First ever drop-in

I've been looking for a serious mid-sized thrower and saw the review of the Solarforce Pro 1 C and fell for the little round hotspot and the moderate price. Then I realized that the Solarforce wasn't a complete light and I'd need a host and the works part. I've read posts about "drop-ins" but never followed up on them so I have a huge fund of ignorance...... you'll have to forgive me! I don't even know what the difference between a "pill" and a "drop-in"..... or are they the same thing?

I ordered the Solarforce 1 C, an L2GM host gun and an LC5 drop-in Cree R2 with 5 modes. My first question is this: Is it really a "drop-in" or do I have to do something clever and difficult to make these three things into a 25 hp flashlight?

Second question is: Assuming that the answer to the first question is that it really is a "drop-in", how are the five modes accessed?

Thanks in advance!

From hearsay, drop-in is the whole unit: reflector + the pill, the latter being the brass part housing the LED and the driving and regulating circuitry. The pill can usually be unscrewed from the reflector.

Be careful to order drop-ins with the right voltage operating range to accomodate your battery or batteries.

Have fun!

Thank you very much, but you still give me too much credit. No I didn't know the Pro 1 C had an emitter and driver. Is a "drop-in" another name for an emitter and driver? It's amazing how long I've managed to be playing with LED lights and not learned this stuff!

So if I want to change the emitter and driver for the L 2M, I unscrew (??) the existing "drop-in" from the Pro 1 C and screw in the L2M ?

OK, I understand the UI I think, either kind of switch..... and I also understand that it'll probably work better with a battery!

From what you say about the Surefire threads, I gather that there are lots of different drop-ins available. How does one find out what the various ones are good at, or better at? Or is it strictly trial and error?

Again thanks very much for the help and for refraining from rubbing my nose in my ignorance!

^Gurthang said:

Nice light you ordered. I'll assume that you know that the Pro 1C has an emitter & driver [single mode]

So on to the L2M... yes the p60 drop-in [also called a "pill"] literally just "drops in". You just screw down the stock head/bezel and you're good to go, after you add a battery of course.

Accessing modes; via the tail clicky switch. IIRC, the stock L2M uses a reverse clicky, so you press down fully to turn on the light, then a partial push changes mode. W/ a forward or "tactical" clicky you can partially press the switch to turn on the light momentarily [like a M@G] then full depress to turn on, then partial press to change modes. [Hope I got that correct]

BTW, the Pro 1C is a SureFire "C" thread compatible head so it will thread onto other "C" thread bodies, handy if you want to "lego" your light.

Click to expand...

Midnight Oil said:

From hearsay, drop-in is the whole unit: reflector + the pill, the latter being the brass part housing the LED and the driving and regulating circuitry. The pill can usually be unscrewed from the reflector.

Be careful to order drop-ins with the right voltage operating range to accomodate your battery or batteries.

Have fun!

Click to expand...

Thanks Midnight oil, to you, too. That's something else I hadn't thought of. I'll check before I try turning anything on1

The Solarforce Masterpiece Pro1, which is what I believe you got, uses it's own "pill" assembly. It is not your normal P60 dropin (Like in your L2m)

The pill that you're asking about is just the brass lower portion, it contains the emitter/led as well as the IC/circuitry. The pill combined with the reflector is called a "dropin"

From this info, you cannot interchange the pill/dropin from the Masterpeiece Pro-1 and the dropin in your L2m.

We have a review section where some members post reviews, sometimes there will be a P60 review of different makes/models, brightness and runtimes as well as beamshots

Oh yeah, some drop-ins do not have reverse polarity protection, so always be mindful of inserting your batteries correctly.

I also found this:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/257948

Well,
After reading the first two answers to my plea, I thought I understood what to expect. However, after reading this one I am now baffled all over again!

I now understand that the L2M has something besides the bare, empty case, which is what I thought a "host" meant.

Can I exchange the SOLL5 LC5 "drop-in" that I ordered for whatever electronics and LED (if any) that comes with the L2M? It is described in the website as a "drop-in".

If the pill, combined with the reflector is called a "drop-in", does the SOLL 5 LC5 include a reflector?

Does the MPP1 include the electronics and LED?

Can I unscrew the head from the L2M and replace it with the MPP1?

The more I think I've learned, the more I find I don't know!

Thanks, all the same, for the information.......

By the way, I found out about the MPP1 in one of those reviews and decided it might give me what I wanted. Little did I know......!

jake25 said:

The Solarforce Masterpiece Pro1, which is what I believe you got, uses it's own "pill" assembly. It is not your normal P60 dropin (Like in your L2m)

The pill that you're asking about is just the brass lower portion, it contains the emitter/led as well as the IC/circuitry. The pill combined with the reflector is called a "drop-in".

From this info, you cannot interchange the pill/dropin from the Masterpeiece Pro-1 and the dropin in your L2m.

We have a review section where some members post reviews, sometimes there will be a P60 review of different makes/models, brightness and runtimes as well as beamshots

Click to expand...

Ai!!!

I may have misunderstood you again in my PM.

So you purchased the L2M COMPLETE flashlight (comes with a drop-in already installed), not just the L2M host?

Is there a plastic cartridge inside that holds 3 AAAs?

You're correct, the HOST is just the head cap, the body, plus the tailcap, no drop-in.

Yes, you can replace the P60 drop-in that came with your L2M with another P60 drop-in with the appropriate voltage range.

You did purchase the Masterpiece Pro 1 Turbo Head and not the Masterpiece flashlight right?

You'll have to be more specific. Solarforce makes the "Masterpiece" which is a complete light. And they make a Head assembly called a "Masterpiece Pro 1" that screws onto any "C" head host, such as a surefire or solarforce L2. What is very different about the Pro 1 is that it has a pill installed already. It is very different from all the other "P60" drop-ins that Surefire and Solarforce use. It is not compatible with any other light. And no other P60 drop-in fits the Pro 1. If you bought a Pro 1 then all you need is a host body and tail-cap. Might as well buy a complete host, as the Solarforce L2's are cheap, and they include the body, Tail-cap, and head with glass lens. All you'll have to do is screw off the head of the Solarforce host, put in batteries and screw the Pro 1 head onto the body.

Thanks to all who have been so helpful in filling in the huge holes in my education.

Kengps, I now have my MPP1 and its L2 host and it's great. It has a splendidly tight, narrow beam. But of course, now that I've got it, I'm getting greedy!

Since the LED module is no more than the light source, the shape and width of the beam can only come from the shape and finish of the reflector. I know that other P 60 drop-ins don't, so now I have to look for a way in which I can get more light to take advantage of the reflector of the MPP1. Do you know of any way in which that can be accomplished? Whether anyone has succeeded in doing it? Or even tried to?

kengps said:

You'll have to be more specific. Solarforce makes the "Masterpiece" which is a complete light. And they make a Head assembly called a "Masterpiece Pro 1" that screws onto any "C" head host, such as a surefire or solarforce L2. What is very different about the Pro 1 is that it has a pill installed already. It is very different from all the other "P60" drop-ins that Surefire and Solarforce use. It is not compatible with any other light. And no other P60 drop-in fits the Pro 1. If you bought a Pro 1 then all you need is a host body and tail-cap. Might as well buy a complete host, as the Solarforce L2's are cheap, and they include the body, Tail-cap, and head with glass lens. All you'll have to do is screw off the head of the Solarforce host, put in batteries and screw the Pro 1 head onto the body.

Click to expand...