McLux PR bandwagon

[Chop]

I've jumped on. I managed to get my hands on a McLux PR in bare aluminum and a BB700. I also had a V2T that I picked up on B/S/T.

The build went pretty straight forward. I was just so concerned about a short that I think I went overboard trying to prevent it. As you can see by the pic, I first put some shrink wrap around the ends of the wires to guard against split insulation and I then covered the connections with AA. After using the AA I then decided to put some nail polish on the remaining exposed connection surfaces. Paranoid, eh?

I did notice one thing though. After I got everything together, there was a doughnut hole in the beam. I wound up having to use a nylon washer to space the reflector, but once I got it, I really liked what I saw.

First the obilgatory shot 3 feet from a white wall.

The shot shows a nice hot spot, but really doesn't do the side spill justice.

Now for about 30 feet away on a white wall.

The picture isn't great, but you can get the idea of the amount of sidespill there is, along with the hotspot.

I've gotta say, up until this PR, my only experiece with 5W's was with a KL4. I had no idea that a 5W could throw like this.

Now I've gotta get a PR head to build me a DB 1000 with a TWAK 3W. Gotta have the matching set, right?

What's great about this setup is that it isn't that big. I can still put it in my pocket and it'll be there when I need it.

BTW, please excuse the mess in the dining room. We just got finished with exams. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[CM]

So you've seen the light! I wonder if Pelican dreamed they'd sell more reflectors than the flashlight it's used in /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Thanks to McGizmo. He should probably get a commission on the sales of the PM6 reflectors.

 

[Chop]

I'm surprised that Pelican hasn't embraced the idea and come out with something. I thought I had read someplace here that they had, but I haven't seen anything yet.

 

[McGizmo]

Chop,

Nice build! The PR head was optimized for the 1W (or III) and thereflector does need to be shimed up about .015" - .020" withthe 5W to lose the null. I found that a piece of business card cut into a donut (Think of lifesaver candy after a steam roller turned it into road kill) makes a good shim as well as electrical isolater. Pelican is coming outwith a 1W in in the PM6 but I believe it will be a resistored light with good value at a price point below what we are familiar with in our custom mods.

- Don

 

[Sproing]

Thats a nice looking hotspot using a 5W lux.. My McModule 5W has a dark void in the middle of the hotspot at the tightest focus. Is there something different about the McLux PR that solves the problem of the dark spot?

 

[Chop]

Don,
You're right on. The nylon shim I used wound up being .020" according to my mic. It's perfect. If I had known that I was going to have to use the shim, I wouldn't have cluttered up the install trying to prevent a short. Now I know.

Thanks for the business card tip. I have lots of those laying around.

 

[Chop]

Sproing,
Aren't you able to focus the dark spot out? I got rid of mine as described above. I would think that in a PM6 a simple twist of the head would do it. But of course, I could be wrong.

 

[kakster]

The plastic washer on the bottom of CR123's also work well as a shim for the reflector.

 

[Minjin]

Can a PR with a 1w (or 3w) truly replace that E2E beam we all love? Also, how noticeable is the extra bulk of the head versus an E series head?

Mark

 

[CM]

The PR with a 1W has a tighter beam than an E2e IIRC. The KL4 beam with a 1W more closely approximates the E2e beam.