Fenix E01 sanded vs stock reflector

Hello everyone. I have a Fenix E01 flashlight which I got in a trade. It has a sanded and dull reflector in it which seems to make the light flood without a hotspot. Would the light be brighter and throw farther if the reflector were shiny? What are the differences in a flashlight having a dull and sanded reflector vs a shiny reflector?

I contacted the person I got the light from and they told me that the aluminum cone was not sanded and that it comes brushed from the factory. He sanded the LED to get rid of the hotspot and give a smoother beam. So my question is what will happen if I polish the LED out again? Will the light be brighter?

I wouldn't worry that much about the reflector finish. If I understand correctly, the encapsulation of the 5mm LED in the E01 is basically its own optic. I have a comparable 5mm LED mounted in a SF P60 reflector:



The reflector modifies the beam only slightly, that rather subdued center hotspot in the pics below is from the reflector, most of the light from the 5mm LED is projected forward into the generally floody beam shown below - most of the emitted light never interacting with the 'reflector' at all.



And remember, the reflector shown above is almost an inch in diameter, much wider & theoretically more effective than that tiny 'reflector' surface in the E01. So definitely nothing to sweat about.

I don't believe the brushed "reflector" surface is curved or optimized for beam concentration. Its just a cone.

The cone will reflect some light forward, but it will not concentrate it into a hot spot. I have a Lenser mini-tac and a modded Inova X1-V2, both have a Nichia 5mm LED, with a reflector similar to this.... so thats what I am basing my opinions on.

I would certainly not try to polish the LED. Even if you managed to get it right I think all you would notice is a change in the beam pattern, not more light overall.

Shine it on the wall. Then take a Qtip and put some cooking oil on it. Rub it onto the LED then use the other side to catch the surplus. Shine on the wall again. See any difference? Now taste it...... LOL just kidding about the taste..............

Thank you for the info. I will leave it alone because I like the beam on the light, just wish it were brighter, but I would need another flashlight for that. I like the quality and feel of the E01.

Just enjoy it, took some work to get a nice frosted finish on the led.

Will do, fancy seeing you here. By the way for the sake of learning, how the heck did you do all that work? I looked at the LED just now with a device I have for the visually impaired...it is a handheld CCTV device and you can see the work you put into this. I sure am going to leave it alone, nice job. There is not a shiny spot on the LED.

I live here.

:naughty:

Let's see, protect the cone with some tape (a few pieces), careful hand sanding with fine sandpaper (600 grit, folded up) and various cone/cylinder bits from a dremel polishing/sanding kit (by hand of course) and some work (I can't remember exactly) with a green scotch bright pad. Check often to guage beam, and work slowly.

I did 3 like this, and the beam is much nicer. One lives in the car, the other in the bail out bag, and one to you!

you use fine grit sand paper and dull the dome. There are some older SF-A2 threads on this.

The same was done to little effect with a GUI a while back, theres a thread on it somewhere. Its the same thread that talks about unpotting the LED and replacing it with a GS. I tried to boil the thing for 30+ mins to no avail...

Kestrel, what are you using to drive the 5mm LED and how did you fit into the P60 opening?

IIRC its a direct drive battery vampire. There was a DIY thread on it a few months ago... a nice DIY project IMHO.

kramer5150 said:

IIRC its a direct drive battery vampire. There was a DIY thread on it a few months ago... a nice DIY project IMHO.

Click to expand...

Any chance for a link, my google-fu is weak at the moment.

red02 said:

Kestrel, what are you using to drive the 5mm LED and how did you fit into the P60 opening?

Click to expand...

Thanks K5150, yep, here's the thread.
A lot of fun, really. 1x CR123 and it will run for ~100 hours or so, 2-3 lumens, a perfect middle-of-the-night light. Just remove the bulb from a burned-out SF P60 lamp assembly, install a 5mm LED into the 'empty' LA, now you have a ultra-low P60 LED drop-in for a 1x CR123 host like a SF 3P or a SolF L2m. A pretty nifty idea. :huh:

Edit: Another way to use it would be to place the drop-in into a three-celled SF and run it from 2xAA for ~100 hours or so.


Edit # 2: Regarding your post below, yes, definitely better to bump that thread, it's a good idea to not take this thread further off-topic as you pointed out. My apologies to the OP,

Kestrel said:

Thanks K5150, yep, here's the thread.
A lot of fun, really. 1x CR123 and it will run for ~100 hours or so, 2-3 lumens, a perfect middle-of-the-night light. Just remove the bulb from a burned-out SF P60 lamp assembly, install a 5mm LED into the 'empty' LA, now you have a ultra-low P60 LED drop-in for a 1x CR123 host like a SF 3P or a SolF L2m. A pretty nifty idea. :huh:

Edit: Another way to use it would be to place the drop-in into a three-celled SF and run it from 2xAA for ~100 hours or so.

Click to expand...

Outstanding, thanks for that link. I'll probably try using a single AA in a surefure host, should be fine with a 15mm spacer.... finally something to do with the P60 lamp. Hope you guys don't mind if I resurrect that thread I still have some questions but don't feel like taking this thread any further off topic.

EDIT: back on topic; https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/98568 this is the thread I was talking about where they removed the ano from the GUI.