Need some help with Aleph 2

[qballxx]

Back a few months ago I purchased a Aleph 3 built with the following specs:
2x123 pak
5W LED upgrade
15 ohm resistor built into the tailcap

I love this light and it works great, but I wanted something different so I ordered a Aleph 2 Head Kit
1 x Aleph 1.5X123 (1x17500) Power Pack with a Pila 150S. So I get everything in the mail today and put everything and press the button and NOTHING. I then pulled the LE out and put it back in the A3 head, then put the A3 head on to the 1.5X123 body press the button and everything works great. I moved the LE back to the A2 head and put that back onto the 1.5x123 body and press the button and nothing happens. No light nothing.

What am I doing wrong? Everything seems to fit fine there is no play in it. I am completely lost as to what could be the problem.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[McGizmo]

There is a good chance that the solder blob on the LE is not tall enough to make contact with the Pila anode. The solder blob needs to be higher than the rim of the can. When this is the case, you have lost polarity protection and must be careful not to blow the converter by reversing the polarity. What current level is the 5W being driven at? If it is 700 or 750 mA, driving it on a Pila could be death to the converter.

Have you tried the Aleph 2 with 5W LE on the 2x123? This would tell you if the contact issue is in the battery. The other possibility is that the LE is going too far into the Aleph 2 head and you are not making good ground contact with the battery tube. You can tell if this is the case if the tube shoulder is jamming up against the head.

Whatever the reason, I am sure you are not making contact somewnere. If the BB is a 700 or 750, this may have saved you from blowing the converter anyway. I know there are a lot of 5W's being driven successfully with BB's and Pilas but after three failures that I am aware of with no known cause, I have become a skeptic!

 

[qballxx]

Honestly Don i'm not sure what the level of the 5watt is at. You built the Aleph 3 as a complete light.. The only specs I gave you was I wanted a 5w on a 2x123 and a 15ohm resistor. Is there a way for me to tell?

Anyways, I've tried the LE in the a2 head on the 2x123 body and it does not work either. Now if I put the LE in the A3 head it works on both bodies..

Thanks,
Chris

[ QUOTE ]
McGizmo said:
There is a good chance that the solder blob on the LE is not tall enough to make contact with the Pila anode. The solder blob needs to be higher than the rim of the can. When this is the case, you have lost polarity protection and must be careful not to blow the converter by reversing the polarity. What current level is the 5W being driven at? If it is 700 or 750 mA, driving it on a Pila could be death to the converter.

Have you tried the Aleph 2 with 5W LE on the 2x123? This would tell you if the contact issue is in the battery. The other possibility is that the LE is going too far into the Aleph 2 head and you are not making good ground contact with the battery tube. You can tell if this is the case if the tube shoulder is jamming up against the head.

Whatever the reason, I am sure you are not making contact somewnere. If the BB is a 700 or 750, this may have saved you from blowing the converter anyway. I know there are a lot of 5W's being driven successfully with BB's and Pilas but after three failures that I am aware of with no known cause, I have become a skeptic!

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[Darell]

Chris -

Make sure that the butt end of the LE is flush with the back end of the A2 head. My guess is that the LE is too far up into the head - preventing the lip of the tube from making contact with the upper lip of the can. In fact, start with the LE slight screwed OUT of the head 1mm or so, to convince yourself that it works, then put it in there flush, NOT beyond flush, and it would all be fine. Fine on the 2x123, at least. From what you've said here, that sounds the most likely by far. The LE is just too far up into the head.

 

[mut]

Try unscrewing the LE a little bit out of the head.
I have one LE that I have to do this to to make the proper contact. The 5W also has a spacer that helps make the contact proper in the heads. It doesn't work with the A2 though.

mut

mut

 

[McGizmo]

chris,
Like they said, I would guess that the LE is going in too far. Your 5W LE is likely a 700 mA (can't check the notes in the shop at the moment) so I caution you against using it on the Pila. Maybe it will be fine but I won't bet on it.

 

[desmondpun]

[ QUOTE ]
mut said:
Try unscrewing the LE a little bit out of the head.
I have one LE that I have to do this to to make the proper contact. The 5W also has a spacer that helps make the contact proper in the heads. It doesn't work with the A2 though.

mut

mut

[/ QUOTE ]


Mut is right, in particular if using Surefire body. I resolve this by adding a small metal ring.

 

[Hallis]

When you assemble it back with the aleph2 head, screw the LE all the way in, assemble the entire light with batteries, , then shake it and see if you hear any ratteling. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Shane

 

[mut]

desmondpun I forgot I used a piece of wire for my Aleph3 head with the 5W. It works very well.
I went through a bunch of different washers with none that would work so far.

mut

 

[qballxx]

Don,
What LE would you suggest with the Pila 150? I'm looking for the most light output as possible, run time isn't much of a concern for me.

Thanks,
Chris

[ QUOTE ]
McGizmo said:
chris,
Like they said, I would guess that the LE is going in too far. Your 5W LE is likely a 700 mA (can't check the notes in the shop at the moment) so I caution you against using it on the Pila. Maybe it will be fine but I won't bet on it.

