Novatac 120 Tactical, reprogrammed to 120P

LED Flashlights – General Info CR123A Flashlights
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> I wish I knew what generation is my NovaTac. It’s one of the SPA Defense engraved ones.

the Novatacs with Serial numbers are before the move to Spa Defense models

there are several generations of Spa also

the ones I look for, have the black bezel, that is actually stainless…
after that,
they went to an aluminium bezel, anodized the color of the light…

The metal changed too, the lights w anodised alum bezels are less heavy, and the knurling is much more agreessive. Neither to my liking.

thats interesting that your Spa has the rubber bumper… Ive never seen that on a Spa, only on the serial numbered Novatacs

the history is twisted, Im just glad the light still works :slight_smile:

One of my steel bezel Spa Novas, modded to sw45k, makes 250 lumens now.

Another with a anodized alum bezel, only makes 90 lumens w sw45k

the original 1st gen Novatac I just got, makes 70 lumens (it is supposed to be a 120 lumen model). I consistently find that Spa novas, and also serialized novas, dont actually make 120 lumens at all, mostly they make about 70 lumens

however, those 70 lumens, focused into the tiny hotspot are brighter on a wall, than 200 floody lumens from my FWAA

===

Update
I did the 250 clic unlock, and the 120T is now set up as a 120P

the 120P config turns on at 11 lumens instead of maximum output,
and press-hold gives maximum instead of strobe.

love the clever ways the HDS UI can be programmed for different use case scenarios…

thanks for the link, thats a great HDS history writeup

I collected some Novatac History here

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I have an early SPA Defense 120P. It’s not the sand/beige color, but the traditional early NovaTac unsaturated olive drab. Knurling looks to match pretty much what you see on original NovaTac 120P’s, not very aggressive but good enough to grip. Yes, it has the stainless steel bezel anodized in black. I also have a spare one in polished stainless steel. I weighed both… 0.17 oz. I weighed the black anodized bezel from my NovaTac Classic, and it came in at 0.076 oz. Yep, that’s aluminum.

The tailcap has “www.NovaTac.com” on it. I think this was from one of the initial batches NovaTac shipped to SPA Defense. It has their logo on it. Also, have the OEM tactical O-ring. It’s not flattened on one side (as is typically done for a tac-ring), but it was selected for a specific size and thickness. I’ve checked with o-ring suppliers and haven’t been able to find an exact match. My spare one is now installed on my FW3A.

Thanks for pointing out about the lower lumens issue. I don’t have a spectrometer or photometer, but using my Thrunite Ti3 V2 with 120 lumens output… looks like mine is around 120 lumens. In fact, it has a noticeably more intense though smaller hotspot than the Thrunite Ti3.

Thanks for the NovaTac history link. I’d read up on Hogokansatsukan’s posts before, but had forgotten about this one. Yeah, pretty cool to get a 1st hand account of NovaTac history. Sad what happened… Just goes to show you how management is more important than the product. They lost a valuable edge. Can you imagine if they’d gotten someone trained to do the programming? Under proper direction, we might’ve ended up seeing something like Anduril back in 2010, rather than 10 years later.

Henry’s UI idea was so leading edge for its time. And so it has a special place. But TBT, I prefer Anduril, as it’s more “intuitive” to my mind. Still, I enjoy the fact that we’ve got a choice. I’ve got a couple of Astrolux S43’s and sort of got the hang of NarsilM. But Anduril is more my speed. Never got a light with Biscotti. Or Eclair. :wink: I did have a Liteflux LFT2x, though. And that has an interesting programmable UI. But I still prefered my NovaTac to it. And got out while the going was good. A light I bought for $40 ended up sold for $150 to a CPF flashaholic that was desperate to have an LFT2x. A month later, someone sold theirs for even more, I think like $190. And it didn’t have the box (mine did, plus papers).

43

> The tailcap has “www.NovaTac.com”(link is external) on it. I think this was from one of the initial batches NovaTac shipped to SPA Defense.

I invite you to post some pics of your Novatacs…

tailcaps vary a bit, some say made in USA, some do not

some say novatac.com, others say spa-defense.com.

still says Novatac on the Head in all cases, but the early serialized models list the model number on the head also, such as 120T and 120P… The spa are all 120T programming… but they can all be unlocked with the 250 click.

HDS still sells the tactical ring btw:
https://www.hdssystems.com/Products/TacRing/

44

Yes, my tail cap also has “Made in USA” on it, nothing “SPA Defense” at all. Looks like yours on the far left, but with a flat button. I have just one vintage NovaTac. Mine did not come with 120T programming. It came fully as a 120P, no 250 clicks required.

Interesting about the HDS tactical ring. That’s different than what I have, looks wider. And they want… gulp… $16 for it?? OMG.

45

state of the union

all unlocked and with the same programming:
.

46

Stock P4??? Don’t you want something else in there?

47

:slight_smile:
eventually?
Im working up the courage to try to open one…

48

What would be your pick, if you were to change that? A SST20, to keep the tightish hotspot? One of your Favourite Nichia?

49

Im leaning towards the 219b 3500k atm

I recently got a FWAA w SST-20 4000k, and they are nice. Not pink, but excellent color rendering, and though golden, the tint is not too green. So its a fine option imo, if someone wants to go there.

I still consider the 219b 4500k my best all around option… I would choose it over the SST, because of my personal preference for pink tint.

50

I did my first Novatac mod, to 219b 3000k! Thanks for the encouragement!

51

I have a Novatac (NRA written on the head and fully programmable) modded to 5000k LH351D. Really like the boost in power and the the neutral tint. I also have a SPA120 (fully programmable after the 250 click), but no LED swap yet. Thinking about a 5000k 519a. Thoughts on it versus the 219b?

52

Since you are OK w the Tint of LH351d 5000K, I do not think 219b is the best option, if you want neutral Tint DUV (non pink), as the 219b Tint DUV is below the BBL

I have no experience w 5000K 519a, I do like the 4500K and 5700K, they have very neutral Tint DUV

middle light is 219b
.

second from right is 4500K 519a, it is not pink like the sw45k
.

here are Tint DUV values for my 519a lights:

53

Lots of very nice lights. Thank you for the side by side comparison. That helps a lot. My experience with the 519a is the V11R (4500k) that you sent me and a dedomed 519a (5000k) I have in’s a Foursevens 123a.
The dedomed 5000k actually appears to have a warmer tint than the 4500k (not dedomed). Is that typical?

54

Yes, the 519a drops about 25% in CCT from dedoming… it is severe

If you want a 5000K 519a, just leave the dome on.

you cannot achieve 5000K by dedoming a 5700K 519a

55

Good to know. I plan to either go with the 5000k 519a or might just go with the LH351D for this one as well. It’s nice to have a wealth of options.

56

I look forward to your successful mod! And I encourage you to use 519a, it has better Red Rendering than LH351D…

57

I already invited all my friends to look at this lot, there was little interest, so I’ll throw off the link here, who else wants to get a novatac for modification on good price (in my opinion, it’s good, since these light holders for weapon themselves are sold for 15-20, it will still seem too expensive to someone)

58

^ a few years back, I’d have jumped on that but now? Meh. You can pick up an Anduril driven flashlight for less. AND superior emitter, naturally. But for folks who have the mod bug and don’t mind buying for the hobby, I could see this as something attractive.

I went back and forth on the idea of modifying my old NovaTac 120P. But finally put that to rest. Leaving it stock. I like having this as a reference point. PLUS, as it is, for low light tasks, it’s still a nice flashlight.