fraen optic and McLux

Will the Fraen optic fit in the McLux, I may obviously be asking a stupid question but never the less I fell compelled to.

nope /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

for some reason that's the response I thought I would get. Oh well, wishful thinking and all.
thanks Rothrandir.

Are any of them small enough to be shortened(ground down) and or made narrower (ground down) modified to fit a McLux?

Don't fret keith... I've already though of this and have purchased the "E2C" adapter for my 3xCR123 McLux. - That way I can fit a C2 or M2 head that *should* have sufficient diameter to host the Fraen optic. I happen to be a big fan of the narrow pattern Fraen and have a big itch to find the right head to build one into... Mot of my mods are AA, so NX's are what I'm stuck with using for the time being.......

I thought I read a thread here somewhere that said Fraen was working on a optic that was suposed to be a direct replacement for the NX05

...Would be interesting to compare the Fraen to the 30mm optics... There's nothing on Fraen's site that suggests their platformed optics are direct replacements for an NX05, but I'd figure the stand on the optics would be completely incompatible with a Star w/Optics. They do have standalone optics that are very similar to the NX05s, but there's no size comparisons to clarify it...

From Fraen:


Quite an exciting lineup of collimators...

I was the one that leaked the rumor of a direct size replacment of the NX05... I heard this from an extremely reliable source and have witnessed the diversification of their product line to suit the flashlight industry. Unfortunately I do not know a timeline for the introduction of this new optic.

The bulk of the mods that I build are AA size and (because of size restriction) use the NX size optics. After seeing how well the Fraen narrow mixed the emitter's light, I'm anxious to see these new optics come out. I'll be leaking info & any photos as I find out.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Slick, have you tried out a Fraen (any design) on a 5W LS HD? How's the beam shape? Is it spread evenly, have a very hotspot, or have a fading corona, etc...?

I haven't tried a 5W white HD yet... the only white one I have mounted is buried in a head that's on my McLux. My other 5W rig is setup for reflector testing and as such, has no base to work with for an optic.

I can tell you that I had the Lambertian style optics before I received the "ring spacers". I wasn't having a lot of luck getting good beam until I tried the ring spacers - which lined everything up the way it was intended.

If plan go thru, I will be scoring some premium 5W white HD's (real soon) and plan to build a tabless Fraen narrow optic over a 5W white direct-drive for the 3x123 McLux body using a C3 or M2 SF head.

Awesome! Thanks for the info!

FWIW, I have successfully sanded down some NX05 optics to fit a smaller head. This was with 1W LS's. I have not noticed any detrimental beam degradation at all.

I'm tempted to do the same with a 30 MM optic, but I haven't, yet.

I hope that, if the Fraen dimensions are not TOO drastic, they might still be able to be turned down and used in a McLux. I have no actual experience with the Fraen, but I remain optimistic, based mostly on Slick's reports.

Slick, please keep us updated and thanks for your input.

hi guys,

Don't wanna be a wet blanket, but maybe I can save you a few bucks (ie. from ruining your expensive Fraen and/or McLux).

I have several Fraen optics here and unless Slick, Don or someone else can find a shrink raygun to automagically downsize the Fraen's, they're not gonna fit without some truly serious turning. Not only is the diameter a mis-fit, so too is the height.

The Fraen's are ~26mm in dia (NX05 dia ~19.5mm), and about twice the height of the NX05. Turning down that much of the lens is probably gonna destroy all its optical properties. You might end up with a real funky beam, but I've not been there yet /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Not all hope is lost - if the Fraen optic turns out to be a hugely desirable flashaholic item, something might just start cookin' again... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

On a related note, I turned down a 30 mm to fit in a Pelican M6 (the Fraen fit with no problem). I tested the lux on the 30 mm before and after and there was a very significant reduction in luminous output. The beam was fine and it read a couple percent higher than the stock reflector. However, the black hole in the center spot of the 30 mm annoys me and the beam from the PM6 reflector is much nicer, IMHO. I think taking any of these larger optics down to the size of the NX05 will likely not perform as well as the NX05. A larger head is needed.

- Don

[ QUOTE ]
McGizmo said:
A larger head is needed.

[/ QUOTE ]

Don's will do just fine /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/poke2.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

you're silly, Leo.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

As Hotfoot points out, the major obstacle of getting the Fraen to fit is in it's overall height.. I won't attempt to "turn down" the diameter of a Fraen because I'm pretty sure that would ruin it.

However, I have considered reducing the diameter of the optic's business end by simply shortening the entire optic... Having spent a good bit of time experimenting with Fraens, I think that approach would work without drastically ruining the orginal beam quality.

When I get up the nerve to try it, you can bet I'll be posting about it.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

As Hotfoot points out, the major obstacle of getting Don's head to fit is in his overall height.. I won't attempt to "turn down" the diameter of his head because I'm pretty sure that would ruin it.

However, I have considered reducing the his diameter by simply shortening the entire body... Having spent a good bit of time experimenting with people like him, I think that approach would work without drastically ruining the orginal appearence.

I think I'll leave out the last sentence. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[ QUOTE ]
yclo said:
.........

I think I'll leave out the last sentence. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Why bother? You're already road kill! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twak.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

- Don