Is this a normal beam pattern for an E1e?

[MacTech]

I'm really liking my little E1e, tiny, pocket sized light, 15 lumens is actually quite useful, not only for general around-the-house use, but it's also great for illuminating the dark innards of G4, G5 and Mac Pro cases

anyway, i've noticed some extremely minor beam artifacts when WWH'ing, they're really not noticeable in everyday use, but i expect better beam patterns from SureFire, the P60 and P61 are my standards for beam quality, smooth hotspot-to-spill transition, and no dark spots

this is what i get with the E1e;

notice the minor dark lines in the spill, and the darkish spot to the right of the hotspot

i don't see any anomolies in the reflector, no scratches in the Pyrex window, i've pulled the bulb and cleaned it with a clean microfiber cloth, no changes

i may stop off at KTP and pick up a new bulb tomorrow to rule out a defective bulb, and stop off at Radio Shack to get a can of compressed air, just in case there are dust particles causing the spot

Is this normal?, i notice that on SureFire's website , the Mag/SF comparison pic shows minor beam artifacts as well...;

is this normal, or do i have a bad bulb or reflector?

 

[dw51]

If there's nothing on the lense (even dust or lint) then I would say it's ok. Outside white wall hunting, you will never notice it. Even though Surefire beams are supposed to be "perfect" they are not (but awfully darn close).

Enjoy your E1e. It's fast become my personal favorite.

 

[InfidelCastro]

That does look a little odd.

Do you have another bulb you can try out? Are you sure there's nothing on the reflector?

 

[MacTech]

The reflector looks flawless, however i do see a *tiny* dust mote on the inside of the window, it's smaller than the point of a pin, but it *is* there

i'll hit it with some canned air tomorrow and see if it solves the issue

 

[InfidelCastro]

Sounds like a good idea, though I don't think that would cause that spot in the beam, but could be since it's the 15 lumen assembly. You'll probably wanna tip the can upward when you do that just so you don't get any moisture or residue inside the head.

 

[jlomein]

I noticed that the E1e I bought today does the exact same thing when I white wall hunt. Really bothered me at first but then I started using it in real world applications and didn't see the imperfections at all, and was so amazed at such a large corona from a small light.

What's also interesting is the corona is pentagon shaped because of the slightly cranelated bezel.

 

[Robocop]

The first thin I tried to do with my new E1E was to figure out how to get inside the bezel thinking that the reflector was dirty due to small artifacts....after playing around with the lamp I found that by moving the actual lamp the artifacts would rotate to other areas. I began wiping the actual filament glass bulb and most of the artifacts were removed.....This was further verified when I got my new LumensFactory lamps and found no artifacts using the same reflector that just showed artifacts with the factory lamp.

For my situation the artifacts were mostly due to the filament somehow or debris on the glass lamp assembly I believe. Regardless I like my E1E and keeping my lamps cleaner made it look much better of a beam in my case.

 

[David_Web]

Due to the small size of the filament even very small dust particles or smear will show up in the spill. For me this is no biggie. I don't notice it in actual use.

 

[Energie]

Made some beam-shots, distance 3 yards to a white wall (i´m still working on the white balance...).
In the center is an e1e box.

1: E1E incan

2: E1E with KL1 (original)

3: E1E with original bezel and Fenix P1 head inside

4: E1E with KL1 and Seoul P4/McR 20S

 

[Strauss]

That Seoul KL1 is very impressive! Is it an easy emitter swap once you have the bezel open? Mine opens up easily now since I had my optic removed and replaced with a UCL lens and McR20. If that is an easy swap, I think I am gonna have to look into it Nice pics.....

 

[Energie]

Strauss:
It´s quite easy, but you have to isolate the bottom of the P4. I have used Arctic Alumina, see photonfanatics thread (dealers corner, Seoul P4 emitter).

 

[700club]

Great job Energie!

What an improvement!

Cheers

 

[Energie]

700club:
Easy mod (no dremel required

)

 

[jlomein]

4: E1E with KL1 and Seoul P4/McR 20S

Might you be able to take a picture of the business end of the light showing the KL1 head with P4/McR20S?

 

[65535]

The small bulbs for the e1e and the e2e may have those line sin them, smaller bulbs don't come out of the mold quite as nice as the larger top frosted bulbs, try frsoting the tip of the bulb.

 

[Energie]

jlomein:

From Left:
E1E incan,
KL1 (orig),
E1E+Fenix P1 head inside,
KL1+Seoul P4/McR20S

 

[jlomein]

thanks for the pics. It seems like the best of compactness and performance may be the Fenix P1 head in the E1e bezel. The E1e bezel is quite a bit smaller in width and length than the KL1 head.

However, the performance of the Seoul P4/McR20S can't be denied. I wonder if the Seoul and a smaller reflector would fit in the E1e head...

 

[Energie]

jlomein:
700club has made this great mod: E1E bezel, Fenix P1 head, Seoul P4
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=153521

 

[jumpstat]

Is the KL1 SSC P4 driven by the standard board or upgraded?

 

[Energie]

It is driven by the standard board.