OMG - NEW Lowes Task Force 3W "CREE" 2C 150+ lumens

[kavvika]

greenpea: I highly doubt anyone but a flashaholic or CPF member would ever know the difference between a luxeon and a cree, so that's why it wasn't caught when returned. Did you bring the light to Customer Service and notify them?

Also, what's this I hear about white vs. black boards? Are the ones with white stars made better?

 

[Deep6Osama]

I just picked up one of these tonight here in NW Indiana. They only had three. Mine has the black star. The Black star is defective? I am very happy with this defective flashlight. Mine seems to suffer from battery rattle. Without a doubt worth $30.

 

[topcat39]

Heads Up to CPF'ers living in San Antonio :

I dropped by the Lowes on Loop 1604 at Blanco Rd., after going to the gun show, and found 11 TF Cree lights in stock :thumbsup:! Both the white board Cree and the "defective" black board Cree.

Cheers:twothumbs

 

[ace0001a]

Just swapped out my defective one for another...the Lowes store close to me has only white star ones. The replacement one is about the same as the other good working one as it has a good tight hotspot when compared to the defective I returned.

 

[sandbasser]

I've read with great interest the threads comparing the black star version with the white star... I have two of these lites; one with a black star and the other with a white star. The black has a small white hot spot; while the white has a somewhat larger (and somewhat misshapen) yellowish hot spot; spill seems about the same on both - but it's hard to estimate. I think I'll try modding one by swapping the white star for one from DX and see what happens. It will be my first soldering job mod to a flashlight.

 

[sims2k]

Would like to know if the TF2C emitter can be replaced with the DX Q5 or better with the Seoul Z-Power LED also from DX ? Anyone has modded this light with either one ?

 

[INF]

The On/Off switch of my TF black star broke after 2 months. I went to Lowes and found both luxeon and cree white star. I brought the cree white star.

The white star (WS) looks brighter than the black star (BS) with an ill defined spot (with a black ring and the spot is not round but biased to the left). Further testing proves that the deformed spot is caused by the optical reflector, not the led. When I compare the 2 leds without the reflector, both looks equally bright. The WS looks whiter. So I returned the BS with the broken switch.

The reflector affects the size, shape, concentration of the spot as well as the brightness and smoothness of the spread.

 

[grindill]

I tried Sunnyvale and Fremont locations on 11/17, nothing but Luxeon!

I got mine at the Lowes on Auto Center Drive in Antioch. Not quite the Bay Area, but it was closer than the others for me. That was a couple weeks ago but they had about 10 or so (a full display hanger).

I'm very happy with the light and am now using it as my night time commuter bike light.

Later,
Jeffrey R.

 

[sandbasser]

Hi All -

It's me again... I've been re-reading this thread because I vaguely remembered someone commenting about the lens (or diffuser). Turns out it was ace0001a I believe. So, anyway, I've tried swapping lenses back and forth between my White Star and Black Star lights and it turns out that all the beam differences are totally due to the differences in the lenses. The colors (bright white vs yellowish) are due to the emitter.

Very interesting. I've learned a lot from just playing around with these lights.

I've got another unopened black star that I may decide to crack open and see what I can discover from it.

This is getting to be fun!

Thanks to all who have comments or suggestions in this thread.

 

[ace0001a]

Hi All -

It's me again... I've been re-reading this thread because I vaguely remembered someone commenting about the lens (or diffuser). Turns out it was ace0001a I believe. So, anyway, I've tried swapping lenses back and forth between my White Star and Black Star lights and it turns out that all the beam differences are totally due to the differences in the lenses. The colors (bright white vs yellowish) are due to the emitter.

Very interesting. I've learned a lot from just playing around with these lights.

I've got another unopened black star that I may decide to crack open and see what I can discover from it.

This is getting to be fun!

Thanks to all who have comments or suggestions in this thread.

Yeah it's a little frustrating that the quality and/or performance of the optic wasn't more consistent. My favorite one exhibits a really good hotspot that thows really well, but has some artifacting and deformation of the circle around the hotspot whereas my other one has a more evenly rounded circle around a hotspot that is just a hair less intense. I totally swapped out the driver in mine along with the whatever bin emitter with a Q5 bin and the DX 19-mode driver configured in single mode. This light is definitely one of my favorite cheap lights right now...

