Orb Raw tricks and treats

Okay, Christmas/Halloween came early to the LowWorm home and now I'm trying to figure out a few things about a little canon of a light also known as the Orb Raw.

I got the UCL keychain kit for it from Flashlightlens.com but can't for the life of me figure out how to put the ring over the tail end of the light w/o scratching it. Anybody have advice on this?

Also, anyone know how to remove the light engine and original lens to put in the replacement lens?

Sorry if these are self-evident stupid human tricks, but I've got a phobia of really screwing up a very nice light.

The LE and lens should just fall out when you unscrew the light into 2 pieces. Can't help you with the rest.

Edited: yea, I checked mine; just gently tap the light when it is in 2 halves and the lens, reflector and LE will fall out. Nothing holds them in there except the pressure of the battery/body.

best regards

Your assembly must have been a little looser than mine, powernoodle - Rob told me that the LE/lens were pretty tight, and he wasn't kidding.

Problem #2 solved...any takers on #1?

The easiest thing is some split ring pliers. With out them, hmmmm.... maybe put some tape around the body and slide it over the tape. Or maybe tie some string to each hole and pull the ring apart, and have some one guide it on.




Blades

LowWorm said:

I got the UCL keychain kit for it from Flashlightlens.com but can't for the life of me figure out how to put the ring over the tail end of the light w/o scratching it. Anybody have advice on this?
:

Click to expand...

I'm waiting for my RAW and was wondering about attachment options. Do you have a picture of the kit you bought - the website lacks a picture.

Also, how is the RAW???
thanks

I guess the UCL lens allows more light through than the one it comes with? I've a Raw on the way, and I've seen the kit mentioned here and have interest in it.

I understand your phobia, I'd rather ask than mess it up, too. I've read some of the reviews on the Raw site and it seems seems simple. Of course I love the fact that my two stage comes installed!:naughty:

How's the user manual with it, if any?

Good luck and please do post your findings/fun with this microlight!

Blades: That string thing is genius...I'm going to give that a whirl.

liteboy: Pics should show up below. For those who are curious, the Keychain kit + UCL (the $10 option at Flashlightlens.com) has the keyring (metal ring) split ring, two o-rings, and UCL.



Torchman: That's my understanding...right now, I've just kept the standard lens in there and put in just the o-ring.

Mine also has the two-stage pre-installed, which is super handy. This light has a lot more flood than I expected. Comparing it with my U60, the Raw's hotspot doesn't look any brighter on high than the U60 on 60 lumens. But the spill is brighter and overall, the tint looks like a creamy white. The twist action is smooth, as is the transition from low to high.

My only gripe would be that the body came with some small scuffs already (look symmetrical), so if anyone can point me to some tips on how to best polish or maintain the aluminum body of this very nice light, that would be great.

Love the Raw (but no user manual with it), and saving up my couch quarters for Son of Raw, which looks like a great evolutionary step up...er down.

LowWorm, thanks for the pictures...looks like I'll be ordering this kit as well. Please let us know what happens to output after you try the UCL.

Now, where is *MY* RAW??

LowWorm,

Thank you for the reply. Two O rings? When I went to the site earlier, they list an O ring, but not plural. Why two, do you know? I wonder how much water, or should I say splash resistance, it adds?

Looks like you've got green trit on yours. I went for blue.

I keep thinking about when I'll receive mine, and remembering that old seventies ketchup commerical and the song "Anticipation" for some reason!

I'm also on the list for SOR. And have even started tinkering with the idea of warm white or red-orange emitter(s) for the Raw. :devil:

Wow, that ring's a BEAST to get on (or maybe I'm just weak). Did the string thing (dental floss, quadruple wrapped on both sides) and with some light surface scuffing and a few small scratches (nothing too unbearable) was able to finally wedge it on. I'd have had Mr. LowWorm help, but he was already sleeping and impatient me couldn't wait until morning.



I think it looks nice, and bonus is that it keeps the Raw from rolling, and makes it feel more grippable, too. It occured to me that I better put the split ring on BEFORE putting on the keyring, and I think that saved me some trouble.

TorchMan, my guess is the extra o-ring is to keep the keyring from sliding all over the groove - so I just slipped it on after I installed the keyring and it did the trick. The keyring feels very secure but it still can be turned around the base without difficulty.

liteboy: I'll install the UCL tomorrow and let you know what I see.

