Celebrating the ROP - more than 5 years and still going.

[KevinL]

I really like my ROP builds - I have brighter hotwires & I have LEDs that are smaller & lighter and run longer, but my ROPs are still great. I won't EDC them because of the size & weight, but I do like using them around the house and I usually take at least one camping.

My 3854-L ROP is in a Mag 2D with a fivemega 2" deep reflector and powered by 2 x 32650 protected LiCo cells. With 4.5-5.0Ah I can run that light for ~2 hours - that is pretty good and for my uses it is more than enough. I have enough 32650 cells to be able to take 3 sets (at least) of spare batteries if I want - enough for plenty of camp use.

My 2D 3854-H is pretty much the same setup except that I currently run it from unprotected 32600 cells because the protected ones wont start it no matter how many clicks I try. I have some ncp thermistors on the way to fix that though.

My 2D 3853-H is similar but uses the fivemega bi-focal reflector instead and that one does work fine with my protected 32650 cells.

My 6D runs a 3854-H bulb from 6 NiCd or NiMH D cells - I figure a light that big SHOULD output a decent amount of light or it just looks silly.

I understand those that look to smaller & lighter flashlights with similar output and I have plenty of LED lights, but when I grab a light at home it is always a nice solid Maglite with plenty of beautiful incan light output. The price & ease of building makes the ROP a great light even 5+ years later! Yay for the ROP!

From your sig: "I'm not afraid of the dark, the dark is afraid of ME!"

Now I can see why :wow:

Nobody EDC's one of these but they make great car lights and bump in the night lights

Let me know if you find a good NTC. Curious in case I ever find myself needing one. Again this is one of the wonderful achievements of the community: bringing affordable, low-cost soft start to the ROP without defeating the purpose of its original design.

 

[KiwiMark]

From your sig: "I'm not afraid of the dark, the dark is afraid of ME!"

Now I can see why :wow:

Nah, that's more a reference to my ~7000 Lumen hot-wire.
Elephant II body & 3" throwmaster head with 8 x IMR 18650 cells running an Osram 64458 90W 12V bulb at a regulated 20.2V for 212W of power. It's an excellent light for showing off or setting newspaper on fire, but when I go camping I find my ROP lights are more useful - 1 hour from a 3854-H or 2 hours from a 3854-L is a much more practical run time than ~10 minutes of crazy bright light. Also a 2 x D light is smaller & lighter than an 8 x 18650 light.

 

[KevinL]

Nah, that's more a reference to my ~7000 Lumen hot-wire.
Elephant II body & 3" throwmaster head with 8 x IMR 18650 cells running an Osram 64458 90W 12V bulb at a regulated 20.2V for 212W of power. It's an excellent light for showing off or setting newspaper on fire, but when I go camping I find my ROP lights are more useful - 1 hour from a 3854-H or 2 hours from a 3854-L is a much more practical run time than ~10 minutes of crazy bright light. Also a 2 x D light is smaller & lighter than an 8 x 18650 light.

daaaaaaaaaaang...... that's pretty freaking awesome. Yeah, that'd definitely be burst-fire only, I love my crazy bright lights but they're mostly 'show' lights just like yours. I think the ROP's popularity has also been because of its practicality and 2 bulb options in one package.

L tends to burn hotter and whiter in my experience too.

 

[KevinL]

Right at the back: the Original ROP - the same one featured in the 18th Feb 2005 story where it all began. Battered, dinged, dented, has paint streaks on the side, it's all good.

Third from back: Original ROP LE 2C with FiveMega "longtail" mod to accomodate 18650 without sanding tailcap. I will note however, I still have the original sanded tailcap from the day the ROP/LE was created. Now running on IMR cells: we recommend IMR for all lithium 2C builds.



Full breakdown in sequence from back for those who may be curious...
Original ROP (4D)
Quad Cree (certainly not a ROP, though rivals it in output)
2D ROP LE
Mag2HID, 10W WA Solarc HID capsule and ballast
15 year old Maglite 2AA, stock
Solitaire, stock

 

[GarageBoy]

The ROPs, the WA1185s and the 5761s will go down as CPF classics