# Uniquefire Aa-S1, 1Xaa Torch.



## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

The Uniquefire AA- S1 finally arrived today. As expected it is based on the Nkoray K106, the barrel, head and reflector seem identical, the heads being interchangeable.

The only reasons I ordered this light is because it is physically identical to the my K106 but has an Osram â€œGolden Dragonâ€ LED in place of the Cree Q5 in the K106 and I wanted to see how good the Osram LED is. Plus this light only costs US$10.

The only difference, of course, is the emitter and the driver. The AA- S1 has a single mode unlike the five on the K106. The difference that will concern most of us is the output and beam type.

The output, measured on my incident light meter, is marginally more than the Nkoray K106, but not by much. 15.25EV for the Nkoray and 15.5EV for the AA- S1.

The beam pattern is quite different, the hotspot is larger than the K106 and there is a little more spill, the AA- S1 is not as much of a â€œthrowerâ€ as the K106. There are very few â€œartefactsâ€ in the beam of the AA- S1, itâ€™s a very nice light to use indoors or at close quarters, better than any of my other torches.

I tested the current consumption of the AA- S1 using a Trustfire 14500 LithIon cell and found it to be 1.78A. This is close to my sample of the K106 using the same cells. Itâ€™s on the high side, too much for my liking, the light will doubtless get very warm and the cell will be pushed beyond its safe limit. I donâ€™t believe the Trustfire 14500s claim to have a capacity of 900mah, closer to 700mah at my guess, so 1.4A would be the safest current draw.

Like many torches on DX, et al, that claim to be able run LithIon cells this one canâ€™t, not efficiently or truly safely. The Romisens seem to be one exception that I know of.:wink1:

Iâ€™ll be using this light with NiMh LSDs for the time being, the output is perfectly respectable on NiMHs for my usage. Iâ€™ll be passing this on to the 710, she loves the colour of it and it will be great for her to get to and from the car on that rural car park during these dark months.

This is a very good light for the price, if you donâ€™t want to spend more than US$10 on a torch, this light is a bargain, imo.

The DX stock number is sku.24220.


----------



## lewjamben (Dec 4, 2007)

Hey Stan. After reading your review, I've decided to get the Nkoray K106 and a pair of 14500s.

My question is: Can I charge the 14500s in a regular charger or do I need to get a charger designed for it?

Many thanks in advance.


----------



## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

Lew,

Don't use 14500's in the Nkoray K106, it can't cope with the current output and neither will the 14500's.

The Nkoray works best on 1.2V (nominal) NiMh cells, the 14500 cells are 3.7V (nominal) and will overdrive the LED's in the Nkoray 106 and the Uniquefire AA- S1. :thumbsdown: The drivers in these torches are not capable of running these volatile LithIon cells properly, imo.

14500 cells can't be charged by a standard NiMh charger, Lithium Ion rechargeable cells are 3.7V and need to be cared for properly, they can explode or vent fire if treated casually like ordinary Alkaline or Nicad/ NiMh cells.

Get an Nkoray K106 (or Uniquefire AA- S1) and some Sanyo Eneloop AA cells, that's a nice combination in my experience.:wink1:


----------



## lewjamben (Dec 4, 2007)

I'll check out the Sanyos. Thanks Stan!


----------



## Julian Latham (Jul 25, 2005)

Stan,

I'm currently trying out two single cell torches as 'pocket torches', a SmallSun ZY-C41 & an UltraFire C3 without the extension tube, both using 14500's. The SmallSun is 3 mode and on high is visibly brighter than the C3, it also has a larger 'hot spot'. Downside is that it is less versatile as it doesn't perform with a single AA. Haven't needed to recharge the 14500's yet but bought them complete with charger (that arrived with a two pin power lead !)

Noticed that the C3 doesn't seem to like switching between 2 x AA and 1 x 14500. The 14500 had to be switched on for several seconds before it lit up - is a dodgy switch a possibility ?

Julian (L)


----------



## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

Julian Latham said:


> Stan,
> 
> I'm currently trying out two single cell torches as 'pocket torches', a SmallSun ZY-C41 & an UltraFire C3 without the extension tube, both using 14500's. The SmallSun is 3 mode and on high is visibly brighter than the C3, it also has a larger 'hot spot'. Downside is that it is less versatile as it doesn't perform with a single AA. Haven't needed to recharge the 14500's yet but bought them complete with charger (that arrived with a two pin power lead !)
> 
> ...


