McR-16s Saves the day

[Imworking]

A few months ago, I purchased an HP Pacific. I was quite impressed with the light and its impressive run time on Energizer Advanced Lithium batteries but I felt the output could be a little brighter. Being the typical flashaholic I then ordered a Pacific UP figuring that it would provide a nice compromise of run time (5 - 6 hours) and brightness. The day the light arrived I was quite disappointed at the Seoul LED I had drawn in the lottery. The beam when projected on the wall had an almost yellow/cream colored hotspot while the rest of it was neutral white. Even my fiance would comment "that looks yellow" when the light was pointed at the wall. I tried swapping reflectors with my other lights to see if I could get different results but to no avail. I basically shelved the light and every now and then would break it out only to get irritated at the beam quality.

Just the other day my McR-16s reflector arrived from Wayne and I put it in my yellow Pacific. Coupled with a 2mm x 17.7mm mineral glass watch crystal to make up for the shorter length (8.6 mm). To my surprise the light is almost perfect now. There is a residual amount of the yellow coloration to move the light away from the cooler blue color of my HP Pacific and produce a really beautiful and functional beam. The McR-16s also produces a nice hotspot which runs seamlessly into a highly usable side spill that is not present with the stock IMS 17 reflector. McGizmo (Don) really did a great job when he designed his reflectors and I am very happy with this light now. It has become a staple in my pocket next to my BW02 which also has a McGizmo McR-18 reflector.

 

[Curt R]

The IMS 17 was designed for the Luxeon III LED, when we started to use the Seoul P4 nothing was available to fit our requirements. We machined the IMS to make it work with the P4. We also machine the IMS 17 to a 13 mm diameter for the Baltic Sea model. A compromise, but they work ok. A very small difference in over-all length of the modified reflector makes a huge difference in the quality of the output and the Candela output. A stock IMS 17 driven at a test current with a P4 indicated 124 Candela. Removing .030 inch from the rear of the reflector changed the output to 265 Candela. As little as .002 inch in either direction makes a 10% difference in output. The injection molded IMS reflectors sometimes exceed that tolerance. The only thing that we can due is try, but we cannot guarantee perfection. :shakehead

Curt

 

[Imworking]

Thanks Curt. I'm quite happy with this light now. It has great combination of throw and spill. I can understand using the IMS 17s because the McR-16s cost $16 and that addition would add substantially to the cost of the Pacific. I love peak products (which is why I placed an order for an XLR today) and the quality of their workmanship.