Tofty switch installed in M8, and it wasn’t exactly easy. The M8 has a strange tail-cap, strange distances, even an oddball boot. But all obstacles have been overcome and the Tofty switch is inside the M8 and functioning flawlessly! I like that it’s a reverse clicky, have always been in favor of forward clickies but probably only because that’s what I was getting when I first got started. With a high power light, it’s nice to be able to shift down without going off.
Initial check pitting otf lumens from a direct circuit across the end of the battery tube shows I’m getting the same or even more otf lumens at start-up through the switch. I used my old German steel caliper to make the circuit, so it stands to reason that the copper in the switch would be more efficient. I’m charging cells and I’ll get a more complete set of readings using copper 12ga romex to make the circuit.
The plastic making up the body might be printed, but it’s very tough! Filing it, cutting it with an 1/8” carbide bit in my rotary tool, sanding it, the stuff is very resilient. Soft enough that screwing a 1/4 x 20 stainless steel bolt into the clicky end to mount it in my drill easily cut threads in the plastic, but this caused no ill effects and everything is working fine. Doing a resistance test on the switch my DMM goes to 000. Works for me!
Thanks for the good work Tofty, more complete OTF numbers to follow…
Here’s the Tofty 10A+ in the Solarforce M8…
Notice the copper ring around the outer switch assembly. My retaining ring wouldn’t allow opening it up far enough to clear the step on the switch and make ground contact. I intended to make a copper “washer” to fill this, but discovered a piece of copper pipe I had in my dremel case fit perfectly, so I cut a 3mm wide ring off that and it’s a press fit into the tail cap, good ground even before the retaining ring is screwed in.
A closer look at the resized switch with the copper ring.
At first I was not pleased with the writing embedded in the sides of the switch. As nice as it looked, it was giving me fits trying to resize the outer diameter. Then I discovered that the writing was actually my guide, once it was removed completely the switch was just about the right size. From 20.8mm to 19.2mm, now it fits nicely even if a bit difficult to get in the tail cap. I took it down just barely enough to get it in.
As far as taking OTF lumens readings, I’m not sure what it all adds up to. I used Panasonic NCR18650PF cells, fresh from Richard. Right out of the charger for each test, with time in between taking care of various things here at home. The last reading was with the Tofty switch. And that reading was odd, as by the 30 sec point the numbers in the light box were falling quite rapidly, unlike the other two tests. I haven’t a clue what would be different, or why my initial readings varied so much. But here’s what I got…
With a 12ga jumper wire and no tailcap…first reading at initial start up, second reading at 30 seconds.
2553 OTF, then 2346 OTF
With the McClicky switch
2670 OTF, then 2322 OTF
With the Tofty
2653 OTF, then 2256 OTF and plummeting.
I tried again with almost the same result, started a bit higher, dropped even faster. Cells went from 4.21V to 4.12V in 60 seconds. I will try some Sanyo Lap Pulls I have that have tested well in the past.
Similar results with the Sanyo cells, only they were faring a little better at 60 sec.
So I ran an amp at the tail test for 60 seconds on freshly charged Panny PF’s. Interesting…
Started at 5.97A, then climbed to 6.01A through 20 seconds, then starting falling, and falling fast, first drop went from 6A to 5.85A at 22 seconds and then started ticking off numbers to arrive at 5.49A at 30 sec, then continued to burn down to 4.79A by 60 seconds. The cells just can’t deliver that much for that long.
The switch is positive, very solid clicks, love how it fits in there, how it looks in there, and how it feels.
Well done Tofty, works like a champ.