A dodgy switch is a possibility as is the switch being a bit loose in the tail cap. Iâ€™d tighten the driver pill/ LED module and the switch module in the tail cap, if the design allows for it. You may need needle nosed pliers or a small screwdriver to do this.

Always make sure any contact surfaces and bare threads are clean and oxide free, and only use a very small amount of lubricant on the threads.

My general take on 1xAA torches that claim to be suitable for 14500 is that if the torch gets very warm/ hot after 5 minutes then it isnâ€™t really suitable for use with 14500s.

That doesnâ€™t stop me buying them and playing around with them.:wink1:


----------



## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Ive just bought 2 x X2000 Flood-to-Throw Zooming Glass Optics Cree P4-WC LED Flashlight and a couple of clamps to use on my bike 

Im just loving this new world of cheap torches, on our week away to CenterParcs last week, my Romison got loads of comments for its power compared to everyone elses 'bulp' power :bag:

Ive only ever run mine on double AAs, do the LiOn rechargables make a difference to the output? Or are they for economy ?


----------



## SharkBike (Apr 15, 2005)

Hmmm...710 just asked me yesterday what I want for my birthday and I drew a blank.

Maybe some new flashlights (er, torches) would be nice. All I have now is a half dozen stock Maglites around the house and in each vehicle. (plus the light mounted on my Mossberg of course) :blush:

So, what should I put on the "want" list? :huh:


----------



## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

One of these could be fun :bag:

Man toy


----------



## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

good review

I've got another diy job in the planning atm :to_become_senile:


----------



## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

jasonm said:


> Ive just bought 2 x X2000 Flood-to-Throw Zooming Glass Optics Cree P4-WC LED Flashlight and a couple of clamps to use on my bike
> 
> Im just loving this new world of cheap torches, on our week away to CenterParcs last week, my Romison got loads of comments for its power compared to everyone elses 'bulp' power :bag:
> 
> Ive only ever run mine on double AAs, do the LiOn rechargables make a difference to the output? Or are they for economy ?


Iâ€™ve run the RC- N3 on RCR123A/16340 cells and what you get is double the output for about 45 minutes. You also lose â€œmedium modeâ€ so you get High- High- Strobe.

Iâ€™d rather have the 2xAA config and the four hours run time on the RC- N3, but itâ€™s nice to have the choice.

Now for the bad news, the Nkoray K106 died tonight. I did all the tests and I reckon the driver is knackered as a result of using a 14500 in it. Itâ€™s not all bad news, I have a few spares for the Uniquefire nowâ€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦..

And the Akoray K106 3 mode programmed light I just ordered from DX. h34r:

!!Donâ€™t use 14500s in the Nkoray K106 and the Uniquefire AA- S1; they canâ€™t handle the voltage and current output (for very long)!!


----------



## GaryH (Nov 8, 2006)

Stan said:


> The Uniquefire AA- S1 finally arrived today. As expected it is based on the Nkoray K106, the barrel, head and reflector seem identical, the heads being interchangeable.
> 
> The only reasons I ordered this light is because it is physically identical to the my K106 but has an Osram â€œGolden Dragonâ€ LED in place of the Cree Q5 in the K106 and I wanted to see how good the Osram LED is. Plus this light only costs US$10.
> 
> ...


Hi Stan,

Another good review on a nice torch. I've just now ordered one of these. $10 shipped is a bargain.

Cheers

Gary


----------



## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

Cheers Gary, don't be tempted to try a 14500 in it. :lol:

It's pretty bright on a good NiMh, I'm sure you'll be please with it.


----------



## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

I got the Nkoray K106 working again, it seems the 14500s didnâ€™t burn the driver out (yet). But I believe the 14500 cells were the cause of the fault. The Trustfire 14500 cell I have are â€œprotectedâ€ which means they have a chip module at the base of the cell, this makes the 14500 about 1.5mm longer than a regular AA cell.

When I looked at the torch today I noticed that the cell was sitting a lot lower down in the battery tube than normal. Taking the tail assembly apart I found the spring had been pushed down far enough for one of the middle coils to slip under the collar holding it in place, shortening the spring by a few mil. This didn't become an issue until I put an AA NiMh back in and contact became intermittent.

I took the collar and spring out and reformed the spring, popped it back in and Iâ€™m back in business!

I think this problem is a fluke, the spring may not have been perfectly aligned and the extra length of the 14500 pushed the spring lower than normal and allowed the coil to become trapped.

Bugger, and I ordered a new light to replace this one last night, now Iâ€™m really upset. 

Okay, Iâ€™m not. :rofl:


----------

