dorcy metal gear, fenix l1p discussions....

bkkd

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hi, i am new to cpf, and have really started to take a liking to flashlights, and the leds have peeked my interest...

i got a dorcy metal gear from walmart and actually think its great, i dont like the battery system but its pretty bright and seems reliable..,..at least to me it seems bright.....

i want to get a fenix l1p to carry around on the job, but i cant really make heads or tails out of how it compairs in brightness with the metal gear which i know how bright it is......if the l1p has the output of the metal gear i will be amazed with it. or if it is even close to the output of it.

do any of you have a direct comparison between those two, it would be great to have that output in a small pocket light..........

now on to the metal gear, i have taken it apart and it has a small resistor on a board that i would assume limits the voltage to the led, has anybody removed the resistor to make it brighter, overdriving the led on it, it seems to be a quality led it has a very white output...........

what batteries could i mebbe fit inside the dorcy to make the runtime longer and brighter?

i know i have a lot of ? and hope you all will be patient with me in my learning and thanks again for the help


bkkd
 

bkkd

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chanamasala said:
Metal Gear battery mod: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/90566

You might want to compare the reviews of each light from flashlightreviews.com:

Fenix: http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/fenix_l1p.htm
Metal Gear: http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/dorcy_metalgear.htm


i have looked at the reviews but i cant form a real world comparison of brightness from them, i know that probly makes no sense, but the fenix total output is a little more with the dorcey having more throw.............and would it be safe and would it gain much by compleatly removing the metal gear resistor?.............
 

Xygen

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bkkd said:
i want to get a fenix l1p to carry around on the job, but i cant really make heads or tails out of how it compairs in brightness with the metal gear which i know how bright it is......if the l1p has the output of the metal gear i will be amazed with it. or if it is even close to the output of it.

do any of you have a direct comparison between those two, it would be great to have that output in a small pocket light..........
bkkd

Hi and welcome to CPF!

According to FlashlightReviews both lights have nearly the same overall output. (L1P 18.00 / Dorcy 17.50) But the dorcy has a much brigher/tighter spot. The brightness at the center is 34.20 (Dorcy) to 25.50 (L1P)

Left: Dorcy Metal Gear Right: Fenix L1P

dorcy_metalgear_010.jpg
fenix_l1p_007.jpg


Take a look at both reviews:
Dorcy Metal Gear
Fenix L1P

Greetings!
 
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bkkd

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ok i think i got the modding down in it, with a little playing around i think this thing could be a real powerhouse.............
 

cratz2

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Well, there are a couple issues here... For one thing, the Fenix L1P has a guaranteed R-bin Lux I while I've seend Q and R bins in the Metal Gears that I've owned. The two Q bins were nice, but a little disappointing compared to known R-bins in the Sam's Club Element light. If your take the star out, you can see what the bin is. The first 4 letters on the back of the star are the bin... they may be something like RYAH, RW0H, QYAH or something like that.

Next up is the fact that the reflector in the Metal Gear is both larger in diameter and deeper than the Fenix so the Metal Gear should have more throw but the Fenix seems to be a pretty effective reflector for its size. One thing I don't like about the Metal Gear beam is it is more ringy that the best lights in it's size and price class, notably the Element available from Sam's Club.

As for the resistor... removing it would make the light brighter, but the LED wouldn't last as long. I haven't done many measurements with Lux Is, but basically they wan't about 350ma of current and direct driven, my guess is they will probably see 600-700ma or so on very fresh cells. If you want to make the Metal Gear brighter, I'd probably suggest you replace the the Lux I star with a Lux III star from Photon Fanatic, and then bypassing removing the resistor and replacing it with a piece of decent guage wire. I put a TY0K in place of a Q-bin and it was at least 50% brighter (or more) than the RYAH... almost as bright at an Inova T3.

Personally, I would never carry the Metal Gear as it is just too large for it's output and runtime and I just don't prefer the 3xAAA arrangement. The Fenix on the other hand, I've carried almost every day since I got it. I still have two Metal Gears, but both have been modified with colored Lux III stars to play with.
 

bkkd

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ok lemme get this straight, if i use 18650 i will have to cut down the housing but if i use the 17500 i wont have to cut it down, is there any difference between the output of the batteries and how does the runtime compair?
 

bkkd

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oh im getting the fenix , thats not an issue i was just wondering how those two would compair since i know wht the dorcy does and i want to mod it a little................
 

cratz2

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The 18650s have at least twice as much storage as the 17500. 2200-2400 mAh vs 1100 mAh so they will run for twice as long. There shouldn't be any difference as far as brightness, initially on fresh cells.
 
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