A look at the Surefire Compatible Tailcaps & Cell Extenders NEW UPDATE

kosPap

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UPDATE Mar 20: A new specimen has been added in post #11. A Spiderfire Reverse Clickie taht is readily two-stage moddable too..

UPDATE Jan 29: The compatibility table was revised. Also another tailcap was added...A Momentary On from Spiderfile. See post #6 for more info on it

Now lets start with a view of....

igp4928.jpg


igp4938.jpg


And here are the Extenders

igp4947n.jpg


The Spiderfire is a whole different animal, and almost useless for Legos...On the pic is marked the problem with it...Both the male and the female end of it are lower than the norm. That creates more room in the flashlight tube by 2 ways...The tube itself is extended and the tailcap screws higher...This particular extender I got for an Ebay store, the Flashlight_Store.comHere what it looks like on a Solarforce L2M. it does not screw all the way down

igp4950.jpg


Now this may be good after all...Fellow member Old4570 used a similar 18650 sized one to his advantage – T=tolerance stacking - making a 3AA tube saving space on 2 18650 long tubes...For more please see this Now...I spent some time testing the possible configurations. Results are summed in the:

Tailcap Compatibility Chart

tablec.jpg


It is obvious that the Spiderfire products have their BIG share of compatibility issues...Both the extender and momentary-on tailcap are actually unsusable...
UPDATE Mar 20: I have found a new use for this peculiar tailcap...On the flashlight in my sig....The spiderfire tailcap works better than the Surefire 6P one...(the latter had its spring crushed by the battery column). So there is hope for the lowly existences after all!

The Missing Items

- Surefire Clickie Tailcaps
- UNIQUE Continously Variable Tailcap
- Solarforce S2, S3, S4, S5 tailcaps
- Optiqs HQ Variable Output Tailcaps

NEW Addition

I was asked for a pic of the tailcaps innards...Here they are


igp4997f.jpg


from left: Solarforce (converted to two-mode, resistor barely showing) – Ultrafire C1 – Spiderfire Momentary On – Spiderfire & Ultrafire Reverse Clickies (sharing same switch, KD forward clickie easily modable)
 
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kramer5150

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Re: A look at the Surefire Compatible Tailcaps & Cell Extenders

Nice, would you mind posting pics of the switch elements used in each? This would require you to take them apart, so I completely understand your reluctance to do so... no hard feelings either way. I originally thought they were mostly the same with most of those, but now I am not so sure.

thanks:thumbsup:
 

kosPap

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Re: A look at the Surefire Compatible Tailcaps & Cell Extenders

Nice, would you mind posting pics of the switch elements used in each? This would require you to take them apart, so I completely understand your reluctance to do so...


yes I do mind ! I have taken them so many times apart that I fear their integrity LOLOLOLOLOLOL...

Really maybe next week...I am travelling for a GIS seminar this one...

But by and large the contents are known...

Ultrafire C1 has an aluminum module with the usual small white switch in there...Carbine 15 modded them with a forward clickie (KD sells them)

Solarforce L2 is well known. A PCB with a cubic switch..Old4570 has moded them with the same forward switch..he has posted pics is a thread. The PCB has a layout for a 2 mode resistored setup...

Spiderfire and Ultrafire have the PCB I like..it accepts the forward switch....for some pics check the link to my sig....
 
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kosPap

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Re: A look at the Surefire Compatible Tailcaps & Cell Extenders

Notice...Post #1 has been big-time updated!

So today I received one more tailcap from Ebay's Flashlight_Store...

I expected a forward clickie but it turned out a surefire-style Momentary On! But hold your horses and the paypal button...there are major incompatibility issues that make it practically useless...for more details see the table & comments in post #1.

Here are some pics

igp5001.jpg


from left : Spiderfire Reverse Clickie - Ultrafire 504 – Solarforce L2 - Spiderfire Momentary On - Ultrafire 504

comboy.jpg


if it matters any, finish is deep black and lustrous but the inner aluminum part is rather rough. Threads are alright, the outer "thatching is well cut and deep very close to Surefire, but the inner spring is easy to remove and loose.

that's all, Kostas
 

Justin Case

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Re: A look at the Surefire Compatible Tailcaps & Cell Extenders MAJOR UPDATE

Images of the OpticsHQ reverse multifunction tailcap

As received in the packaging
3022693216_19c81af990.jpg


The reverse side of the card in the package
3022693162_f7c905c47c.jpg


The tailcap
3021912791_c1fc1393f3.jpg


The spring contact side of the tailcap
3022693282_e02e8e92e6.jpg


The internal guts. The circuit board goes in first, then the spring clip, and finally the threaded retaining ring. The GITD rubber boot plugs in from the other side.
OpticsHQtailcapparts.jpg


The circuit board. ATMEL Tiny13V based controller.
OpticsHQtailcapcircuitboard1.jpg


The spring contact side of the circuit board
OpticsHQtailcapcircuitboard2.jpg


The wires from the circuit board connect to the side button switch
OpticsHQtailcapviewdowntheinside.jpg
 
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kosPap

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Re: A look at the Surefire Compatible Tailcaps & Cell Extenders MAJOR UPDATE

justin are the threads anoed? and can you meassure the depth to the reaaining ring?
 

