Tec 40 reflectors

BugLightGeek

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I just bought my first Princeton Tec, a Tec 40. It is a nice light just as everyone on here has said. I also ordered the wide beam reflector. Upon inspection of the reflector, it looks identical to the narrow beam reflector that came with the light. I got both at the same time from Brightguy.

Does anyone have photos of these reflectors they could post? I'd like to compare them to the reflectors I have to make sure I do indeed have 2 different reflectors instead of 2 of the same kind.

Thanks.

If no one has photos, can you give me some details about the different reflectors I could look for? I did some beam comparisons last night and the reflectors seem to produce identical beams.
 

Empath

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The narrow angle reflector is smooth and glossy looking. The wide angle reflector has a dimpled orange peel looking surface.
 

louie

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Apparently, PT changed the Tec 40 as supplied to include the "wide" reflector, which looks similar but has the dimpled surface instead of smooth surface. I bought a Tec40 years ago and it came with the smooth narrow reflector, so I bought a dimpled one. I just bought a second Tec40 for the car and it came with the wide dimpled reflector, but the printed instructions don't mention this change. For my money, the wide isn't much wider, but smoother.

I'd probably keep the extra reflector for a spare, or a friend who has the narrow.
 

Lux Luthor

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Ditto what louie said, but let me add that the wide beam reflector is in fact a lot wider, but it requires a high level of brightness to tell the difference. Try it with the overdriven 3 cell bulb on NiMH technique and you'll see.

By the way, I use the narrow undimpled reflector, and find that it gives much more throw. I'm not willing to sacrifice so much throw for a smoother beam. I believe Cave Dave has also mentioned he prefers the narrow reflector, so that's atleast two of us.
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BugLightGeek

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Alright. That's what I figured. I mentioned this to Greg @ Brightguy and he said he'll just throw in a smooth reflector in the mail today for no charge! What a guy!

Lux, I don't have any NiMH's to try that with but I WILL be trying a HPR44. Should I also try a KPR139 with alkalines?
 

Nerd

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I tried a Kozumi 6V 6watt bulb and discovered too late that it's too close to one side of the reflector... now it's got little wrinkles.... sob sob... The tec 40 is a great light... but i wished it had a aluminium reflector instead.
 

cave dave

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Yup, Cave Dave prefers the smooth reflector. But only for the specific task he ... umm, .. i mean I use that light. And thats for shinning down pits or up at high ceilings in caves. Hence the name. All my headlamps have a wide beam. And frankly are kind of dim so that I can get longer run times. So I need at least one light that can really penatrate. I might switch to a mini Q40 if it has a tighter spot, since it is a more compact package.

-CD
 

Lux Luthor

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Originally posted by lemlux:
...I have just tried my Carley potted 3.5 V 2.30 A halogen T-1 1/2 bulb potted into a PR base in two of my PT40's with NiMH's. They are awesome at an estimated 180 Lumen at 3.9 V. The glass envelope is considerably separated from the reflector, so I have not yet had any reflector damage on runs of up to 5 minutes. The light is much whiter, brighter, and tighter than a P90...
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">lemlux,

How would I go about doing this? I see the lamp on the Carley site, but I thought they only made T-2 1/2 PR based sockets. Is this something you modded yourself?

Also, how much do those bulbs go for, and do you think they'll hold up?

One other thing. Have you tried an unpotted one in a Surge? I would think it would almost plug right in.
 

lemlux

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Lux:

Carley sells PR sockets for T-2 1/2 bulbs drawing 1.0 Amps or less. They accept special orders to ceramicly pot any of their T-1 1/2 or T-2 1/2 bulbs into a PR base. Patty says that they have a potting special order minimum of "5 bulbs or so".

I paid $8.02 each for two potted # 1122 bulbs. $1.65 of this was the charge for potting.

The bulb is rated for 50 hours at 3.5 Watts. The rule of thumb is that each 10% wattage increase reduces life by 67%. I'm guessing that 4 AA NiMH's (with the surface charge carefully dissipated) deliver about 3.9 V. (I had previously bench tested AA NiMH's at 1.02 V per cell at 1.92 A and 0.85 V per cell at 3.35 A.)

This is the basis for my interpolation of 3.9 V and the calculation that 2/3 of the 50 hour life would be forfeit at 3.9 v leaving 16 hours.

I bought an extra PT40 bezel and 2 extra PT40 reflectors from Brite Guy to deal with this potentially destructive test of my PT plastic lens and reflector. If my lens starts to melt near the tip of the halogen bulb I'll drill out a hole that will allow for cooling ventilation. (Alan has reported this problem with some halogen tips) We've only had 3" of rain in San Diego the past 12 months, so that won't seriously compromise my ability to use a ventilated PT40.

I don't have an unpotted T1-1/2 bulb and don't know how it's pin sizes would compare to the Surge T-1 3/4 bulb. If it fit, I'd use either:
a.) 4 NiMH's because the voltage drop with 8 NiMH's would give this lamp a very short life, or
b.) 3 NiMHs and a dummy on each side might run the lamp close to spec 3.5 V and 1.15 A per cell initially with close to 1 1/2 hours available run time.

I can also report that the 1122 bulb is much brighter in a 4AA NiMH PT40 than when used in a 3C NiMH or NiCad Mag. In the 3C Mag, I get essentially equal brightness with my ceramic potted 3.7 V 1.60 A Carley T-2 1/2 Xenon #805 bulb rated at 146 lumen and 20 hours. This potted #805 bulb is now my bulb of choice for 3C and 3D rechargeable Mags for run-time reasons.
 

lemlux

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Chris:

Use NiMH's with the KPR139. You don't want to use a 3.85V 1.2A bulb with alkalines AA's.

BTW: I have just tried my Carley potted 3.5 V 2.30 A halogen T-1 1/2 bulb potted into a PR base in two of my PT40's with NiMH's. They are awesome at an estimated 180 Lumen at 3.9 V. The glass envelope is considerably separated from the reflector, so I have not yet had any reflector damage on runs of up to 5 minutes. The light is much whiter, brighter, and tighter than a P90.

I also think that the small filament makes for a tighter beam in the wide angle PT40 reflector than a normal PR bulb would generate.
 

Lux Luthor

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Thanks. I'm gonna put a little more thought into this first. I think anything over 120 lumens is overkill for me, but I'm sure it would be fun.
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lemlux

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Lux:

> 120 Lumens may be overkill, but remember the the flashaholics credo: "Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess."
 

Lux Luthor

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Originally posted by lemlux:
Lux:

> 120 Lumens may be overkill, but remember the the flashaholics credo: "Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess."
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I'll say. I just bought my first spotlight. It easily lights up a whole house 1/2 mile away. I thought I was addicted before, but now I'm really hooked.
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