B4Ctom1
03-15-2010, 08:58 PM
http://www.outlawperformance.com/uploads/module-comparison.jpg
I ordered 4 items:
Two of these R5 modules that DX just got. They are rated at 320 lumens, and is listed for voltages from 3.6-18v.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/uploads/R5emitter.jpg
https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.32953
I have a couple other flashlights they will fit into. I will probably try them in the two new flashlights I just bought, but the modules in the two new flashlights below look a little different, so they may not even take them.
I bought these two silly/evil looking flashlights:
http://www.outlawperformance.com/uploads/24354.jpg
https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.24354
Cree Q3-WC 3-Mode, it is listed as 150 lumen, takes a single 18650 battery. I figure to try to see if an R5 will fit in it. The module this one comes with is a weak Q3, and it has an annoying 3 mode regulator with the lo-hi-SOS setting. I will check to see if it will fit two CR123A's or two regulated CR123A's which are slightly longer if the R5 fits. Using more battery than the single 18650 with the module it comes with might "let the smoke out".
http://www.outlawperformance.com/uploads/20760.jpg
https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.20760
Cree P4-WC without modes, takes 3 CR123A with a factory recommendation to use 3.0v instead of 3.6v. It too has a slightly odd looking module. I will try to see if one of the R5 modules will fit.
I would also like to take this time to warn people planning on running higher power LED modules in Nitrolon Surefires. Usually with a flashlight this bright you are not running it that long, maybe a few minutes at a time. These kinds of modules usually generate plenty of heat, this is usually dissipated through the reflector and module body into the metal body of the flashlight.
In the case of the Nitrolon, there is just a sheetmetal tube encased in insulative plastic. This could cause your module to die an early death, or at the very least just make you eat through batteries faster.
Consider some of the lower power modules for the Nitrolon. Here is a thread in DX that has LED's listed:http://www.dealextreme.com/forums/Forums.dx/Forum.-209~threadid.218591
Personally I suggest to stay with the Cree because they are still pretty much the biggest light output for the smallest power waste. The P series emitters might be ideal, maybe the Q's. I think the R's might be a little too much. There are a few variables as far as the type of regulator they are sold with.
Use the DX search function to search for P3 or Q5 etc for a module with the voltage rating for two CR123A's . Lower powered modules also have the benefit of longer run time on batteries. Watch out for modules that have different modes (lo-hi-strobe-SOS-etc), this is fun for about 5 seconds then it gets old the first time you need the flashlight and have to toggle thru the modes.
- - - - -
I first took apart the smaller of the two apart. I was happy to find clean threads, and greased o-rings at both ends. Double o-ringed at the emitter end.
I was slightly surprised to find that instead of the regular emitter module with the emitter and reflector threaded together, was an emitter and a divorced cheap reflector.
In this picture, the reflector is just resting on top of the emitter, the R5 replacement is sitting next to it
http://www.outlawperformance.com/uploads/module-comparison.jpg
The front end opening was too tight to put the emitter into. If I were to take the time to bore it out a few thousanths, it might have been able to take it. So to put the R5 emitter in this light, I had to take it apart by unscrewing it's reflector (circled in blue) and use the original reflector cone (circled in green), and put it back into the light the same way the original emitter had been, with it being held together with just the good spring tension of inner and outer springs.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/uploads/nomenclature.jpg
With these two flashlights I decided I might finally have a few too many now (can you really?). So I decided to thin the herd a little, I took the smaller of these two, a different body I converted to an R2 a while back, and a 1*AA C3 on vacation with me and gave them to my father who is stoked beyond belief about them. I also left him 6 rechargeable CR123A 3.6v and a charger.
Next I took the larger of the two flashlights apart. It also had nice threads but was only single o-ringed at each treaded area. The inside diameter of this flashlight is too tight to take a 18650, so only CR123A on this second light. was happy to see that the module that came out was already the same "surefire" size as one I was putting in. So I knew I would not have the inside diameter issue putting the emitter into it I had with the smaller light.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/uploads/modules.jpg
I was happy to discover that the mid body pommel is actually an extension that un-threads, reducing it's overall length to the same as the other flashlight. This allows only two CR123A's to be used if you choose. Since both the emitter it came with and the R5 I put into it are regulated, it is the same brightness with two or three CR123A which means you just get better run time.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/uploads/take-apart.jpg
**************
3/20/2010 update!
*************
This update pertains to the larger sku.20760 flashlight, not the smaller sku.24354
I'm sorry if you think I might be a horrible product reviewer. I thought when I discovered that the pommel section came off of this second flashlight, that I had unlocked all of it's secrets. I was wrong. There was yet a second removable section I had failed to notice.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/1-discovery.jpg
When you removed the 1st section, you could run it with two batteries. With this 2nd section removed, you can put the tailcap directly on and run it with a single battery!
