“I am very surprised by this light! Feels absolutely amazing. The coating is half-matte and feels velvet-like. The LED-color is not the usual ultra-cold-white but a neutral white tint - around 5200K (a bit cooler than a XM-L2 3B). Longer cells like the Samsung 26F barely fit - they connect but then the switch is hard (or not) to press. The LED sits on a 25mm MCPCB in an integrated pill (no hole). THermal paste is used. Over all one of the best low-budget lights I’ve ever bought (and I have around 55 flashlights right now…)”
I got one of these in on a good price from BangGood, US warehouse. It's a nice quality light overall for the price. Head diameter is slightly wider than an X6 or D80, but has the wider I.D. reflector, like the D80 has, maybe 5 mm wider than an X6, so it's theoretically a better light for throw vs. an X6.
Couple things:
Mitko mentioned here: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/33641, the body tube is glued to the head, but on mine, that's not the case - came unthreaded easy, but it's beefy driver retaining ring seems impossible to budge. I hope it's not reverse threaded because if so, I really tightened the heck out of mine then. At this point after working on it for a while, I think there's no other choice but to start drilling/cutting it off.
the MCPCB appears to be a non-standard 25 mm size, but might be able to fit a MaxToch 26 mm in there.
the lumens readings are sub-par at about 500-600, but throws pretty good for such a low lumens output, think about 20 kcd. Id suspect an XM-L2 T6 at best, maybe lower
tail readings are about 2.6A on a good cell
It's got a long reset time to start back at mode #1 (hi), like 20 secs or so. Any sooner clicks will be next mode
the tailcap threading doesn't appear to be square but they feel like quality threads - smooth
If anyone else has this light and attempted to get to the driver and/or did any modding, please post here. Thanks!
I have some ??’s
1—I think I read somewhere that the name of this
flashlight and/or it’s manufacturing company was
changed. Does anybody know anything positive
about that name change ?
2—The BG ad states 2000 Lm.—Anyone have a idea
what the actual lumens output is ?
1--I think I read somewhere that the name of this flashlight and/or it's manufacturing company was changed. Does anybody know anything positive about that name change?
--> No - it could be sold under another name, like almost all the other flashlights, but I'm not aware of a change, but the manufacturer's name is pretty meaningless - no telling who made it, and even if the name is the same, doesn't mean it's made by the same factory/location/person, etc. Names, style, quality can change day to day it seems like.
2--The BG ad states 2000 Lm.--Anyone have a idea what the actual lumens output is ?
--> Total lie as usual - that's in Chinese lumens . For real OTF lumens, see my post #19 above. They do say 2000 lumens (MAX), so, maybe measuring the flashlight's output in lumens out in space at -270 Celsius, it might actually measure 2000 lumens? Even mine may be better or worse than average, but gives you an idea from one recent sample from BG at least.
3--What is the BLF code for BG ?--(PM me)
--> The BLF code is "BLF" without the quotes - try it. It's 8% off, no secret, well published around here.
Seriously though, the sooner you order from BG/USA, the better chance you'll get one of the same quality/performance as mine (same batch). Overall it's a pretty good deal. Right now, it doesn't look so good for modding because I can't get the driver retaining ring off yet -- could be my one piece or could be something stupid I'm doing, but it's a problem for me none-the-less considering I've taken apart/modded maybe 100 or more different designed flashlights or so, and occasionally run into a light that is glued up excessively at some threaded connection.
I do like it comes on Hi though as a default - at least when you pick it up, turn it ON, you know how it will be on max output, then 1/2 clicks will knock it down somewhat before getting into the blinkies - not bad for a budget stock UI.
Ahh - k, then NiteFighter as a name on the F30B will be history... I did read that thread but totally forgot. Usually I post and forget, or buy and forget... Well I just forget mostly .
Tom E , It’s just like me. I thought I was dreaming about
the name change. We all have the DRS syndrome at times.
Oh , DRS stands for ” Don’t Remember S**t” !!
Since no one posted about getting the driver retaining ring off, I worked on it more, and got it off. Turns out it is reverse threaded. Used a milling bit in my bench drill press to machine a break in the ring, then, of course, realized there's no glue - it's simply reverse threaded - CW to loosen .
After metal chisels, hammering, etc., I certainly got it really tight!
This is after getting it out:
After cleaning it up to re-use. It re-threads back on fine:
The driver is nothing too special. Uses a pair of 0.43 ohm current limiting resistors on the LED+ side, and a small FET with a gate resistor on the LED- side, and typical D1 diode and C1 cap. The small cap and resistor on the right are probably for detecting OFF time. Pretty simple, straight forward design:
here you can see the reflector compared to an X6 and D80:
The F30B has the biggest I.D. and biggest depth - should be able to throw better than a X6 for sure.
The stock LED MCPCB is 25 mm but looks like there's room for a 26mm, and doesn't use an alignment piece for the LED, more or less some tape padding, like the original X6's:
Hello Tom E, I’m curious about this light and I have some ??’s
1-Is it still made and for sale somewhere under a different brand name / model # ?
2-What did you think of it , in the stock form ?—( Lumens , Throw , etc.)
3-What’s the size comparison to a C8 ?
4-What would you charge to build another one ?
Good tint for scalping? Probably
. For real OTF lumens, see my post #19 above. They do say 2000 lumens (MAX), so, maybe measuring the flashlight's output in lumens out in space at -270 Celsius, it might actually measure 2000 lumens? 
.
