The aleph 2 does it for me

[knifebright]

Hey all
I'm on a little 10 camping trip but i stopped at a hotel and i thought i'd drop a line. So i brought with me 4 alephs amound a bunch of other lights, most that i loaned out to my brothers but the alephs stayed with me for the most part. in that mix i have 1xaleph 2 with a ng750 and a handfull of rechareables. I also have 2Xaleph 1's, one with a badboy 500 and another with a downboy 1000. The aleph 3 has a vital gear 3x123 and a downboy 1000. I planned in my head to use the aleph 1's mostly. In the city they are the lights i reach for most. But once i got into the outdoors my plans all fell apart. I've found that the aleph 2 head is what i feel the perfect light. I'm in shock at how use full the aleph 2 is. Now i feel i need to sell of at least on of my aleph 1's(though i'll probably just keep it.) Anyway for those of you looking to get your first aleph let me push you towards the aleph 2. dont' get me wrong the aleph 3 is loads of fun and the aleph 1's are a very nice comprimise and really do throw very well but the aleph 2 in my opinion is the perfect light. Now i need to build myself another one with a 2 cell body and a downboy 700 i'm thinking for some nice runtime.
I also learned a little bit about responsible conservative currents on this trip. Overdriving in nice but underdriving is were all the magic happens. O'h well back on the road and i'll check in later this week
jimmy

 

[McGizmo]

[ QUOTE ]
Overdriving in nice but underdriving is were all the magic happens.

[/ QUOTE ] Well said! I was talking with Wayne Y yesterday about this very subject. I left a run test to go to bed this AM where I have a LuxIII running at around 125 mA (1x123) with a 20 mm reflector in a proto McLuxIII. The 125 mA is sufficient for most medium distance lighting tasks and actually still way too bright for in close work. When I went to bed, the light was on its 9th hour of running!

 

[knifebright]

Ya know don I've heard you say it and other say it about lower drive currents but it really took a real life situation to realize it. Don't get me wrong driving at an amp is nice but with a direct comparison between two aleph 1 heads at 1000 and 750 i couldn't see really any difference. and at 500 ma what i really gained well overtook any small loss in light. Plus changeing battery's every 1.0 hour makes no sence when you can't see a differnce. I cant wait to get home and place a shop order for a new aleph 2 with a 2x123 flared, trim tailcap and i'm going to build up a downboy 500 for it. Also i picked up a micro tripod and that really made things nice for setting up camp. Hey don one question. Is the standard cap the only one that supports the tripod?? or is the trip available with the screw hole as well?? I've had some alephs for a long time now and i'm only just realized the genuis that went into putting a universal tripod attachment point.
jimmy

 

[McGizmo]

Jimmy,
Yes, the standard cap is the only one tapped with the 1/4x20 tripod thread. The trim cap could have been threaded but it would have been more expensive and frankly so few have expressed any interest in this feature but a few have complained about the thread cuts visible in the face of the standard cap. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

I have designed an adapter that is #6-32 male with 1/4"x20 female for tri-pod mounting via the #6 threads like the tab mount or the threads in the E2d tail cap. I never took it past paper though as so few people are interested. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif Well, there may be interest but it is not expressed much. Seems most talk is about hunting white walls and long distance sniper applications for photons. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The rig below saw a few battery changes last year when I was on Maui and a pair of batteries is good for 30+ hours.

This year I will go with an Aleph 2 head and beam shaper, possibly the package below (or one that I can't share at the moment):

 

[Kiessling]

Ditto to all of it .. the undersriving and the Aleph2 being a total blast! A very nice little head with so much utility and a great beam!
benrhard

 

[Chop]

I've been saying it all along. Underdriving is where it's at!!!

I have a 3X3 light that I built driving the luxeons at 350mA each. It draws less current on 2D cells than my 4D Lux V light does on four cells and puts out almost as much light.

 

[rikvee]

Are there any McGizmo lightengines for single battery use that draw less current than a NexGen400?

 

[jeffb]

Could someone enlighen me, regarding the "beamshaper" on Don's Aleph 2 head?

Thank You,

jeffb

 

[rikvee]

it's the Surefire F04, a rubber hexagonal push-on with an opaque diffusing lens, IMO more effective and versatile than replacing your lens with an LDF type.

 

[knifebright]

You could set a nexgen at anything really... A nexgen 150 with a lux 1 QWOH may have to go in my next build for a nice extra low super long running light
jimmy

 

[wasBlinded]

I'm getting ready to build a Nexgen 266 for an A2/CR2 light. I wonder what the practical lower limit for current is for the Nexgen?

 

[McGizmo]

wasBlinded,

Wayne would be the best source for this info but I think the level will be in the 40 to 80 mA range and depend on the Vf of the specific LED. At some point, you will be in effective DD (net of the driver overhead) because the NexGen is a boost only circuit. If the drive levels meet the requirements, another solution is to simply go DD on the CR2 or a CR123 cell and then use a resistor to drop you further for low. I have one light that is a L1 head on E1e body with McE2S and it has two very useable low levels of light. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

 

[Darell]

[ QUOTE ]
McGizmo said:
The trim cap could have been threaded but it would have been more expensive and frankly so few have expressed any interest in this feature .... I never took it past paper though as so few people are interested. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Crap. Shall I say it louder? Yell maybe?

The 1/4-20 is a MUST for DARELL! I have a mini tripod collection over here! I use a tripod-mounted light just about every damn day! 1/4-20. I want. 1/4-20.

I keep forgetting that my vote doesn't count though. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

 

[McGizmo]

Darell,

Unlike the EV's, I have to "count" the votes and the demand doesn't justify the expense on much of this stuff! The original McE2S has it all and takes care of the "utility" minded.

EDIT: My heirs will inherit a bunch of brass and EN collars for the SF tubes as well as Mag tubes that are tapped for both 1/4"x20 as well as the tabs. The cost of what I have sitting in boxes here would cover my Maui trip nicely. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

 

[Darell]

Story of my life. Damned if I do, damned if I don't.

I don't get the 1/4-20 in the other caps AND I'm costing you a trip to Maui! No wonder I have trouble sleeping at night. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[McGizmo]

Darell,
You have a drill and tap, go for it! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nana.gif (don't worry about me!)

 

[Darell]

Too late. I seriously worry about you, Don!

 

[rikvee]

perhaps a question for Chop:

As far as brightness goes, a Minimag with fresh batteries looks good to me already...
To mimic this in an Aleph2 head on a Pila 150s or 168s protected Li-Ion, how many mAh should my converter be?
Which up-to-date emitter can give me a yellow-ish tint (not green), since white/blue/pink just seems a bit stark to my eyes....

 

[knifebright]

are you talking direct drive of the pilas' in the aleph2 or do you have a current set up. Go for the X1 tint. you'll be happy with that.
jimmy

 

[rikvee]

Thanks Jimmy, an X1 for a warmer tint...
are there any graphs on what happens over time with direct drive?
The question two posts earlier is more about which converter, like a NexGen or a Wiz2, would give the same brightness on rechargeables as a MiniMag on fresh alkalines?