got my Elektrolumens P7 M*G last night!

[Meltdown]

my first light from Wayne and also my first P7. I first tried it on some white walls during the day time thought....hmmmm. not a great wall chaser beam. A lot of artifacts due to the multi-emitter inherent to the P7. while charging some 12000mah NiMH D batteries I waited quite impatiently for dark. Wow! outside beam with this light really is like a car headlight. I got it focused for max throw and at that point the beam looked great (outside where it counts). I lit up a telephone pole 107 yards away and it looked 'really bright'. I then went to the front yard and lit up a house that is 174 yards away (confirmed with laser rangefinder) and not only could I see the house but I could see every detail of the trim, the deck, colors etc. wow! what a great combination of brute force flood/throw all in one.
It gets slightly warm pretty quickly but has not gotten hot at all.
I may lightly frost the reflector with clear paint to smooth it up just a tiny bit. Any other suggestions on reflectors or optics to experiment with this?

anyway in summary: yahoooooooo!

 

[TITAN1833]

I would leave as is,frosting up the reflector may clean up the beam pattern on walls ,but out in the real world you will sacrfice some throw in the process.

 

[Meltdown]

thanks Titan. I'll order up some spare reflectors to fiddle with

 

[smokelaw1]

I have the same light....LOVE IT!
I added a UCL from flashlightlens and I actually am having great luck with the DX MOP reflector. You do lose some throw, but with this many lumens coming out, it's a great trade off, and still throws pretty well. The beam becomes beautiful and very, very useful. The hotspot becomes probably 3X the size, of course slightly less intense. I'm thinking of doing a very very very light sputter job with some Krylon (sp?) on the stock reflector to see if I can get somewhere between the stock reflector and the MOP.

 

[TITAN1833]

thanks Titan. I'll order up some spare reflectors to fiddle with

Good idea,that way you can put it back the way it was if no improvement,think of a frosty reflector as a steamed up mirror,a clear one will always reflect light more.
Good luck.

 

[OceanView]

Is the donut/cloverleaf shadow of the P7 visible at a distance?

Congrats! I'm seriously thinking of ordering one of Wayne's P7 creations, too. He's been putting out a lot of variations lately.

 

[Al Combs]

I may lightly frost the reflector with clear paint to smooth it up just a tiny bit. Any other suggestions on reflectors or optics to experiment with this?
anyway in summary: yahoooooooo!

This was a pretty good thread about sputtering. Also like you said, as cheap as Mag reflectors are, it pays to have a few spares on hand. Just in case you don't like the results. ZBattery sells the 108-036 for 2 bucks + shipping.

Elektrolumens uses a custom made heat sink that requires cutting more than just the cam tube off. I think the central hole needs to be enlarged. I was able to cut mine on a lathe at work. Even with a very sharp bit, the plastic seemed prone to melting. It's fairly soft and difficult to work with. The FenixStore heat sink has a central post small enough that doesn't require opening up the hole.

I'm curious how you make out with this. Maybe ask Elektrolumens if he'd sell you a few already cut.

 

[Meltdown]

Al, thanks for the tip.

Oceanview, the clover leaf is not noticeable outside at any distance at all...it's just great! you only really notice it in a room where this light is crazy overkill anyway.

 

[Cerbera]

I have a P7 from Wayne as well and I love it!

The price is very good, it's a Mag, and Wayne does an excellent job at building it.

It does get hot but nothing to burn your hands like an incan would.

Al, thanks for the tip.

Oceanview, the clover leaf is not noticeable outside at any distance at all...it's just great! you only really notice it in a room where this light is crazy overkill anyway.

Once you go outside, you won't notice anything. I do love the MOP when inside the house, but I've decided to stick with a smooth reflector because of the throw.