L4 to L2?

Hi,
Could I possibly convert my L4 to an L2 with a modular approach-not to have to buy an almost complete L2? If so, about how much would it cost me?
Thanks!

-Ian Tracy-

Two words: McGizmo Mc2ES switch - it'll give you two-stage functionality.

Where can I buy it? how does it work/ how's it installed?

Cost?

Ian, go to the McGizmo forum on CPF and be prepared for a bit of reading. (sticky posts toward the top titled facts should get you started.)

The L2 is regulated on both high and low. The L4 with a two stage tailcap is regulated on high, but the resistor that makes the L4 work as a two stage light drops the light out of regulation for the low beam.

The L2 on low will have constant brightness for about 8 hours and will be much brighter than a L4 with a two stage tailcap on low.

Hoghead,
Does the same hold true for a KL1-2x123-McE2S(22 Ohm) setup?
Will the regulated output on the low setting of a L2 be brighter and last longer than the above setup on the low setting?

Be warned - it won't be regulated, so your runtime'll have some varying light-levels about halfway in... though the relatively flat discharge rate of Li cells should help in that respect.

[ QUOTE ]
GR said:
Hoghead,
Does the same hold true for a KL1-2x123-McE2S(22 Ohm) setup?
Will the regulated output on the low setting of a L2 be brighter and last longer than the abouve setup on the low setting?

[/ QUOTE ]

The L2 on low will be brighter than the low setting of the KL1-2x123-McE2S(22 Ohm), but the low setting of the KL1-2x123-McE2S(22 Ohm) should have a longer runtime. Normally the dimmer the light the longer it will run.

Just to give you an idea of how bright these low beams are, the L2 on low is closer to a Luxeon I or Luxeon III at 400mn. My L2 on low is brighter than my MxLux with a McFlood (Lux1 @ 400ma).

I just compared a old version KL1 on high to the L2 on low. The KL1 on high is a little brighter than the L2 on low, but they are in the same ballpark and I don't think you would notice any difference in use. The newest version of the KL1 is brighter than the old version.

The two stage switches I have are quite a bit dimmer on low. I can't compare the KL1-2x123-McE2S(22 Ohm) to other lights because I don't have a KL1-2x123-McE2S(22 Ohm) and there is a lot of difference in the low beam of different lights due to reflectors/optics and drive levels.

I have a L1/2x123/PR/X4T. The low beam is much brighter than a ARC AAA and is probably brighter than low of a Surefire A2, but with a hot spot.

I also have a L1/2x123/TWAK Lux3/PR. The low beam of this light is brighter than the low beam of my L1/2x123/PR/X4T and has a brighter hot spot.

The advantage of the L4 with a two stage switch or the KL1-2x123-McE2S(22 Ohm) is the smaller size and longer runtime on low compared to a L2. These lights can also use Pilas, the L2 can't.

The advantage of the L2 is that both high and low are regulated.

If I may add a comment or two. The L2 low level is certainly much brighter than an output that you will get from the KL4 with a resistor switch set up. I frankly think of the L2 as having a normal level and then "over drive" from the high. Regardless of one's perception on these levels, you won't get the L2 lower level from the KL4 knocked out of regulation by the resistor switch.

In terms of useful low levels, efficiency and run times, the comparisons are not so straight forward as one might think. I leave it to the electronic guys to sort out but even though the L2 is regulated on its first low setting, you do have a 10 ohm resistor that is dropping the voltage to get you into low. The power wasted by the 10 nohm resistor is part of the loss in efficiency on the L2. On a KL4 with a 22 ohm resistor, you are wasting the power in this resistor as well but how does the efficiency compare? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

I posted a run time graph that is misleading as you see a sharp drop in the curve. This drop is due to the ambient lighting changing. I turned the shoplights off and went to bed! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif In actuality, the first 4 hours of the graph should be dropped down to join the rest of the graph. You can see that I got about 11 hours of runtime until 50%.

The resistored KL4 is a very useful and viable solution but it is not the same in terms of light output as the L2.