Surefire 6P LED + Malkoff M60 + LIGHTSAVER Miser ?

[dezertdog]

I recently upgraded my Surefire 6PL to the drop-in Malkoff M60 (which btw is amazingly bright). I want the ability to run low power for reading etc, batt savings etc and found the BrigadeQM LIGHTSAVER Miser. After much searching I can't find anyone who has actually used this with a Malkoff M60 (or any LED) for that matter. The site says it won't work with an LED, but Gene at Malkoff Devices says it should. I ordered one to see! I'll post the results when it shows up.

6PL
http://www.surefire.com/6P-Led

M60
http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop2/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_14_18&products_id=7

LIGHTSAVER Miser
http://www.brigadeqm.com/cgi-bin/tame.exe/store/level4c.tam?M5COPY.ctx=29932&M5.ctx=29932

 

[Bullzeyebill]

The specs say it is for Incan bulbs only. My AW slow start, 3 level output tailcap mod does work with my SF bodies running LED lights at 6 volts or more. Good luck with your Lightsaver.

Bill

 

[MrGman]

Yes, keep us all posted on how it works when you get it. The fact that it works for incans is quite the surprise.

It will probably draw current even when off to power up the microchip so that it knows what to do as I have seen in others.

I have the Uniq Continuously variable tail cap which works great and doesn't have any stupid flashy (stobe) modes. You are probably going to have to cycle through 5 modes to get what you want.

 

[dilbert]

If it doesn't work out, another one to consider is the McE2S. I use this on a C2 with the M60 and it's just about perfect. It works just like my L1
push : low
push harder : high
twist : constant low
twist farther : constant high

You can choose (and even change later) the low brightness setting by choosing the value of the resistor board.

 

[dezertdog]

My AW slow start

Link?

 

[dezertdog]

I have the Uniq Continuously variable tail cap which works great and doesn't have any stupid flashy (stobe) modes. You are probably going to have to cycle through 5 modes to get what you want.

I looked at the Uniq, but the fact that the OD doesn't match the 6P body and it's not available in black turned me off to it. The Miser shipped this morning so I should have it soon.

 

[dezertdog]

Scheduled Delivery: 01/15/2009

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Link?

Here is link. http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=213751

AW puts out quite a few good products. To learn more about what he has to offer, click on his user name, AW, click on statistics, then on AW's threads.

Bill

 

[TMedina]

The Malkoff drop-ins are regulated, I thought, which means I don't see how this would work.

I'm interested to hear the results of your experiment.

-Trevor

 

[dezertdog]

The Malkoff drop-ins are regulated, I thought, which means I don't see how this would work.

I'm interested to hear the results of your experiment.

-Trevor

I would imagine that anything other than the full power setting would force it into direct drive and it would be fine. We'll see, I'll have to break out the voltmeter and see what the switch does exactly.

 

[MrGman]

The uniq continuously variable tailcap ran the malkoff's up and down with no problem. The regulator in the malkoffs like some others simply goes hard into direct drive when the voltage drops below the minimum regulation point, somewhere around 3.8V and so the tailcap cutting power becomes the primary driver. If it doesn't use any strange constant current system, it should work fine, only time will tell for sure.

 

[dezertdog]

Ok the tail cap showed up today! Finally...

It's model "MISER TAILCAP BLK 6P/G2+ #LS-564"

The short, it works! Every function works with the Malkoff M60 LED as the box describes, other than the fact that it says it won't on a sticker on the front.

I am getting out the voltmeter now to see exactly what the cap does in it's different modes. Will post up shortly.

 

[bigchelis]

So, this tailcap is designed for direct drive.

I have a P7 from Gene for my 6P/3P's that means that it will work 100%?

I also noticed the OP said it also worked in the M60 great news for all. Thanks

 

[Bullzeyebill]

So, this tailcap is designed for direct drive.

I have a P7 from Gene for my 6P/3P's that means that it will work 100%?

I also noticed the OP said it also worked in the M60 great news for all. Thanks

dezertdog's tailcap should work with a regulated light, allowing regulation at all levels, until voltage drops below 3.8 volts, or so. Might require 6+ volts to operate reliably. Most incan's LA's run in Surefire lights run above 6 volts.

