Looking for a compatible SMO reflector.

[mikeeey]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum, and I'm looking for a SMO Reflector for a flashlight I'm going to buy, Aurora SSC P7.
The dimensions of it's current OP reflector are:
- Reflector top diameter: 5.28cm
- Reflector height: 4.15cm
- Base height: 1.59cm
- Base diameter: 2.68cm

I did a search here on SMO reflectors but the only thing that seemed to turn up were for mag light flashlights.

Since I was unsucessful at finding one myself, I thought I would come and ask the experts

thanks!

 

[ace0001a]

Yeah I don't think you'll find an SMO reflector in this setup. For one thing, this is a fairly shallow reflector and so I am quite sure the beam will be REALLY ugly in a smooth fixed reflector. Second, you are aware that a P7 in a smooth reflector will yield a donut hole in the beam even at optimum focus right? I own a similar flashlight (they all use the same reflector) and the beam is really nice with it. The light still throws decently for a P7, you'll be able to hit your neighbor's house across the street from your porch without any problems. If you want a P7 flashlight that has good throw, I suggest building yourself a P7 Maglite:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=192740

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=195358

 

[mikeeey]

thanks ace0001a!
I am considering the mag lite mod, however, currently I'm trying the get brightest + most portable as possible. You have mentioned that a p7 in a smooth reflector will cause a donut hole, but what about a p7 in the mag lite's smooth reflector?

Ah the beam is really nice? that's good, I really have no idea how it will look, as this will be my first higher powered flashlight.

 

[ace0001a]

thanks ace0001a!
I am considering the mag lite mod, however, currently I'm trying the get brightest + most portable as possible. You have mentioned that a p7 in a smooth reflector will cause a donut hole, but what about a p7 in the mag lite's smooth reflector?

Ah the beam is really nice? that's good, I really have no idea how it will look, as this will be my first higher powered flashlight.

Well having a P7 in a MOP reflector doesn't necessarily mean less bright. Sure you lose a bit from compared to an SMO reflector, but a P7 is such a bright single emitter that you still get a really bright beam in that flashlight you were looking at. The drivers in those Ultrafire, Trustfire, Aurora, MTE P7 flashlights aren't very good...but I guess for the money, it's not a bad deal for one of them.

If you're willing to spend a little more, I'd say go for a Solarforce L900M. Ebay dealer Flashlight Express has it for $96 shipped and comes with 2x18650 batteries as well as a charger:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Solarforce-L900...photoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1713.m153.l1262

Sure that's about double what the cheap Aurora one sells for, but it's a much better flashlight in regards to performance and quality...and the free batteries and charger make it a better deal.

 

[mikeeey]

Well having a P7 in a MOP reflector doesn't necessarily mean less bright. Sure you lose a bit from compared to an SMO reflector, but a P7 is such a bright single emitter that you still get a really bright beam in that flashlight you were looking at. The drivers in those Ultrafire, Trustfire, Aurora, MTE P7 flashlights aren't very good...but I guess for the money, it's not a bad deal for one of them.

If you're willing to spend a little more, I'd say go for a Solarforce L900M. Ebay dealer Flashlight Express has it for $96 shipped and comes with 2x18650 batteries as well as a charger:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Solarforce-L900...photoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1713.m153.l1262

Sure that's about double what the cheap Aurora one sells for, but it's a much better flashlight in regards to performance and quality...and the free batteries and charger make it a better deal.

lol, well I'm not quite at the stage yet where I can pay over $60 for a flashlight, then again, I wasnt with lasers either, but now I motivate myself to save up for a $100 - $200 laser if i think it's gonna be really good.
What is wrong with the drivers in those DX flashlights? Yeah I've heard that if you put 4x cr123a's in it will cook the thing, but besides that it seemed to perform really well for people who used the proper 18650 batteries. Also the fact that the mode order is medium - low - high rather than high - medium - low or low - medium - high, but that's really no big deal.

 

[ace0001a]

lol, well I'm not quite at the stage yet where I can pay over $60 for a flashlight, then again, I wasnt with lasers either, but now I motivate myself to save up for a $100 - $200 laser if i think it's gonna be really good.
What is wrong with the drivers in those DX flashlights? Yeah I've heard that if you put 4x cr123a's in it will cook the thing, but besides that it seemed to perform really well for people who used the proper 18650 batteries. Also the fact that the mode order is medium - low - high rather than high - medium - low or low - medium - high, but that's really no big deal.

They all use pretty much the same driver, which has been described as being "ok in high mode", but very inefficient in medium and low modes. The one I had didn't last very long on high mode and basically starts to flicker after only running for 15 minutes on high mode. It's a characteristic of the driver where once it heats up, it does that. I ended up pulling the module out and sending it to one of my good flashlight friends (who makes and sells his own drop-ins) to tear apart and rebuild. So in the end, I'll probably end up spending about $90 on a $50 flashlight. While there are plenty of good budget lights around, the reality is that this hobby isn't for the faint of wallet (most hobbies are that way). I would say that it's probably better going with a 1x18650 flashlight because the drivers on them are usually more efficient. The driver is a very crucial part of the flashlight and the reality is that you can't really skimp on it. With all these budget flashlights, the driver is a component that is often skimped on and while it's ok for single-die emitters (Cree XR-E, SSCP4, etc), you really can't with P7s and MC-Es and have it work reliably in the long run. Shining Beam (www.shiningbeam.com) is getting in a 1x18650 MC-E flashlight soon and I expect the quality control and reliability from the stuff they carry to be much better than what you'd get from DX or KD...plus they're local here in the US and so that's a big plus.

On that Solaforce L900M deal, you can look at it this way as it's $95 for the package...you're getting a $75 flashlight (only $15 above your $60 limit), $10 batteries and a $10 recharger. If you don't need the batteries and charger, I am sure you could post them for sale here or ebay.