Hi All.
A year or so ago (actually, I don't recall how long ago that was) I saw a 3w LED 2xAA light (coleman) in the local wal mart. It looked interesting, so I bought it. I threw it in the truck, flashed it around a few times at night, and there it resided. Off and on (I live in a very rural area) I used it here and there, found it rock solid, reliable (it has not been babied
, and bright.<!> Anyway, over the winter the thing has proven to be so doggone useful that I tinkered around and read a bit here and there, and bought a 2xAAA streamlight stylus pro for EDC. Nice light. Just right for what I need it for. Big enough for me to actually use (I'm a klutz), small enough to ride in a pocket without distraction. Not a lot of light, but enough for 95% of my situations.
Then disaster hit. I was at the local army surplus store and played with some streamlights. I don't need another light. You can see what's coming. Earlier this week I went back to the store and bought a Stratum. It seems to be differently labeled - no "S2" on it, so it may be a first run model, or they just changed the labeling, or something. Regardless, it doesn't matter.
Well. Now I have 3 calibers of batteries to support (I hate that problem in weapons). I like the streamlight just fine, BUT it is a pain to carry (what's it been, 3 days?). No lanyard loop. Too big for a pocket. No pouch. You get the idea - solvable problems, but not solved yet. For now, the streamlight is in the truck with the coleman.
Pretty much every day I am outside evenings until dark (did I mention rural area?) I have a farm and a day job, so the farm work is never done. It's fine, I enjoy being outside - so I anticipate the streamlight moving into more of an every evening carry as the days grow shorter this fall.
I have noob questions though - I guess everyone does, so I will appreciate your patience with them.
1) the RC123A battery cost problem - I have read quite a bit about this on the forums, and read extensively here about rechargeables (do's and don'ts). I have not been able to find much info on my light though, to determine what my long term options are for (if) moving to a rechargeable option. Any ideas where I can find tech info on the emitter in my light and the controlling circuit?
2) the body of the light problem - I have only slightly thought about what would be involved in making a replacement battery tube. I prefer the knurled feel to what I currently have. I bought the light because of the low-med-high action of the switch, the beam, and the quality of the light. Other things (un-knurled body, for example) were less important to me. Any advice for features machined into a new body tube, should I decide to dive in a make a prototype or two? Are there hidden pitfalls here? I don't want to jack around with the light head itself, and I am assuming that the entire head is self contained and screws onto an empty battery tube.
Looking forward to any and all comments. Thanks again for all the good posts - I've enjoyed reading here for quite a few hours over the last few weeks.
A year or so ago (actually, I don't recall how long ago that was) I saw a 3w LED 2xAA light (coleman) in the local wal mart. It looked interesting, so I bought it. I threw it in the truck, flashed it around a few times at night, and there it resided. Off and on (I live in a very rural area) I used it here and there, found it rock solid, reliable (it has not been babied
, and bright.<!> Anyway, over the winter the thing has proven to be so doggone useful that I tinkered around and read a bit here and there, and bought a 2xAAA streamlight stylus pro for EDC. Nice light. Just right for what I need it for. Big enough for me to actually use (I'm a klutz), small enough to ride in a pocket without distraction. Not a lot of light, but enough for 95% of my situations.Then disaster hit. I was at the local army surplus store and played with some streamlights. I don't need another light. You can see what's coming. Earlier this week I went back to the store and bought a Stratum. It seems to be differently labeled - no "S2" on it, so it may be a first run model, or they just changed the labeling, or something. Regardless, it doesn't matter.
Well. Now I have 3 calibers of batteries to support (I hate that problem in weapons). I like the streamlight just fine, BUT it is a pain to carry (what's it been, 3 days?
). No lanyard loop. Too big for a pocket. No pouch. You get the idea - solvable problems, but not solved yet. For now, the streamlight is in the truck with the coleman.Pretty much every day I am outside evenings until dark (did I mention rural area?) I have a farm and a day job, so the farm work is never done. It's fine, I enjoy being outside - so I anticipate the streamlight moving into more of an every evening carry as the days grow shorter this fall.
I have noob questions though - I guess everyone does, so I will appreciate your patience with them.
1) the RC123A battery cost problem - I have read quite a bit about this on the forums, and read extensively here about rechargeables (do's and don'ts). I have not been able to find much info on my light though, to determine what my long term options are for (if) moving to a rechargeable option. Any ideas where I can find tech info on the emitter in my light and the controlling circuit?
2) the body of the light problem - I have only slightly thought about what would be involved in making a replacement battery tube. I prefer the knurled feel to what I currently have. I bought the light because of the low-med-high action of the switch, the beam, and the quality of the light. Other things (un-knurled body, for example) were less important to me. Any advice for features machined into a new body tube, should I decide to dive in a make a prototype or two? Are there hidden pitfalls here? I don't want to jack around with the light head itself, and I am assuming that the entire head is self contained and screws onto an empty battery tube.
Looking forward to any and all comments. Thanks again for all the good posts - I've enjoyed reading here for quite a few hours over the last few weeks.