Bill

 

[dezertdog]

Running two AW RCR123 3.7 volt 750mAh batteries, each reading 3.8 volts:

Stock Surefire tailcap momentary on: 7.56 volts
LIGHTSAVER MISER tailcap 1 click: 6.8 volts
LIGHTSAVER MISER tailcap idle: .4 volts

My meter just went dead, so I can't get more readings. I'll try to follow with that later.

First reaction is I like this tailcap a lot. The color, outside diameter, hash marking and rubber boot quality are all on par with Surefire and it's hard to tell they are not made by the same company at a glance. The LIGHTSAVER has a slightly higher gloss to it, hard to say if that's not due to the fact that the 6P has been rubbing around in my pocket and getting dull.

The feedback of the button is nice, it's crisp and you can definitely feel when you've hit it. It does'nt feel like a clicky tailcap, though it does click. It's somewhere between the stock momentary and a clicky if that makes sense. Clicks are: 100%, 50%, 25%, slow beacon (flash every 3 seconds) and fast beacon (flash every second). The fast beacon is not a strobe, for that you need to buy the Blitzer version, which does not have the variable output levels. Why they didn't combine these two models into one I'm not sure.

At first I thought I lost the momentary ability of the stock cap, but after playing with it for a bit I now see that any press/hold for 1 second or more acts as momentary and the light turns off afterwards. No fast morse code with this one, but CW is possible. Clicking the light on to any setting (1-5), leaving it in that mode for 2 seconds and then clicking the button again turns the light off.

Another note, it's crenulated obviously and I thought it would stand on end, but it doesn't. They only needed to make the crenulations a mm or so taller for it to stand. :shrug: The tailcap also has a lanyard hole.


Packaging/Front

Packaging/Back

Tailcaps Side x Side

Overall I'm happy with it and going to keep it. With the M60 I really needed something other than REALLY BRIGHT, and this will work just fine.

 

[dezertdog]

As for that .4 volts idle, just an 1/8th turn on the tailcap disables it. No reason this should be a problem for long term battery draw if you remember to give it a quick twist before leaving/storing it.

 

[etc]

How do you cycle between modes? Is it like a Fenix L2D lite, just push-push-push to get to the right mode?

that means you have to push it 3 times to get to 100%, not very fast?

 

[dezertdog]

How do you cycle between modes? Is it like a Fenix L2D lite, just push-push-push to get to the right mode?

that means you have to push it 3 times to get to 100%, not very fast?

Clicks are
1st: 100%
2nd: 50%
3rd: 25%
4th: slow beacon
5th: fast beacon

Once on any setting for 3 seconds, the next click is off.

Press/hold = momentary. A click is pressing the button for less than 1 second, a hold is anything over 1 second. So pressing and holding for 1 second is momentary 100%, and when released the light turns off.

There is zero delay in the light turning on when the button is pressed (like the LiteFlux LF5XT for example).

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Drop in voltage should not be a problem, and will only affect runtime, not output. Some resistance in Lightsaver, but that is nornal. AW's softstart three stage tailcap mod also shows some resistance, more than stock tailcap, clicky or momentary. .4 volts drop in idle, but what amperage? Probably very, very low. Try this testing with fully charged LiIons when your meter is back up. Thanks,

Bill

ps. Buy a lightmeter. Invaluable tool, and a descent one would be about $30.00 or more than your Malkoff M60. You can also buy them much cheaper and they are good enough for comparisons of your own lights. Google light meters.

Bill

 

[dezertdog]

Drop in voltage should not be a problem, and will only affect runtime, not output. Some resistance in Lightsaver, but that is nornal. AW's softstart three stage tailcap mod also shows some resistance, more than stock tailcap, clicky or momentary. .4 volts drop in idle, but what amperage? Probably very, very low. Try this testing with fully charged LiIons when your meter is back up. Thanks,

Bill

ps. Buy a lightmeter. Invaluable tool, and a descent one would be about $30.00 or more than your Malkoff M60. You can also buy them much cheaper and they are good enough for comparisons of your own lights. Google light meters.

Bill

I'll have to wait till I get home tonight and get my other meter, I just realized this DVM doesn't measure current anyway.