# Has anyone tried the Romisen RC-T5?



## Tom Brown (Jan 18, 2008)

Has anyone tried the Romisen RC-T5 with a handlebar mount? Several people on CPF are talking about using them for bike lights.










The RC-T5 is configured with 4 x CREE XR-E Q4 bin LEDs (apparently), 2 x 18650 li-ion cells (the big laptop cells), two regulators (LEDs configured in 2 x series of 2).

Disregard the 650 lumen claim. Reports are they put out 350~400 lumens. Run time reports are just over 2 hours on high (time to 50% brightness).

Here are the  specs.

I'm a cheapskate and the idea of getting a fully regulated 4 x Cree XR-E Q2 emitter light with 2 x 18650 cells for 50 bucks sounds fantastic to me.

I've been thinking of building something. It would be configured pretty much exactly like the RC-T5, although I'd go with Q5 emitters. Needless to say, it would cost me well in excess of 50 bucks for the parts and would take quite a bit of work to get a usable bike light.

Folks on CPF have commented on the rather thin mounting plate the stars are on so heat dissipation will be an issue. Speculation over there is that it will take up to roughly 750 mA safely, with current thermal handling. Since testing revealed a driving current of roughly 400 mA, there is a little room for turning up the wick, with 650 lumens achievable for extremely small amounts of time and money. At 750 mA drive, run time will be down in the 90 minute range on full power.

My only concern is having an 8 inch light on my bar. There will probably be an inch or two hanging behind the headstock. That isn't very safe. My current DIY system isn't very crash friendly, either.

Has anyone else considered this light? It seems to be configured exactly like the lights so many of us are building.


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## p97z (Dec 19, 2006)

Looks interesting! Seems a little long for a bike light but you could cut it down and run an external battery back...

Is the beam a flood or spot?


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## Tom Brown (Jan 18, 2008)

p97z said:


> Looks interesting! Seems a little long for a bike light but you could cut it down and run an external battery back...


That's exactly what I was thinking. Worst case, I'll remove the tube, make an aluminum plug, and just use it as a head.

I'll mention that the body is made in two pieces. If you like, you can remove the tail extension tube and run it as a pretty short light with 3 x RCR123s. Of course, the run time will be dismal for bike uses in that configuration.



p97z said:


> Is the beam a flood or spot?


The tiny orange peel reflectors make it pretty floody, although it has quite a bit of throw on account of it's sheer power.

Perhaps I'll order one and report back.


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## p97z (Dec 19, 2006)

Sounds like a plan... For the price it could be perfect.


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## eddielee70 (Dec 28, 2006)

t-5 is great for people who like spot for helmet use. it's 13.7oz with battery, 10.25oz for flashlight only, 5.45oz for the head only. output is 26lux in my dark room. compare to 21lux for Trinewt. T-5 seems to be driven very low at 500ma with 4 q4 cree. battery on 2500mah, which is more like 1800mah of 2 18650 last 1:45 before going low. the mx power 3 cree p4 is 23 lux, 9.5oz w/ battery, 7oz for light only, 3.70oz for head. driven much harder, but never measure it. picture beamshot below at 1/6sec, F4.0, daylight, etc. I got the t-5 a month ago, but it's too spotty for good trail ride. maybe for road riders....
mag lite 3d 2lux








mod mag lite 800ma ssc u-bin led 9 lux








flamethrower niterider HID 17.5lux








Storm HID niterider 23lux








mx 3cree p4 $45 23lux








t-5 4cree q4 500ma $50 26lux








Trinewt full charge battery 21lux


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## p97z (Dec 19, 2006)

eddielee70 Thanks!

Excellent shots! It's too spotty for my taste.


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## Tom Brown (Jan 18, 2008)

I have been using the RC-T5 for a while and like it quite well. I'll get some beam shots one of these days.

The light is reasonably floody with amazing throw. I have it mounted with the emitters in a diamond configuration (left, right, top, bottom), instead of a square. That helps the flood a little bit.

Making it look less floody in pictures is an extremely bright hot spot. The hot spot isn't particularly useful but the side spill certainly is.

One of the things that has become obvious about this light, after reading about it on CPF, is that it comes in a couple of different flavors. Recent lights are far brighter than earlier lights. Some people have been greatly disappointed while others, like myself, who have recent copies are delighted with it.


