Bought a Dorcy Cool Blue (aluminum model) a while back and did not quite know what to do with it. Terribly tiny, dim spot, although it did throw a pretty long ways (if you waited until pitch dark to actually see the beam).
But the nicely finished all-aluminum body begged to conduct some heat so I put together a Thick LGI (TLGI) with 3AAs and a dummy in the 4AA carrier producing 4.5V driving a 1W batwing through two interchangeable optics. Here it is next to one of its comparison partners for the night, a regular plastic Dorcy Cool Blue:
The yellow light uses a single LED in a PR base, here it is on the right next to a JBechtold 4LED/PR base:
It also casts a thin and dim beam. Here's a beamshot of it (on the right) against the TLGI w/NX-05 optic:
Then the much brighter 4LED fixture was swapped into the yellow light, but there was still not much to compare:
So for the NEXT optic I was going to use in the TLGI there first had to be some stiffer competition to put it up against. More about that later, but first here are some shots of the TLGI's various parts:
(The NX-05 collimator is held in place under the lens with the o-ring spacer).
(Note the low pedestal under the Luxeon which was added to try and use the stock reflector, but results were terrible -- a Magflector it definitely was not).
So what would be some fair competition? How about a McModulized Pelican M6?
To even things up, another optic was used -- the ElektroLumens 30mm collimator:
The spacing geometry of the TLGI's head allowed this optic to be placed directly under the plastic lens and held perfectly in place.
Here it is shining about 20 feet up onto the sloped ceiling, still bullying the yellow Dorcy w/single LED:
But of course that wasn't fair at all and the TLGI was asking for a better challenge, so it got it -- same ceiling, except now against the McModule on the right:
But you know what? The spot beam and distance of throw from the TLGI actually almost rivaled that of the McModule, despite the four-to-one die deficit -- and here's why:
McModule - 1313 lux
Thick LGI - 947 lux
Who needs Jenny Craig anyway?
But the nicely finished all-aluminum body begged to conduct some heat so I put together a Thick LGI (TLGI) with 3AAs and a dummy in the 4AA carrier producing 4.5V driving a 1W batwing through two interchangeable optics. Here it is next to one of its comparison partners for the night, a regular plastic Dorcy Cool Blue:
The yellow light uses a single LED in a PR base, here it is on the right next to a JBechtold 4LED/PR base:
It also casts a thin and dim beam. Here's a beamshot of it (on the right) against the TLGI w/NX-05 optic:
Then the much brighter 4LED fixture was swapped into the yellow light, but there was still not much to compare:
So for the NEXT optic I was going to use in the TLGI there first had to be some stiffer competition to put it up against. More about that later, but first here are some shots of the TLGI's various parts:
(The NX-05 collimator is held in place under the lens with the o-ring spacer).
(Note the low pedestal under the Luxeon which was added to try and use the stock reflector, but results were terrible -- a Magflector it definitely was not).
So what would be some fair competition? How about a McModulized Pelican M6?
To even things up, another optic was used -- the ElektroLumens 30mm collimator:
The spacing geometry of the TLGI's head allowed this optic to be placed directly under the plastic lens and held perfectly in place.
Here it is shining about 20 feet up onto the sloped ceiling, still bullying the yellow Dorcy w/single LED:
But of course that wasn't fair at all and the TLGI was asking for a better challenge, so it got it -- same ceiling, except now against the McModule on the right:
But you know what? The spot beam and distance of throw from the TLGI actually almost rivaled that of the McModule, despite the four-to-one die deficit -- and here's why:
McModule - 1313 lux
Thick LGI - 947 lux
Who needs Jenny Craig anyway?
