Turbo Head for C3

[cmassicotte]

Hi - I'm new to the forum - and to Flashlights, though I have jumped in with both feet, so to speak, I just got an E2e, C2- and C3 - all HA. I am thinking of getting a Turbo Head for the C3, so that I will have one flashlight with longer range. I called Surefire to ask about the KT2 conversion kit, and the woman I talked to told me that she couldn't see much difference between the throw of the light with and without the Turbo Head. She said that for her money, she would get another flashlight. Now after reading what seems like dozens of posts I am confused and bewildered.

Can you guys help me answer the following questions?

How much difference does the Turbo Head make? Can anyone quantify the difference, i.e. as a percentage increase in the distance of the throw of the beam?

What is an SRTH turbo head? Can you give me a comparison of the differences between it and the Surefire KT2 kit? Are there other options out there? Since my light is HA, what options are in HA?

I'm not looking to use this for tactical use, nor am I wanting to add the Turbo head for any "coolness" factor.

Any and all opinions are welcome, both pro and con, and anything in between.

Thanks all for your input

Chuck

 

[Rifter]

She was nuts, i have a M2+A19 with a KT2 turbohead and it has ALOT MORE throw than without the KT2, i know cause a friend has a M2+A19 and is using the P91, and compared to my turbohead side my side it just doesnt cut it in the throw department. The turbohead Greatly adds to the range, for example i can light up the top of a 20 story building no problem, i cant do that without the KT2. The SRTH is supposed to be a little better but its also alot more money. Up to you, i decided on the KT2 because it was the most i was willing to spend and performs as well as i need it to.

 

[txwest]

Chuck,
I have 2 SRTH's, a 3" T-head & did have a T-head on an M3, & I would guesstimate throw increase over a lamp of equal lumen output to be about double. I don't know if you would consider this significant, but I do. If you don't mind a black head on a HA body, I would recomend the SRTH head. JT has one for sale right now with an N1 lamp on the B,S,T board for a good price. If you want reach, you WILL like the SF T-head. TX

 

[kb0rrg]

Is there a 200 lumen lamp for a C3 turbohead?

 

[jtivat]

Originally posted by kb0rrg:
Is there a 200 lumen lamp for a C3 turbohead?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Not with a turbo head but you can add an A-19 and then there are three lamps over 200 lumens. There is the MN60 at 225l the MN61 at 350l and the N62 at 500l.

 

[Size15's]

Originally posted by kb0rrg:
Is there a 200 lumen lamp for a C3 turbohead?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Yes there is. The MN16 225Lu/20min Lamp Assembly.
(The MN15 & MN16 come as standard with the M3T)

There are three Lamp Assemblies for THREE x SF123A cell SureFire TurboHeads:

N2 (105Lu/60mins)
MN15 (125Lu/60mins)
MN16 (225Lu/20mins)

There are three Lamp Assemblies for FOUR x SF123A cell SureFire TurboHeads:

MN60 (225Lu/60mins)
MN61 (350Lu/20mins)
N62 (500Lu/12mins)

I hope this helps?

Respectfully,

Al

 

[jtivat]

Originally posted by Size15s:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by kb0rrg:
Is there a 200 lumen lamp for a C3 turbohead?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Yes there is. The MN16 225Lu/20min Lamp Assembly.
(The MN15 & MN16 come as standard with the M3T)

There are three Lamp Assemblies for THREE x SF123A cell SureFire TurboHeads:

N2 (105Lu/60mins)
MN15 (125Lu/60mins)
MN16 (225Lu/20mins)

There are three Lamp Assemblies for FOUR x SF123A cell SureFire TurboHeads:

MN60 (225Lu/60mins)
MN61 (350Lu/20mins)
N62 (500Lu/12mins)

I hope this helps?

Respectfully,

Al</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Thanks Al, I called SF and was told the MN 15 and 16 would not fit the KT2 that is good to know.

 

[Size15's]

The "official" line as I understand it is that;

The "MN" TurboHead Lamp Assemblies are designed for the shock isolated Millennium TurboHead.

The "N" TurboHead Lamp Assemblies are designed for the KT TurboHead and assorted 'Classic' TurboHeads.

However, they do fit and work backwards and forwards across the "Millennium". Right now, I have a 9P+KT with MN16 and a 12PMT (3") with MN61. Great beams, love 'em.

I think the official line has something to do with the spring contacts of the MN and N Lamp Assemblies being different. This has only once been a minor problem for me (an N2 in M3T) but was solved by stretching the spring contact a bit so that reliable contact could be ensured. And I have used a lot of N2 Lamps in M3T's, and also tend to like the MN61 in my 12PM regardless of which of the four TurboHead options I have on it.

Another important reason is that bulbs and filaments have developed over time, and so have the reflector designes. Therefore some Lamp Assemblies may be better suited for a TurboHead model (such as the N2 suits the SRTH very well). This explains why sometimes, certain bulb and TurboHead combinations produce exceptional beams and other times, there may be a slight hole in the beam (especially if shone on a white wall from very close range - not ideal TurboHead testing situation).

I go with what works for me, and from my collection of spare lamps, I can often pick the very best individual combination of lamp and TurboHead.
I can understand that for the sake of more mission critical products such as WeaponLights, SureFire would want to make sure that operators only used the specific Lamps that came with their WeaponLights that were designed for them in order to give maximum reliability.

Al