Carpe Diem
Flashlight Enthusiast
I`m in...for whatever!
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The McLux has landed!
- Thread starter Darell
- Start date
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Hello Skunks, I have been eagerly awaiting this "secret" product for many months, it seems. I'd like to get one of every part, including a long tail. Does the production McLux simply take complete badboy/Madmax sandwich modules? That is one thing which hasn't been explained to date.
I hope that was a typo, where you say 50 units instead of 500.
I hope that was a typo, where you say 50 units instead of 500.
B@rt
Flashaholic
Smell the light?...
JollyRoger
Enlightened
Guys, the McLux head will fit the E1, as well as the E2. What is inside it...well...if you would like one specifically with a BB500...or BB750 (for use with a 5-watt and 2 123's), then you might want to look into building your own, a buying the needed parts separately from Wayne's Sandwich shop.
For all practical purposes, the 5 watt and McLux might be overkill, unless you're trying to light up the driveway for a night-time game of basketball!
A 1-watt paired with the McLux gives decent flood and very good illumination for most jobs. Currently, the optics and the 5w do offer more throw, but I personally wouldn't use this combination.
The clip *does* come off, if you unscrew the two screws.
For all practical purposes, the 5 watt and McLux might be overkill, unless you're trying to light up the driveway for a night-time game of basketball!
A 1-watt paired with the McLux gives decent flood and very good illumination for most jobs. Currently, the optics and the 5w do offer more throw, but I personally wouldn't use this combination.
The clip *does* come off, if you unscrew the two screws.
JollyRoger
Enlightened
Final $$ have not yet been determined. But for now, all I can say is somewhere between $100 and $1000.
It's going to be a realistic price, guys. For the quality of the light and the amount of work that went into it, the price will be very well-justified.
It's going to be a realistic price, guys. For the quality of the light and the amount of work that went into it, the price will be very well-justified.
B@rt
Flashaholic
Here is a good pic for size comparison:
HOLY MO******....
SureFire heaven and a whole lot of lathe hours. An aluminum/steel masterssembly.
Likin' it so far. Approximo same size as an E1x...
Very nice. A 5W can probably then be driven in it and be approximo the same size as an E2x.
SureFire heaven and a whole lot of lathe hours. An aluminum/steel masterssembly.
Likin' it so far. Approximo same size as an E1x...
Very nice. A 5W can probably then be driven in it and be approximo the same size as an E2x.
Very nice!How will these be distributed. Can you put me in for the lottery.
bmsmith
Enlightened
A small side note from me... I love the logo! Awesome light!
JollyRoger
Enlightened
cave dave, these will most likely be individually hand-delivered by darell.
just kidding! hee-hee.
Most likely through dat2zip's sandwich shop.
The logo is a nice touch from our marketing wizard, hotfoot.
just kidding! hee-hee.
Most likely through dat2zip's sandwich shop.
The logo is a nice touch from our marketing wizard, hotfoot.
Darell
Flashaholic
Whoa! Look what happens when I wake up the next morning! Let me see if I can pick up all these. I'm sure glad Wayne and Roger jumped in!
Cool. So do we. Compatibility was just something we threw in.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">
Cool. So do we. Compatibility was just something we threw in.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">The whole thing is aluminum, save the obvious parts and the *removeable* SS clip
Darell
Flashaholic
The entire light is EN coated (or HAIII black) even over the blasting. Please note that the EN coating is softer and will scratch easier than the HAIII. But the good news is that the metal under the EN coating is roughly the same color as the coating, so from a slight distance scratches won't really show. If you manage to scratch the black one, the scratches WILL show.
Yes the head will fit on an E2 (or a long-tailed multi-123 pack), but the BadBoy boards we use won't handle more than the 3V it was designed for. For mods, a multi-123 pack can be perfect with a driver of your choice.
The emitter is Arctic Silvered to the massive bulkhead offering the best heat-sinking that I've ever seen. There is NO barrier for the heat to enter the entire massive/finned head and dissipate to the environment. The emitter can be removed by heating it to soften the adhesive and popping it off. This destroys the LED of course.
Yes the head will fit on an E2 (or a long-tailed multi-123 pack), but the BadBoy boards we use won't handle more than the 3V it was designed for. For mods, a multi-123 pack can be perfect with a driver of your choice.
The emitter is Arctic Silvered to the massive bulkhead offering the best heat-sinking that I've ever seen. There is NO barrier for the heat to enter the entire massive/finned head and dissipate to the environment. The emitter can be removed by heating it to soften the adhesive and popping it off. This destroys the LED of course.
Darell
Flashaholic
tri-mode beam configuration - As Wayne stated, this is not a "focussable" beam by any means. What we mean is that the light can be set up to look just like all the other LS lights running around out there with the optics in place. OR it can have the McFlood, or nothing at all. The McFlood is an awesome compromise and seems to work the best for us. Sometimes to impress your friends you have to drop the optics in to paint the spot on the far wall.
We aren't keeping you out of this thing. The optics can be swapped whenever the mood strikes you. The switch can be replaced, the SS clip can be removed.
