What drop in Led to use in a Military Anglehead flashlight

[depusm12]

I have a Fulton Military anglehead and want to put an led in iIwas looking at the TerraLUX TLE-1 or a TLE-2 pictures from Flashlight Reviews.Com

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/terralux_bulbs.htm/[HTML]
are there some others that would work I want throw and runtime vers output. Trying to keep it under 35 bucks. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[TORCH_BOY]

I know that Elektrolumens sell a modded fulton complete with a Luxeon
LED, booster circuit and reflector, it is called the Anglelux

 

[dmkays]

I have personally modded 6 Military Anglehead flashlights. 4 with white Everled's 1 with Teal and 1 with red. Three of them are in Iraq, My friends over there say they are very bright and the batteries last forever. 1 got left by my son in summer camp. I moved the Teal bulb to a Mini Maglight. The red one is all I still have in an Anglelux. 10 times brighter than the red filter.

But as the previous poster pointed out, I too am waiting for a custom mod from Electro-Lumens. Wayne is putting a 3 watt Luxeon in mine and tweeking it for brightness. I look forward to getting it in the next week or two.

I like the TerraLUX mods for AA Mini Maglights, and their Diamond bulbs for C and D Cell Maglights. But if I was going to go with Terralux products for a Military Angle Light I would get the TLE-5 with the BA-1 adapter.

But since the reflector is not ajustable, I would recommend you spend a few more dollars and get an everled with a side emitter led. (This is from lots of experience with that particular flashlight). Good luck.

Dan Kays
[email protected]

 

[pizzaman]

Quote: "But since the reflector is not ajustable, I would recommend you spend a few more dollars and get an everled with a side emitter led. (This is from lots of experience with that particular flashlight)."

Dan,

From the reading I have done I was under the impression that the side emitter EverLed was best in flashlights "with" adjustable reflectors.

With a fixed reflector there is no guarantee that that the side emitter EverLed will be properly positioned for that particular reflector, so it may be best to get a Lambertian.

Quote from LEDsupply.com: "There is little to no focusability with the EverLED Lambertian, and would be a good choice for flashlights that have a fixed housing."

With an adjustable reflector you can dial in the proper beam focus to suit the side emitter.

Quote from LEDsupply.com: "By using a side emitting LED in conjunction with the current reflector in your flashlight, the EverLED Classic retains the full focusability of the flashlight it is placed in. Whether it is a flood light for working up close or a beam for seeing what's off in the distance,"

Any thoughts? Have you tried a Lambertain EverLed in a Fulton?

Thanks, TR

 

[dmkays]

Pizzaman, you may be very correct in your assessment.

I bought most of my EVERLED's at one time for 3-D Cell mag-lites. I still have the 2-D mag-lite that I bought 25 years ago when I was in the Coast Guard.

We had a couple extended power failures a few years ago. And while I love groping my wife in the dark as much as the next guy, I thought It was time to put Mag-lites in both car, one in each of the three bedrooms, One in the Garage, and one in the kitchen closet.

I had never heard of CPF at that time, so I purchased Side-Emitters EverLED's based upon advertisements I read in magazines.

I put the Everled's into the Mag-lites, and I had mixed emotions.

1. I loved the extended battery life.
2.I didnt have to buy a D cell for a very long time.
3. They were brighter than the standard bulbs that came with the 2-D cell Mag-Lites.
4. Except for the yellowish tint to one of them they were amazingly white.

On the flip side, I thought they should have been brighter. So I soon replaced them with three watt Diamond LED bulbs. While the light was not quite triple, that of the one watts, they were noticably brighter.

So after upgrading the mag-lites I had seven EVERLED's that I didn't know what to do with. I thought about Ebay, but my terciary flashlight for caving was a fulton MX/991/u. aka, a very durable flashlight, even when caked in cave mud 2-d flashlight.

I hosed off the fulton angle-light stuck a side-emitter EVERLED into one, and man was it bright. It left the krypton in the dust, and when I dropped it, it didn't pop.

I can't say that the reflector accidentally was positioned correctly for the side-emitter EverLED's, or a Lambertian emitter would have been much brighter in my military issue indestructo flashlight. I did not have a Lambertian EverLED to make the comparison with. But compared to the stock krypton bulb that comes with the Fulton, the side emitter EverLED rocks and rolls. Like laser beams in my dreams.

I had 6 EverLED's left, and one in my caving backup to my backup. I still didn't know what to do with all my precious EverLED's, them came the call-ups. 5 of my friends were off to war, and my son was off to Boy Scout Summer Camp.

I gave each of my friends a Desert Tan flashlight with an EverLED (Side Emitter) to take to the Middle East. They too were ignorant of Lambertian emitters. I doubt if any of them could even pronounce Lambertian. After all they are all a bunch of Tennessee Rednecks that just wanted to kick Al Quida Butt.

