Mandatory tracking? Never heard or saw that before from Hank - you UK guys must be get'n punished for something... For IOS, our tracking fee is $2 optional, and for over $80 orders, it's free.
I've bought hundreds of LED's from IOS, lots from FT and other vendors. For FT, throw the dice - sometimes they are what they say they are, you could get lucky. We have learned to stay away from alum stars years ago, but it is a budget forum. Good for under 1A in my opinion, some say as high as 2A but I've measured the lumens loss's at 2A, so for me it's worth the $2 or so to put a LED on something decent.
With Hank it's guaranteed you will get what is advertised. He is my favorite vendor by far - that includes any US based vendor. He is honest, knows what he's talking about, pretty good comm. skills, willing to help you out, etc., etc. Believe me I've tried many times to save a few bucks by buying LED's elsewhere and I always seem to return to Hank. I will still buy certain specific LED's from FastTech or Simon on Ali, or KD, etc., but at much less risk of money or by recommendations.
Thank you Tom E. I’ve put a lot of work into these, over 6 hours everyday testing the files, tossing out designs, adjusting new ones, so fit is near exact.
What I like is actually how the bezel glows blue or whatever color made in, but the blue I like a lot. It cuts glare off from the front, too. Those are the production bezels I’m using, though.
I have tested over 60 D80s now, and there are only like 2 that were shoddy.
Wow, figured there'd be lots of tinkering but that's intense. Is the throw #'s still on target? Think you mentioned 250 kcd.
I modded up the one D80 I got (stock reflector), and it came out sooo nice, had to order another. It's a really nice form factor light - grows on you. Sure out throws a reflector X6 easy because it maximized reflector I.D. for the head width - X6's are wasteful on ID width, not as good for throw, but great for lumens output.
I wrote up firmware for the ATTiny25 I'm running on the D80 - 4 modes including moon, intense strobes, beacon and battery voltage that blinks out. Because it has short cycle memory, you don't have to cycle thru the blinkies - works really well with this light. "Short cycle memory" is mode memory, but when you start changing modes, instead of going to the next mode, it starts with the first/lowest mode.
My D80 arrived the other day and I dropped a couple CR123’s into it- worked great, went through all the modes, good tint, good beam profile, etc… Took out the CR123’s and popped a Tenergy 18650 in (which compared side by side with the 123’s was exactly the same length) and as I was screwing the tailcap back on, I felt, what I can only describe as a couple “mushy clicks” after which the light wouldn’t fire up. I can say though, I was already aware of the short tube length and was taking care to not force anything and when the clicks occurred, there didn’t seem to be any more tension in the tube than any other flashlight. In other words, it was feeling totally normal as I screwed the tail cap back on. Now the light won’t work with any batteries although if I use a piece of wire to arc the negative end of the battery to the tube it will light up and cycle through. Any thoughts?
I don’t think the D80 is multi cell compatible. The 6V you gave it from those 2 CR123’s probably killed it. I could be wrong though. It’s happened before.
I think I got the short tube on my D80 just received. Flat top cells work fine. It’s a damn nice light. Fit and finish is excellent. The more I play with it, the more I like it.
This light is only compatible with 18650s! I hope you didn’t blow the driver or emitter.
However, it sounds like there might be something else going on. Check the tailcap switch retention ring. Make sure it didn’t pop off or come loose. Tighten it down and see if that helps.
I’ll check the retention ring here in a few and see if that helps. Good to know that it’s single cell only although I don’t think the driver or emitter are damaged. It was only one cycle through the modes before I took them out and when I complete the circuit without the tail cap, it lights up and cycles through the modes just fine. Something happened when I put that 18650 in and started tightening the tail cap down…
I’m kind of stumped. Everything looks to be in place in the tail cap- ring is in place and can’t be tightened anymore. If I fiddle with it and line the tail cap just so on the threads, the emitter comes on and you can cycle through the modes using the switch or by pulling back and tapping forward with the cap- but only when it’s unscrewed and barely touching the threads…. Just seems like the switch went bad somehow.
Is there any point to buy the extra tubes if I’m not going to use protected batteries?
And is it recommended that you use protected batteries in this light?
Even though they are marked 1.5A, these Omten switches are tested up to 16A and still work fine. Look up how to do a spring bypass on the BLF-A6 mod thread, it gives a few good tutorials in the OP.
(btw, your image hosting site provides pretty annoying adverts under the image)
You got the, “lots of tinkering” part right. I’ve got 6 light models I’m currently working with, and the D80 is what I’m really tinkering with at the moment. Many of them on hand, and I have to tune the various configurations. kcd with reflective apertures installed is working out. I’m trying to push the kcd envelope as far as I can on the non-RA units—that includes a few different emitters.
Station #D80 below.
Oh, I promised those dedome photos the other night from the shop. Took them. (I am not satisfied with many of the reflows which you can now see on the XM-L2 emitters, so I am reflowing all my emitters with a good silver solder paste—not in these photos—these are straight from D80s. Except the G2 and white one.)
As far as I know and am concerned, I will never use a protected cell in a D80, so I have no need to order an extra tube, unless I just so happen to want a spare tube. In fact I'd rather have the shorter tube to make the unprotected cells fit snug and tight.
I would never recommend to use a protected cell in a D80, and as far as I recall, no one from the D80 team recommended it. I did a pretty thorough low voltage test on the stock BLF D80, and the output fades away so nicely as the cell depletes, it's quite obvious to anyone that the cell should be replaced. Literally the output drops below moonlight level and is still at a safe voltage level (above 2.5v).
Is it possible that when your spring compresses all the way, that last little turn puts pressure against the pcb and the pressure in turn breaks contact with the retaining ring? If your ring is pretty tight, then probably not, but just a thought.
I played around with it a little more this morning and removed the retaining ring and switch completely and popped in a switch salvaged from an old UF C8- the light works perfectly with the tail cap screwed on several turns, but it’s too loose to be comfortable leaving it that way. It in no way feels like the battery is too long but tightening the cap down snug leaves the light inoperable- so weird…
I’m trying to push the kcd envelope as far as I can on the non-RA units—that includes a few different emitters.
