Is something wrong with this C8 (P7)?

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
1

Hi,

I bought one of these awhile ago C8s with a P7 emitter from FastTech:

https://www.fasttech.com/p/1209202

When I first got it, I was really disappointed with it. It just wasn’t very bright. Also, when I measured tailcap current, I was only seeing about 1.4 amps, rather than the advertised 2.4 amps.

So, I put it away, but that tailcap current kept bothering me. I guess I can believe exagerrating lumens, but it seemed kind of unreasonable to misrepresent current.

So, tonight, I tried switch from the older Panasonic battery that I had in it to a newer EagleTac 18650, and when I measured current, I was pleasantly surprised to see the current at ~2.4v!

After that I was checking out the white wall, and I noticed that there’s a rather large dark/black spot in the center of the beam. That spot may’ve been there before, but was probably less noticeable when I had the “wrong” battery in the light.

I’ve checked the reflector (it’s an OP reflector) and it seems to be seated correctly. The P7 emitter seems to be fairly well-centered.

So I was wondering if anyone one might be able to suggest how to get rid of that dark spot? Is this normal behavior for a light with a P7 emitter?

I’d had one previous experience with a dark spot in the beam before, and that turned out to be that the emitter was too far back, because the pill had screwed in to much, but as mentioned above, I’ve checked the reflector vis-a-vis the emitter, and I don’t think I could move the emitter any further forward.

Thanks,
Jim

Edit: Is a “Z7” the same as a “P7”?

2

I don’t own a P7, but isn’t it made up of multiple sections, so can produce a dark spot in the centre?

3

Hi,

Yes, it does have the multiple emitters like in your picture, but I don’t know if that dark spot is normal for that kind of emitter. What you said kind of make sense though :)…

Edit: I wonder if that’s why most, if not all of the P7/Z7 lights and drop-ins I’ve seen mostly have OP reflectors?

4

According to this thread:

[sorry]

the Z7 is a “ceramic version of the MC-E”, and apparently it has a “donut”, which is probably what I was calling the dark spot. So I guess this is normal for the Z7 emitters.

Jim