And my son Jacob wanted a black Fulton to take to Boy Scout summer camp. So I fixed him up. I made him promise (with threats of death) to take good care of it, and bring it home safely. Death threats with Jake never work. His flashlight is still either laying in the mud somewhere at Camp Buck Toms, or it found it's way into another person's foot locker. That is about the 5th flashlight of mine that he let get lost or stolen. Typical for a 13 year old.

That all said, I found CPF forums, and my next Fulton MX991/U will arrive tomorrow. Electro-lumens put one together for me with a three watt Luxeon and tweaked it for brightness. I can't wait to play with it.

Also since I joined CPF, all of my TerraLUX TL-5's for mini-maglights started being put into other peoples Mini-maglights when they weren't watching.

They all think that they have blinding flashlights now. But I dumped them, because I found an advertiser on CPF called the sandwich shoppe that introduced me to a New, brighter Madmax non-adjustable, wide-open, semi Voltage regulated 2AA Flashlight Kit: including a Madmax Plus Module with Luxeon LXHL-PW09 (White Lux III emitter), optics, o-ring and Sandwich retaining o-rings. Now my 2-AA flashlight rocks too.

If anyone tries a Fulton flashlight with a Lambertian emitter compared to a star emitter, I would really like to know how they compare.

Dan

 

[nikon]

The Everled side emitter works better in my Fulton anglehead than does the Lambertian, and I've found the same to be true with most non-focusable flashlights. Unless the lambertian is properly focused it produces a pronounced donut hole in the center of the hotspot. This is true with lights such as the various Princeton Tec models, the Dorcy Cool Blue, and even the old standby Eveready which everyone has at home. The Everled side emitter is far less critical of focusing errors.

The side emitter works well at relatively close distances because it produces a large, diffuse central spot which illuminates a broad area. On the other hand, the side emitter doesn't throw very far for the same reason. It can be reshaped into a quasi-Lambertian to great effect, but that's a story for another day.

One of the great things about an Everled is that it will run for 24 hours straight before it reaches the 50% brightness level. The same is true of the Elektrolumens 1 watt Anglelux, although I believe that model has been discontinued. Their 3 watt Anglelux will give 8 hours output at a brighter level than the 1 watt. Elektrolumens uses an IMS 27mm reflector which gives excellent throw.

 

[pizzaman]

"And while I love groping my wife in the dark as much as the next guy..."

Dan,

You had better do something about that "next" guy.

(I had better replies available, but wasn't sure how far I could stretch your sense of humor).

Thanks for the detailed reply on the EverLEDs. I may pick up one of each just to play with. I may also try the diamond version that is reverse polarity for 6v lanterns. I'm still waiting for the prices of these things to drop. I can buy a very nice Dorcy 3D 1w for $20, but picking up a 1W EverLED bulb is $40+??? OK, the EverLED is regulated....still over priced! Sorry, I just don't get it.

Nikon, Thanks for your first-hand observations with the EverLEDs in Fultons. I am more of a "flood light" "long runtime" guy, so the side emitter sounds ideal. Good to know it does its job in the ol angle-heads.

TR

 

[dmkays]

Pizzaman,

You caught me at the wrong time. I was sipping my coke when you said that I needed to watch out for the other guy. I had to turn my head rapidly to avoid filling my keyboard with the coke that was shooting out of my nose.

Now after laying out a chunk of change for a 3 watt sandwich for my favorite old mag-lite shown here, ...

and the Anglelux purchase that is due to arrive today, I need to lay off the light shopping for a little while. I did see a 20 watt LED in a TO-66 package that I would like to play with but the only flashlight I have that I could put it in is my Streamlight SL-35X.

I just upgraded to a new switch, gave it a new paint job, replaced the battery stick with an NIMH battery stick, upgraded to a glass lens, a dimmable tailcap with flashmode. That flashlight went into over 200 house fires with me, and I am not ready to start trying to reconfigure it for LED's without a very compelling reason. It is still the brightest flashlight in the house.

Dan

 

[pizzaman]

"I had to turn my head rapidly to avoid filling my keyboard with the coke that was shooting out of my nose."

Dan,

My condolences.

Damn shame. I hate to see a perfectly good coke wasted on a nose or a keyboard.

I like your mini-mag. Nice to see one that can actually crank out a few lumens. The wrapped handle gave me an idea. I've seen that done on knife handles, but never a flashlight. I'm thinking about pulling the string out of some paracord, then wrapping the shell around my new Cyclops flashlight for some added grip. Might even look good if I do it right. How did you finish the ends without leaving some cord hanging?

"That flashlight went into over 200 house fires with me….It is still the brightest flashlight in the house."

Good to know that in a hot house full of men you are still packing the biggest stick.

Keep it cool, TR

 

[dmkays]

Pizzaman,

Just for clarification, I used a Streamlight SL-35X firefighting. Just overhauled it so it is like new again. I used it since about 1992. I had to replace two bulbs in all that time. Recently, the battery stick stopped taking a charge. I found 3 of the 5 NICAD cells were shorted, so it was only running on 2.4v instead of 6v.

