Dive Rite LED...

[Herbie]

Less than about two months ago I had my DR 10w HID converted to LED. All was great....until today when after charging the battery I hooked it up and it lit up then went dark. I tried again and again but its not lighting up. I plan on sending it back to DR for repair. Does anyone have any idea what may have happened to cause this failure? Thanks,

Herbie

[350xfire]

Probably part of the 10% failure rate on electronics... Either the driver, the LED or the battery is bad. I would start by plugging the battery back into the charger and see if it works. Measure the voltage of the battery after a charge. Sometimes batteries have protection circuits that may trip out. This would reset it. Anything other just let DR handle as it may require disassembly.

[ARY]

Check it w/other battery. Almost all commercial battery packs have thermal fuses if battery overheated it might be gone. Li batts also have PCB drivers that could fail. If not battery - check switch, wire. Look carefully into LED if it glows, if there any darkened cells in honeycomb - matrix could be burned. My impression is that there is no reliable LEDs yet out there you have to rely on OEM company's warranty service. DR mostly have a good rating in customer service IMHO.

Also the LED driver may fail for the same reason as any semiconductor - surge, heat, corroded leg on PCB or chip due to water flood. It is less probable than LED but still can happen.

[cavemark]

My DR 10W HID wouldn't fire at the social. Everyone said it was the bulb. I'm thinking about sending it back for the LED upgrade. How does the light pattern compare? I think they made some changes from the first ones they were doing.

[DA Aquamaster]

My DR 10W HID wouldn't fire at the social. Everyone said it was the bulb. I'm thinking about sending it back for the LED upgrade. How does the light pattern compare? I think they made some changes from the first ones they were doing.

Here is my experience, but your mileage may vary.

I started with and MR11 10W HID and an LED 500 handheld and then bought an LED 700 primary later. You are familiar with the beam on the 10 W HID so I won't describe it. In comparision, the LED 700 had a nice even beam that was essentially round (it was actually a 12 pointed star but the effect was not that obvious. In terms of intensity, it was not quite as bright as the centerspot on the HID but it was reasonably close and overall put out more useable light - in good viz. In poor viz (lots of particulate, milky water (like P3 on a bad day or in tannic stained water) the 10W HID was preferrable. The LED 500 had the same beam characteristics, just a bit less bright and it made a great back up light, or with a cord, a great back up primary.

When my 10W HID started to get unrelaible, I opted for the LED upgrade as the cost difference betwene the upgrade and the new bulb was in the $50 range. My plan was to upgrade the HID to an LED LUX, but do to a leaking cord, DR staff gone diving and the need for a primary, I left the leaking LED 700 for repair an upgrade to an LED LUX along with the LED 500 handheld for upgrade to an LED 700.

(The 10 W HID ended up being traded same day for a new 12 LED from Lightmonkey as an immediate fix to the no 100% reliable primary problem in the middle of a dive trip.)

When I got them back I noted that both the newly upgraded LED LUX and the now LED 700 handheld were not nearly as well focused. The 3 square elements of the light beam were distinct on both lights with 2 of the squares in close proximity with the third a bit out of formation. This tended to detract from what had previosuly been a very round and even beam. I was not impressed and called Dive Rite. They asssured me the noticeable differneces in the light pattern on the wall would not be evident in the water, but after having both of them in wrecks and caves, I am still not impressed. If I had it to do over again, I would not have upgraded either light as the small increase in brightness was not worth the loss of in quality of the beam. I have also noted that rather than the previous blue white beam (similar to an HID, but slightly warmer) both the upgraded lights are warmer colored - one slightly more so and one distinctly more so - making the lights appear to be less bright.

In in comparision to the LED 700 and LED LUX, the 12 W Lighmonkey has a very tight center spot in the middle of a fairly wide and very round and even beam. The hot center spot however comes at some cost to the pheripheral beam and that combined with the warm yellowish color creates the impression that their is less light than their really is. If the beam were whiter, it woudl be the perfect small LED primary. Still, it is great for signalling and is my preferred primary in both caves and wrecks as it does well in both good viz as well as in murky water. In most respects the beam is much more like the MR11 HID beam than any of the other LED options.

The battery cannister is also quite small and very low maintence with 5 hour burn times. If their is a downside it is that the battery is not replaceable in the conventional sense as the cannister is sealed, so two or three long dives per day that could be accommodated with an extra battery, will require an extra primary light instead.

Consequently, based on my experience, if I had a MR11 with a bad bulb, I would either replace the bulb, or trade the light in with Lightmonkey if they are still offerring the $400 trade in allowance and go with a 12 W LED or a 21W LED from Lightmonkey.

I had previously been a Dive Rite fan, but in my upgrade experiences they failed in terms of both quality and customer service. However, I suppose if DR offerred a similar trade in option rather than an upgrade of my light, so in effect I could see the light I was going to get before I had to commit to it, I'd still be tempted to go with Dive Rite.

To be fair, I suspect they, like everyone else, are probably haivng issues with obtaining quality boards from their suppliers, but to someone with a light they already like, the potential variability in what you'll end up with adds an element of risk to the upgrade option that in retrospect I would have preferred to avoid.

[cavemark]

Funny, I already had purchased a Salvo 12W LED and I love it. Side by side I can't say that I like one beam over the other. They're different, but I like them both. I'm leaning toward getting a replacement 10W HID bulb, Since I already have the LED I am not scrambling for a replacement. The last time I checked, I could get the bulbs for about $35 each, but there is a minimum $100 order. Maybe I could find two other people to go in on the order.

Anyway, thanks for the comparison review. It's been enlightening.

[Rich]

The battery cannister is also quite small and very low maintence with 5 hour burn times. If their is a downside it is that the battery is not replaceable in the conventional sense as the cannister is sealed, so two or three long dives per day that could be accommodated with an extra battery, will require an extra primary light instead.

You could just buy the "handheld" battery pack for $100 and carry it with your 12W LED, which would give you an extra 2 hrs at the end of the day.......

Safe diving,

Rich

[DA Aquamaster]

I've considered it, but it then becomes a hand held rather than a corded light. I need to talk to Corey and see if I can get another light minus the head for reasonable money.

[Slüdge]

You are familiar with the beam on the 10 W HID so I won't describe it.

There's the problem. I hate it when companies make "improvements" when I like the old way better. My first 10w HID was a 13° bulb. Within a few years it was no longer available - just the 6° and then the Brightstar, which is like a 4° with a halo.

I had a Wreck 1 with a 13° and a Slimline with a 6°, when I got another Slimline with a Brightstar and went to sell the Wreck 1. I wanted to swap the 13° with the Brightstar, thereby keeping a Slimline with a 13°, but Lamar was at JB when I asked him to assist me in swapping the bulbs and he advised me to leave well enough alone - something like the lights designed for a Brightstar don't fit a 13° very well.

So then I acquired a Handheld, and it also has a Brightstar. So I'm hoping to run into someone with a 6° or two lying around - maybe someone who has made the conversion to LED.