If we build some turn-key units, there won't be many configurable items. Far too much to keep track of. If you want a colored LED, a different driver, etc... then you'll want to build your own.
We aren't keeping you out of this thing. The optics can be swapped whenever the mood strikes you. The switch can be replaced, the SS clip can be removed.
If we build some turn-key units, there won't be many configurable items. Far too much to keep track of. If you want a colored LED, a different driver, etc... then you'll want to build your own.
Darell
Flashaholic
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Thanks for pointing this out, Nerd. I said much the same thing in the announcement. This is not a retrofit of a $10 flashlight (no slight meant to the guys who do the awesome mods to every-day lights!). Except for the Kroll switch, this thing is completely built to our specs. We funded this small run so we could have McLuxes in our own pockets - and we knew the per unit cost would be steep because of the small quantities. We purposefully shot high on our quantities so other interested folks could have a shot at owning one. No way could we afford to pull off hundreds or thousands of these though.
Wow,
Quite a bit of interest here!
I'd like to throw in some comments observations here.
If you can't find what you want and can't talk someone into making it, your left with making it or getting it made yourself. There are certain features about the McLux that we liked and wanted in our own EDC's and we couldn't talk any of the *real* flashlight manufacturers into incorporating these ideas into their lines. As flashaholics, we wanted some simple mod building blocks so we could mix and match and mess around.
There were a couple key and basic criteria that were addressed in the design and requirements of the limited production run of the parts:
</font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">1 watt (with option of 5W) Luxeon light source</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Beam shape options: flood or optics</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">simple and solid heat sink via integrated sink bulkhead</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">significant mass and surface area for thermal relief</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">simple and direct electrical paths for ground and positive</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">replaceable and accessible components</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">bezel down carry</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">multiple lanyard, tether and mounting options</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">compatability with other existing flashlight components; head and power pak</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">guarded tail switch with stand up feature</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">mineral glass or sapphire crystal lens options
This was to be an EDC light.
Room has been provided in the electronics cavity for not only Wayne's current offering of Bad Boys and Mad Max's but for future wonders as well. At this point, we haven't a clue how this is going to pan out but we did get enough parts made so we can share some of them with our CPF friends.
I should also point out that the primary power source in consideration is a single 123 cell. Obviously the power pak length can be extended for multiple cells and other strategies. Leo had one drawing with I think 6 different lengths
To accommodate 2xA (Roger and his NiMH's
) or 2xAA or 3x123, Leo slipped some of the "Long Tails" in on us. I have already taken one of these and cut and rethreaded it to a 2x123 length so I could use a Copia 168b Li-Ion with a KL1 bezel.
We have kind of taken a "build your own to suit your needs" approach here since we certainly can't leave well enough alone and it looks like we're not alone in this!
It looks like we need to get more images available showing the components and possible assembly strategies. We can also try to document the various combinations of both the McLux components as well as the myriad of mixes with branded components.
- Don
Quite a bit of interest here!
I'd like to throw in some comments observations here.
If you can't find what you want and can't talk someone into making it, your left with making it or getting it made yourself. There are certain features about the McLux that we liked and wanted in our own EDC's and we couldn't talk any of the *real* flashlight manufacturers into incorporating these ideas into their lines. As flashaholics, we wanted some simple mod building blocks so we could mix and match and mess around.
There were a couple key and basic criteria that were addressed in the design and requirements of the limited production run of the parts:
</font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">1 watt (with option of 5W) Luxeon light source</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Beam shape options: flood or optics</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">simple and solid heat sink via integrated sink bulkhead</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">significant mass and surface area for thermal relief</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">simple and direct electrical paths for ground and positive</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">replaceable and accessible components</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">bezel down carry</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">multiple lanyard, tether and mounting options</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">compatability with other existing flashlight components; head and power pak</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">guarded tail switch with stand up feature</font>[/list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"></font><ul type="square">[*]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">mineral glass or sapphire crystal lens options
- modularity where possible</font>
Room has been provided in the electronics cavity for not only Wayne's current offering of Bad Boys and Mad Max's but for future wonders as well. At this point, we haven't a clue how this is going to pan out but we did get enough parts made so we can share some of them with our CPF friends.
I should also point out that the primary power source in consideration is a single 123 cell. Obviously the power pak length can be extended for multiple cells and other strategies. Leo had one drawing with I think 6 different lengths
We have kind of taken a "build your own to suit your needs" approach here since we certainly can't leave well enough alone and it looks like we're not alone in this!
It looks like we need to get more images available showing the components and possible assembly strategies. We can also try to document the various combinations of both the McLux components as well as the myriad of mixes with branded components.
- Don
Darell
Flashaholic
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">
See? This is the kind of feedback we're looking for.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Well, it is about 4" long. Longer than an E1, shorter than an E2. It is the perfect size for the hand. To create a light that was multi-configurable (and tail-switchable!) it had to be a bit longer. We even left some "growth" room in the PCB cavity for future WayneMagic™. The bezel-down clip makes this light just disappear on your pants or in your pocket, however.
