account for my old neck getting tired.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

Vancbiker said:


> Scar has been selling direct velcro mounting for his Amoeba lights for years and it seems to be just fine. Unless the BT21 gets a lot hotter than an Amoeba, I'd say it will work fine for you.
> 
> Only issue I see is there is no easy way to adjust the aim. Sure you can stop and move the light fore and aft over the radius of the helmet but that is nowhere near as easy as having a small range of pivot in the mount that can be tweaked on the go. I usually find that I'll tweak the aim a couple times per ride. Usually to account for my old neck getting tired.


I don't have any neck problems, so Im hoping to just find a good aim and leave it. It doesn't have to be perfect. It's really only there in case my bar light goes out again.


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

It worked perfectly with no blackouts. BT70 on the bars and a 21 on my helmet. I put the diffuse lens on the 70. I'm going to try it next time with the other lens.


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

More than a few of you predicted this would happen. Nitefighter GoPro mount with a BT70 more than the mount can handle.
Mole


----------



## Dirt Road (Feb 6, 2016)

Dang it MRMOLE, quit breaking stuff! Yeah that looked a bit sketchy...


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

Dirt Road said:


> Dang it MRMOLE, quit breaking stuff! Yeah that looked a bit sketchy...


.

Time to order a proper mount from Vancbiker. No fins for this one though, at around 1700 lumens the lights mass is able to handle the heat. I also have one of these Nitefighter mounts on my BT40s so we'll see how long that one lasts. Lighter weight light-head + far less usage so it should do better.
Mole


----------



## mentawais (Feb 16, 2005)

*Vancbiker is fine!*



MRMOLE said:


> .
> 
> Time to order a proper mount from Vancbiker. No fins for this one though, at around 1700 lumens the lights mass is able to handle the heat. I also have one of these Nitefighter mounts on my BT40s so we'll see how long that one lasts. Lighter weight light-head + far less usage so it should do better.
> Mole


I works pretty good to me!


----------



## mentawais (Feb 16, 2005)

*Vancbiker is fine!*









I have used it to hard tracks a lot crashs it still


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

mentawais said:


> View attachment 1093467
> 
> 
> I have used it to hard tracks a lot crashs it still


Looks good! I ordered a couple of those cheap mounts ($1.60) when I got the light to see how they worked (and now I know). Nice light!
Mole


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

MRMOLE said:


> Time to order a proper mount from Vancbiker. No fins for this one though,


I do make a non-finned version for the BT70, but as shown in mentawais' picture, the finned one looks cooler 

sorry for the bad pun.....


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

Vancbiker said:


> I do make a non-finned version for the BT70, but as shown in mentawais' picture, the finned one looks cooler
> 
> sorry for the bad pun.....


Ya, your right, definitely cooler than the $3.50 price difference.
Mole


----------



## MountainBored (Aug 4, 2016)

After a year in storage I charged it and it worked fine. It's on!


----------



## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

Sorry for bringing this old thread up of a discontinued light but I finally got around to fixing the switch on my BT70 and the light works and scrolls through the settings up but not down. It's working though and the things is pretty bright for the little money it costs.

My question is this. Is the KD battery (see link) capable of powering this light on the high and turbo modes. Or do I need to find good 26650 cells that would be able to handle a larger drain like this light will do.

http://www.kaidomain.com/p/S024616....uality-Rechargeable-18650-Li-ion-Battery-Pack

Thx


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

The battery pack that came with the light was half the size of what your asking about. 26650 cells wouldn't do any better than a massive brick.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

mb323323, I think 8 cell pack from KD should be more than good. If it has the same protection circuit I've tested with 4 cell pack it should stand 6A current which is only 1.5A per cell. In fact all 4-8 cell packs should be good enough, it is just matter of runtime. For often use of turbo mode I would choose 6 cell pack at least. Otherwise even 4 cell pack should be good. Hi mode is 1.9A so for more than 3 hours of runtime with 4 cell 6.8Ah pack.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

Hello. Is anybody here?
My BT 70 broke a couple of days ago.
Everything was fine all these seven years. And I used mostly 1 and 2 modes. Rarely turned on 3. 4 stupid mode .. Visible light is added a little, and the battery is discharged quickly.
But something went wrong with me: I came from a ride, the battery was already glowing orange (through the headlight indicator).
And I wanted to check how the headlight goes out. And I turned on mode 4 on a standing bike. Very quickly, the indicator turned red and almost immediately the headlight went out. And it didn't turn on again.
When I charged the battery it didn't turn on. When you press the button, it blinks once and that's it - the rest of the manipulations are useless. Until you disconnect the headlight again and reconnect it to the battery, then it flashes again when you press the button.
The battery works - the other headlight works well with it.

But I did not give up and turned on the headlight ..
I experimented with her. I did this: I pressed the button on the case with one hand, and with the other I began to connect it to the battery.
One hand is uncomfortable, respectively, it turned out that there is contact, then there is no contact. And the headlight began to react to these actions
series of flashes, with different amplitudes. And .. It flared up like a fluorescent lamp!
Now it turns on, but only in one mode. Apparently this is the most useful - the second.
Modes are not switched. When you press "down" nothing happens, it's on, when you press up, it goes out. After that, it may not turn on. But the button diode now lights up when the battery is connected! So you turn off the button (hold) and after that it turns on again.