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

Tom Brown said:


> ...(edited).. Making it (the Romisen RC-T5 ) look less floody in pictures is an extremely bright hot spot. *The hot spot isn't particularly useful but the side spill certainly is.*
> 
> One of the things that has become obvious about this light, after reading about it on CPF, is that it comes in a couple of different flavors. Recent lights are far brighter than earlier lights. Some people have been greatly disappointed while others, like myself, who have recent copies are delighted with it.


I'm going to disagree about the usefulness of the beam pattern. After viewing the beam comparisons that were over on CPF , I think the T-5 would make one heck of a helmet light. Even better was the MX Power (3xcree P-4) which looked to be brighter than the T-5 with an even brighter hot spot...perfect for helmet use. Like someone else said, I don't think it would be too hard to cut this light down and mod a separate battery/switch. The only problem might be in finding a way to mount it but I think it could be done without too much trouble. The only thing stopping me from plunking down the $55 (for the MX ) right now is the fact that the light head is a bit wide ( 56mm ), This would look a little clunky sitting on your helmet. If it was more the size of the DiNotte 600L I could deal with it, however it is not. I looked around my house for something that size and I came up with a Glade Air-freshner spray can which is just a tad smaller in diameter than the 56mm MX.


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## zemike (Sep 3, 2007)

There is no need to cut this light!

On a similar Ultrafire 3-led I used a PET bottle neck as cap.

You need to cut the bottle neck from a PET bottle so that it will be slightly larger than the opening of the head and screw it in the light head.


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## Titus Maximus (Jan 3, 2004)

It took 2 months, but it finally arrived.The first thing I did with this light was lash it to my helmet with some velcro straps and hit the streets. I had to throw my head back to get the light where it needed to be, because the angle was off, but it gave me an idea of what it was capable of. It really lights up the road! I feel it is a bit too heavy for comfortable helmet use. Maybe if it was modded to move the batteries off the helmet it would be acceptable. Next I tried it strapped under the bars with a Lock-Block. Again, the weight (and length) was a problem, as it wobbled around quite a bit. I then strapped the rear of the light to the stem using a Bike-Block. That firmed things up nicely and I was able to adjust the angle enough to get it pointed where I wanted. Like Tom Brown, I was most impressed with the spill of this light. It is quite wide and illuminates the foreground very well. The very bright spot is best aimed well down the road or trail, like at the horizon, in my opinion. This light may be too bright for riding in traffic, as one car that I approached actually stopped dead in it's tracks! On the trail, it should be all the light you need, but I'll still use the Stenlight on my helmet, and maybe the 200L for a little fill and the L2D, just in case.


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## Tom Brown (Jan 18, 2008)

Titus Maximus said:


> The first thing I did with this light was lash it to my helmet with some velcro straps and hit the streets. I had to throw my head back to get the light where it needed to be, because the angle was off, but it gave me an idea of what it was capable of. It really lights up the road! I feel it is a bit too heavy for comfortable helmet use. Maybe if it was modded to move the batteries off the helmet it would be acceptable.


May I suggest the TrustFire T1 Q5 Cree? It's a real thrower and much, much smaller and quite a bit lighter than the RC-T5. The TrustFire T1 is more spotty than the RC-T5 but I think it does a decent job on the helmut and it will certainly run forever on a fresh 18650.



Titus Maximus said:


> Next I tried it strapped under the bars with a Lock-Block. Again, the weight (and length) was a problem, as it wobbled around quite a bit. I then strapped the rear of the light to the stem using a Bike-Block. That firmed things up nicely and I was able to adjust the angle enough to get it pointed where I wanted.


Is it sufficiently secure to go off road with?

I'm still trying to find a way to secure mine. Would you consider posting a picture of your mount?



Titus Maximus said:


> Like Tom Brown, I was most impressed with the spill of this light. It is quite wide and illuminates the foreground very well. The very bright spot is best aimed well down the road or trail, like at the horizon, in my opinion.


I found exactly the same thing. I had the hot spot so far up the road, I couldn't see it but the spill lit up the trail beautifully.


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## Titus Maximus (Jan 3, 2004)

Tom Brown said:


> Is it sufficiently secure to go off road with?
> 
> I'm still trying to find a way to secure mine. Would you consider posting a picture of your mount?


I haven't used it off-road yet, but I'm quite confident in the security. One strap would probably hold the light secure. I use two to stabilize it.

