FlashCrazy
Flashlight Enthusiast
Thanks to tkflash1! It was his thread that alerted me to the availability of these lights.
I purchased these lights at Harbor Freight with the intent of seeing if they were worth modifying. One is a 3 x C battery model, the other is the heavy-hitter 3 x D battery model. They originally came with Luxeon III emitters. I was surprised to find that these are actually really great for modifying. They're modular, and each light's star mounts to a decent sized heatsink that threads solidly into the flashlight housing...no problems with heat transer here! These are very similar to the Dorcy models (not sure what the Dorcy versions are called), but have way better heatsinking. I've modified them with SSC P4 U bin stars, SWO color, obtained from PhotonFanatic.
240 lumens estimate is at the emitter, based on SSC's specs. After reflector and lens losses, a guess would be 155-180 real lumens. It's unfortunate that the measuring standard in the industry is typically "emitter" lumens, instead of real "out the front" lumens. This makes it diffucult for everyone to directly compare flashlight specs. But that's a subject for another thread!
The finished lights are pulling around 1050 mA at the start which translates to 240 lumens at the emitter, then gradually taper down in a typical alkaline fashion. Voltage at the LED is showing about 3.5V. The lights are direct drive, with an appropriate resistor added by me to match the emitter. Using NiMH batteries would allow them to maintain near maximum brightness for most of the runtime. I've found that the C battery version using alkalines, even after 2 hours, is still pulling close to 600 mA (about 170 emitter lumens) and it doesn't seem that much dimmer than when it started. The D version after an hour is still pulling 850 mA, should be around 200 emitter lumens still!, and at the 10 hour point, it was still showing 450 mA!...just about as bright as a LumaPower D-Mini even after 10 hours! I think for most people, unless you plan on using the lights for hours at time, the alkalines are the best bet....otherwise use NiMH batteries.
Each light is $45, and the original dry cell batteries that came with the light are included. Shipping via USPS Priority mail within the U.S. for the C version is $5.50. For the D version, it's $8.00 (6-3-07: One D version available, only $49 shipped!)
I really like the beam on these lights. Typical Seoul beam...bright hotspot with a smooth transition into bright spill. I can't see any difference in throw between these and my 3D SSC P4 modified Maglite. The difference is that these do not get dimmer after 10 minutes of operation like the Maglite does.
Here are some pics:
The 3D version
3D again
3C version showing nice heatsink
3C finished
Sizes compared to 3D Maglite
End shot
Stock 3D on left (Lux III @ 1500 mA) , SSC modded 3D on right (at 1000 mA). Camera doesn't capture beam color accurately...color is whiter. Lights are tilted, that's why the beams are oblong.
Thanks!
I purchased these lights at Harbor Freight with the intent of seeing if they were worth modifying. One is a 3 x C battery model, the other is the heavy-hitter 3 x D battery model. They originally came with Luxeon III emitters. I was surprised to find that these are actually really great for modifying. They're modular, and each light's star mounts to a decent sized heatsink that threads solidly into the flashlight housing...no problems with heat transer here! These are very similar to the Dorcy models (not sure what the Dorcy versions are called), but have way better heatsinking. I've modified them with SSC P4 U bin stars, SWO color, obtained from PhotonFanatic.
240 lumens estimate is at the emitter, based on SSC's specs. After reflector and lens losses, a guess would be 155-180 real lumens. It's unfortunate that the measuring standard in the industry is typically "emitter" lumens, instead of real "out the front" lumens. This makes it diffucult for everyone to directly compare flashlight specs. But that's a subject for another thread!
The finished lights are pulling around 1050 mA at the start which translates to 240 lumens at the emitter, then gradually taper down in a typical alkaline fashion. Voltage at the LED is showing about 3.5V. The lights are direct drive, with an appropriate resistor added by me to match the emitter. Using NiMH batteries would allow them to maintain near maximum brightness for most of the runtime. I've found that the C battery version using alkalines, even after 2 hours, is still pulling close to 600 mA (about 170 emitter lumens) and it doesn't seem that much dimmer than when it started. The D version after an hour is still pulling 850 mA, should be around 200 emitter lumens still!, and at the 10 hour point, it was still showing 450 mA!...just about as bright as a LumaPower D-Mini even after 10 hours! I think for most people, unless you plan on using the lights for hours at time, the alkalines are the best bet....otherwise use NiMH batteries.
Each light is $45, and the original dry cell batteries that came with the light are included. Shipping via USPS Priority mail within the U.S. for the C version is $5.50. For the D version, it's $8.00 (6-3-07: One D version available, only $49 shipped!)
I really like the beam on these lights. Typical Seoul beam...bright hotspot with a smooth transition into bright spill. I can't see any difference in throw between these and my 3D SSC P4 modified Maglite. The difference is that these do not get dimmer after 10 minutes of operation like the Maglite does.
Here are some pics:
The 3D version
3D again
3C version showing nice heatsink
3C finished
Sizes compared to 3D Maglite
End shot
Stock 3D on left (Lux III @ 1500 mA) , SSC modded 3D on right (at 1000 mA). Camera doesn't capture beam color accurately...color is whiter. Lights are tilted, that's why the beams are oblong.
Thanks!
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