My PD30 is "Out for delivery"!!!

[techboy10]

Yay!

Too bad the batteries I ordered aren't supposed to be delivered until the 4th :thumbsdow. Oh well.

 

[Liquidspaceman]

There's always Frys electronics for your quick battery fix.

 

[Lighthouse one]

many Lowes now carry surefire 123 cells...2 packs for $5.00

 

[gsxrac]

many Lowes now carry surefire 123 cells...2 packs for $5.00

Heading to lowes NOW thats a pretty good price. Do they sell the 12 packs by any chance?

 

[Liquidspaceman]

I've only seen the 2 packs at Lowes. I've been to a few around here.

 

[Search]

They only sell two packs.

(Get two 4 packs, you're going to play a lot)

 

[MikeSalt]

That would be torture to have a new flashlight that you cannot fire up. I think I would just head out to a store and pay the slight premium.

Of course, I have a big box of Surefire cells anyway as an apology for my E1e warranty claim getting lost in the system.

 

[Search]

As a warning...

You're wallet is toast.

You better take the important stuff out before you try to sell it for money when the cash runs dry and the plastic is worn down.

You have the bug and there is no cure.

 

[techboy10]

Ok, so I went to Lowe's today and got their last pack of Surefire 123a's.

However, my light seems to have a darkish shadow around the hotspot of the beam. Is this normal/something I should worry about?

thanks

 

[Gunner12]

That's normal, it's the LED that does that (the metal ring around the die). Doesn't affect normal use.

 

[techboy10]

Ok, thanks. Its too bad that its normal. It would look a lot better if it was just smooth.

Oh well, its still an amazing light.

 

[Gunner12]

Swapping in a LED without that ring like the Seoul P4 or Cree XP-E will give a smoother beam, but that will take more work and void the warrenty.

 

[techboy10]

So do all Cree Q5 LEDs have this "ring"?

 

[Gunner12]

Q5 is a flux bin of the Xlamp series of LEDs from Cree. I'll assume that you are referring to the XR-E model . The ring will depend on the reflector/optic used. A smooth reflector will have a more apparant beam while a heavily textured one won't have that ring. The smooth reflector will have much more throw and is more efficient then the heavily textured reflector. The ring is due to how the LED is set up. The metal ring around the LED's die creates the ring.

 

[rmteo]

So do all Cree Q5 LEDs have this "ring"?

Not all Cree lights have the "ring", see here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=227172

 

[Search]

Search the forum on how to take pictures of beamshots and take one of your beam.

My PD30 doesn't have the "cree rings" nor a single dark shadow.

err.. Wait, actually it's barely noticable.

Take a picture anyway as it might be overly obsessive and it would mean there is a problem because it's not supposed to do that.

However, after a few days of use it might fade into oblivion as you stop shinning it on walls so much