Justin Case

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Re: A look at the Surefire Compatible Tailcaps & Cell Extenders MAJOR UPDATE

I don't have access currently to the TLS tailcap pictured above. I have a second one I just got on the Marketplace. Visible differences: OD instead of black anodizing, and black main tail button and GITD side button vs GITD for both.

Threads are anodized.

Depth from bottom edge of the tailcap to the retaining ring is 0.737". That probably can vary by a few thousandths depending on how tightly you crank down on the retaining ring to tighten it. I have it tight.

The ring is just a little too deep for my old SF 6Ps. I need to use a wire ring spacer to make electrical contact to the 6P tube. I had the same problem with the black anodized TLS tailcap pictured above. I don't have any current gen 6P bodies to test. The TLS tailcap seems to work fine without needing a spacer when attached to a FiveMega 1x18650 body.

A Z48 measures 0.679". An old 6P LOTC (non-riveted, this one actually has one of the Allen head screw-style pins) measures 0.707". A brand new 6P LOTC measures 0.681".

The TLS tailcap works fine with the KD1640 and SOB1000 buck drivers. It doesn't work right with a two different AMC7135 drivers (3xAMC7135 single-mode, and 6xAMC7135, single-mode, 2-board sandwich). The initial press of the main tailcap button gives a fast, moderately dim strobe instead of momentary-on high mode. The side button sort of works. It turns on and off properly and ramps up and down. But it doesn't reach the max brightness.

Edited to add: I tested the TLS tailcap with a GD1000 boost-buck driver and the tailcap functions properly. I also tested the tailcap with a Malkoff M30 and the tailcap does not quite function 100% correctly. The one incorrect function is that the M30 remains in a "moonglow" mode even when the tailcap is turned off.
 
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kosPap

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Re: A look at the Surefire Compatible Tailcaps & Cell Extenders MAJOR UPDATE

justin thank so much for the measurements...I will save them and soon inlcude a second table...

infact I would like to ask memebers with the

Solarforce S2, S3, S4 & S5 tailcaps to report the depth to the retaining ring, the threads ano iof any, and if the tailcpas use TWO retaining rings (there was an isue back then with the L2M circa 2008)

thanks all, kostas
 

kosPap

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Re: A look at the Surefire Compatible Tailcaps & Cell Extenders MAJOR UPDATE

hi all! todau i received one more chinese compatible tailcap.

A Spiderfire one from the flashliught_store in ebay....

here are two pics

webigp5857.jpg


webigp5864a.jpg


Do notice the larger rubber bootie and that the board/switch is actually a two-stage one. But the two ON traces are bridged with a thin black wire so it works as a single stage...

The red arrow points where the resistor would be, and the blue curves show the electricity trace in the PCB

Compatibility...

I have successfully tested it with
Solareforce L2M (2009), Surefire 6P, Solarforce 18650 & 16340 extenders, TnC 1-cell extender.....It seems it is 100% compatible with similar parts, excluding the peculiar Spiderfire 1-cell extender (covered in post #1)

Usability...

It is nothing special, average chinese quality, rather mattish in color. Switch Click sequence is Level1 - Off - Level2 - Off -

For the money a Solarforce is better, and it is two-stage moddable too. (requires a SMD resitor and a new switch (DX)). But for the poor guy that can get the help of a friend with a soldering iron and a run-of the mill resitor it is a good choice....

That is all, kostas
 
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Acid87

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Has anyone had any experience with the Solarforce S4 forward clickie?
Obviously it is compatible with surefire lights but are they any good/ worth getting or should I stump up the money for a Z59?

Steven
 

recDNA

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I like the L2-S6 but it's no Z59. I took the guts out of the L2-S6 and put them into the standard solarforce tailcap. Works fine but I use the Z59 or Z41 w McClicky on my Surefires. I have a C2 and 2 6P's and I like to keep them Surefires to retain the dependability. Whether the Z59 is worth the price dif is questionable but I'm pretty sure Surefire will replace it forever if it fails to function.

I'm thinking of putting L2-S6 innards in my L2p tailcap too. BTW, the L2p is pretty high quality IMO.
 
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