Someone clever please help boost Novatac 120P output current and keep UI intact?

[Justin Case]

Well the OP says he is going to mod the light using a P7 or MC-E, so if he can up the drive current to 1000mA, he can get close to 300 OTF lumens. That's more than 2X output increase. Even if he doesn't mod the driver, he could get about 200 OTF lumens, which is close to 2X.

 

[Moddoo]

There will be occasions when that extra output is very welcome and useful, but for most situations it is not required - and in fact it isn't even very easy to tell the difference.

I did a test last night with 3 family members using an HDS B42, HDS U60 and Novatac 120. When all 3 were on at the same time, it was not too difficult to tell which was which, due to the relative brightness, although even then one of my children thought the B42 was brighter than the U60.

When they were turned on in random sequence, all 3 family members made at least one mistake in ranking them in order of brightness. One family member even put the HDS-42 ahead of the NT-120 (although on repeating the same test twice, this didn't happen again).

I'm not trying to prove anything, as that was a very unscientific test, but it is my observation and experience that those extra lumens don't make a lot of difference unless there is a pretty substantial increase - probably double or more - and the tint and beam pattern will have a big influence on individual perception of brightness.

Well the OP says he is going to mod the light using a P7 or MC-E, so if he can up the drive current to 1000mA, he can get close to 300 OTF lumens. That's more than 2X output increase. Even if he doesn't mod the driver, he could get about 200 OTF lumens, which is close to 2X.

Good points all around.

Lets see if I can extract the brains of this thing, and get some pics, and see if anyone can come up with a magic trick.

If not, I may just go for the D2 flex setup, or something else that will provide a very healthy output.

BTW, I have a 17670 extension that I will mod for a 18650 for this.

more commentary encouraged :twothumbs

 

[tebore]

There will be occasions when that extra output is very welcome and useful, but for most situations it is not required - and in fact it isn't even very easy to tell the difference.

I did a test last night with 3 family members using an HDS B42, HDS U60 and Novatac 120. When all 3 were on at the same time, it was not too difficult to tell which was which, due to the relative brightness, although even then one of my children thought the B42 was brighter than the U60.

When they were turned on in random sequence, all 3 family members made at least one mistake in ranking them in order of brightness. One family member even put the HDS-42 ahead of the NT-120 (although on repeating the same test twice, this didn't happen again).

I'm not trying to prove anything, as that was a very unscientific test, but it is my observation and experience that those extra lumens don't make a lot of difference unless there is a pretty substantial increase - probably double or more - and the tint and beam pattern will have a big influence on individual perception of brightness.

If those are un-upgraded lights then I might be able to explain why they thought a dimmer light was brighter.

The HDS EDCs used Lux 3 which combined with that reflector gave a relatively tight beam compared to the NT making it seem brighter. Then there was the issue of Joker vs non-joker emitters. If the U60 was from a later batch then it's likely a joker emitter which meant more light but the hotspot was less focused. You can see this joker vs non-joker emitter issue if they are side by side. The hotspot of the joker equipped light will be bigger ever so slightly and the edge of it will be slightly out of focus.