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/2-discovery.jpg
Or you could leave the smooth section out and put the pommeled extension back on for a different two cell configuration.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/3-two_cell_no-center.jpg
Screwing the extensions in the wrong order causes one small issue. The o-ring on the pommeled extension is a little too fat for the smooth extension to screw onto. Removing the o-ring, or replacing it with one of a lower gauge of o-ring fixes the problem. Forcing it with the included o-ring would surely cut the o-ring.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/4-three_cell_centers-switched.jpg
I got curious, so I grabbed my sku.14027 flashlight (reviewed here (http://230grain.com/showthread.php?p=82803#post82803)) ..
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/5-sku20760-centers_sku14027-light.jpg
to see how the o-ring and threading fitment would be if I were to screw this extension onto it. Perfect fit!
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/6-four_cell_sku20760-centers_sku14027-light.jpg
Works great, since I put an R2 emitter module in it that can take 3.6 to 18v, it handles the four CR123A's fine. These modules are regulated, so they are the same brightness at 3.6 as the ~14.4V here, just the run time improves. I even put the unused tailcap and a single cell in the other light and voila!
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/7-swapped.jpg
Then I got to thinking, now that this light is so big, maybe the strike bezel would would be more fitting. So I screwed the entire emitter casing head from the sku.20760 onto the sku.14027 body with the sku.20760 extensions. The threads were almost perfect in this swap.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/8-swapped.jpg
What to do with the leftover parts? Where the threads were perfect for the other head and body, they were slightly off pitch for this other head/body. They went on snugly after about 2.5 rotations. I got the impression that going further would invite disastrously crossed/ruined/galled threads. The springs on the module and tailcap made up the difference and then some.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/9-swapped.jpg
With an overall length closer to the size of a man's hands between the head and pommel, you feel like you could do some real defensive damage if used properly when attacked.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/10-hand.jpg
This smaller light, with the head screwed half way on, but tightly, with only a single battery, and R2 module is tiny but insanely bright.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/11-hand.jpg
Conclusion: Still the same, maybe more so now than ever. Of these two stabby lights, I recommend that if you are interested in either of these, that you get the bigger of the two. Because the swap was cleaner and easier, and it offers more options in batteries and easier emitter module swap.
I ordered 4 items:
Two of these R5 modules that DX just got. They are rated at 320 lumens, and is listed for voltages from 3.6-18v.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/uploads/R5emitter.jpg
https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.32953
I have a couple other flashlights they will fit into. I will probably try them in the two new flashlights I just bought, but the modules in the two new flashlights below look a little different, so they may not even take them.
I bought these two silly/evil looking flashlights:
http://www.outlawperformance.com/uploads/24354.jpg
https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.24354
Cree Q3-WC 3-Mode, it is listed as 150 lumen, takes a single 18650 battery. I figure to try to see if an R5 will fit in it. The module this one comes with is a weak Q3, and it has an annoying 3 mode regulator with the lo-hi-SOS setting. I will check to see if it will fit two CR123A's or two regulated CR123A's which are slightly longer if the R5 fits. Using more battery than the single 18650 with the module it comes with might "let the smoke out".
http://www.outlawperformance.com/uploads/20760.jpg
https://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.20760
Cree P4-WC without modes, takes 3 CR123A with a factory recommendation to use 3.0v instead of 3.6v. It too has a slightly odd looking module. I will try to see if one of the R5 modules will fit.
I would also like to take this time to warn people planning on running higher power LED modules in Nitrolon Surefires. Usually with a flashlight this bright you are not running it that long, maybe a few minutes at a time. These kinds of modules usually generate plenty of heat, this is usually dissipated through the reflector and module body into the metal body of the flashlight.
In the case of the Nitrolon, there is just a sheetmetal tube encased in insulative plastic. This could cause your module to die an early death, or at the very least just make you eat through batteries faster.
Consider some of the lower power modules for the Nitrolon. Here is a thread in DX that has LED's listed:http://www.dealextreme.com/forums/Forums.dx/Forum.-209~threadid.218591
Personally I suggest to stay with the Cree because they are still pretty much the biggest light output for the smallest power waste. The P series emitters might be ideal, maybe the Q's. I think the R's might be a little too much. There are a few variables as far as the type of regulator they are sold with.
Use the DX search function to search for P3 or Q5 etc for a module with the voltage rating for two CR123A's . Lower powered modules also have the benefit of longer run time on batteries. Watch out for modules that have different modes (lo-hi-strobe-SOS-etc), this is fun for about 5 seconds then it gets old the first time you need the flashlight and have to toggle thru the modes.
