THIS is my dream... what is yours?

Now, I've been thinking lately about the Surefire A2 Aviator. I really enjoy the concept of this light and the theory behind it, but I don't like the fact that the incandescent bulbs burn out or break. I now am an LED fanboy, thus, the center incadescent bulb is raining on my parade.

I know that some of you may have strong allegiances to incadescents as Surefire has proved their superiority on the matter. But, none-the-less, it's still an incandescent with a pretty low efficiency (as a whole - runtime, burn-outs, etc...) light source for such a high-end torch. Granted, I'm pretty new the the flashaholic ballgame, but I believe Fenix (and whoever else is sporting the new Cree XR-E 7090 for that matter) hit a grand slam with their new *Ce models... am I wrong on this issue?

Just imagine an A2 type light (whether it's Surefire or not, doesn't matter) that features a new Cree XR-E 7090 in the center alongside three other red leds for tactical or other low-light purposes.

This dream of a Frankenstein creation between a Surefire A2 and a Fenix P3D CE would be one of the most amazing lights to EVER hit the market!

Or, possibly a Surefire A2;Kroma/Fenix P3D CE creation would be awesome. Putting a Cree XR-E 7090 in the center for white, three red and three blue in an alternating, hexagonal pattern around the rest of the bezel would be absolutley amazing... an of course, make it versatile with the capability to put one or two or three CR123s/AAs in it with different bodies like Fenix did...

That my fellow flashaholics... is MY dream.

What do you think? Am I crazy, or could this be done - why or why not?

P.S. Can someone please make a really good anglehead light for us military guys. Small, two CR123s for long life, red and blue filters (stored in the flashlight somewhere) with a Surefire/Fenix twist as well? Also, MOLLE system is a must...

Re: THIS is my dream... any thoughts?

Oh... for clarification before anyone assumes or asks... no, I do not sell or promote Fenix lights in any way (not on their payroll). They're just my first foray into the bright-light game and the P1D CE is my new EDC.

Re: THIS is my dream... any thoughts?

It will come true.

McLux LunaSol ... in development by McGizmo. There is more than one flashaholic waiting for those to come out ...





bernie

Re: THIS is my dream... any thoughts?

Kiessling, do you have any info on that light? Website, specs, anything... wow!

Re: THIS is my dream... any thoughts?

Those are prototypes right now and there is no "production". I hope it will be a reality soon.
The central LED is a Cree in those protos and it is surrounded by a ring of 3mm white Nichias. Nothing more is known right now.

The mechanical design is a McLuxIII light of McGizmo ... you can visit his forum on CPF and click on the FAQ sticky to find out more about the McLux lights.


As I am not that well informed about most manufacturers it might well be that others do have such lights already in existance, I do not know that.
You might wanna look at Nuwai and Streamlight, for instance.

A lot also depends on your budget, of course :green:

bernie

More than a Dream - it's the next logical step in lighting

I dream of such a light too. I wish each of the small LED's in this hypothetical light were of a different light frequency and could be individually or collectively activated. One deep UV around 260nm, UV at 350nm, Blue, Turquoise, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, Deep red at 660nm and of course IR.

With a Central Cree that can be tuned down to just a few lumens as well


I would like to see such a light built - even though I could not afford it I'm sure. A complete Full Spectrum Dominance lighting tool :laughing:

Re: THIS is my dream... any thoughts?

i dont get the point of using the cree or any bright emiitter for that matter with 3mm or 5mm leds? couldnt you just underdrive the main emitter to get the same ammount of light as what the 3/5mm leds could put out and wouldnt underiving the emitter make it more efficient thus a longer runtime than what the 3/5mm leds could produce?

Re: THIS is my dream... any thoughts?

mossyoak said:

i dont get the point of using the cree or any bright emiitter for that matter with 3mm or 5mm leds? couldnt you just underdrive the main emitter to get the same ammount of light as what the 3/5mm leds could put out and wouldnt underiving the emitter make it more efficient thus a longer runtime than what the 3/5mm leds could produce?

Click to expand...

I see your point mossy, and agree, it seems like one step forward and two steps back to include 3/5mm LEDs in a light with a CREE or P4. I think the distinct advantage the 3/5mm LED's hold in this case however, (correct me if I'm wrong) is that they produce a flood pattern that the CREE cannot, since it is housed in a reflector.

I just bought a Milkyspit ML1, and absolutely LOVE IT! The most practical, ergonomic, fascinating light I've ever owned. I would absolutely let every other light I own go, before I gave this up. I was thinking that it makes an awesome LED replacement for the A2, 90 minutes of flat regulation followed by a fall off until 120 minutes. A high beam of about 100 lumens, low beam of about 5-10, only takes one battery, and very pocketable.

The one thing that dawned on me however, was that the A2 still has one distinct advantage over an ML1 and other such similar lights. That is the difference in beam patterns between low/high. My ML1, in all its glory, has the exact same beam pattern on both settings. To me, in most applications, that's a non-issue, but for those who want a low beam that floods and a high that throws, there are few that can compare with the A2. If you start talking about the incan being regulated, the list of competitors virtually drops to zero.

