torch advice

[geoffreym]

I'm planning to get hold of 2 of each of these:

http://www.ebairsoft.com/magpul-illumination-p-3708.html

http://ant-supplies.co.uk/Pages/TorchBezelFittingLensFilters.aspx - the red filter set

http://www.fire-support.co.uk/product/magpul-pts-moe-handguard-foliage-green

http://ant-supplies.co.uk/Pages/AirsoftHandguardDeltaRings.aspx

http://ant-supplies.co.uk/Pages/AirsoftHandguardCaps.aspx

to fit onto 2 ICS M4's.

first question, will these fit?

second question, can anyone recommend a cheap torch which will fit onto the illumination mount, and have a straight wire push pad to also fit onto the illumination kit,

thanks

geoff

 

[kev.k]

Have a look on eBay. I picked up a surefire m952 with a ir lens cap, pressure pad and spare bulbs/batts for not much more than a element replica.

It's stupidly well built.

 

[Ian_Gere]

I recently ordered a 33mm bezel zoomable torch with a Cree XML-T6 for £9 delivered because it was advertised as 1600 Lumen, which I link to hesitantly because it actually produced less than 300, based on comparison to a 350 Lumen torch. Research shows however that the XLamp XM-L T6 LED is capable of 975 Lumens output, but there I got a bit lost because the specs I read say Voltage max: 4V / Current max 3000mAh...

(Why didn't I look it up on cree.com? I did and was baffled, hence I bring it up in Geoff's Torch Advice thread.)

...But the torch I received can be powered by 3 x AAA alkaline batteries or 1 x 18650 - at my disposal I have 3 x Duracell Procell AAA's = 2400mAh @4.5V / Ultrafire 18650 = 4200mAh @4.2V / Ultrafire 18650 = 4200mAh @3.7V - none of these options produced enough light to match my C8 (350lm max).

The thick plottens however because I then found this Cree XML-T6 torch, also advertised as 1600 Lumens output, but powered by 2 x 18650 batteries. Now, regardless of the fact that I am now extremely sceptical about the 1600lm claim, as anything approaching 975lm would do me fine, I have to believe that they do get more brightness out of 2 x 18650's than 1, not just for common sense but because otherwise why bother? You get ages of use out of any 18650/LED combination...

Admittedly we could throw up our hands in surrender at all this technobabble and buy Surefire etc., however the 2nd one I linked to, the V-Shark, costs £9.98 delivered, or less (!), so I for one would like to know what a gwaan. Yes, it doesn't come with a mouse tail, but it's 24.8mm body diameter appears to be the same as an Ultrafire C8, so this should fit. I mean, even if it only (lol) produces 560lm, which seems to me to be a likely minimum from my limited understanding of the blurbs, for £15.98 delivered it must be worth a look.

What we need is someone who speaks this flavour of technobabble to explain what I have misunderstood/misrepresented/miswhojimmaflibbetted... any takers?

Something else to bear in mind about the V-Shark however is the head diameter of 35mm, 2mm too big for the colour cap you linked to, Geoff. Still, since they cost a ridiculous amount of money for what they are, I thought it might help to draw your attention to this.

 

[sp00n]

I bought a UltraFire Tactical WF-501B R5 Torch off eBay, came with everything you need (except charging lead), brill little torch, only £24, search for item number 130893098754

 

[Ian_Gere]

1800lm my arse but this is a C8 clone body so will definitely take the pressure pad I linked above and should output @least 300lm - 9hrs to go / £3.60 now...

Oh yeah, and you'll need a mount: 2 x 1" high / 2 x 1" low / but this goes with the handguard...

Oops, or search helmetworld on fleabay for a helmet rail mount for about £10

 

[JRTIGHE]

Any use to anyone? http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shipping-UltraFire-WF-501B-CREE-R2-250Lumens-LED-Flashlight-with-Pressure-Pad-Switch-and-Universal/444156317.html

I don't have one, but I'd recommend these Ultrafire models as they are just direct copies (as far as I can tell?) of Surefire torches. Comes with RIS torch mounts and a pressure pad. You can get higher powered ones on AliExpress for a bit more (900 lumens is about $50).

 

[ScoobySnacks]

Ian, firstly you have confused your units a bit.

The max current for the LED is a current, in Amperes (Amps) (ok, actually mA, because 3000mA sounds much better than 3A!)

The mAh figure for the batteries is a capacity. So a rechargable AA might be rated 3000mAh, meaning it (nominally, each manufacturer works it out differently) can supply a current of 3A for one hour, or 300mA for ten hours etc. The current available from the battery depends on the voltage, internal resistance and circuit resistance, in accordance with Ohm's law.

As for Lumens, it's much the same as the mAh masurement. What one man calls a lumen is different from another man, and it is quite normal, and to be expected, that each manufacturer measures their particular lamp in such a way as to maximise the nominal "lumen" brightness, hence a 200 Lumen LED Lenser might show similar brightness to a cheaper torch marked with a much higher nominal lumen output. [sarcasm mode] Of course, it's all down to measurement, as none of these manufacturers would fabricate results! [/sarcasm mode]

With these torches, generally you get what you pay for. I mainly use LED Lensers, as they have the major benefit, as far as I'm concerned, of using readily available, relatively cheap and reliable standard cells, D, C, AA, AAA etc. The exotic rechargable cells are, in my experience, unreliable both in terms of useful life and output, even if you buy "premium" brands. I only use CR type batteries in my pistol lamp, because it's too short to take a standard battery, and my laser because it requires a higher voltage than you can achieve with the standard cells.

Of course, you can buy a lot of the cheap torches, batteries etc. with the cost of the Lenser torches (my main gun torch is a P7, which will set you back about £50, plus £15 for the pressure pad) but for me the convenience and "working out of the box" is worth the extra money, plus the build quality is superior.

I know I've not really covered any of your questions, but that's my feeling on the matter. Save for a while and invest in good technology (LED Lenser, Fenix etc.) or you will spend a lot of time being disappointed, having batteries fail mid skirmish etc.

 

[Ian_Gere]

I knew I had the wrong end of the stick somewhere, Scoobster...

But the "Nights In Cold White Flashing" by the Moody Lumens info sort of helps. How I imagined that lighting would prove any different to sound when it comes to pointless unit claims, I don't know! Bit of a bummer though...

 

[Ian_Gere]

Ah, hang on ScoobySnacks.

So some, usually crap, sound equipment manufacturers rate the power of their equipment in W PMP, even though they abbreviate to just W, Watts. PMP stands for Peak Music Power which is spurious measure of the transitory wattage at the moment of maximum output peak in dBV, which could not be sustained in use because it is clipping the output and would, therefore be too heavily distorted to listen to, even by drunken fools. The measurement you need to know is W RMS, Watts Root Mean Squared, which is a reliable indication of what the amp can do in continuous use.

The reason I've put this in a new reply, rather than an edit, is to try to get your attention to ask if there is something similar in the world of torch manufacturer? ie a useful reliable output measurement under internationally recognised conditions?

 

[armysurplusandtoys]

the best torch i like is a ledwave trooper but hard to get the gun attachments

 

[rjmcgough]

The ICS Threads are not the same as Tokyo Marui so you may have an issue with the delta ring.