As some/most of you know, I'm assembling a new flashlight. This was built from a Solarforce L2 host, and various accessories.

Link to some pics..

http://s199.photob...ghts%20and%20LEDs/

The LED module shipped this Monday, and will hopefully be here this week, or next. When it arrives, I'll be able to post more pics with beamshots and other goodies.

What's not in the pictures, I have 4 colored lenses, red, green, blue, and amber. Otherwise, it's all posted. Enjoy.

The LED I ordered was Lumens Factory's D26-LED, which works on from 3.6-13v input, but tests done on CPF suggest that 2 cells work optimally with this lamp, so I'll be using the dummy spacer I purchased. The 2*CR123A setup should drive it at 98% of maximum output, which will be plenty of light for my needs. Of course, I'll also probably pick up some other parts, and see if I can't improve on that somehow.

That's all for now, folks!

Well, I couldn't read everything because the slick background obscured some of the words. Nice photo.

The light looks sweet, but I have questions...

Does it focus?
Take 18650?
Output?
Stamina?
Programmable?

Please, give us more.

Posted by jratter Well, I couldn't read everything because the slick background obscured some of the words. Nice photo.

Press ctrl+a - highlights words, puts opaque color behind them.

otherwise known as highlighting, get it?.... HI-LITE

Solarforce bodies are blatant rip-offs of Surefires. That said, sometimes their lights suck, and sometimes they can be pretty good. It depends on if you get lucky or not.

Posted by Assistance Solarforce bodies are blatant rip-offs of Surefires. That said, sometimes their lights suck, and sometimes they can be pretty good. It depends on if you get lucky or not.

I've had good experiences with Solarforce - all knock-off designs, like you said. I have two Solarforce L2s, which are Surefire clones, and I haven't had any cause for complaint.

I used to have a Solarforce T7, which was pretty much a Fenix P3D clone (but with two extra buttons!), and it was a good light as well. The T7 did cost the same as a P3D, though.

jratter:

To answer your questions..

Focusing, yes and no. There's no adjustable focus, but some lamp modules have different beam angles with their individual reflector. For instance, Malkoff (guy who makes specialized LED modules to fit Surefire and other P60 style flashlights) makes a series of modules some with a standard reflector and some with an extra-wide spill beam. So, of course it depends on which lamp you use. But, no, there's no direct way of adjusting the beam without changing lamps.

With respect to the 18650 batteries, yes it will take them. There are a bunch of different bodies and extension tubes that will make the light fit pretty much any type of battery as long as it's CR123A diameter.

Output, as of now it has no LED, because that's still in the mail. The LED lamp I chose is rated for up to 250 lumens, and with 2 CR123A cells, it will have roughly 98% of max output. This doesn't mean much in the practical world, so I'm expecting output between 210 and 220 lumens, for probably 2 or more hours. As I've said, this is estimation, because I lack the LED module at present. Any day now. I've seen lamps that produce up to 500 lumens with this flashlight and special "IMR" batteries, as well as 380 lumen lamps, but those both are incandescents, and I'd rather stick primarily with LEDs.

As for programmable, again, you drop in whichever module you want, in my case I don't like fussing with programming. However, there are lamp modules with multiple modes, and some manufacturers make tailcaps that fit my host, that allow mode switching. So, yes there are programming options. I'll add beamshots and data once I get a light source in the business end. I have several sets of fresh batteries, so all will happen as soon as the LED arrives from China.

I'll keep you posted.

I decided to go with the P60 system for this reason. You can drop in whatever lamp you want, and alternate bezel rings, extension tubes, tail switches, whatever, to come up with anything you like. I know this Xmas I'm going to be getting a bunch of lamps, some incandescent and probably a Malkoff LED. I may even pick up Surefire's P60L, too, just cause it will fit.

Update!

My LED lamp came yesterday by regular mail. If anyone's in North America (Canada or U.S.A.) and interested in ordering from Lumens Factory in the future, take note that from placing my order to receiving my light took roughly 3 weeks.

I have a couple of preliminary interior beamshots up on my PhotoBucket. I'll add more as I test the lamp, as well as giving runtime specs. One thing I would like to make note of, immediately, is I really like the light, and I really like the beam pattern. Bright hotspot, and very wide spillbeam. I shined it on a wall of a brick building downtown lastnight from a distance of about 100 feet away. This same distance my Fenix P3D Q5 on 'turbo' would not quite hit the wall. This new lamp lit the wall up quite well. I'd say it's a combination of the emitter and reflector, rather than an overall increase in output power, since on paper they should be roughly identical.

