Canister

[Illumination]

I've backed off buying a TnC light for a while because I can't figure out which canister I should buy. While I aspire to someday assemble my own, I am looking for something already assembled.

It's time for me to buy a TnC light, and am looking for some help in selecting.

I want 2 - 3 levels (preferably very low, usable medium and very bright high). Can I assemble such a light? Do I need to go to the Shoppe to buy a 2 level McClickie replacement switch. Or is the Flupic easy to use... I also want to make sure I don't buy an outdated Luxeon...some of the Leds are not clearly labeled but include a bunch of letters I don't understand.

I think the TnC lights are really nice looking, but think the complexity of putting them together has made this an expert-only product. Can anyone help me??? Thank you.

 

[Bogus1]

Hi,

It's true our primary customers for the TnC SF-Series have been modders. It's clear to me now I need to create a thread explaining this versatile platform in depth and what we do at TnC. I can custom build a canister to your specs using various boards. I do have some canisters built on the TnC Online Store listed now, but there are many possible variations and it would be even more confusing if I listed them all for sale.

In the future I'll be listing complete Turn Key lights as well to make it easier. However it's very easy to thread the light parts together with a canister that is already built. If you are choosing a TnC SF-Series light, you will want to choose the color, and then decide what head you want to run. If you want to run a TnC SF-Series head then you need a TnC SF-Series adaptor (Power Pack). This same adaptor allows the use of VIP heads as well. If you want to use Aleph heads, then you choose an Aleph compatible adaptor. I only have Aleph adaptors listed that use our electronics however (at this time). I will be listing adaptors to Aleph heads using Aleph electronics as well in the future.

After selecting the adaptor (Power Pack) that goes between the tube and the head, then you need to select an appropriate battery tube and then tail cap.

For multiple levels, our TnC SF-Series tails are E Series compatible so they fit the Mc2ES two stage resistored switch. The draw back here is the low suffers some loss due to the resistor and it is a twisty (if you prefer clickies). Some guys have modded the McClicky switch to two stages with resistors but we don't offer those.

The other multi level canisters we offer are the flupic driven canisters. Some find these very confusing, others take to them immediately. If you are concerned I do have two flupics boards left with a custom program that only has one menu, rather than five, and only goes Low>Med>High>Low>Med>High>Level Adjust so you can't get lost. If you want a strobe in a simple program I have some of these as well that only have one menu but are feature rich with strobe, beacons, SOS etc.

Anyhow if you provide more specifics I'm pretty sure we can get you fixed up, although I will say sales have been brisk and we are beginning to run low on many items. We will restock but that just takes time.

 

[Illumination]

Thanks for your quick response.

I've already decided on the following:

• All parts in HA Natural (is there any way to get parts from the same HA run so the colors match?)
• Recessed clickie tailcap
• Single 123 tube, 18650 tube, maybe a 14500 tube for a good middle ground with respect to size
• Power pack
• 27mm head (not sure if I should get Seoul or Cree..that is related to my question below)

I know the last decision I need to make is the Canister

• Preferably 3 to 4 levels (low low, practical and useable medium(s), and very high high) but a 2 levels or a few more may be fine. Don't need strobe, sos, etc. I know you mentioned a simple flupic with low, med, high and "Level Adjust" - does that allow me to select the levels or are they preselected?
• Happy limiting myself to single battery, though would consider 2 cr123 if it would be significantly brighter (but still want flexibility to run on one battery as that will be general use)
• I have and like both Seoul and Cree lights...it looks like your offerings lean towards Seoul instead of Cree (and that your Cree leds are older bin...why no Q2, Q4 or Q5 like even the cheapo Chinese manufacturers?)...any help in selecting would be appreciated
• Want this light to be at least as bright as my Novatac 120P and Fenix P2D-RB100 (If I am going to pay more for quality, I want the quality in all areas including the led!)
• White tint...if it is going to lean in one direction, would prefer warmer to cooler
• Decent combination of throw and sidespill

Is the above possible?

 

[Bogus1]

TnC builds a number of lights, including new products soon to be available. Below is in reference to the TnC SF-Series lights.

We try to run out parts through the anodizer in single batches, but even in the same tank this does not always make a difference and there are variations in some of the parts. This is not unique to our lights. We do our best and use an anodizer who does the best job we can find. Unfortunately they take longer and cost us much more. Otherwise we are very happy with the anodizing as have been customers through the years. Sometimes I can pick through and find better matches and will do this if you request. Below is a pic of a TnC SF-Series 27mm head, CR2 tube, and single stage twisty tail and is probably typical for NAT color matching of our TnC SF-Series parts. Black is easier to match because the dye hides the natural anodizing color variation.

