I was able to luckily acquire a NOS Surefire C2 Centurion some time ago and the batts that came with them had a 2018 expiry. With the stock incan assembly, it worked with no issues. However, I bought a 3.7-8.4v Solarforce single mode XML drop in for it to get better output and to eventually use 16650 rechargeable batts. I had to remove the bigger spring of the Solarforce drop in to make the C2 head fully screw in.
Now, using the SF primaries with the Solarforce p60 creates a hissing sound. I tried putting Soshine 3.0v rcr123s and the hissing sound was gone. I replaced the Solarforce p60 with the stock incan to be safe. Any thoughts on the hissing? This can’t be good right?
Would that be because of the 2008 manufacture batteries? I have used newer (2013 up) manufacture SF primaries with other LED drop ins and lights with similar output and didn’t experience any hissing.
Do you think the batts which hissed are still safe to use?
If your batteries are hissing loud enough to hear then your light has already exploded. Battery venting loud enough to hear in the light will be a VERY BAD THING. Your batteries are probable getting weak. I’ve noticed increase whine in a few of my lights that whine when using old tired batteries. It’s the whine cause by pulse width modulation (PWM) from the inductor called coil whine. A few ways to get it reduced. Inject epoxy into the holes around the dropin, usually two of them when the reflector is taken off the pill. It’s the holes the wires come through to connect the driver to the led. Put an o-ring sandwiched the reflector and the lens. Wrap foil around the dropin’s brass base until its snug in the host. Make sure the reflector is tight with the pill. As far as cr123a’s primaries rumor has it the SureFire, Duracell, and a few other are all made by Panasonic. Panasonics have a thermal fuse that increases resistance when they are drawn on to hard. I’ve abused them to 3 amps and never had one vent but I’ve noticed the light dimmed then brightened as the battery was given time to cool. Some lights seem to have a sweet spot where they whine louder. Your dropin is 2.7-8.4 volt just under 6 volts might be its loudest. On 16650 batteries try this http://www.illumn.com/16650-keeppower-2500mah-sanyo-ur16650zta-protected-button-top.html This cell also has a Protection circuit to give you some peace of mind.
Hmm come to think of it, it might be more of an electronic whine, a faint buzz, than a hiss. Would this mean thay the led drop in is the one buzzing? I was thinking that removing the bigger spring to make the drop in fit maybe caused some short?
That outer spring is needed for SureFire clones that have a larger dropin pocket. You did right taking it off for the SureFire. Do make sure that reflector is tight on the pill.
Whether the hiss is from the Surefire cells or a whine from the Solarforce drop-in itself, the issue only exists when using the Surefire cells. Clearly this indicates that Surefire products are indeed inferior products at over inflated prices. That is all.
@pilotdog68- the p60 drop in is single mode high only. It has “780 lumens” hand written on the drop in. Im not sure why but the buzzing stops when I put in Soshine 3.0v rcr123s (which I mistakenly bought and do not have a charger for), but at least the problem has been isolated to either the batts buzzing or the drop in buzzing with the SF batts.
@texasshototer- I tried shaking the head with the drop in inside and it was in tight.
@Johnnymac & B42- yeah lol. SFs were/are hyped in the shooting industry and we do not get a lot of good alternatives here in Manila. Malkoffs cost USD 50 just to ship here, so I went with customlites instead and have a drop in en route. I saw the C2 in a gunstore outside the city and said what the heck, I have wanted one of these for the longest time. I paid 2010 retail price, and I think I can pick up 3 or 4 Solarforce sets already with that amount lol.
I just tried some mixing and matching combinations of batts & hosts and lights:
Solarforce L2 host- 18650 batt- 3 mode XML Solarforce p60- no buzz on all modes
Surefire host- Surefire cr123- 3 mode XML Solarforce p60- no buzz on all modes
Solarforce L2 host- Surefire cr123- 3 mode XML Solarforce p60- no buzz on all modes
Solarforce L2 host- Surefire cr123- single mode Solarforce p60- buzzing
Surefire host- Surefire cr123- single mode Solarforce p60- buzzinga
Solarforce L2 host- 18650 batt- single mode XML Solarforce p60- no buzz
Surefire host- Soshine rcr123- single mode XML Solarforce p60- no buzz
So, I guess its really something to do with the combination of the Surefire cr123s and the particular single mode p60. using the primaries in another drop in doesnt buzz. Anyway, just to be safe, I will just wait for the customlites drop in and find sone 16650 batts.
[quote=@texasshototer- I tried shaking the head with the drop in inside and it was in tight.[/quote]
Shaking the light has little to do with the whine. It needs to be tight and snug. Tight reflector, tight fit, tight o-rings touching the reflector. You are trying to damping the high frequency vibrations, not get rid of some rattling.
Now as to a good cheap alternative. SolarForce L2H, Intl-outdoors dropin, Panasonic 3400 cell.
I just watched a guide on putting copper tape on dropins and saw what you meant. I will try and find some tape here. Any idea as to why this is happening with this particular battery and drop in combo only?
Your dropin’s driver is trying to give a constant current to the led. By doing this it requires a minimum input current and voltage. Older batteries not meeting the requirements, or input voltage is at a threshold where the circuit isn’t quite in proper sync and that inductor starts to whine. Your inductor in the 1st place might not be secured enough to the board. Your board might not be secured enough to the pill. So you have a few variables, try some of the remedies I suggested earlier like epoxy or hot glue into the circuit area to better hold that part(s). Also keep in mind that SolarForce has a drive built for a wider range of voltage it isn’t ideal where the hobbyist matches the best driver to a target voltage like single cell drivers. SolarForce used a Buck driver built to function between a wider spread of voltage so just about anyone could get it to meet their needs. Example on their current 3-9 volt buck driver lets you use 1-3 cr123a’s or 1-2 lithium ion cells.