I used 2 pliers to pull the neds of the keyring apart and slip it on my orb - you need to put piece of tape around the end of the orb to avoid scratchng it up. The UCL lens is about double the thickness of the original lens, so it decreases the turning radius and less of a turn to pull the light apart - the UCL is too think and the orb can fall apart more easilly - I wouldn't use it. I used one of the o-rings to secure the keyring, the other one did not seem to fit very well at the light end. I found the keyring useful and the rest a waste basically. The keyring is only $4.50 shipped.

The ideal way to spread the spit ring to install over the end would be a pair of split ring pliers. These look like a conventional needle nose, with the tips being small round posts that fit into the holes. The nice ones have a selectable pivot that can either spread, or compress (for internal rings). Obviously a big investment just to use once, but any good mechanic or machinery maintenance tool box should have one.
I have three with different tip sizes, the smallest having 0.070" tip diameters.
If that's small enough I'd be happy to let anyone borrow it.

LowWorm said:

Wow, that ring's a BEAST to get on (or maybe I'm just weak). Did the string thing (dental floss, quadruple wrapped on both sides) and with some light surface scuffing and a few small scratches (nothing too unbearable) was able to finally wedge it on. I'd have had Mr. LowWorm help, but he was already sleeping and impatient me couldn't wait until morning.

I think it looks nice, and bonus is that it keeps the Raw from rolling, and makes it feel more grippable, too. It occured to me that I better put the split ring on BEFORE putting on the keyring, and I think that saved me some trouble.

TorchMan, my guess is the extra o-ring is to keep the keyring from sliding all over the groove - so I just slipped it on after I installed the keyring and it did the trick. The keyring feels very secure but it still can be turned around the base without difficulty.

liteboy: I'll install the UCL tomorrow and let you know what I see.

Click to expand...

thanks for the pictures of the installed key ring. I'm not crazy about this design. On the orb's website, the picture seems to show another attachment option (a blue colored ring) that appears to sit flush in the tail groove. I would love to start EDCing the RAW but need something more convenient that the (albeit nice) plastic tube it came in...

I do wish the Raw was easier to get out of the plastic case. Not really a big factor for me though, as it's a backup to a backup. Being that the other light in that pocket is HAIII, I don't want them rubbing. And since there is no O ring, I like the extra water protection afforded, however slight!

I've thought of buying this kit, but seeing as the O ring doesn't seem a good fit, the UCL doesn't either, and I don't really plan to keychain carry...

On the positive side, I love the bare aluminum and the light itself, with two stage switch, is awesome. And on high, impressive, most impressive!

Lowe's has the snap ring pliers @$19.95 and they are very good quality. I bought mine to use with the TnC custom lights.

I have two of the new 1 watt raws (same body and all), I got 2 of the UCL kits and to my disappointment the UCL lens were not only thicker and present the problem mentioned above, but slightly larger and thus dont fit in the head. mine got wedged in and wouldnt go all the way down, and ended up chipping. So no UCL's in mine.

The snap ring for the keychain carry is also not my favorite setup. So the two kits I bought were a waste of money to me, oh well, thats what happens when you live on the edge, no?


Ryan

liteboy said:

thanks for the pictures of the installed key ring. I'm not crazy about this design. On the orb's website, the picture seems to show another attachment option (a blue colored ring) that appears to sit flush in the tail groove. I would love to start EDCing the RAW but need something more convenient that the (albeit nice) plastic tube it came in...

Click to expand...

In the picture on the site he has simply used the inner strand of some paracord and tied it around the light. To that string a carabiner (best word in english I could come up with) is attached.

I don't like this solution either, to be honest I think it's incredibly ugly. I had an idea way back when the first Raw's were being produced (I'm one of the lucky few with a U-bin Raw ) which I think would be nice, atleast for me. It doesn't work for keychains though. Unfortunately I don't have the tools necessary to make it happen.

It's a small "hole" in the back of the light, into this hole a neodymium magnet would fit snugly. That way you could hang it around your neck and when you need it you just jank on it hard enough to dislodge the magnet (as we all know these things are dang strong).

I carry mine around my neck attached with two split rings, I found the same stock stainless rings in a local fishing shop.