The flupics are limited to 5 volts so it's not a candidate for more than one battery cell. With H Vf bins you can run them on primary or rechargeable cells, but they will be dimmer at 3v. This is our only option for more than a two stage light.

The operation of the custom flupic I mentioned is:

The Burst mode is at 800mA and Low is approximately 20+mA with an H Vf bin LED and a Li-ion. High is user adjustable between low and burst. The on/off switching between levels is 800ms.
1st On - Low
2nd On - High
3rd On - Burst
4th On - Low
5th On - High
6th On - Burst
7th On - User adjustment to High level

The standard flupic is more adjustable if that's what you want, and I also have some with my Bogus1 simplified program that is somewhere between the two.

If you want to run 2x Li-ions you can only do this in 2x RCR2 and 2x R123s in our 18500 and 18650 tubes. The only driver I currently have that can handle this voltage is the DB1000 buck driver and it would work on one or two cells, either primary or rechargeable. However there is less capacity in 2x R123 than 1x 18650 so it doesn't make sense to me.

I have SDC700 and SDC1000 (MJ SuperDownConverters) that can run on a single Li-ion, single primary (not as bright) or 2x primary cells.

I have NG1000 boost boards that are designed for a single primary but I've made them work on Li-ion cells.

And let's not forget the important option of running a light on regular AA batteries we can provide. I have 350mA MJ boards for 1.2v-3v operation so they are supported to run on a single primary lithium cell as well. I have used these boards running Li-ions as well without an issue, but MJ doesn't support this and it's a YMMV thing. I will restock these probably next week. I also have a couple canisters left that use the 'voltage versatile' MJ KI-B boards that can run on 1.2v-9v at 400mA if you want a light that can feed on anything. I think these are semi-regulated so brightness does increase I think with voltage.

Except for the flupic all the above boards are single stage and would need a Mc2ES switch in our tail for two stages. I have a few of these.

Actually our products don't really lean towards Seoul or Cree. In fact we recently sold out of our empty Cree canisters and are building more. The advantage I see to Cree in modular lights is they may be tougher when exposed outside the head environment and perhaps this is an advantage. We are going to restock Cree canisters, empty and built. In fact I have been waiting for my next batch of Q5 Crees in WC, WG, and WH from Cutter. I'll have to check what the hold up is. On our store we do stock some completed canisters that don't have the latest flux bins and we sell these LEDs as well. Some customers would rather save the money and aren't as concerned with the latest flux bin, or they are just going to modify it themselves, either now or when the next generation comes out in the future. At least this way we give them the choice and sometimes they take advantage of this.

In terms of wanting the quality in all areas including the LED, this is one of the goals we have set for our lights. We want the best quality and to want design lights so they are able to keep up with the times. You can swap LEDs (or have it done) or you can simply change canisters at some point in the future. With this design we can also support future developments.

V0 sounds like the tint you would prefer over W0. If it's a Cree then perhaps you'd prefer the WH.

The 27mm is a deep reflector with a narrower but brighter side spill and tighter spot than the 20mm reflector which provides less throw but a larger spot and larger side spill. We also make a very small lantern head that makes total flood, so you could just swap out whenever you wanted to change beam profiles.

I hope this helps.

 

[gunga]

Don't want to derail this thread, but I am interested. It may be a bit complex for me, but I'm interested in this or possibly a turn-key light.

Basically, I have purchased a Novatac 120P, I like it, a lot. I also wish for something that can be run on AA batteries.

Is it possible to configure something similar with tnc parts? Is it possible to run AA and maybe 14500 (or perhaps add a RCR123 body?). I'm more interested in multi levels than multi-battery tho.

What is the switching like? Is a clicky available?

Will the cost be similar ($100 -150) or much more?

I saw a post about high quality AA lights and was pointed here...

Any suggeestions? I can start a new thread if that is better!

 

[Bogus1]

Hi gunga,

That's fine posting here since the same canisters work in TnC Key-Lux AA and TnC SF-Series lights and the canister will determine how the light is driven. I also want to point out there usually is a big difference between custom and mass produced lights. Our canisters are hand built as are our drivers. Mass produced lights have done a good job of keeping up with the latest technologies lately, but the quality still isn't there so I think you are seeking to compare apples to oranges.

At this time we don't have a AA (1.2v) driver that will do multi-level. If you want to go multi-level in a Key-Lux AA then a 14500 and a flupic driver is the way to go. This driver will run on 3v-5v with H Vf bin LEDs, so the only battery in that voltage range in AA size is the li-ion 14500. These drivers are feature rich with 5 menus with Strobe and many other functions. A high bin Seoul or Cree complete light would likely run about $170.