I installed an aftermarket NIMH stick instead of the stock NICAD stick. It take twice as long to charge up, but give me 3 hours of light at full power instead of 1-1/2. I also put a new tail switch on it to dim it for extended battery life or put it into flash mode.

The switch was worn out, so while I was waiting for my new switch assembly, I took the light apart sanded smooth all the nicks and scratches from years of abuse, and spray painted it. Now it is better than brand new. That light has saved my butt more times than I can remember. So I keep it hanging in it's charger by the door. Ready for another thirteen years of hard service.

The mini-maglite shown in previous post is my personal carry with me favorite flashlight. I just dropped a 3-watt sandwich in it. A good investment. I find that it lasts longer with Nimh rechargables that won't light up most of my LED flashlights worth a tinker's damn. But the Sandwich Shoppe designed it to work well with NIMH Rechargables. Go Sandwich Shoppe!

I can't wrap my SL-35X because it slides down into a wall mounted charger and the tolorance is too close for a wrap of french whipping.

The wrap is generally called a french whipping to us ex-coastie or ex-navy sailors. Maybe we should start calling it a freedom whipping. Just kidding.

I wrap my flashlights like that for several reasons.
1. I know my work, and can positively identify a flashlight as mine.
2. All my friends know that my lights are whipped, so if they borrow one when we are on an outing, it helps them remember who it's borrowed from.
3. When it it cold outside, my flashlight doesn't freeze my hand.
4. If my hands are slippery, I can still hang on to my flashlight.
5. The older it gets, the more oil and grime it gathers the more character it gets.

On to your question.

When wrapping with half hitches, you can keep them going the same way, and get the spiral, or alternate and get a strait line, or you can use two smaller lines, and go both directions at once for diamonds, sort of.

To cut I heat my solder station and clean the tip real well. I adjust the heat where it will just melt the nylon line without turning it all black and making a mess.

When it melts clear. then with a recleaned tip, I will cut the line with an extra 1/8th of inch that I melt into the ajacent groove. It usually holds very well. I have had some where the last couple wraps would want to spread away from the others, so I would take a clear model glue, and work it in between the flashlight and the nylon line. If I get some glue on the outside of the nylon line, it wears off quick enough.

Consider this. I crank each wrap with 80 to 100 lbs of pull or more so I have several hundred lbs per square inch trying to crush the flashlight.
A 4-D Mag-lite, is like a submarine approaching crush depth.

I bought an aluminum flashlight at an unnamed cheap tool outlet. As I was wrapping, I watched the whole aluminum tube crush in. I would have called it the Kurst, except it was made in China. What a waste of nylon line. Don't over torque your wraps, but don't leave them too loose either. Use a good quality light with good snug wraps and it should work out well for you.

I wrapped several fulton plastic flashlights, and did not crush them. but #1 they are very tough plastic, and number two, I knew that I could crush it if I tried, so I went easier when wrapping.

Hope that answers your questions.

Dan

 

[Lunal_Tic]

If you are ambitious you could try an Angle Lux w/ Mc38 reflector. You don't really need to start with an Angle Lux. I just had one that was screaming to be tweaked.

Otherwise the Everled is one of the easiest but not all that bright, at least the ones I have aren't.

-LT

 

[pizzaman]

Dan,

Thanks for the detailed reply.

TR

 

[SwampThing]

Hello I know this is an old thread but people do search for these thing so I thought I would give my review of 2 bulbs I bought on amazon. I wrote this review over two years ago and all bulbs are still working with no failures, I have bought at least 6 Dorcy 41-1643,s and they and my TerraLUX TLE-1F still perform. None are dazzling in brightness but they make batteries last a looonnnggg time.

I wanted to replace the standard bulbs in my standard military issue angle-head flashlights. I bought one Dorcy 41-1643 and a TerraLUX TLE-1F. I put each bulb in a new flashlight with a brand new set of Rayovac d cell alkaline batteries in each, including one with the standard filament bulb to use as a baseline.

The results:

Standard bulb: 47 hours 20 minutes
TerraLUX TLE-1F: 94 hours
Dorcy 41-1643: 233 hours

The Dorcy 41-1643 lasted an amazing amount of time before the batteries drained, but was bright than the TerraLUX TLE-1F. Both of the LED bulbs not only outlasted the filament bulb before the batteries drained, but also had a significantly brighter and whiter light.

If brightness is the most important thing to you buy the TerraLUX TLE-1F, it has a brighter light than the Dorcy 41-1643 and a much brighter and whiter light that the standard bulb. Batteries with the TerraLUX TLE-1F also lasted about twice as long as the standard bulb.

If energy efficiency is your primary concern the Dorcy 41-1643 is far superior at a whopping 233 hours of good light on one set of batteries, I was stunned at its longevity. The Dorcy also costs much less than the TerraLux.

Both LED bulbs also would light to nearly full power after they had gone out and the batteries were given a chance to rest, this amount of good light would last from 5 to 25 minutes.