Longbow optics problem

Hi All,

Got my Longbow yesterday(thanks bugout /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif), I do like the light there's a problem though. Optics apaprently are not centered well, the resulting spot is a square shaped, with bright hotsopt shifted to the side of that square. Can I center that myself, or I'd be better off sending it back asking for the replacement?
I've tried to remove the head unit, no success, stuck. Apparently I have ot get the strap wrench, sigh. Before I go into all that I was wondering if it is worth it.

The optics sits in the bezel with no play at all. not much you can do to shift that around. The LED capsule is potted in black epoxy so if the lux is offcenter there's not much you can do to shift that. Your best bet is to get another LED capsule. If you haven't tampered with the LED capsule you could probably just exchange it. Another cheap fix is to do away with the optic alltogether and get a reflector from elektrolumens they're fairly cheap.

SS, does the EL reflector drop in with no modification? How is the beam?

That's new, I mena the reflector thing, it'd be cool if I could replace /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Donno why the damn head is stuck that bad, the light is modular and so on...

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Zvi said:
Hi All,

Got my Longbow yesterday(thanks bugout /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif), I do like the light there's a problem though. Optics apaprently are not centered well, the resulting spot is a square shaped, with bright hotsopt shifted to the side of that square. Can I center that myself, or I'd be better off sending it back asking for the replacement?
I've tried to remove the head unit, no success, stuck. Apparently I have ot get the strap wrench, sigh. Before I go into all that I was wondering if it is worth it.

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I have the same problem with one of my Longbows and I think the actual problem is not the optic; I'll bet that the actual die is off centered in the LED. Other than that, it should not be noticable during normal use. As picky as I am, it doesn't bother me too much.

OK in advance of my tardy Micra review, here's the deal. fuelblender is right. It's (probably) the die centering-though that's still a QA issue IMHO. Zvi, there's a fix - albeit, not a perfectly elegant one. The head is removable with rubber latex gloves on ( I actually use a latex tourniquette borrowed from my physician). Just twist the head firmly- it loosens the factory tightness. The off-centering was corrected in mine with about 15º anti-clockwise turn of the head from fully tightened. Obviously you can judge how much you need to unscrew it by turning it as you watch the hotspot recenter into the beam. The seal is still maintained and you can sleep knowing it's spot on! If you have to go as far as exposing the 'O' ring even a little, I would respectfully send the light back to your supplier- since you shouldn't need to compromise waterproofness to compensate for a QA slippage at the factory. Since Aftermarket Support and CRM are dimensions of interest to us, document your experiences (as always) and report them back to us here on the forum. Now...to finish the darn Micra review.
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Phaserburn said:
SS, does the EL reflector drop in with no modification? How is the beam?

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Phaser, the S017XA reflector available from EL or Future is not a direct drop into a Longbow.
The mod is quite simple though. I posted a pic and beamshot of it here and what is needed to be done here.

Actually I don't thing the off center die has the most affect on the off centered beam with the LongBow/Carclo 6deg(?) optic. With Fraen LPs having an off center die will give you headaches trying to center it. I think the cause with the LongBow is that the emitter itself is probably not centered well in the module. The emitter in my Micra has a pretty off center die and with a Fraen LP I gave up trying to center it. With the LongBow/Carclo 6 deg(?) optic mine is centered pretty well although the die is prett off center. If you take the optic out of the bezel and place it over the emitter (with a little spacing to get the proper focus) you will find that it's not that hard to center it.

Darkzero thanks, I actually made the reflector suggestion based on your post in the other threads. I am actually waiting to try it myself. Started with a MM reflector but it doesn't fit I might try and remove more material so the reflector sinks down into the bezel. I really like the beam with the MM reflector on my 3W BB500.