So, that being said, I think there are a few lights out there that can replace an A2, depending on someone's intended applications, but the A2 so far, has remained untouched in terms of what it does. Meaning, for the people who need the functionality of an A2, only an A2 will do. For example, I am a commercial pilot, and I used to have an A2 that I used for flying. The A2 worked PERFECTLY for this. At one point, I became rather disenchanted with it, as new LED technology was winning my heart, and I thought the L2 would be a nice replacement, so I sold my beloved A2. Come to find out, the L2 was too bright on low for the cockpit, and the high beam didn't throw enough. I have tried several other lights since, and none have worked as well as my A2 for what I needed. I will eventually buy another A2, because I have finally come to realize its strenghts. It is not a light to WOW people with, it doesn't have great runtime, it doesn't have a beautiful whitewall hunting beam. But when I go flying, I keep referring to it as the bar to which I compare all my other lights. In it's element, the A2 is very very hard to replace.

That was a much longer reply than I was intending, I hope it makes sense.

Re: THIS is my dream... any thoughts?

mossyoak ... yes, beam pattern is the key. You get flood and throw with this set-up. It eliminates the annoying hot-spot in low mode and high can concentrate on throw withut needing to burden itself with area illumination.
THis is for example where the SF A2 shines.

AND ... those small LEDs are more efficient than the big guns IIRC, so not problem on this side either.

My only point is that I'd like all this in a smaller 1" head. You hear me, Don?

bernie

Re: THIS is my dream... any thoughts?

Kiessling said:

It will come true.

McLux LunaSol ... in development by McGizmo. There is more than one flashaholic waiting for those to come out ...

bernie

Click to expand...

It's ironic that this photo has bananas in the background(I think) but I can't find the dancing banana to express my sentiment.

Re: THIS is my dream... any thoughts?

Where is the information on the Milkyspit ML1?

Also, why isn't Surefire using Cree leds... or are they? And how would an A2 with a Cree center bulb not be one of the best lights (for a lot, not all applications - that is understood, there is no perfect light).

But, what would be YOUR perfect light?

the A2 with a cree would be great, now you go and try to build one.
thats the problem.

For 270winchester

Re: THIS is my dream... any thoughts?

FliGuyRyan said:

Where is the information on the Milkyspit ML1?

Also, why isn't Surefire using Cree leds... or are they? And how would an A2 with a Cree center bulb not be one of the best lights (for a lot, not all applications - that is understood, there is no perfect light).

But, what would be YOUR perfect light?

Click to expand...

Milky ML1 thread: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/136976

This is pretty much my perfect light, hands down and twice over. It's an old thread, and the first few pages of it are from when Scott (milkyspit) was using LuxIII's in the ML1. If you go to the more recent pages, he's started using CREE's and seol P4 (mine has a P4) He'll let you choose what kind of emitter and tint you want, and even swap out the resistor in the tailcap for a lower low-beam if you want. The ML1 is about the same cost as an A2. Check out the thread, lots of great info there.

P.S. If you're interested in buying an ML1, PM milkyspit and he'll give you cost estimates and build options. There are several variations on the ML1, depending on what you want. He's awesome to buy from, very friendly.

SF is in fact going to be putting out some CREE lights, they should be arriving this month from what I've been hearing.

my stunner on roids is my dream with a dream circuit i call Dead Set Regulation where it will at all levels be dead set pumping out a specific current all the way through batteries life ,like i see some lights have regulation but as battery weakens even though the light says regulated at 400ma ,the light goes below 400ma so my dream circuit would always drive out the 400ma even if the volts drop to .9v and at .8 it will finally drop below to indicate battery change time
so now with that dream circuit which should get everything out of a battery maximizing efficiency i want this

1. 4D body ,only way to support 8amps
2. Multilevel , real low 500ma , low 1 amp , medium 3.5amps , high 8 amps
high should deliver 240lm @1amp seoul so 1920 advertised lumens prolly 1700 out the front though
i wouldnt mind having strobe either
3. bolt shaped head for anti-roll
4. cycle through levels just like a fenix except have forward clicky and last mode memory


update i just realized theres 1 to many leds it should be 7X27mm

my dream would be my L2 with a high output of 300lm and 2 hour runtime and a low about the same as it is. this technology may not be far off but i dont think surefire will be making my dreams come true any time soon.

SCblur, great reply about the info on the Milkyspit ML1. I'll look into that. qip, also a great post on your dream. I bet someone could work it out for you.

Any others?

Man... I'm really liking my Fenix P1D CE, except it needs a really low most at like 3-4 lumens (like a LOD CE on low, except slightly lower still). Because, last night I woke up the people in the room next to me and my P1D CE was only on low, ha.

Also, it needs RED!!!!! multi levels too!

I too love the A2.

However, I'm tired of replacing bulbs--they never last as long as advertised for me.

Yes, an A2 with warm white Cree center emitter and some kind of other LEDs around it (I don't like the current Nichias because of the blue tint) would even be more useful for my needs. One can at least dream I guess...

I want.....

A quality "stubby", regulated, 1D (1.5 volt D cell), Cree XRE flashlight that will float with two levels, rugged and waterproof to 30 ft. This is for boating applications.


The D cell request is because it needs to run for hours at a time on cheap batteries, D cells are very cheap per watt hour.
Plus I could club a trout with one.

My dream is a 1 metre x 1 metre watercooled array of overdriven CREE emitters. My very own lighthouse.