If your not familiar with the Twofish products:
http://www.twofish.biz/bike.html

...and a plethora of photos:
http://www.ruscelli.com/biking_fenix.htm


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## Tom Brown (Jan 18, 2008)

I really appreciate the pics.

I just ordered some lock blocks and will try your setup. It looks great.


Again, thank you.


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## Titus Maximus (Jan 3, 2004)

Tom Brown said:


> I really appreciate the pics.
> 
> I just ordered some lock blocks and will try your setup. It looks great.
> 
> Again, thank you.


Your welcome. Be aware that the set-up requires a "BikeBlock" as well as a "LockBlock". In the photos below BikeBlock is on left, LockBlock on right.


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## diddly (Sep 18, 2008)

I recently purchased a Romisen RC T5 and I'm thoroughly impressed by the throw and spill. I copied your idea of using the lockblock and bikeblock - very solid. I think for the price it's unbeatable


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## NJCorky (Aug 4, 2005)

*Where*

Diddly.....where did you order the twofish stuff from? Thanks


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## Titus Maximus (Jan 3, 2004)

*I've moved on to a hard mount.*

utilizing this:
http://tinyurl.com/4fwtva
and an a handlebar mount from an old Cateye 500.
Because the flashlight mount is plastic, I am able to spread it just enough to fit the RC-T5 and by adjusting the clamp tension with the screws, get a very good interface with the Cateye mount, so that I can slide it on and off yet it does not move while in use. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a commercially available handlebar mount that works like this old Cateye model, even the new Cateye mount for the HL 500. The Light & Motion mount looks like a possibility, but the cost is a little high for a "possible" fit. I'm going to try to find a shop that will let me try it out first.


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## Titus Maximus (Jan 3, 2004)

TwoFish: https://www.4sevens.com/index.php?cPath=25_66


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## diddly (Sep 18, 2008)

I bought mine from here:

www.thephotonshop.co.uk


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## batvette (Dec 10, 2006)

To revive an old thread, I have both the MX 3 cree and the Romi 4 cree, and I got one of the crappy 4 crees. Build quality is sweet but the emitters are pukey yellow and real dim. Worse it goes into low output after just a few minutes runtime. Shame. 
The MX is wonderful. and I'd say the 400 lumens is underrated. Good throw and spill ring. Bright as my elektrolumens little friend SSCP4.


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## diddly (Sep 18, 2008)

my RC-T5 is fantastic, runtime in >>2hours - never run out on me, never had the brightness fall off either. I run it with two 2400mAh laptop cells can't remember the name.
Colour is fine, absolutely white. There are only two drawbacks:
1. Quite heavy
2. beam is a bit tight, nice spill, but spotty.


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## Titus Maximus (Jan 3, 2004)

Deja vu all over again. Just an update on my "hard mount". With a little trial and error, I found a Cateye clamp that works perfectly with the tactical light mount. The H-28 clamp: http://www.cateye.com/store/parts.php?cid=2_77
The light holder is a King Arms tactical light mount: 
http://tinyurl.com/28qbcql
I think this should work with almost any flashlight with a center section of about 1 inch or 25 mm ( which I think should be most that take 18650 or similar diameter batteries). The RC-T5 is about 27 mm and the clamp will stretch just enough to fit. I think I had to get one or both of the clamping screws in the next longest size to make it work. Ace is the place for the screws. The King Arms piece is a little pricey, but the two parts mesh beautifully to make a very sturdy, quick release mount. Just slide it on, slide it off. Adjust the retention with the 2 screws. I've never had it come loose on a ride. Maybe I'll throw up a photo or two later. Additionally I would note that you can find similar flashlight mounts, with the 20 mm rail attachment, in aluminum construction, often for less $$ than the nylon King Arms piece. For example: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...012193&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_3802wt_913 Whether they would work with the RC-T5 I do not know. It seems to me they would not be as flexible and may not open as wide as the nylon. I'll leave that to someone else to investigate.


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## Titus Maximus (Jan 3, 2004)

*Photos*

Cateye H-28 bar clamp and 1" diameter 20 mm rail clamp


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## diddly (Sep 18, 2008)

that's a neat setup. much simpler than the bikeblock + fishblock I use.


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## diddly (Sep 18, 2008)

has anyone tried one of these?

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150484149214

here is an image from the item description with a similar (shorter) torch:









looks pretty good.


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## howard619 (Jan 3, 2011)

Disregard


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