Malkoff Questions RE: Hi/Lo ring, under-voltage applications

notrefined

Enlightened
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Sep 4, 2004
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383
Location
Illinois
1) If a malkoff high/low switch ring were to fail, what is the most likely outcome? Is it more probable that you would be left with high only, or low only? Is there any way that a failure could leave you with totally non-functional light?

2) Will an M61L light at all on 2xAA alkaline cells? If so, what kind of output would you get? And would adding a high-low ring into the mix change that at all?

Considering malkoff vs. nailbender for car lights, would like to be able to run either an MD3 body w/m61L or a surefire G3 body w/nailbender drop-in. Would like to have the option of LiFePO4 rechargeables, CR123As and alkalines with a single setup if that's possible. And trying to answer as many of my questions before bugging the makers, so they can spend as much time as possible churning out their wonderful products :)
 

latestarter

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jul 2, 2010
Messages
78
Hi notrefined.
Electronics are not my strong point...but from a mechanical view i would say if the switch failed you would be left with high only.
cant help you with your second question....sorry

Cheers David
 

jellydonut

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Jun 13, 2010
Messages
995
Location
Europe
2) An M61 will light up on 2 AAs, but the level of light would be very low.

All the hi-lo ring is put a resistor between the module and the switch, making the level low. In this instance the level of light would either go to 'moonlight' levels, or the voltage would go below the cutoff level and it wouldn't work.

1) As mentioned the hi-lo ring has a resistor and a plunger. When you rotate the bezel out, the contact between the module and the light body ceases, and the current is forced to go through the plunger and the resistor, hence dividing the voltage between the resistor and the module.

I can only see a few ways itll fail..

*Resistor fails, burns out due to manufacturing defects, who knows
*Plunger sticks, or spring fails

Both will result in the low level ceasing to work, and no current being transmitted once you rotate the bezel out. It'll end up working the same way as the original retainer ring.
 

MartinDWhite

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Nov 24, 2009
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404
Location
Greenville SC
I had someone request me make a sleeve to fit 2xAA into a 9P without rattling. They were planning on running a M31 dropin, but I tried out the 2xAA combination in my MD3 with M61W before I shipped the sleeve off and it did light up. It was about as bright as any cheapy 2xAA flashlight, but with a much better beam. It was lower output than the m60LF that I have. The high/low ring worked and it gave a VERY low low output. It was really weak compared to the single 18650 or two 18500 or 3 16340s in the same body/dropin combo. It could use pretty much any battery you could fit in it.

As for the high low ring failure.....when I first got my MD2 head and put a high low ring in it I had a few instances where it failed and the light would not come on. It was because I had not tightened the ring enough and it got loose from all the high/low switch I did over the course of a month. I have since learned to tighten it a little more when installing and have not had any issue in the last year+ of using several of them.
 
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