Maybe it would go like that - it burns. But the first mode was also very useful. I identified myself on the road with them.

It turns out the driver is alive?
And how is this even possible? It didn't work at first?


----------



## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

No, no one’s here.


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Some Chinese lights used holding the switch while connecting the battery to enter a programming or configuration mode. This may be what happened. If you search other bt70 or bt40s threads here you may find out some information. Also I believe there were threads on the bt70 and bt40s at budget light forums. Would be worth searching there too. 

Getting 7 years out of a cheap Chinese light is really good. You could just toss it and feel good about how much use you got for so little money.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

Vancbiker said:


> Getting 7 years out of a cheap Chinese light is really good. You could just toss it and feel good about how much use you got for so little money.


Of course, it's cool that it served for 7 years, and even for that kind of money. But if not for this unfortunate oversight on my part, it would have worked longer.
And to replace it for the money is not easy. It did its job very well.


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

Advard said:


> Of course, it's cool that it served for 7 years, and even for that kind of money. But if not for this unfortunate oversight on my part, it would have worked longer.
> And to replace it for the money is not easy. It did its job very well.


R.I.P. BT70 (and Nitefighter). Sadly these high bang for the buck lights are no longer available. What are your replacement plans?
Mole


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

MRMOLE said:


> R.I.P. BT70 (and Nitefighter). Sadly these high bang for the buck lights are no longer available. What are your replacement plans?
> Mole


Apparently, you can call me an antique dealer. I have another prehistoric headlight, also from a non-existent brand from Estonia (this is Eastern Europe)
But it also shines very well. Neutral white flood light, convenient control. It is ELT-04 at the photo.
As long as it works, I won't buy anything else.
I tried driving with a headlight on the steering wheel. I have Emisar d4 from Hank Wang. Not bad. Small flashlight, lots of light. Only the battery needs high current.

But I did find an interesting option. Not cheap.
In a parallel thread, about seven years ago, I gave a link to a headlight from South Africa! So this looks like a clone.
One drawback - cold light ..


https://aliexpress.ru/item/1005003227322096.html?_ga=2.203626835.2117315393.1658711114-1392328393.1658711114&sku_id=12000024748476047



This might also be interesting


https://aliexpress.ru/item/1005002071620994.html?_evo_buckets=165609%2C165598%2C188871%2C194275%2C299287%2C224373%2C176818&_t=gps-id%3AaerPdpSubstituteRcmd%2Cscm-url%3A1007.34525.285488.0%2Cpvid%3Af063b326-f607-44ad-bcf9-9ad01bc376e5%2Ctpp_buckets%3A24525%230%23285488%236_21387%230%23233228%233_21387%239507%23434562%237&gps-id=aerPdpSubstituteRcmd&item_id=1005002071620994&pvid=f063b326-f607-44ad-bcf9-9ad01bc376e5&scenario=aerPdpSubstituteRcmd&scm=1007.34525.285488.0&scm-url=1007.34525.285488.0&scm_id=1007.34525.285488.0&sku_id=12000026969298291&spm=a2g2w.detail.1000060.2.20a26a8fm15qpu&tpp_rcmd_bucket_id=285488



And something from the line of models of the Gaciron brandfrom Aliexpress


----------



## A.Argo (6 mo ago)

I do not own and have not tried the Wuben B1 and the Nitecore Hu60, but they look very interesting, too bad for the light with a cold tint.
With some frequency you can also find the Olight RN3500 at a 50% discount on the internet, for example during holidays or on other occasions, I think this flashlight has a budget similar to those you have reported.
In this price range you can also find the old Magicshine series on aliexpress.


----------



## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

What about the KD BL70S? Wouldn't that be worth considering? KDLITKER BL70S LED Bike Light 

-Garry


----------



## A.Argo (6 mo ago)

i have the kd2 neutral white, it works fine but suffers from overheating, i think the bl70s suffers less of these problems. for the battery I recommend the more expensive one with panasonics cells because the cheaper battery pack has an unbalanced BMS.


----------



## A.Argo (6 mo ago)

I was looking at the pictures of the bl70 and it probably has another problem which is present on my kd2: there is no rubber protection where the power cable passes, the o-rings are missing. to solve the problem I inserted some silicone for high temperatures, but I don't like this, because my kd2 was sold as ipx-8.









I contacted customer service but no response for weeks. when i complained about this issue on budgetlight forum, kaidomain staff contacted me right away. they offered me a refund if I sent the flashlight back but I declined.


----------



## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

A.Argo said:


> With some frequency you can also find the Olight RN3500 at a 50% discount on the internet, for example during holidays or on other occasions, I think this flashlight has a budget similar to those you have reported.
> In this price range you can also find the old Magicshine series on aliexpress.


Awesome RN3500 is a fantastic light but only for helmet use IMO. SST20 emitters used in this light give it a narrow beam with very long throw so probably not the best replacement for the floody Nitefighter BT70.


----------



## A.Argo (6 mo ago)

MRMOLE said:


> Awesome RN3500 is a fantastic light but only for helmet use IMO. SST20 emitters used in this light give it a narrow beam with very long throw so probably not the best replacement for the floody Nitefighter BT70.



I agree with you.
i think the rn3500 is perfect as a light on the helmet.


----------

