Question about Ultra Stinger

I received my Streamlight Ultra Stinger about 6 weeks ago from Bright Guy. The inside of the lens was cloudy. I had to use a Q-tip and clean it from the inside as I could not find a way to get the lens off.

I emailed Steamlight and they said removing the lens requires a special tool and that I should send it to them and they would clean it and send it back.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Also has anyone found a traffic wand that will fit on the Ultra Stinger?

Also received my ultrastinger from bright guy but have not had your problem of being cloudy, although I do see some specs of dust on the reflector. Was it like this when you got it, or has it gotten cloudy with use? I do like my ultra stinger its the most used rechargeable I have. After being an ultra stinger owner for six weeks now, what do you think of it?

What other lights do you have to compare it with? How does it compare?

Yes it was like that right out of the box. It looked a little like what you sometimes get when the dishwasher didn't quite get the job done.

After 6 weeks I really like the Ultra Stinger. I was prepared not too. I have been using a Streamlight SL35 for years and was pretty sure that the Ultra couldn't beat it. I was wrong, especially for longer distances.

I carry a 9N on my belt so the Ultra is most important for longer distances. I also use it up close, but man it is so bright that I do need to switch to flood light mode just so I don't blind myself accidentally while writing something.

I have owned;
Original Kel-Lite
Mag Light rechargable
Streamlight; SL20, SL35, Stinger (2 each)
Surefire; Original 6P, 9P, 9N's (2 each)
Pelican; M-11, M-9

I keep the old Kel-Lite loaded with alkilines in the closet. The SL-20 loaded with aliklines in the tool box (very dim, but always ready).

I carry one 9N on my belt and keep the other charging in my personal vehicle. I carry the Ultra Stinger in the cruiser.

The old Stingers, and the pelican lights have been deligated the roll of sock drawer queen.

Oh, I also carry a Photon II in my pocket.

Do I qualify as a flashlightaholic? I just recently found this forum. Cool! I thought I was the only one. Now I can support my addiction with a clear conscious!

Hey I think I hear the UPS truck, gota go!

I received my UltraStinger from Brightguy a few weeks ago, also. Same fogging on the inside of the lens.
Obviously, given the O-rings on this light, this has to be happening at the factory, either during manufacture, or assembly.

And hello, I'm new here; although I've been a flashlightaholic for many years

g.gandalf,

Welcome to the board. Now for the questions!

Do you have to do anything special for the UltraStinger battery pack, like wire a negative post to the top/positive? I have built packs for my SF 9N, but don't know about the UltraStinger. I would love to get one and build some Sanyo 2400 packs for it while I wait for a final final SF 10x!

Thanks.

since you built a pack already. Can you tell me if you had to run a wire from the negative body of the bottom cell of the stick to the top cell negative body? Or did you just solder the tabs connecting the postive to negative for the stick? I'm looking at custom building my own B90 for the SureFire 8AX.

eynlai,

For my 9NT I just had to solder the tabs together and then solder a 9v button on the top. I'm not exactly sure how the 8x battery works, but I believe it needs an extra negative run from the bottom to the top. Of course, I could be wrong...

My 9NT pack built with Sanyo 2400's gets about 90min of runtime. And I can super-quick charge them if I want using my RC Tekin charger.

I looked at the battery in my Ultra Stinger and it has a piece of thin cardboard on the bottom of the battery. There is also a metal ring around the top of the battery. I didn't do any tests, but I am reasonably sure that the ring is for the other end of the battery.

Galdalf,

Or anyone who can help!

Re: Ultra Stinger Batteries

Did you have any problems with the overall length of the battery packs you made with the sub-c's? I soldered the tabs of 5 Sanyo 2400's together and it comes out to about 1/4" longer than the Streamlight OEM battery. I may be able to reduce the size of my tabs and resolder, but it will still be 1/8" longer although probably usable.

