A better A2

[ArmyPilot]

CPF User Wolfen recommended I cross post this to this board to see what you thought about building such a light. My main complaint with an A2 is that the white light is much brighter than I need and therefore burns through more batteries than necessary. Not to mention its blinding effect when looking at anything light colored. Here is what I'm looking for:

1. Can provide light better/equivalent to a 2D generic incandecent (an Army requirement). With a similar run-time. This mode can use any kind of bulb. The idea is to be able to inspect equipment from at least 3 feet away.
2. NVG safe LED mode, preferable with selectable brightness (the ARC4 seems to have that down-pat). The flashlight can not work like the Streamlight TaskLights which seem to cycle between white and blue/green as we cannot have white lights coming on in the cockpit.
3. Less important, but ideal would be if the white light is dimmable too, so that the same light could be used for reading as is used for walking to the john/inspecting the helicopter.
4. Finally, the batteries can be the 123Lithium or any standard size.

Thanks for any input you may have.
Here is a link to the original thread. (I hope)

 

[McGizmo]

If I am following your needs, it sounds to me that a SF U2 would be a great solution for you. I can build you an Aleph light that will consist of two light output levels that you can select but that would be it. The low level is independent of the high level. You might want to take a look at the various reported lux readings in K-T's chart, HERE . and let's open this thread up to input from all others, please! I am a bit swamped at the moment guys! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[ArmyPilot]

If I'm not mistaken the U2 is white-only. I need a light that can provide bright white and dim blue.

 

[paulr]

Maybe you want an Elektrolumens Anglelux. That's a standard Fulton anglehead flashlight adapted to use a 3W Luxeon LED. It takes the usual filters so you can set the color that way. Battery runtime is quite long, like 8 hours on two D's. Finally, it's "stealth"--externally it looks just like one of those standard GI angleheads, so no one will look at it twice, making it less likely to sprout legs if you set it down somewhere.

 

[McGizmo]

Ah,
Didn't realize the blue thing. You can also put a blue pop up filter on the U2. If time or money were no object to either of us, I could build you a light like the one shown below:

I recently added a two stage switch to it so the 5W LED has a high and low. The 3 mm LED's are not effected by the switch and stay about the same. A light like this could sport a ring of Blue LED's. A collar on the head switches between the 3 mm LED's and the 5W Luxeon. Unfortunately, I don't have the resources to bring something like this to market nor the time to blow in making a one of a kind. Perhaps SF will have something in their nex years line up that would work better for your application. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

 

[BC0311]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/huh.gif Wow, Don, I'll just forget about that Pentagonlight Trooper. The above light of yours with 9 UV LEDs would be awesome.

Army Pilot, I would suggest an Aleph 1 or 2x123 with the Aleph 2 head and a 60 ohm resistored McE2s two-stage tailcap. Something less than a 917ma Light Engine since it puts out alot of light and it sounds like you don't need that bright of a beam. I believe the Aleph 2 head is 1" in diameter and therefore the 1" inside diameter Surefire <font color="blue"> Blue </font> beamfilter would work on it.

I also ran across this slip-on, anti-roll beamfilter (looks like an MM model) with red and blue lenses on ebay:

1" slip-on beamfilter red and blue lenses

 

[Kiessling]

Don ! This light was one of your most stunning designs ever /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif ! I am still admiring it these days ...
bernhard

 

[McGizmo]

Brit,
Good suggestion on the Aleph 2 and the beam shaper can live on the tail when not in use. With it on the tail, you are limited to rotational switching of constant on low and then constant on high but it is a pretty clean set up, IMHO.

 

[jtice]

Don, That is STILL my favorite creation of yours !!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif

.... damnit, there goes the drool again, i just cleaned this keyboard.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/drool.gif

-John

 

[B@rt]

Don, please stop posting... I'm running out of saliva.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[buymysoul]

I'm new to all this also, so I don't know how the A2 is setup exactly, but couldn't you just solder an MN02 (E2o) bulb (or something else that was dimmer but the correct voltage into the A2 lamp assembly? That would take care of the runtime and brightness issues.

Or would the regulation of the A2 or some property of the assembly make this not possible? (maybe you could just get a custom lamp assembly made up, might be worth someone's time. You'd need a few and I'm sure other's would want to get in on it.)

There is also the slight possiblility that if you emailed surefire, they might see a potential market and want to start making a lower powered incandecent bulb for the A2...

 

[K-T]

The A2 bulb is a special design for the A2 and not compatible to the E-series bulbs. Replacing it with an MN02 won't work.

I doubt the A2 will get a lowpower LA, that's what the LED's are for - and they do a great job. But what do I know? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[McGizmo]

I would guess it would be easier to design an Incan lamp than say a LED but to consider it trivial or easy would be a big mistake, IMHO. Even though there may be some unwanted color shift in a dimmed LED, having variable light output with the same light source, an LED, is likely where the R&D is headded these days; especially at flux levels attainable from LED sources. Developing various output LA's for the A2 is probably not high on SF's list. The A2 was very slow getting out of the gate as many will recall. It would not surprise me at all if getting a properly optimized LA wasn't part of the hold up.

 

[buymysoul]

Ah, gotcha.