If you want to run regular AAs and 14500s I have drivers that will do this, but it will be single stage in the Key-LuxAAs. A high bin Seoul or Cree complete light in this configuration would likely run less than $150.

I mention Cree canisters, but in fact the Cree doesn't work well with the standard AA heads. Since the heads and reflectors are machined as one piece, it's hard to make these work. However the bare aluminum prototype 'TurboHead' shown in the picture below will fit Crees and Seouls/Luxeons (depending on the McR-19 reflector used). These heads are comlete, we are only waiting on the lenses.

The standard Key-Lux AA is a tail twisty light with candle mode lantern capability, meaning you can run the light with the head off for lantern use. However as shown in the pic below there was a kroll click tail switch. These were in demand but due to the unweildy size compared to the body of the light we don't build those now. These don't seem so large when using the TurboHead but we are working on a much smaller tail clicky switch design at this time.

If you want to move up to our TnC SF-Series light then you enter a whole new world of modularity (perhaps unprecedented) that opens up options, however these lights are not of key chain size as are the Key-Lux lights. They will also run about $50 more.

 

[Gizzy]

I personally just got my first SF series parts/canister from Eric and Chris and the TnC team(opened up the package Sunday morning 2am at PF9 at Milkyspits house:naughty and I'm absolutely in love with it!!:twothumbs
Stunning machine work and forward thinking of crazy modularity. I can't even begin to describe how happy I am that I decided to get into the SF series:thumbsup:

You can't go wrong either way keylux or SF

 

[gunga]

Just curious, do the SF series use the same cannisters? I'm still interested in standard AA configurations...

Hmmm, no multi-level with standard AA...

 

[Gizzy]

Yep the canister fits in the Keylux & SF:thumbsup:

 

[gunga]

Thanks.

Can any SF bodies run AA?

:wave:

 

[Gizzy]

sure I'm using an AA body with a Eneloop and lantern head right now

 

[Bogus1]

Yes, I think we might be building more choices for battery tubes to adapt to our TnC SF-Series than any other builder is for their lights. The TnC SF-Series has tubes to run CR2, CR123, AA, 18500 (2x CR2, or 17500), 18650 (2xCR123, or 17670) cells and their Li-ion size equivalents. The same canisters we are discussing that work in Key-Lux AA lights and TnC SF-Series lights will also work in our new C-Flex system. This will allow the use of regular C and C li-ion cells as well, from one C cell to as many C cells as desired or needed with the extenders.

 

[gunga]

Oh wow.

May have to sell off some other lights and prepare the wallet for a bumpy ride...

 

[Gizzy]

oh its soo worth it:naughty:

 

[gunga]

Can you build your own conister tho?

Is it difficult?

I was looking at the drivers at TNC and can't find what I want. Maybe something from the Sandwich Shoppe?

AA multilevel is what I'm looking for...

 

[Gizzy]

sorry I'm not sure exactly difficult it is to do it but I'm pretty sure someone will chime in:thumbsup:

 

[Illumination]

Bogus1 -

Thanks for all your help. I really like your designs as well as your focus on quality and customer service. I'm going to spend a couple more days figuring out what I want, then I'll reach out to you to help me assemble it. I think I am set with everything except the canister...with your help I think I'll be able to make up my mind really soon.

I'm hoping this thread turns into more biz for you...from what I can tell, you deserve it!

 

[csadzuki]

Hello all,

I'm also new to the TnC line and totally confused by the jungle of canisters & heads...

Where can I find an empty canister (so that I can install my own driver and LED) for this head? TnC EDC-Flex v6 Titanium E-Series head
Any help would be welcome! :help::help::help:

Thanks!

 

[Bogus1]

I apologize for my delayed response.

The EDC-Flex heads use E series compatible canisters. Aleph compatible canisters fit, as do TnC E series compatible canisters, however at TnC we only built a few prototype E series canisters. I do have a few remaining empty E Series K2 prototype canisters I could sell for about $20. These require the K2 LED and a 0.55" driver. I have a few canisters that are already built with modified FLuPICS and LEDs if you are interested. Please let me know if I can help.

Thanks,
Eric

 

[csadzuki]

I apologize for my delayed response.

The EDC-Flex heads use E series compatible canisters. Aleph compatible canisters fit, as do TnC E series compatible canisters, however at TnC we only built a few prototype E series canisters. I do have a few remaining empty E Series K2 prototype canisters I could sell for about $20. These require the K2 LED and a 0.55" driver. I have a few canisters that are already built with modified FLuPICS and LEDs if you are interested. Please let me know if I can help.

Thanks,
Eric

Thank you for the answer. Actually I went ahead and ordered some Aleph XR-Cans, so I'm glad to learn that they are going to fit. :twothumbs