- - - - -
I first took apart the smaller of the two apart. I was happy to find clean threads, and greased o-rings at both ends. Double o-ringed at the emitter end.
I was slightly surprised to find that instead of the regular emitter module with the emitter and reflector threaded together, was an emitter and a divorced cheap reflector.
In this picture, the reflector is just resting on top of the emitter, the R5 replacement is sitting next to it
http://www.outlawperformance.com/uploads/module-comparison.jpg
The front end opening was too tight to put the emitter into. If I were to take the time to bore it out a few thousanths, it might have been able to take it. So to put the R5 emitter in this light, I had to take it apart by unscrewing it's reflector (circled in blue) and use the original reflector cone (circled in green), and put it back into the light the same way the original emitter had been, with it being held together with just the good spring tension of inner and outer springs.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/uploads/nomenclature.jpg
With these two flashlights I decided I might finally have a few too many now (can you really?). So I decided to thin the herd a little, I took the smaller of these two, a different body I converted to an R2 a while back, and a 1*AA C3 on vacation with me and gave them to my father who is stoked beyond belief about them. I also left him 6 rechargeable CR123A 3.6v and a charger.
Next I took the larger of the two flashlights apart. It also had nice threads but was only single o-ringed at each treaded area. The inside diameter of this flashlight is too tight to take a 18650, so only CR123A on this second light. was happy to see that the module that came out was already the same "surefire" size as one I was putting in. So I knew I would not have the inside diameter issue putting the emitter into it I had with the smaller light.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/uploads/modules.jpg
I was happy to discover that the mid body pommel is actually an extension that un-threads, reducing it's overall length to the same as the other flashlight. This allows only two CR123A's to be used if you choose. Since both the emitter it came with and the R5 I put into it are regulated, it is the same brightness with two or three CR123A which means you just get better run time.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/uploads/take-apart.jpg
**************
3/20/2010 update!
*************
This update pertains to the larger sku.20760 flashlight, not the smaller sku.24354
I'm sorry if you think I might be a horrible product reviewer. I thought when I discovered that the pommel section came off of this second flashlight, that I had unlocked all of it's secrets. I was wrong. There was yet a second removable section I had failed to notice.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/1-discovery.jpg
When you removed the 1st section, you could run it with two batteries. With this 2nd section removed, you can put the tailcap directly on and run it with a single battery!
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/2-discovery.jpg
Or you could leave the smooth section out and put the pommeled extension back on for a different two cell configuration.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/3-two_cell_no-center.jpg
Screwing the extensions in the wrong order causes one small issue. The o-ring on the pommeled extension is a little too fat for the smooth extension to screw onto. Removing the o-ring, or replacing it with one of a lower gauge of o-ring fixes the problem. Forcing it with the included o-ring would surely cut the o-ring.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/4-three_cell_centers-switched.jpg
I got curious, so I grabbed my sku.14027 flashlight (reviewed here (http://230grain.com/showthread.php?p=82803#post82803)) ..
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/5-sku20760-centers_sku14027-light.jpg
to see how the o-ring and threading fitment would be if I were to screw this extension onto it. Perfect fit!
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/6-four_cell_sku20760-centers_sku14027-light.jpg
Works great, since I put an R2 emitter module in it that can take 3.6 to 18v, it handles the four CR123A's fine. These modules are regulated, so they are the same brightness at 3.6 as the ~14.4V here, just the run time improves. I even put the unused tailcap and a single cell in the other light and voila!
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/7-swapped.jpg
Then I got to thinking, now that this light is so big, maybe the strike bezel would would be more fitting. So I screwed the entire emitter casing head from the sku.20760 onto the sku.14027 body with the sku.20760 extensions. The threads were almost perfect in this swap.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/8-swapped.jpg
What to do with the leftover parts? Where the threads were perfect for the other head and body, they were slightly off pitch for this other head/body. They went on snugly after about 2.5 rotations. I got the impression that going further would invite disastrously crossed/ruined/galled threads. The springs on the module and tailcap made up the difference and then some.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/9-swapped.jpg
With an overall length closer to the size of a man's hands between the head and pommel, you feel like you could do some real defensive damage if used properly when attacked.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/10-hand.jpg
This smaller light, with the head screwed half way on, but tightly, with only a single battery, and R2 module is tiny but insanely bright.
http://www.outlawperformance.com/images/gunstuff/flashlight-mods/11-hand.jpg
Conclusion: Still the same, maybe more so now than ever. Of these two stabby lights, I recommend that if you are interested in either of these, that you get the bigger of the two. Because the swap was cleaner and easier, and it offers more options in batteries and easier emitter module swap.