Impressed with ROP...now something brighter?

As stated, recieved my bulbs today, put the pelican HI bulb in my 6 cell mag, and damn this thing rocks! I am impressed. Like everything, I now want something better...brighter, preferably something in a mag flashlight form. What is brighter than a ROP that a mag can be the host for?

M@g 85.

Second. I'm in the process of building one now, just waiting for one last part. There was recently a very informative thread on this- search should turn it up. Be prepared to sink a little more time and alot more money into this project!

Skip the M@g85 and go for a 50W mod or higher. Difference between a good ROP and M@g85 is small and a top shelf ROP can match a M@g85 imho.


Nice easy mod would be using bipin 12V 50W or higher lamps and powering it with RC hobby cells. Just have to decide on the wattage/output wanted and work your solution around that.

Delvance, What would you consider a top shelf ROP that would be on par w/ the M@g85?

A Mag 4C using 7 (charged then rested for 24 hours) Intellect brand 3800maH capacity sub C sized Ni-Mh cells with all of the switch and pedastal low resistance mods comes to mind. You'd get superb brightness with a solid 45 minutes of run time on the HI bulb.
Better batteries can make all the difference in the world.

bkaushansky said:

Delvance, What would you consider a top shelf ROP that would be on par w/ the M@g85?

Click to expand...

No

Thanks for considering about it Jdriller hehe

In all honesty though, i don't know *for sure* whether a top shelf ROP will match a good M@g85, which is why i added IMHO to the end of my previous post.

However, here's some info.

I own a custom ROP and a G&P R500. The R500 is known to put out around 425 lumens (from comparisons between SF M6 etc) and in my lightbox, my R500 fully charged equates to 416 lumens.

My ROP in ceiling bounce and lightbox tests, gives more than double the output of the R500. So that's...say 416 x 2 = 832... and that's only double. My ROP outputs more than double in ceiling and lightbox tests.

Anyways, here's the data

R500 in lightbox = 257
My ROP = 738 (highest ever, havn't been able to reproduce this number). However, i've consistently obtained ~680.

(The lightbox, for incan lights...to convert the number to approximate lumens, use a multiplier of 1.62)

A top shelf M@g85 can give 50,000 lux with a LOP reflector too IIRC. I've measured my ROP at 50,000+ lux before.

I can tell you this for sure though. I have a 2D ROP with 6 CBP1650s and a fully switched fixed and the tailcap spring has been modified for low resistance and this light measures around ~700 lumens in my lightbox which is on par for a 2D ROP build after fixing the resistance...my custom ROP completely eats the 2D ROP. No contest at all.

Sorry, I was sleepy last night and I forgot how to read

the 1185 lamp is nigh untouchable for lumen/watt for the power level... to get more light, you really need higher power (like the 50W lamps)..

So.. before you can proceed.. you really need to answer.. what do you want to use the light for.. and how much runtime do you need per day (or per charge in other words).

My favorite light right now is my 2D prototype that outputs between 2000L and 3700L depending on which lamp i have in it... it's the same exact size as your ROP.. but outputs as much as SIX TIMES the light.. it's one-in-the-world. It also cost about as much as my used car to build.

for a 3-D size solution. .the best bang-for-buck is a regulated 12AA running the orsam 64610 lamp... 50W lamp run at 62W.. it will output 1400L which is almost double what many mag85s output..

Delvance is correct about the 'top shelf ROP' but only if comparing to a 'basic' mag85.. My mag85s typically output 880L and two of the mag85s that i've build the driver for are 1000L.. yup a cool 1000L.. Like is said.. 1185 is nigh unbeatable for the power level!

I don't know the bulb specifics of the ROP lamp... i need to get one to get taht into my database.. IIRC it's about 24W.. making it similar to the 1111 lamp.

The ROP properly driven will still only be 2/3 the output of a properly driven 1185.. the problem is... it's kinda hard to properly drive the 1185.. since even the best of the AA solutions with 9 cells can't keep 10.8-11V to the lamp..

Those 'killer 85s' mentioned above (1000L).. require 10 to 12 cells to pull off the trick.. they actually use 'kinda crappy' cells that can only hold 1.05V/cell.. but couple that with 11 cells and you can drive the lamp to 11.5V.. i can't believe the lamp runs that high but it does.. it of course requires regulation and soft-start to pull that off (at least more than once)..

My favorite lights use the osram IRC lamps.. they are 35% more efficient than the typical hotwire lamps.. so.. for the same output i get 35% more runtime..

If you compare 'the gold standard' of 100W flashlight.. the USL.. about 2500L.. and 8-9 minutes of solid output.. to the closest IRC lamp.. which is the '50W'.. I get about 14 minutes runtime of 2700L.. it's just stunning what those little lamps can do.. they are also very darn cute!

So.. there are just a bazillion options.. browse cpf for ideas.. and figure out how deep your pockets are.. and what you really want vs need..

A useful light should have 20-30 min. at least runtime.. 45 to 60 is really good.. and more than that is usually more than needed.. or something you can use multiple times before recharging.. You can get a lot of walking back n forth to the barn, the car, etc in only 10 minutes...

I'll warn you as i've warned others.. once you use a 100W light there is no going back... You will likely donate the ROP to a needy nephew or something.

-awr

andrewwynn said:

My favorite light right now is my 2D prototype that outputs between 2000L and 3700L depending on which lamp i have in it... it's the same exact size as your ROP.. but outputs as much as SIX TIMES the light.. it's one-in-the-world. It also cost about as much as my used car to build.

Click to expand...

When the time is right and the thread is right - tell us more!

oh you won't get me to shuddupabout it trust me :-D it's been about 15 months in the works.. the prototype #1 been running for maybe 5 months.. it's a jaw-dropper. I'm aiming to get them going by November.. for maybe Feb-March shipping. I'll drop one more juicy tid-bit.. the 'working title'.. of the project.. the '44 Mag'. (probably will be resigned to keeping that name to CPF only naturally).

Anyhow.. that particular light.. the only light in it's class for brightness is 'the torch' that i'm aware of... this is in a completely different 'class' though running a regulated 18.75V to a '12V' lamp.. overdrive is 100%. i.e. a so-called 35W lamp is run at 70W.. a '50W' lamp is run at 100.. the results are out-of-this-world.

So.. to answer the initial poster... save your pennies nickels and $10 bills if you want the best.. it's coming soon to a cpf near you.

-awr

Holy crap thanks for the info andrewwynn! I really dont need more than 30-40 minutes of runtime. I basically want a very bright flashlight, moreso than the ROP.

I think I might try out the 3D mag with the orsam 64610 lamp...sounds real nice to me! I just need to read more about regulation.

Your prototype sounds freaking nuts! Cant wait to see it in action. Thanks again guys.

just like the maker! (freaking nuts) ;-D

read all about hotdriver http://hotdriver.rouse.com (the initial interest thread is linked on the first post).

-awr