Gray foam ring inside Novatac tailcap

Buffalohump

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Aug 20, 2006
Messages
355
Location
Durban, South Africa
Hiya,

Does anyone know what the purpose of the gray foam ring inside the tail cap?

I just grabbed a 120P from a guy and he has two tailcaps, one with the ring and one without.

My 85P which I bought new has it, so its obviously meant to be there.

Anyone know what its purpose is and does its absence affect the light's functioning?

Thanks
 

tx101

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
May 17, 2008
Messages
2,357
Location
London UK
I brought a tailcap from Lighthound that had no gray foam ring
Worked ok, just make sure the large spring sticks out either end of the
battery tube.
 

Buffalohump

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Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
355
Location
Durban, South Africa
He said it worked fine without it, as you confirm.

But I was just curious as to what purpose it serves.

I mailed NovaTac. Let's see what they have to say. ;)
 

kromeke

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Joined
Mar 29, 2006
Messages
341
I think it is a bumper for recoil if mounted to a gun. My main complaint with my Novatac is that if I drop it tail first, it will shut down just after impact. I believe the newer Novatacs have dual spring support for the battery.

In my case the foam doesn't completely mitigate the shut-off when dropped tail first. The battery looses contact momentarily.

I ripped mine out, so I could fit my retaining ring wrench in there.
 

BBL

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Sep 19, 2004
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eu/at
I'm quite sure the foam ring is there to hold the battery against the contact in the front of the light (more than the spring itself) to avoid loss of contact in case the light is hit hard.
 

Dan FO

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Feb 10, 2009
Messages
637
Location
FL
I was talking to Henry at SHOT 2009 and he told me that ring was what was causing the threads to wear out on the Novatac. It was meant to keep constant high pressure on the battery but instead it put undue pressure on the threads when screwing and unscrewing the light. I went home and removed mine. The new tailcaps don't have it. It really serves no purpose and I would suggest removing it.
 
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