I'll post some exterior beamshots and runtime tests sometime this week. I'm not expecting to be disappointed, as I've seen a runtime chart with this lamp lasting well over an hour before.

It does look bright! I'm really liking the lantern module and the lanyard too.

BTW, wtf is that sitting on the cabinet to the left of the door with the beamshot?

A musical christmas tree. I forget who got it or where they got it from. It's been up there on the cabinet for the past 3 or 4 years.

Yes it is very bright. With the wide reflector it really puts out the shine. I hope the next module I experiment with has a similar beam pattern. It isn't so noticeable up close, but from a distance of say 30 to 50 feet away, it's got plenty of power. Perfect for the intended purpose, I suppose. Which is lighting up a parking lot or warehouse. If I were a security guard, I'd love a light like this.

Update!

Runtime specs: I've had it stay at peak brightness for 2 hours and 30 minutes, then it starts to dim slightly. One thing to mention, after about 15-20 minutes, you really do not want to have this light in your hand. It's possible to hold it for that long, even an hour, but it will not feel comfortable through constant use. Gets car-hood-in-bright-sunlight hot. I'm not exaggerating. I'd have to say that most people could probably find it bearable if they needed light for that long.

Something else I notice, even though at around 2:30 it starts flickering a bit (I believe due to the heat but not 100% sure), it stays bright, not much dimmer than peak, and then stops flickering after a while. This possibly is a flaw in my particular LED. I'll experiment further to figure it all out. If it is a flawed unit, I'm still impressed. For the output I'm seeing, 2:30+ runtime is outstanding.

All in all, I didn't expect the runtime to go over 2 hours with full brightness, and this did. Lumens Factory produce some quality stuff. In future, I'm going to try out some of their incandescent lamps for this flashlight, because many of them seem to list longer runtimes than Surefire's lamps, and with much higher output. I'm not exactly 'sold' on them yet, but I'm very interested in trying more of their lamps out.

Note: I've not run my lamp past the time it went off of peak output, but I will do it a little bit later on. Reason being, I'm not really interested in how long it will keep lasting at lower and lower levels of light. I do know this lamp will switch to direct-drive mode after the cells drop below 3.6v input. My primary preference for diminished output is that the light give me about 15 extra minutes of "usable" light to fumble through my pack or pockets for spare batteries. This lamp will absolutely do that, so I'm satisfied in that sense.

Just for shits and giggles, I will turn it on later and see exactly how long it takes the reduced output to drop to zero.

Edit: I've gotten an additional 2:30 of slowly dimming unregulated direct-drive light out of this baby! In fact, I stopped it at 2:30 because it began flickering and cutting out, but still almost bright enough to see with, so to sum up.. We're talking a total of 5 hours of "usable" light from this lamp with 2*CR123A batteries. The first half of those 5 hours complete peak brightness, followed by 1 hour of really bright light barely different from full regulation, trailing off over the next hour and a half to mostly spot with not much throw. If I had to estimate final lumen count when this light is "done" as I'd call it, probably around 8-12 lumens, which is still almost useful.

Anyway, I really love this lamp, and I really love this light, and I highly recommend them to anyone looking to assemble their own setup. Lumens Factory sold me the single-mode lamp, which I prefer, but they also have a three-mode lamp (low-mid-high) which should satisfy the "mode" fanboys nicely. You can't beat brighter than a Maglite and less than half the size, no matter what anyone tells you.

One final note, the increased heat definitely goes down to nothing, once the light drops out of regulation, if that concerns you at all. Someone asked me while I was waiting for the light to run out of power if it was still hot and I picked it up, no heat anymore, but still plenty of light.

Over two hours? Much longer than I'd have expected.

I was camping in the cold this weekend, and I have to admit I turned on a torch in my pocket at one point, and used it as a hand warmer

Okay, odd story to relate. As mentioned above, I shut the light off after approximately 5 hours of testing, when there was dimming and obvious flicker, thinking this was the "death" of the set of batteries, right?