The actual Sanyo 2400's look a bit longer than the old Stinger battery pack I tore apart to use for parts. I may even have to forego soldering and rely on end to end connections... Though I may cheat and leave some sharp solder blobs on each end.

Anyone have any thoughts?

On the UltraStinger battery pack: if you took apart another Stinger battery pack, you would find 'standad' size sub C cells, but no solder tabs. Given the 5 cells in an UltraStinger battery pack, the extra 1/4 inch is the tabs, plus some solder.
I used sub C cells without the tabs, or even plastic coating. I used nothing but electrical tape and aluminum foil (to make the 'front' negative contact ring)when I made up the battery packs for my UltraStinger. As much as I hate to say it, if you tear off the solder tabs with a needle nose pliers, and possibly file down the bits of metal that are left, and put some tape around the top of each battery, to insulate it from the next one (except the neg. to pos. contact, of course) I think you will find your battery pack is around 1/4" shorter. Hope so, at least!
BTW: I'm still trying to find out if the fellow who sold me the sub C cells I used has more available. HTH!

Thanks Gandalf,

I want to try some tricky end to end soldering, but may well just stick them end to end and shrink wrap the whole thing. Hopefully there won't be any contact issues.

Dennis.

What is the advantage of using the Sanyo 2400 batteries?

Dennis...

What are the dimentions and voltage of a sub C???

Hi Folks!

I saw a few sites with NiMH sub-c's from 2700 to 3000 maH. Why not those for this project? Would the UltraStinger charger be able to work with the NiMH instead of the NiCads? A cheaper source of batteries could be those radio contolled car batteries. The 7.2 volt packs use sub-c's too. Radio Shack had a deal on a pack with a NiMH charger. The only problem is how to charge 5 cells when the charger is made for 6 cells...

The Sanyo 2400's are made for RC cars and are probably the most highly developed nicads for enthusiast use. They can be repeatedly discharged at high rates (6 mins!) and then quick charged at up to 3x amperage without any ill effects. They are also 2.4Amp hours as opposed to the 1.8Ah OEM batteries which would give them approximately a third longer run time. I made a pack for my SF 9NT and get almost 90 minutes runtime.

They run about 7.99 per cell at the local hobby store here. But I'm sure they are cheaper online. You also need a special RC car charger to take advantage of the quick charge abilities.

NiMH batteries don't have the same "punch" or discharge curve as NiCads. This really matters for RC racing, although I am not exactly sure how this applies to flashlights... NiCads, however, are much more tolerant of various charging methods and fast discharging. They also lose less power over time. This is enough reason for me to stick to NiCads. Although NiMH discharge curves are optimal for electronic products like my digital camera.

The UStinger charger will probably work fine with NiMH batteries due to it's low amperage of .18. However, that would be pretty much only for 1800mAh NiMH batteries, so what would be the point? Unfortunately, you really need a good RC charger to be able to play with various battery types. You can find setups that will work, but you have to know what you need. There aren't any ready made solutions...

Oh yeah, sub C's are about 1.65-1.85" long by .875" wide.

Hi Guys!

Back to the question on the fogging on the lens...I just received a new UltraStinger and it was crystal clear on arrival, but after 30 minutes of use, a cloudy residue appeared on the lens and reflector. While hot, I took off the reflector assembly and used a computer parts cleaner and it disappeared. No further deoposits occurred.

But I have another question for you UStinger owners, my beam is full of rings and streaks, like a very bright maglite.
The Scorpion beam is a lot like a surefire, which I assumed the UStinger would look like. And this beam is really bright, but diappointing.

What's your beam like? Is mine defective?

Thanks

I just got my second Ultra Stinger today (will keep one charging while using the other). The beam pattern will not be as good as one in a non-adjustable model. It is in the nature of the beast. No yours is not defective.

can anyone post a pic of a ultra-stinger beam along side with another beam, preferably from a SureFire? I want to get one, but am not sure.