milkyspit
Flashlight Enthusiast
I've wanted a Longbow Micra flashlight for years. The build quality and attention to detail on these is superb! Even the light engine is stylish, and nicely potted. Unfortunately these lights have been out of production for at least a year and the actual light generated isn't all that bright by today's standards. 
I finally was able to scare up a used Longbow Micra and the wheels started turning...
:thumbsup:
First, I ordered one of the Longbow McCapsule kits still available at the Sandwich Shoppe. This is the equivalent of an e-can sized and threaded to replace the Longbow light engine. I also grabbed a MadMax+ boost converter, which has long been one of my favorite boards... according to Wayne's specifications the board is in the neighborhood of 88% efficient when running on a 3V cell (1x123 primary) and outputs somewhere in the neighborhood of 800mA to the emitter. We'll get back to that later. :naughty:
Some other interesting things about the MM+ circuit... for one, it limits input current to 1A, thereby pretty much guaranteeing you won't slam your cell... and it allows brightness to fade ever so gradually toward the end of runtime, with an unusually long tail (a.k.a. emergency light, afterglow, moon mode), giving plenty of opportunity either to locate another light, or get home. No sudden darkness! IMHO this board doesn't get enough respect.
Once the goodies arrived, I shortened a McR18 reflector for optimal focus with a Seoul Semiconductor P4 USVOI emitter hand selected for quality of tint and an unusually low Vf... the former for improved color rendition, the latter for some extra runtime. And so the build began...
Tossed in a glow ring around the reflector, which I find myself doing more and more these days. In addition to the obvious eye candy, the glow ring serves a more important purpose, namely weatherproofing the bezel... and since they're more pliable than standard o-rings they seem to do an exceptional job of squeezing into all the nooks and crannies for a good positive seal.
On a more minor note, while the light was in pieces I took the opportunity to clean it thoroughly and even restored the white lettering along the side, which had faded a bit. Also added a homemade rubber grip ring toward the tail end (a clicky tail) and an appropriately-sized rubber o-ring at the head end of the body for grip in general.
The tiny lanyard is the handiwork of our own Moeman, one of his signature spiral patterns. Absolutely gorgeous, and just the right size for a tiny light like this. Thanks Moeman!
:bow:
I haven't done any careful runtime analyses yet, but all indications are that I'll have bright output for about 90 minutes, followed by gradual dimming over maybe a 30 minute duration, and finally, at least a few hours of lower-level illumination. Initial brightness (remember that 800mA output current?) ought to be somewhere around 160 lumens, and stay within about 20% of that figure for the first 90 minutes.
Oh, and the circuit does seem to have some degree of overdrive capability by which I could run an RCR123 Li-ion rechargeable for a little extra output boost without fearing immediate release of the magic smoke.
[size=+1]Update... More Photos, More Info![/size]
Okay, hot off the presses, some more photos!
The beam is a nice combination of throw and sidespill... it's not exactly a super long throwing light, but given its size not all that bad!
Here's a photo collage comparing the beams at roughly 20 feet distance of a few lights... note that the SEOULmated Longbow Micra is easily the smallest light of the bunch...
As far as length, this version of the Longbow Micra (the clicky tail version) measures about 3 5/8 inches long... the same light with twisty tail measures 3 1/4 inches long. To be honest, I'd have rather gotten my hands on a twisty version of this light, in hard anozed black finish... but beggars can't be choosers! I'm just happy to have gotten one of these beautiful little lights.
I finally was able to scare up a used Longbow Micra and the wheels started turning...
:thumbsup:
First, I ordered one of the Longbow McCapsule kits still available at the Sandwich Shoppe. This is the equivalent of an e-can sized and threaded to replace the Longbow light engine. I also grabbed a MadMax+ boost converter, which has long been one of my favorite boards... according to Wayne's specifications the board is in the neighborhood of 88% efficient when running on a 3V cell (1x123 primary) and outputs somewhere in the neighborhood of 800mA to the emitter. We'll get back to that later. :naughty:
Some other interesting things about the MM+ circuit... for one, it limits input current to 1A, thereby pretty much guaranteeing you won't slam your cell... and it allows brightness to fade ever so gradually toward the end of runtime, with an unusually long tail (a.k.a. emergency light, afterglow, moon mode), giving plenty of opportunity either to locate another light, or get home. No sudden darkness! IMHO this board doesn't get enough respect.
Once the goodies arrived, I shortened a McR18 reflector for optimal focus with a Seoul Semiconductor P4 USVOI emitter hand selected for quality of tint and an unusually low Vf... the former for improved color rendition, the latter for some extra runtime. And so the build began...
Tossed in a glow ring around the reflector, which I find myself doing more and more these days. In addition to the obvious eye candy, the glow ring serves a more important purpose, namely weatherproofing the bezel... and since they're more pliable than standard o-rings they seem to do an exceptional job of squeezing into all the nooks and crannies for a good positive seal.
On a more minor note, while the light was in pieces I took the opportunity to clean it thoroughly and even restored the white lettering along the side, which had faded a bit. Also added a homemade rubber grip ring toward the tail end (a clicky tail) and an appropriately-sized rubber o-ring at the head end of the body for grip in general.
The tiny lanyard is the handiwork of our own Moeman, one of his signature spiral patterns. Absolutely gorgeous, and just the right size for a tiny light like this. Thanks Moeman!
:bow:
I haven't done any careful runtime analyses yet, but all indications are that I'll have bright output for about 90 minutes, followed by gradual dimming over maybe a 30 minute duration, and finally, at least a few hours of lower-level illumination. Initial brightness (remember that 800mA output current?) ought to be somewhere around 160 lumens, and stay within about 20% of that figure for the first 90 minutes.
Oh, and the circuit does seem to have some degree of overdrive capability by which I could run an RCR123 Li-ion rechargeable for a little extra output boost without fearing immediate release of the magic smoke.
[size=+1]Update... More Photos, More Info![/size]
Okay, hot off the presses, some more photos!
The beam is a nice combination of throw and sidespill... it's not exactly a super long throwing light, but given its size not all that bad!
Here's a photo collage comparing the beams at roughly 20 feet distance of a few lights... note that the SEOULmated Longbow Micra is easily the smallest light of the bunch...
As far as length, this version of the Longbow Micra (the clicky tail version) measures about 3 5/8 inches long... the same light with twisty tail measures 3 1/4 inches long. To be honest, I'd have rather gotten my hands on a twisty version of this light, in hard anozed black finish... but beggars can't be choosers! I'm just happy to have gotten one of these beautiful little lights.
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