A few minutes ago, I turned the switch on, figuring I'd empty the last bit of energy in the cells, now that it was down to direct-drive mode. Lo' and behold, the light is brighter again, not up to peak output obviously but quite bright. Suffice to say, I'm sticking with my 5 hour runtime assessment, simply because I'm sure that this light will easily crap out if I left it on another 30 minutes, but just saying it's a surprise it can still throw even for a moment after that test. Guess the lamp's circuit really pulls the juice out.

At this almost empty level, it's not blinding-bright, but it's easily bright enough to find your way out of a building with as long as you don't take too long. I'm actually going to let this run for 30 minutes in the morning, just to see if it would actually take it, even if only to prove it's finally dead. All this, and I'm still on the first pair of batteries.

Have you tried it out with three batteries yet?

Meta -

Yes, and there's no increase in output, so I am going to stick with 2 cells and a spacer. The circuit as-designed has a 5v input "sweet spot", with 6v not far off, but 9v reduces output from 98% of maximum to somewhere around 92-93%, essentially less but I don't really see a difference. Because there's no higher output at 9v from 6v, I don't see the advantage in even testing further with 9v. Why use 3 cells when 2 does the same job or better?

As another side note, just for the hell of it I slipped that first "empty" pair of cells into the light, and it still shines. Not "bright", but as I said before, enough to find your way out of a building.

One thing I notice, since the LED drops out of regulation at 3.6v, I tried it with 1 cell and a dummy spacer, just to see what would happen. Won't even turn on, so somewhere between 3v-3.6v it cuts out completely. That's just for those interested in running it on a RCR123A. If you used it, probably would not work for long. I have no RC123A's to test, but I'm quite sure it wouldn't take long to drain half a volt, assuming that's where it cuts out. So, you're better off with a larger rechargeable if you go that route, or a pair of RC123A's. This particular LED will handle up to 3*RCR123A cells, 4 would be too much. Realistically, though, 2 cells is the best you can do, since anything much over 5v input will be a waste.

I'm surprised I still get light out of this thing with the used up batteries. Dim by "peak" standards, but still enough hotspot and spill to light up a small area. I personally would use this flashlight with the mentioned LED lamp as my primary light. In fact, my Fenix P3D Q5 is now my backup light. In it's current state of "almost empty" the spot is slightly brighter than my P3D on "low", with more yellow to the tint, and a nice spillbeam. I'd suspect that my earlier lumen estimate of 8-12 lumens is incorrect. I'd say it's probably closer to 12-15 lumens. Not bad for running on empty.

Anyway, I'm done with my initial tests. It is waterproof at least to Surefire's standards, it will not break if you drop it, and it gives off a good deal of light for a long time. I will have more pictures uploaded this weekend, and work on adding a youtube video showing some of the different beams with colored filters, as well as how the lantern piece functions.

One more thing. People might be trying to compare the Solarforce L2 host with various "Surefire clones". It is, and it isn't. Here's what I mean. It is a "clone", in that the L2's threads match the Surefire 6P and G2 flashlights. The significance of that, is most of the other "clones" available out there do not. So, you should be able to screw Surefire components onto an L2, and vice versa. Handy, since the L2 comes with a reverse-click switch, and Surefire makes nice forward-click switches, as well as other goodies that will thread right onto the L2.

The reason this is important, is Surefire has an LED drop-in that will produce 80 lumens for 11 hours. They also have some incredibly bright incandescent lamps, tactical accessories, and other items that will fit. The L2 itself, sans lamp, costs $25 US, whereas the Surefire 6PD it is a "clone" of costs $80 US in incandescent version, and over $100 US in LED version. So, for much less, you can have a working copy of high quality.

Some people think $25 is a lot of money, but for a flashlight that can do everything an $80 Surefire can do, it's a great advantage.

You know, I'd never really given much thought to drop-ins for the L2, but I might look into replacing the super-bright R2 in one of mine with something that runs longer. Much as I like the lights the way they are, the 45 minute runtime on RCRs means they're fairly useless to lend to someone when you're out camping.

Well I can say mine runs reasonably bright for 5+ hours.

Surefire's P60L is a bit costly, but it lasts 11 hours on a set of batteries. At least that's what the literature I've read suggests. Both from Surefire themselves, plus independent testing.

I've not tried out other drop-ins yet, but I aim to. I'm probably going to pick up a few of the incandescent, just to be prepared for emergencies. I notice they tend to get a lot higher output and greater throw than LED. If I needed to blast a lot of light over a wide area, that'd be the trick.