$30 thrower

I don’t have a thrower. I don’t really need one either, but I want one because I don’t have one. Since I don’t need one, I’d like to spend about $30.

I’ve assembled a parts list that I think should get me at least 125kcd, but I’d love suggestions for alternatives. One requirement I’m pretty firm about is that it not run cells in series; I have a bunch of salvaged laptop cells I use regularly and I’m concerned they won’t react well to that. Parallel is fine. I’m aware I may lose some output as the voltage drops. Do I want a buck/boost driver? Those seem to be rare. I’d give up a moderate amount of runtime to stabilize output.

Total: $26.04

sounds good, but you really need something to center the dedomed XP-G2 led in the middle of the reflector, a common frustration because there are very few centering rings for that. I used these, but I see now that they changed the design.

I would sand a bit off the top of the centering ring because it blocks a bit of the light coming out of the led, and sand a bit off the bottom too, because the dedomed led usually focusses better when the led is deeper into the reflector.

Courui D01 is available for US$30….

You want a thrower, & you are up for some modding as well.

De-dome, & resistor/wiring mods cost ~nothing.

You will have a whole lot more thrower than a C8, plus room to move if you want to mod it some more.

+1 Courui D01…

If you are willing to spend ~$45, dedome stock U2, reflow to copper mcpcb, copper braid springs and swap a FET driver. Over 150kcd easy… You get a extremely long running thrower, a very nice side switch and twice the output than a XP-G!!

A XP-G C8 will throw, but I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed with the overall output.

+1 Courui D01…

Dedome the original Led, make sure there is enough thermal paste between the Led board and the led shelf, replace the wires with proper (thicker) ones, bridge the springs and Bob’s your uncle.
And these alterations will cost you (almost) nothing.

If you want more throw it’s quite easy to replace the driver, lots of room in this light and that doesn’t cost a bundle either.

Grtz
Nico

Searching BLF, the stock Courui is about 75kcd and dedoming it looks like it will about double that before we even get to trying to overdrive the emitter. It’s maybe a little bigger than I had in mind though.

Uniquefire 1504 would cut it.

If you want a THROWER, start with something a bit better than the C8. I'd suggest a ZY-T08 as a starting point ($24.99):

http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=80&product_id=158

...drop in your XP-G2 and see how that suits you.

I recent purchased the Yezl Y3 love it. It puts a lot of light a long ways.

Current thinking:

  • Courui D01 - impressive especially with potential mods, but so big and heavy I’d probably only end up using it to impress people.
  • ZY-T08 - two cells in parallel without being significantly bigger than the C8 is nice. Is the throw that much better? A quick google search is suggesting around 40kcd vs 35. Doesn’t like flat-top cells though, and I have 90 of them. Is that easily fixable, say by soldering in an extra spring or two?
  • Yezl Y3 - yay dual-switch! A bit of googling suggests these and the Courui are both around 65kcd stock. I don’t have any 26650s nor any special desire to get any, so I gain nothing from the fat grip. Twice the weight of a C8, but looks like twice the throw. This could be a winner.
  • Convoy L4 - this is pretty much a dual-switch C8 with a shelf instead of a pill, isn’t it? Dual-switch is a plus.

For the flat-top batteries issue of T08, no I don’t think you can solder spring at the positive contact. You can however put a small blob of solder on your battery positive and make it become a “button-top”, easy fix.

As for the Convoy L4 it is integrated pill, which means it is not removable like what we normally see in most flashlights, and integrated pill is very good for heat dissipation (although it doesn’t make any perceivable difference in light output at all). But since good throw (>125kcd) is what you are looking for, this Convoy L4 may not be a good candidate for the job because its reflector is just the same diameter as the C8.

If you want a pocket light that really throws your plan is a good one and it will be a nice light. If you want something a little bigger that throws a lot farther it’s not going to cost you much more to get there. That’s pretty much what the rest of the guys are getting at. Keep in mind that throw is dependent on two things. The size of the reflector X the intensity of the emitter. A larger reflector goes a long ways in the equation.

C8s exceed what I think of as comfortably pocketable due to the head size already. This would go in a holster or backpack. Since the Yezl and Courui have about twice the throw as a C8/L4, I guess that answers that.

I don’t suppose anybody has both a Yezl and a Courui and an opinion about their relative merits….

That would work for a nice compact coat pocket thrower. But depends what you really want.

If you want some serious throw, then how about this:

Uniquefire UF-1504 host - $28
http://www.gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_167069.html

XP-G2 S2 1D on 16mm Noctigon - $3.98 (offers lovely tint when de-domed)
http://intl-outdoor.com/noctigon-xp16-v2-mcpcb-cree-xpg2-s2-1d-led-p-838.html

17mm blank board
http://intl-outdoor.com/5-pcs-contact-pcb-167mm-p-415.html

22AWG or bigger wire (ebay)

You’ll need a good IMR 18650 (with plastic 26650 adapter) or a 26650. But 300-400k lux should be quite possible. Not so pocket friendly, but probably the most throw for the budget.

Was thinking more of a coat pocket than pants pocket. But yes I have modded both of them and all the other ones that are listed above.

The Yezl comes across as being the “nicer” of the two when it comes to finish and overall construction. The Courui has a few problems in it’s stock form. But once fully modded the Courui is the winner in the throw contest. Bang for your buck modded super thrower the Courui is really hard to beat.

Any of the lights listed above can make fantastic throwers, The ZY-T08 is one of my favorites as well. I have modded a couple dozen of them.

Well………my dedomed L4 was measured at 88Kcd. (measured in 2014 at the German Flashlight forum summer grill party in South Germany, using a calibrated Mavolux 5032B at 32.6m)

Mind you, only dedomed, nothing else done, but I might have been lucky with the emitter……

Bridge the spring(s), swap the emitter for a LD01/02 to get to 5A……and you should get around 140 - 150Kcd. (my Acebeam L25A with same set up reaches 140Kcd, and has roughly the same reflector diameter - C8 size).

Grtz
Nico

Good for you. I am not saying it is impossible, but to achieve 140kcd with L4 (or any other C8 form factor light) you need to have the best emitter in it, and for the emitters you may need to pick the best among them.

And if you are gonna push 5A through the LED you need to use thick wires and make sure good connection everywhere. If I am not mistaken nowadays these XM-L2 and XP-G2 have higher Vf than before, and it is a bit difficult for good 18650 to keep up with the increased Vf at high current draw like this. In short, 140kcd is possible if everything was done perfectly. :slight_smile:

I’m starting to think I may need both a semi-pocketable thrower and a bulky ass-kicking thrower. I’m also starting to think a 14500 light would make for a nicer EDC than anything I have now. This is how people end up with 125 flashlights, isn’t it?

Yes it is, Run, run while you still have the chance. !!! Next thing you know you will be building your own drivers. Oh and of course you will need a lumen monster in the 10,000 lumen range. Why you will need this is beyond me but trust me if you stick around long enough you will feel the need for one sooner or later. The courui is the poor mans TN32 which I have owned along with the TN31 and you can make the courui smoke a stock TN32.

I think what I really need is to build a C8/L4 based compact thrower for myself and hot-rod a Courui for my dad, who lives in Alaska and can probably get some real use out of it.