 

[sandbasser]

Yeah it's a little frustrating that the quality and/or performance of the optic wasn't more consistent. My favorite one exhibits a really good hotspot that thows really well, but has some artifacting and deformation of the circle around the hotspot whereas my other one has a more evenly rounded circle around a hotspot that is just a hair less intense. I totally swapped out the driver in mine along with the whatever bin emitter with a Q5 bin and the DX 19-mode driver configured in single mode. This light is definitely one of my favorite cheap lights right now...

How difficult it the DX 19-mode driver swap? Is it something suitable for a first time modder???

Thanks,

 

[ps56k]

A few weeks ago, I had found the Cree at one of the Chicago suburban stores, and bought it...
My son grabbed it for his car.
I've gone back, and they only have full cardboard boxes of the Luxeons selling at the $29 price - not a mixup - as the SKU has it listed as Luxeon.
Guess I'll just have to keep going back and see if the stores ever switch over to the Cree again

 

[extas]

For SF Bay Area,

The Union City, CA Lowes @ Union Landing has these in stock. White Star. They are not in the Flashlight end cap. When looking at the end cap toward the check out, look in the aisle on the left side of the end cap. They are well hidden with some other lights, just behind the end cap in about the middle shelf. only 2-3 were sold, so a nearly full carton of the Cree's.

its pretty easy to re-align just reseat the optic a few times. its brighter than my 1343 DX dropin, DX D-mini, Ultrafire C2 HAIII, only my Modded Elektrolumens Blaster 3 with Q5 is brighter. hrmm. i don't know why its so bright the readings i took (V, ma) were not that good. i should recheck it again.

-ex

 

[Templar223]

A few weeks ago, I had found the Cree at one of the Chicago suburban stores, and bought it...
My son grabbed it for his car.
I've gone back, and they only have full cardboard boxes of the Luxeons selling at the $29 price - not a mixup - as the SKU has it listed as Luxeon.
Guess I'll just have to keep going back and see if the stores ever switch over to the Cree again

Same here in Champaign.

You had to look in the very back where the new (good) ones were at.

I helped them out by putting a few of the good lights up front!

John

 

[ace0001a]

How difficult it the DX 19-mode driver swap? Is it something suitable for a first time modder???

Thanks,

People here have been saying the newer KD/DX 19-mode drivers are harder to work with because they don't have "posts" to solder the positive and negative wires going to the LED. To me it wasn't a problem as I was just VERY careful when I soldered the wires. With that said, the DX driver needs to be insulated otherwise it will easily short out inside the 2-piece "can" module. The stock driver has components on only one side of the circuit board, whereas the KD/DX 19-mode driver has components on both sides. Quite honestly, the difference in output performance isn't that much (I just wanted to experiment). The easiest swap would be just to do the stock whatever-bin cree star with a Q5-bin (which KD and DX also sell). Right there, you will notice a difference. But like I said before, the variation in the Optics that come with these flashlights also makes a difference.

 

[Sgt. LED]

You don't need to swap the driver to take advantage of the Q5? I thought that the Q5 needed a bit more power to see the brightness increase from Q4 to Q5. Not that the TF has a Q4. Well I do have an extra Q5 in my parts stash........

 

[Joshatdot]

I found 6 at the Lowes in Mount Veronon, WA

1717 FREEWAY DRIVE
MOUNT VERNON, WA 98273
(360) 424-5838
M-SA 6-9, SU 7-8

Man this thing is a thrower! Super White Bright (close to 6500k for sure). It makes my P1D CE Q5 Silver look warm-ish, and I thought it was very white!

One thing I didn't see in these posts is that the reflector is one solid clear piece of plastic.

oh yeah, its the white star Cree

 

[gnef]

that clear plastic is an optic, rather than a reflector, and why the light has such good throw, but limited spill.

 

[Sigman]

Let's close this one and continue here...