Hey guys, mainly joined up here to hopefully learn some more about emiters and drivers. I have had a real problem finding decent red hunting lights to support my needs.
I have a few ideas that I plan on working on here in the future. I have a small CNC machining center I plan to put to use at some point. I love cutting aluminum.
i guess it’s the state and not the country 
also, yo from canada
Welcome to BLF Notorious! Are you looking to mod existing lights to meet your needs? Or, wanting advice on what stock lights to buy? Or a bit of both? I’m not a hunter, but we’ve had lots of hunters around here, so there’s plenty of information available to help you find what you’re looking for.
Hey how are you doing man? And welcome to BLF! :partying_face:
Oh, say hi to Michael for me. I’ll be seeing him soon! :person_facepalming:
Welcome to BLF!! 
Hi, hope you’re safe with the weather I hear is coming GA way
I have 2 Uniquefire T20s that will be some of the first I work on, both bought red in color. One has been great and the other died within 2 months and put out nowhere near the throw of the other one. I will probably start with them.
Otherwise Im looking to make some stuff from scratch 
Welcome to BLF from another relatively new guy (6 months). I've found the expertise, helpfulness, and camaraderie here incredible. Take care.
Welcome to BLF Notorious. Are you doing some hog hunting with that T20? What part of GA are you from?
about a hour up 75 from Atlanta. Mostly coyote around here, I rarely see many hogs, though I still wouldnt mind working on a tri LED light with a white/green/red light.
This is all just a bandaid until I invest in some thermal.
Welcome to BLF.
HST-802 with a red XP-E/-E2?
Nice deep reflector, pushes the spill out farther away so you don’t get swamped with too much spill up-close.
Else a nice C8 fitted with a red XP-E/-E2.
Zoomies are nice for a tight spill-less beam, but you lose almost 2/3 of the light coming out of the LED when fully zoomed. So with a (white) LED putting out 1200lm total when pushed, you might be putting only 400lm out the front. The other 800lm will be hitting the inside (black) walls of the head and bouncing around aimlessly.
I have a amazon cheapo in a HST-802 housing ( I didnt know the name at the time) but Im not sure on the LED or driver on it but probably worth pulling apart. I did not know that about the zoomies, does that apply to the projector style lenses like the T20 also? Thanks for the knowledge.
Wellp, think about it like this…
The LED itself shoots out light in a very wide cone, say, 140° out of a possible 180°.
Use it as a mule, and pretty much all the light goes out the front, as long as it’s not shrouded by the sides of the head or anything. Same as if you put a wide lens almost touching the LED.
The more you pull the lens away, the smaller the cone of light that hits the lens, and the less light goes out the front. Like looking through a peephole and seeing everything, but then seeing less and less by simply moving a few inches away from it.
Okay that makes more sense to me now. Thanks for taking the time to explain it.
After I get my weapon light sorted I will move on to a scan light and some other stuff. Thinking I will try to gut a cheapo headlight for the battery pack and strap and machine the headlight housing out of aluminum, I have one now with a good spread, but its very dim when it comes to eye reflections.
Well, there’s such a thing as Light Recycling that has shown to make great improvements when implemented properly. But that’s a somewhat advanced topic around here. I’ve never tried it before, but a few members have, with varying results.
Wellp, the HS-802 should be a good light, with the deeper reflector to push away the spill, and the smaller E-size chip for a nice tight concentrated hotspot.
Comes in red and green, last I saw.
https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-HS-802-Flashlight-Hunting-Emergency/dp/B018QH0IB4
Thats the one I have, it doesnt seem to be has hot in the bright in the center as my T20, but I dont know what led is in the 802, could I swap some internals in it and see a improvement?
