longbow mccapsule

[mccavazos]

this is probably a dumb question:
will the stock longbow head fit on the longbow with a Longbow McCapsule Kit ? and what else do i need if i get a mccapsule kit? I know that i need a convertor board ( I was thinking BadBoy 500) and an LED ( i was thinking LuxIII TV1L).

Is this all i need?

sorry for the noob qustions,
chris

 

[Chop]

All you need is the kit, the converter, the emitter, some good wire, AA epoxy, and a soldering iron that will allow you to solder to a circuit board that is 1/2" in diameter loaded with stuff.

As for the converter, I'd go with either the NexGen or the MadMax+ WO. The badboy generates a LOT of heat and you'll really feel it in that small light. The NexGen or MM+ on the other hand, run really cool.

 

[Chop]

Oh, I'd choose an emitter with a Vf a lot lower than "L." Get something with a J or K Vf. Preferably a "J." You'll get much better runtimes over the L on a single cell light.

 

[mccavazos]

thanks. I most defiantly have a great soldering iron, im an electronics major. Any one know where i can get a TW0K? And what nextgen should i use? Does he have any in stock?

 

[mccavazos]

I answered almost all of my question with hours of browsing, but i still have one question:

what is the highest NextGen that I can run on a single 123?
1000? 917? 750? 500?

I read that the 1000 will run in safemode, what exactly is that?

your answers will be surely appreciated

 

[Catman10]

you can run up to a nexgen 1000, but it won't be running at full juice. I would recommend getting a set of rechargeable 4.2v 123's, then you can run it at full power of the NG1000.

 

[mccavazos]

will the 750 or 917 run at full power?

and where an i get the rechargable 123s? are they 4.2V each, or 2.1?

 

[McGizmo]

I am not sure I have it straight yet but if the driver does not find the Vin sufficient, it goes into safe mode which would appear to be based on a draw of 1.1 amps from the battery. Consider it a constant "power" driver in safe mode and as the Vin drops further over time, more of this constant power will be used in boosting the voltage and less available as current, if that makes any sense?!?!? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

The NexGen behaves like a MadMax wide open it would seem but with a bit more power being taken and provided to the LED.

 

[mccavazos]

yeah, that makes sense. at what vin does the nextgen 1000 go into full regulation? and does it just put out as much current as possible in safe mode? I guess that this would mean a smooth discharge curve when it drops into safe mode.

chris

 

[Catman10]

My knowledge here is somewhat limited, but I do own a LB McCapsule with a Nexgen 1000 running on a R123 and it is quite bright. You can get the protected R123's from JS Burly's. 4.2 is the maximum comming off of the charger, and it is lower after that. Other's will know better than me, though. All I can say is that the McCapsule system previously mentioned is very nice. I would also recommend getting a PR head if you are going to do all this work.

 

[mccavazos]

thanks for the info, im gonna pass on the PR head, it just adds to much bulk to the light. And it looks like Js Burly is currently out of r123s.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

 

[Chop]

OK, the NexGen1000 will NOT go into full regulation on a 123, but it will on a R123 (li-ion) and will run for about 25 minutes.

The question is, why would you go that hot. Unless you're going to be running a PR head with a 27mm reflector on that Longbow, you really won't get that much of a lux increase with the small IMS reflector, that I'm guessing you are using. With that little 17mm reflector, the sweet spot is 500mA. You'll get darned good brightness and about 1 hour and 45 minutes of in regualtion runtime.

The highest that I would confidently say that you could bias a NG for and run in regulation is 700 or 750mA; however, at that bias, it will likely start in full regulation on a full batt, but after a few minutes of runtime, if you turn it off and then back on, it will be in safe mode.

You guys have to keep in mind that the converter is just limiting things to what the single 123 is capable of without overstressing everything. At a 1000mA bias, the draw on the battery has to be like almost 2A. That's a hell of a stain for a single little 3v battery.

If you want to go all out, go for the 1A bias and run it on an R123. If you don't already have one, you can later get the Longbow PR head and turn it into a light canon.

 

[mccavazos]

what kind of runtimes will the r123s see on a ng500 or 750?

 

[Chop]

Well, considering that about 25 minutes was the runtime at 1A, I'd venture a guess and say that you'd get about an hour at 500mA and something between 25 minutes and an hour at 750mA.