L1 or A2 switch on an E2E?

[milkyspit]

Been thinking about this for a while... would it be at all feasible (and affordable) to create some sort of adapter that would allow the dual output switch of the SureFire L1 or A2 lights to be fitted onto an Executive series body?

And I guess the followup question would be... is there a source for the switches themselves?

 

[kakster]

Hi Milkyspit. You might want to check this thread before faffing about with custom machined adaptors.

 

[McGizmo]

Scott,

The switches themselves are too big in diameter to be hosted on the E2e body. I have personally made some progress with both 2 level and three level switches within the confines of the standard E series LOTC. I have working samples of both along with a pile of scrap and some almost working samples. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

My take so far is that the L1/A2 switch is great and on a seriously modified L1 body hosting 2x123 and a modified head, a great and dependable package is available. Dang pricy and limited in terms of modularity though. I am about done with a couple of these that I plan to offer up for sale but they'll be pricy and were a fun but time consuming build.

The real answer is in a drop in replacement for the LOTC I think and I have been going nuts trying to nail something viable and repeatable down. I have one three level switch (modified LOTC) that will give you good range on an E1e with a boost circuit or an E2e boosting a 5W or buck circuit with a Lux III. In my experimenting and actual use of this switch as well as a couple two level switches, I have come to the conclusion that two levels is twice as good as one level but three levels isn't really three times as good as a single level. That probably doesn't make much sense but I think PK and SureFire knew what they were doing with the L1/A2 switch in terms of tactile function and limiting it to two levels. I am probably kidding myself here to a certain extent and justifying the pursuit of a more dependable and obtainable 2 level switch. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif Short of a complicated design with some injection moulded parts, special springs and some other happy horse sh$t, I don't think I can pull off a three way with any consistancy (made 5 and two worked and are working so far...) so I have now set my sights on the two way.

Below is a set of images of one of the three way protos that has been working well for a couple weeks now:

Click HERE for more info

Since this particular one works so well, I made more and half of them died almost immediately. Off axis loads on the pin contacts will mess them up and they will not "plunge" freely afterwards. Their positioning needs to be confined with some tight tolerance parts and ideally, they should contact a surface straight on and the surface should not be rotating as is the case in the design shown. There is a solution but it would take real $$'s and some close tolerance, custom parts.

For me, it's now time for some KISS design and a more realistic 2 level switch which is way useful in its own right!

Although these resistor type switches are not very efficient in terms of dropping the boost circuits out of regulation, you still get a useful low level of light and some silly runtimes in low mode. When used with a buck circuit, like the DownBoys, the circuit happily passes the LED into DD when Vin goes below Vf and there is an elegance in the simplicity and function, IMHO.

I think the Arc4 and Charlie's VIP will address the efficient provisions of multiple levels of output; not to mention some rumored SF light. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

If I can pull off some type of simple drop in two level switch for the E series LOTC, I'll be real happy. So far I can only offer some talk which is cheap and some hope which is dwindling every time I stumble. But that's my problem. I had planned on keeping my efforts to myself until or unless they amounted to something worth mentioning or hopefully even offering. When I saw your post, I figured what the heck. Might as well spill the beans; uncooked as they are. It's funny. After a year of using the L1 as well as the A2, I am only now starting to really appreciate just how well they work and the value of what they provide. With so much going on, one often misses the real gems right in front of you!

~

And now for the short answer to your question. The L1/A2 switch won't adapt to the E series bodies.

 

[milkyspit]

Don, your experimentation is more than a little fascinating. I read with much interest. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

So as not to divert the thread too much, I just sent an email your way with some ideas that came to mind.

 

[gadget_lover]

That's a nicely done mod, McGizmo. Very good work.

I was thinking about a similar mod for L4 tailcaps. Instead of the vertical pins, I was going to bring a small spring steel loop as a contact out of the side of the black plastic. It would look like this:

It should last and wear well.

Daniel

 

[tylerdurden]

Two comments:

1) I think two levels is enough. More than that may make operation too complicated. I like the Arc4 design, where you have two settings, but can pick from a variety of power levels to assign to each setting. You get the wide range of choices, but retain simple operation for day-to-day use once you've made your selections.

2) Even if you could get the A2 or L1 switch onto a Ex body, wouldn't that be a bad idea for incandescent bulbs?

 

[milkyspit]

tylerdurden, it would certainly work better with LED lighting than with incandescent. With an incandescent the bulb would glow much more yellow on the low setting, as if the batteries were dying. The LED would just get dimmer but not change color much.

 

[tylerdurden]

I think the problem is bigger than merely the poor quality of light from under-driven bulbs. Doesn't underdriving dramaticly reduce the bulb life as well? The only sensible two-level incandescent design may be a two-bulb solution like the 9AN or 10X.

 

[McGizmo]

Uh where did the incandescents come from?? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

The whole point to these two level systems is to take advantage of the supper efficient underdriven Luxeons? For what it's worth, I am led to believe that low voltage is a great way of reducing the life of the incan.

The Ex body with 2 way switch is for the KL heads as well as bad boys and down boys and what have you. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

 

[Darell]

[ QUOTE ]
tylerdurden said:
2) Even if you could get the A2 or L1 switch onto a Ex body, wouldn't that be a bad idea for incandescent bulbs?

[/ QUOTE ]
I've been beaten by the others of course, but... do people still actually USE the incandescent heads on the E series? I didn't think that was legal anymore. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Don - I want eight levels. And some disco strobing. Thanks.

 

[gadget_lover]

Most tungsten based incan lights live a lot longer at lower voltages. I don't know about Xenon.

The other problem of using a resistor to drop the volatge with an incan is that the current will be fairly high and will require a physically large resistor.

The dropping resistor does work well in lights like the L1 and the ARC LS. They waste less power than they save.

Daniel

 

[tylerdurden]

Well, *I* dont' use incandescents, but the original post just said "E2e", it didn't say anything about a KL1 or KL4. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif