Aspheric Thrower..No Spill 600-800meter LED or HID / Incan?

[NeilP]

My mate is looking for a long throw, no spill lamp for 'hunting' his "escaped" dog..(Rhodesian Ridgeback) when he goes out on a run across the beach / sand dunes etc. He want something to follow spot him, keep track of him.
Due the white sand/ gravel tracks any lamp with a spill causes dazzle around him, He tried an M6 multi LED lamp from Mountain electronics but it is too bloody.

I guess what he needs is an aspheric lens lamp, single point emitter ? am I correct in that assumption?

He had been looking at the Wicked laser 'The Torch' 100 W halogen unit but I thought there are probably better options out there


So any better suggestions?

LED or Incan ? Something like a Deerelight DBS night master or Searcher-4s with De domed XP-G2 ?


Thoughts appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

Budget?
Size?
Runtime?
Off the shelf or modded?
Are you/they willing to mod or build?

 

[NeilP]

Budget..up to about £150 / 200 USD I suppose

Size..not a factor...big is fine..as long as it is a one man lift!
Runtime..on full power..minimum 10-15 minutes. 30 would be nice

Off the shelf for now..I don't have the time for any modding/ machine lathe work at the moment.

Looking at the Deerelight XSearcher.with extension for x 2 18650's. gives a few further P60 drop in easy mods in future if we wanted

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

Modding doesn't have to be using a lathe.


I have a UF-1504, it's a single 26650 light, but quite chunky. I bought it as a host in a group buy, but you can buy a full light easily enough. Think the host was $30 maybe. Would have to check.

I then bought an XP-G2 on a DTP Noctigon from Int'l Outdoor, which was maybe $7

I soaked it in petrol over night to de-dome it.

Used a 17mm blank switch board and some 20 AWG wire, soldered the spring to the board and added a by-pass and added a by-pass on the switch spring too (by-pass it just a bit of copper braid or wire going from the top of the spring to the board it sits on, so the current goes through that, as the springs have high resistance).

And done.

Easy modding with only a bit of soldering.

And it does this:




It's the one on the left:







If you want multiple modes, then you could get a good driver from Banggood (X6 driver) for about $9



Runtime should be pretty good with a 26650 too. Although there is 2x26650 version of the light as well called a UF-1405, although you'd need to use a different driver for higher voltage if you wanted to swap out the driver on this.

Or just buy a complete light and swap in an XP-L HI for the easiest option. Even in standard form they throw pretty well, but modded are fairly extreme.


EDIT -- just had a look and a place called fasttech seems to have them instock for $30-35, so even with a new LED and driver you are well under $50 all in.



Failing that, the Olight M3XS-UT Javelot is a very good light. Nice high quality and uses a well driven XP-L HI in a large reflector. The beam is well focused and a quality UI. Being a reflector light you will still get some spill beam, but it's not overly glaring due to tight focused beam and LED being used.

My UF-1504 however cost a fraction of the Olight and throws further than it too, but it is heavier and less nice to hold. I have both. The beam on the Olight is however very useful, while the UF-1504 is somewhat more speicalised.

 

[NeilP]

Oh yes, I relisie modding does not have to involve lathe work..but with me..it usually does.....not happy with something or other so a block of alloy gets purchased to make some part or other.

I built my own single 18650 zoomie last month with Notion MCPCB LED and driver from Mtn Electronics. Used the head from a Suprabeam Q4 for the zoom head

Really just want an off the shelf. and I guess 18650 is good since I have a large quantity of them..though maybe not the best ..reclaimed laptop cells, that i have tested with an iCharger.

I have used fasttech before , but my preferred supplier is Richard at Mountain Electronics.


I think this time around , unless a better suggestion for an off the shelf comes along, it will be the XSearch-4s. I may buy the UF1405 too for 'tinkering'



Thanks for the UF lamps tip.

 

[NeilP]

These UF 1504 1405 lamps.

do you know off the top of your head what the LED and PCB driver board sizes are?

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

17mm driver and 16mm star.

Some modding info here:
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/39493

 

[NeilP]

But all this talk of the UF/Budget/Size etc etc had gone totally off track of what my original
quedtion was , which is

For that sort of lamp, an aspheric , no spill
thrower, am I better with an LED or Incan
lightsource?

My mate had been looking at a Wicked Laser The Torch, 100W Halogen, so it got me wondering if maybe an incan was better for this spec?

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

Afraid I honestly don't know. I have never owned a HID and the only halogens I have are regular Maglites. That Wicked Laser one looks cool, but is certainly a wee bit pricey. No idea how good it is, specs seem a little vague and I couldn't really see much on Google images.

If it does what it advertises, then it should be very very good. Although I can't see it having no spill.

 

[Poppy]

chicken,
Nice mod, and lots of detail :thumbsup:

Neil,
Sorry, I can't help with a specific recommendation, but have you considered putting a light ON the DOG?

mvisconte reviewed one here.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?419830-Life-Gear-Clip-light-review

I googled "lighted dog collar" and came up with a few that might work better than the life gear clip light.

The point being... if you can get a 20 lumen collar, that would require a 1,800,000 cd light to give the same lux on target at 300 yards.

Maybe get a pair of cob lights that you can attach to each side of his collar, or to a harness.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?419782-Lux-Pro-LP137-COB-penlight

I know... not as cool as pointing a beam of light at him, but he would be easy to track.

 

[NeilP]

I think the owner already has a lighted collar, not sure. I'll certainly mention it to him. But he certainly does have a vibrating/buzzer type collar, that you can make buzz ring by remote control as a training aid. So I'd be surprised if he had not tried that already.

I think he is going to now order an XSearcher.

I have ordered an UniqueFire 1508 75mm for myself to play about with. His request has given me the bug to build one.