Hi All,
It is a while since I was last browsing the CPF forums, and I came back today to do a search and it appears I cannot use the search function until I have three posts up. Am I interpreting this requirement correctly? However, here is the first CPF post from me. I hope someone gets some value out of it.
I have fitted the aspherical lens, DX sku.12834 , in this Firetrust ST-50, DX SKU 36031. The lens diameter was loose in the head, and I had to come up with some way to tighten it up. I thought someone else might get some ideas from what I did to make the lens secure and usable in this light.
The purpose of modifying this light is to make a thrower for use when fox shooting.
The lens in this light measures 52mm diameter whereas sku.12834 measures around 48.5mm to 49.5mm diameter and is very loose in the head. The aspheric is also around 1.3mm thicker through the clamped edge then the original lens (2mm) in this light. The thickness didn't pose any real issue to me, however, the diameter did.
img src: http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/5593/89463766.jpg
I cut a few spacers from the top of a Lynx deodorant can to adapt the smaller diameter of the lens to the head of the light. Reasonably accurate cutting of the plastic top was done by clamping a box cutter blade to timber with the desired thickness spacer between the blade and timber, and then rotating and sliding the plastic top on the timber to contact the blade.....
A ring to fit in the bezel to take up some of the looseness....
I also used the very top of the top, sized the hole out with a grinder, and fitted the lens into the top.....
and then cut the excess from the bottom to end up with......
I had to stretch the first/outer ring slightly (after heating) so that the lens and second ring could be pushed into it after it was placed in the bezel. The thread tops in the bezel have been machined out slightly where the lens sits (how it was supplied, I did no metal machining), and the first or outer ring is fitted into this machined recess. The outer ring will not clear the bezel internal thread if you try to slide the lens into the bezel with both rings fitted around it.
The only issue of consequence is the bezel will not screw down fully against the body shoulder and over the oring.....
...but the bezel and lens are very secure and there is no chance of anything accidentally coming loose.
So far I am very impressed with how the light has turned out with the aspheric lens in it. The lens I have used is sku.12834 . I also purchased sku.44653 but this lens was not as satisfactory as sku.12834 . No matter what distance the led was offset from the lens, a sharp focus could not be achieved.
The light now projects the led die square of light into the distance....
The photos were taken with an iPhone. The beam shot does not effectively show that the ST-50 beam is very noticeably of higher light intensity than the projection from the X2000. Outside of a night time, the ST-50 now projects a beam significantly further than the distance achieved by the X2000 fitted with an R2 Led.
It is a while since I was last browsing the CPF forums, and I came back today to do a search and it appears I cannot use the search function until I have three posts up. Am I interpreting this requirement correctly? However, here is the first CPF post from me. I hope someone gets some value out of it.
I have fitted the aspherical lens, DX sku.12834 , in this Firetrust ST-50, DX SKU 36031. The lens diameter was loose in the head, and I had to come up with some way to tighten it up. I thought someone else might get some ideas from what I did to make the lens secure and usable in this light.
The purpose of modifying this light is to make a thrower for use when fox shooting.
The lens in this light measures 52mm diameter whereas sku.12834 measures around 48.5mm to 49.5mm diameter and is very loose in the head. The aspheric is also around 1.3mm thicker through the clamped edge then the original lens (2mm) in this light. The thickness didn't pose any real issue to me, however, the diameter did.
img src: http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/5593/89463766.jpg
I cut a few spacers from the top of a Lynx deodorant can to adapt the smaller diameter of the lens to the head of the light. Reasonably accurate cutting of the plastic top was done by clamping a box cutter blade to timber with the desired thickness spacer between the blade and timber, and then rotating and sliding the plastic top on the timber to contact the blade.....
A ring to fit in the bezel to take up some of the looseness....
I also used the very top of the top, sized the hole out with a grinder, and fitted the lens into the top.....
and then cut the excess from the bottom to end up with......
I had to stretch the first/outer ring slightly (after heating) so that the lens and second ring could be pushed into it after it was placed in the bezel. The thread tops in the bezel have been machined out slightly where the lens sits (how it was supplied, I did no metal machining), and the first or outer ring is fitted into this machined recess. The outer ring will not clear the bezel internal thread if you try to slide the lens into the bezel with both rings fitted around it.
The only issue of consequence is the bezel will not screw down fully against the body shoulder and over the oring.....
...but the bezel and lens are very secure and there is no chance of anything accidentally coming loose.
So far I am very impressed with how the light has turned out with the aspheric lens in it. The lens I have used is sku.12834 . I also purchased sku.44653 but this lens was not as satisfactory as sku.12834 . No matter what distance the led was offset from the lens, a sharp focus could not be achieved.
The light now projects the led die square of light into the distance....
The photos were taken with an iPhone. The beam shot does not effectively show that the ST-50 beam is very noticeably of higher light intensity than the projection from the X2000. Outside of a night time, the ST-50 now projects a beam significantly further than the distance achieved by the X2000 fitted with an R2 Led.
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at 5 amps.
