I bought two Kdlitker e6 hosts with a variety of sst20 drop ins. They seem to be of good quality but have multiple frustrating points.
The battery compartment is way too long. I think a button top is supposed to only be a couple mm longer, and my homemade ones rattle around. The springs are already pretty long on both ends.
The kdlitker switch is a simple type that sits on a flat board. Its almost like they changed the switch without changing the body. I see that my surefire p6 switch and the mcclicky switches have a deeply recessed switch assembly for some reason. This appears to put the spring a lot more foward, and would allow the use of flat tops in the e6. I’m wondering if a certain mcclicky model or another switch would be worth purchasing to try out? It would fix this problem and also be and upgrade.
I don’t like the Kdlitker tailcap because its sharp and doesn’t balance well. Its my least favorite part of the host. However, its about a mm wider than the surefire tailcap, and I don’t think another type would fit it?
Yes but I’m wondering if another tailcap would fit or another switch like the mcclicky would close the gap. I’d like to see the tailcaps stand better, not bite me, and have the two holes like an S2+ so it can still tailstand with a lanyard.
Is this how they’ve always been? I’m sure he knows because they came with weak little magnets.
Well, the current draw on most p60 lights is not nuts, not worried about magnets. McClicky switches are not that great. An Omten 1288 on a good board with good springs will carry more current. I run the up to and over 15 amps, no p60 should ever pull that due to the poor heat transfer.
The difference is in the driver size… a normal P60 (this is a PFlexPro) uses a 17mm driver the KD a 20mm so the driver has to sit farther up in the housing, due to the diameter, so it fits in different host’s, making the OAL shorter…
Even on this KD drop in, I’m using one of Blue Sword’s largest spring…
Yep 15-20 amps on a regular/store bought grooved body general fit P60 triple/quad drop in’s, where you have to wrap with (non glued) copper foil might be alright for heat transfer and short bursts… it is better if you get the smooth bodied copper P60 quad/triple pills that are oversize from kiriba-ru and then hand fit to a press fit, tight enough were you need to make a delrin/plastic dowel to drive them in and out… or a socket to drive/press them in…heat transfer is about the best you’ll ever get….
For a bit of Bling…with a Dragon driver you can run secondary aux LED’s (my 6P Surefire Copper Kiriba-ru/Triple mods)
Thanks for the post. It doesn’t seem that I was notified of it via email.
This makes me wonder if the KDlitker hosts or drop ins are worth it. Once you optimize them, there isn’t much left of them. The hosts also look a little toy-ish in appearance. It’s too bad because they are otherwise of good quality.
My favorite KD drop in, a triple sst20 3000k makes a whining sound on high. The triple has a nice reulaux triangle beam. The quad has a terrible beam, complete with “buddah” lotus and cross shapes. This makes me wonder if the retainer ring on the kdlitkers makes a good quad unfeasible.
The KD single emitter drop in uses a 17mm driver (the circuit board with the spring coming out of it?). But its still too short. I have an ultrafire drop in that didn’t make it into the picture, that’s ones a few mm longer than the KD single. I doesn’t make sense why they wouldn’t standardize their dimensions with other drop ins or even their own hosts.
^ oh double bummer man… my (triple) is in the junk box…
. Here is a pic of the driver out of the triple, I jumped the 2 resistor pads and got 4.6amps at the emitter… using a clamp meter…… KD’s C.C. buck driver….
The WF-502B is indestructible, but quality varies. Sometimes you get a pretty good clicky, sometimes the switch is mushy. I haven’t tried the other WF-50X, but I’d expect they are comparable. With hosts from $5 and (crappy) lights from $7, it’s worth adding one to a future order just to have a cheap testbed around. There used to be C (3x16340) and D (4x16340, 2x18650) versions.
IMHO, the ” LumensFactory Seraph”:Lumens Factory is one of the better-made mass-produced P60 hosts. $18.50 in 2- or 3-cell versions, $35 with a one mode P60. They also make M- and D36 heads, but I haven’t tried them.
The problem is that P60 is no longer cutting edge for modders, probably for thermal transfer and space reasons as mentioned above. Most of Convoy’s lights are available as hosts in the $15-25 range; you can get the same form factor from Manta Ray or *Fire for a little cheaper. They take standard size drivers and MCPCBs and offer lots of choices. P60’s big advantage is the ease of changing - just pop in another module.
For non-modders, there’s a lot of really good $30 entry lights. It’s hard to justify $30-60 for a great P60 drop-in with the Wurkkos FC11, BLF A6, Convoy M*, Sofirn SC31B, etc out there.
My favorite budget P60 hosts are the Manta Ray M5 and M6. Between the two I prefer the M5. You can find them on ebay or ali for ~$10 with a crap drop-in included.
Much larger surface are and good tight direct contact. Like heat fins, threads increase surface area and there for can transfer heat very well. The flat sides of the dropin have a fairly small surface area compared to the same amount of space with threads.
Only one edge of the threads would be pressed against the body once it was tight. The outer edge of the threads and the other side would have a gap between them and the body. It seems like it would be comparable or less good than a custom p60 pill like the ones sold here.
my (triple) is in the junk box…