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cratz2 said:
OK... I've been searching and reading but the options are enough to make a guy go cross-eyed! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif
I want to build a reasonably bright incand mod in a 2D. Looking over the threads, I see the following as viable options:
1185 on 8AAs 817 bLu
1318 on 8AAs 530 bLu
I'm leaning towards an 8AA build, particularly the 1185. Is there a significant reason to go with a 6AA build instead?[ I have b]1800 mAh[/b] batteries.
Basically I'm looking for a very significant step up from the 3x123+KPR112 in a shorter form factor than a 3D host. I know the 1185/8AA give me that. Will the 1318 on 8AAs give me that?
Runtime isn't highly important... At least not as important as bulb life.
There needs to be some sort of relative chart for all this stuff... Ginsing? There's TONS of information out there but it takes a LOT of searching.
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Hehe, cratz2 (hmm, me thinks my unofficial thread validation researcher is lurking right about now /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nana.gif... it's an inside joke ). So you did not mention the brand of cells, how old they are...this can make a noticeable difference.
your are exactly correct, and Ginseng has had this ? conundrum in mind for many months now, but let his posting addiction get the best of him /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif , so it's still a work in progress (like a certain umm, pictorial M*g contact cleaning thread /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif ).
Actually, bwaites and litho123 (and I guess Ginseng) would have a hard time believing I'm running a M*g6-cell xenon to wicked white brightness with a weird combo of old -but fewer than 50 or so cycles- Maha 1550ma & Energizer 2300ma cells). I have a questionable (many testing tools I need to upgrade/buy) 0.5 ohm reading for resistance in the 8AA-2D adapter that W. Hunt/S. Langan sell. But this combination of resistance, and some unknown voltage drop; drives the M*g6-cell perfectly (if you don't mind short lifespan). Nice narrow beam gives good throw, much better beam pattern than the cheaper Radio Shack KPR112 or 118. Next up, Carley 1499, throw in lousy, lousy Carley 912 bi-pin/PR base adapter (I'll post some picts in a few days) for more resistance, and you probably get close to rated 385lumens using the 8AA-2D setup I have; but with slightly larger hotspot, of better beam quality than the RadioShack bulbs. Either of these would give you less of the "wall of light flood" of the WA bulbs due to narrower filaments and less lumens. Less lumens output is not all that noticeable to me, but these won't impress most people as much, it's what I like.
Wonder when Ginny and I will get around to solving these battery/bulb combo recommendations for various M*g mods, maybe even beamshots to show the differences in hotspot size? Then his site will become more meaningful and useful...or even the Cookbook threads he started as a result of the hysteria over this bi-pin mod...what was it he called it "innovation" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif . So now that you all have a bunch of bi-pin sockets, a bunch of bi-pin bulbs; you are now coming to the realization that there are other things to consider? What? You mean I can't just slap in a bi-pin socket, take the right bulb, and run it with just about any combination of batteries? Answer: sure, as long as you are not very demanding of sustained white/bright output. If that's what you want, then best get a voltage regulation circuit for your light--- js is offering one for the rather expensive SureFire M6 soon.
I kind of laughed at the mass hysteria over the M*g bi-pin into M*g PR light mod. Hundreds of these sold, without Ginseng or anyone posting results of what battery/bulb combinations work well/best for these---or at least if they did know, they posted in different places and did not specify their exactbulb/battery details/combinations. Now when the euphoria dies down, we get to eventually finding out what the other parameters are that make for a good combination. Since I already had the M*g switch assembly that I ordered from that source I discovered last year (and was not really, and am still not really excited about this mod--- still trying to think of a way to improve upon it), I was in no hurry; I can just sit back and wait while others make the mistakes and get disappointed with all these 'experimental' uses.
Or I suppose I could try and cajole Ginseng and others to try and figure out and reduce these unknowns into more understandable, informative presentations... while not exactly "Innovative"; it certainly would be helpful, don't you think?
For instance, in Giseng's Cookbook thread pt. 2, bwaites mentions that Carley 1499 with a M*g2C (no reason the Carley can't be used in a 2D, I do it ), but negelcted to mention the battery combination he uses, will cause instaflashing under certain circumstances /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif. Don't you think we should be telling people that their $5-7 bulbs will be 'toast' if they are used with in a certain manner with certain types of cells?