Bad KL1 Beam

[Mr. Bombastic]

Just wondering, how come the KL1s seem to have such ringy beams? I don't mind purple, or green, but when I get alternating rings of colour and brightness in a beam I'm kind of disappointed. I thought Surefire were fabled for their beam quality?

Is there anyway I can get a smoother beam? I can't take the bezel apart to centre the optic myself because it's glued down. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Stanley]

You might want to talk to Chop, one of our esteemed KL1 specialist modders... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif (if I may call you that, Chop!) He mentioned something about changing the optics on one of the other threads in here. Hang on, I'll get the link...

Here it is... Scroll down to Chop's reply... its a reflector, not an optic. Contact Chop and I'm sure he'll be happy to help you out! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[IsaacHayes]

He can replace the led with a HD 1w or LuxIII too if your's is the old style and has a LD which tend to have multiple colors and halos of color. A HD will be much more uniform and white.

 

[Stu]

You might want to try the Surefire "beamshaper" filter on the front of the bezel.. it's a snug fit, adds some rubber protection against dings around the front edges, and smooths out the beam pattern. They're about $12 from Surefire or other suppliers.

 

[Mr. Bombastic]

Thanks alot guys, I've noticed quite a few posts about Chop's KL1 conversion mods recently. I've been thinking about the beam shaper too.

Just for the hell of it (because I'm cheap, lol), I got a couple of strap wrenches and cracked my KL1 open. After cleaning out some white dust which was annoyingly stuck behind the lense, I stuck a film of slightly textured plastic on the optic. It's sorted the beam out and given a nicer spill. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Chop]

Mr. Bombastic,

I've also heard of some of the guys on CPF using a corrective film, used in photography, to correct the color of the light. I can't remember what's its called, but maybe someone can fill in the blanks for us.

 

[gadget_lover]

Every time I read the title of this thread I picture a stern person saying "Bad KL1! Bad!!" and smacking it with a newspaper.

Daniel