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[McGizmo]

Chris,
This is very frustrating for me because the only driver I have available or that I know of, for that matter, for the 5W is the BB. When it is set at 700 or 750 mA and powered by a Pila, the IC is subjected to current in excess of its rating. I don't know of how many of these set ups are being used by folks with success. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif All I know is that with recent builds, BrightNorm has had 3 of these LE's die on him. I do not know for certain what has caused these deaths so can only surmise that the IC is not up to the over current problem. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif According to Wayne, there was a recent revision to the IC but as to whether this has resulted in the latest versions of the BB's being subject to over current death, I am oly guessing!

You want the most light output which would be from a 5W. If you are now looking for this in the form factor of the ALeph 2 then I suggest you get a KL4 as these have been going fine on the Pila's, to the best of my knowledge.

In terms of an Aleph 2 and a pila, I think the brightest package that I know is within the design parameters of the converter would be a NexGen 1000 or Wiz2 1000 and a Lux III. These will not put out as much in terms of lumens as a 5W driven at 700 mA but they will possibly put out as much as a 5W driven at 500 mA. The LuxIII will out throw the 5W regardless of drive level of the 5W and the Aleph 2 reflector is not too tight of beam, IMHO and the spill angle is tight enough that the spill is well concentrated and capable of very decent range itself.

I probably have not answered your question but I am not sure what the answer is! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

 

[Chop]

Well, if you want to run the light on a 1.5X123 body, why don't you try running CR2s.

 

[knifebright]

I know this sounds ridiculous but, did you make sure that you tightened the retaining ring that holds in the glass lens and reflector??? My aleph3 head wouldn't for this very reason.
jimmy

 

[qballxx]

I actually did not know that CR2's and the Pila 150s would interchange. Loosening the LE a few turns in the head solved the problem with it not coming on.

Should I be concerned that I might blow the LE with a Pila 1.5x123?

Thanks,
Chris

[ QUOTE ]
Chop said:
Well, if you want to run the light on a 1.5X123 body, why don't you try running CR2s.

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[Chop]

If you have an LE that will safely run on 2X123, it will also safely run on 2XCr2.

 

[McGizmo]

[ QUOTE ]
Should I be concerned that I might blow the LE with a Pila 1.5x123?

[/ QUOTE ] Well until I have been given a specific reason for BrightNorm's LE deaths that is unrelated to the fact that they were BB700/5W on pilas, I am concerned and I can't take the liability if your LE does give up its function! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif If there are others who are happily using their BB700/ 5W's with Pila's they are not coming forward and putting any weight on the other side of the scale here! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

 

[qballxx]

Don,
I wouldn't expect you to replace the LE if it blew because of running it on something it wasn't designed for. On that note, what kind of LE could you build for me that will run safely on the Pila 1.5x123 body with a A2 head, keep in mind I want the most light output as possible.

Thanks,
Chris

[ QUOTE ]
McGizmo said:
[ QUOTE ]
Should I be concerned that I might blow the LE with a Pila 1.5x123?

[/ QUOTE ] Well until I have been given a specific reason for BrightNorm's LE deaths that is unrelated to the fact that they were BB700/5W on pilas, I am concerned and I can't take the liability if your LE does give up its function! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif If there are others who are happily using their BB700/ 5W's with Pila's they are not coming forward and putting any weight on the other side of the scale here! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[Chop]

The "the most light possible" isn't always the smartest thing to do. Output/performance is determined by two things. The size of the reflector, and, to a lesser extent, current. With the McR20 reflector, that is in the Aleph II, 500mA seems to be a sweet spot between performance and runtime. You get something around 1100 lux on a meter and around 1.5 to 1.75 hours of runtime. Going to 1A will get you maybe another 100 or 150 lux or so, but runtime is going to go into the toilet. These examples are based on running a NexGen converter in a 1X123 body. The principles apply to other converter/battery combinations though.

If you want to stay practical AND get almost every little bit of performance, go with a 667mA or 750mA bias, with a Lux III. On the 1.5X123 body, I'd consider using a Wiz2 converter. The Wiz2 will allow you to get regulation on a Pila 150S cell AND 2X123s. If you go with a conservative bias, like 500mA, you should also get decent performance on 1X123, should the need arise.

 

[Kiessling]

A LuxIII with a Wiz2 1000 or a NG1000 would be the most kick-*** combos ...
bernhard

 

[wptski]

[ QUOTE ]
McGizmo said:
[ QUOTE ]
Should I be concerned that I might blow the LE with a Pila 1.5x123?

[/ QUOTE ] Well until I have been given a specific reason for BrightNorm's LE deaths that is unrelated to the fact that they were BB700/5W on pilas, I am concerned and I can't take the liability if your LE does give up its function! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif If there are others who are happily using their BB700/ 5W's with Pila's they are not coming forward and putting any weight on the other side of the scale here! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Don:

Here I am! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif I use Pila's in everything that I can but I did have one 5W BB750 failure after a month on my first McLux head that I bought! I was using a McE2S with a very low resistance but I can't remember if it was 1.2 or 1.7 ohm! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

You were reluctant to build me another but finally did which is still running fine. I must admit that I don't use the light constantly, although I carry it constantly at work. The more lights you own, the less you use a single one! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif