Modified LED lamping torches.

[evo]

the 1 watt ebay jobby is useless through a standard nightvision kit and so is the 3 watt it is no where near as bright as the oslon, so its obvious that the photon is collecting more light,so if it is working ok through the photon then the oslon will be 10x better

[Dave-G]

the 1 watt ebay jobby is useless through a standard nightvision kit and so is the 3 watt it is no where near as bright as the oslon, so its obvious that the photon is collecting more light,so if it is working ok through the photon then the oslon will be 10x better

 

Not cessanarily Bob, there's no covert value in using more light just because you can.

 

 

I'm not claiming this is definitely the case - but Marky tried a bunch of his big lens illuminators about a week or so ago - and all were 'more than needed'

Apparently the Oslon 4715S 850 is a bit OTT for the Photon when coming out of large aspheric lenses (but the 501B size wasn't tried to my knowledge) He was talking about trying some of the lower power Oslons.

 

For members reading this who don't know the difference, larger aspheric lenses produce a more concentrated tighter/brighter beam than smaller ones, but that sometimes becomes too tight to be of much use for scanning and quarry acquisition. In my opinion that's OK for long range standing Fox, and it does have a certain wow factor that most soon grow out of.

I don't want to put a link to the post but you know where to look for it on the NV Forum.

 

I'm hoping to get more feedback on the performance of the Oslon through the smaller 501B 27.2mm/28mm aspheric lenses with the Photon. As the beam doesn't tighten up quite so tight as the larger lenses it may be just the ticket - or may not be. I will keep an open mind on the subject of Oslon vs Photon for now.

 

More relative though, is that the single die 1w ebay IR module beam can be focused up very tight, showing all of the die imprint because it's much tidier and cleaner if you like, than the Oslon's dirty separation of two bright patches. In short, the Oslon HAS to be de-focused but the ebay one does'nt. The net gain is that the fully focused ebay one is almost, but not quite as bright as the de-focused Oslon.

 

You might not have a suitable size focal spacer to tighten the 1W focus up but have a try to see what I mean.

 

It's definitely not as bright as the Oslon - and not bright enough for rear digital add-on - bet the Photon is a different kettle of fish and warrants an IR rethink.

[evo]

I can agree dave , but I think the T20 with the 38mm lens will perform better with the Yukon photon but only because you can change the focal length of the led against the aspheric without having to strip the torch down.

 

the 501b with your mod is a cracking little torch and more than ample for rimfire ranges and totally brilliant for air rifle ranges , but since I have been playing with the T20 I have found this torch to be more user friendly to the average joe bloggs who hasn't got a clue what the hell we are talking about and never will,

 

The problem I am having with my night vision is a lot of the people who have asked me about torches (yours included) get totally lost once you get past the lens,

 

I also think too much light will be no good for the photon as it seems to bleech out, but with the T20 this can be sorted by simply changing the focal length of the led just by turning the front Zoom on the torch ,,, simples really.

 

I have tried every led off ebay and as you say they are useless with rear end kits but might work with the photon but I would bet my life on it the T20 with the oslon black would walk all over them and not just because it is brighter but because you can change the brightness by changing the focal length of the oslon led thus adjusting the light to suit the photons sensitivity,

 

I am building a new board camera now which is unreal at seeing infra red and in my tests is far better than the watec 902h and is half the price now as soon as it is finished I will test it against the photon and it will be interesting to see the results when you consider my full build will be around half the price

 

I,ll put the results up as soon as I can mate, but in the meantime keep up the good work regarding torches

 

all the best Bob

[Dave-G]

....

I also think too much light will be no good for the photon as it seems to bleech out...

 

 

I am building a new board camera now which is unreal at seeing infra red and in my tests is far better than the watec 902h and is half the price now as soon as it is finished I will test it against the photon and it will be interesting to see the results when you consider my full build will be around half the price

 

I,ll put the results up as soon as I can mate, but in the meantime keep up the good work regarding torches

 

all the best Bob

 

I have just been discussing that very issue with someone else - and it does sound like the Oslon can be too much IR for the Photon, causing bleaching out/whiting out unless it is de-tuned/defocused. I'm sending him my 1 watt to compare.

 

There will be an ideal IR amount that will be perfect for the photon at all ranges you can shoot with 5 mag without having to zoom in or out to find it. time will find it.

 

Will be interested to hear about the camera.

 

Cheers.

 

EDIT: Here's a 1watt ebay IR used with my Watec based home built dedicated digital rig - which equates to about 5 mag and will be quite similar to what can be seen through the photon. There is no comparison about build quality though :

 

Click the youtube button to watch it on youtube and read the accompanying text.

The Ir amount is suitable to all that can be seen at five mag.

 

Edited August 18, 2013 by Dave-G

[Colc08]

After exchanging a few messages with Dave regarding the torch modifications I began to get my head around the possible improvements that could be achieved with Dave's modifications. Dave kindly invited me out for a nights lamping with him so I could see for myself and make my own mind up.

 

I recently bought a 22 rimfire and inherited with it a Ultrafire 501B lamp/torch set up with pressure switch and was very impressed with its power. Having scanned the field at the back of my house I was suprised by the ammount of light this little torch kicked out and initially thought it was great. After a little more thought and no need to test it any further I could easily see that it may work to a degree whilst lamping rabbits but was far from ideal. A) due to the shear power of the white lights spooking potential, and the spread of the beam gave me excllent vision out to 20-30 yards or so but the light was also filling up my parifial vision which both caused me to squint to try to focus on the center of the beam.

 

Now with this spread of beam it was never going to completely ideal lamping rabbits as the beam was not focus on the ''kill zone'' enough and would also scare any rabbits in the area as too much ground was lit up.

 

I must say Dave is a really nice guy and his attention to detail seriously impressed me. He was not only good enough to take me out for a nights shooting but he also educated me a hell of a lot with everything explained to me in great detail along with the reasons why.

 

Right from the off I could see how vastly improved Dave's modified torches and where far superior to the standard one I have. We were using a red light for searching and then a second one mounted to the underside of the barrel for taking the shot. The red beam of the modified torch was acurately focused out to ranges perfect for the HMR and also suitable for 22 rimfire or Air rifle ranges. There was no splilage of light so not filling up the parifial vision and my eyes did not seem to have to adjust from the darkness to focus on the heart of the beam.

 

All in all I was very impressed and needless to say I took one of Daves mod kits away with me in visible red LED.

 

Dave also demonstrated to me the capibilities of the Infra Red version utilizing his night vision gear which he has expertly built from scratch. I must say I was seriously impressed by this having not seen any night vision gear before. We sat for a while watching a grouip of around 10 rabbits both through the dash board mouted night vision screen as well as the scope attached night vison set up. It really was mesmorizing and I couldn't quite get my head around how we were sat watching these rabbits from ranges of 30 yards out around 120 yards in complete darkness yet ion the screen they were as clear as anything.

 

I would definately recommend modifiying your existing torch/lamp set up if you are still using the standard one as they come. After seeing it in the flesh and in action there is absolutely no comparison and will undoubtadly result in less spooked quarry, much better vision and a much higher success rate whilst night shooting.

 

Thanks Dave, I learned a hell of a lot last night as well as spending a few hours in great company

 

Col

Edited August 20, 2013 by Colc08

[Dave-G]

Aw thanks Col, while lowering my eyes, shuffling and scratching a foot on the floor a bit. B)

 

Being an overnight cabbie needing to maintain an all night body clock, it's difficult getting someone to stay out overnight into silly hours on my nights off for normal working folk who live their lives by day. I generally therefore have to be billy-no-mates and just accept that's the way things are. Company is great, come again as often as you can before you move further away next month - ****** damn ******.

 

I sometimes struggle to put my thoughts into words in one sitting so to speak, which partly explains how this thread has got so drawn out with questions - but that does pull in more views and helps members get a bit more from modern lighting methods and merits. You have struck the nail on the head there - it's not the amount of light generated that differs greatly, but the benefits come from where it is in our vision.

 

Most people don't realise that light spill from a reflector torch causes darkness adjusted eye pupils to close as soon as it is switched on due to the very close proximity of the light spill.

By blacking out the reflector and fitting an aspheric lens in front of the LED we get to dump the light spill and put a little of what would have been spill into the central beam only - which is being concentrated and thrown further.

 

That we then don't have our eyes compromised by local light spill reflecting off anything - including atmospheric moisture and dust - our pupils remain more open so we see better and further - and maintain our night adjusted eyesight when the torch goes off. I'm not sure I explained that last bit properly but we all know when we are in a dark area and turn a light off we are sort of sight compromised for a few seconds or so. You don't get that if you use these thrower modifications.

 

There is also an element of not needing nearly as much light to make up for lost night eye adjustment. If you have not allowed your eyes to develop it then you will need more light than if you allow your eyes to get accustomed to the dark better. That's what I call being a bit more covert than blasting otherwise excessive light out to make up for reduced viewing ability. But I have to say that is more old school thinking and some people prefer the wow factor of lots of light. I also wear sensible shoes....

 

Thanks for the company and nice words Colin. Hope to do it again sometime on stubble in the next few weeks.

Edited August 20, 2013 by Dave-G

[Dave-G]

Anyone getting the lovely new Yukon Photon digital NV rig - all you need is a 1 Watt IR module from eBay for it + an aspheric lens from DX for air ranges or an Ahorton lens and spacer kit from me for rimfire ranges. I'll hopefully get some footage up for you this week but I only got it here about two hours ago.

 

 

Here's the barrel mount you need to use the top part of. Fit the lower half to your barrel to swap it there for lamping with a red LED module in it:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370777128751

[Dave-G]

Well I've used the new Yukon Photon - boring narrative alert:

 

 

 

 

Digital night vision has never been so affordable and covert. I say covert because it doesn't need anywhere near as much IR light being shone towards the quarry as that needed for rear add-on rigs, so your bunnies and foxes are less likely to get spooked. Even the 1 watt eBay module is more than needed for moderate rimfire ranges - but if you already have one that will be more covert than an Oslon Black IR LED.

 

Anyone who fancies having a go at swapping the LED and single mode driver in an existing P60 torch drop-in to a low power IR pill for the Yukon Photon, I have a few of each here to save you buying 50 or so at a time. These will give a longer run time than 1 watt LED's as they only use 700MAH instead of 1050MAH - and are all you need. If you don't feel up to it I can do it for you if you PM me.

 

Edited August 24, 2013 by Dave-G

[bi9johnny]

Have been out using bob's t20 with my 17hmr and his nv which he very kindly lent to me for several nights and had fantastic results taking 42 rabbits out to 180 mtrs through the fence. Performed fantastic the rabbits didn't even know I was there.... My order is in for this amazing bit of kit

[Luckyshot]

Have been out using bob's t20 with my 17hmr and his nv which he very kindly lent to me for several nights and had fantastic results taking 42 rabbits out to 180 mtrs through the fence. Performed fantastic the rabbits didn't even know I was there.... My order is in for this amazing bit of kit

 

196 yard shot with an hmr is a good shot to start with so one using night vision is particularly a very good shot, not many kits can do this.

Edited August 26, 2013 by Luckyshot

[Luckyshot]

Well after mulling over this thread for a while now I finally decided to mod one of my 501b torches with an ahorton lens along with a cree xr-e r2. What did I think of the finished torch

 

 

 

it does have a tight beam a little spill round the edges but for the worst part, not even as bright or as powerful as my £7.50 ebay torch. Its still a good little torch though as its a single cell torch nice little and light but not as powerful as I would of liked going by a lot of recommendations from people who have them.

[activeviii]

What driver is running the LED, give us a beam shot if you can. the spillage cant be helped. even with my 66mm lens you get some back reflection off the lens. if you can darken the insides of the spacers you can cut down on some of it. me personally like the spillage as it is enough to get an eye reflect when scanning.

 

changing the driver to a 1000ma will give you more as the led you have is a 100mah max. i have driven them a lot harder and got away with it, the reds dont like it but can be done, the whites are more tolerant to over clocking with the right heat sink, down side to it is the battery only last an hour and the torch get rather hot.

 

 

 

a beam shot really would help. if you can shine onto a light surface about 15 foot away and get a photo for us.

 

all best

 

Phil

[Dave-G]

Something sounds wrong there LS. What spacer/reflector are you using?

[Luckyshot]

What driver is running the LED, give us a beam shot if you can. the spillage cant be helped. even with my 66mm lens you get some back reflection off the lens. if you can darken the insides of the spacers you can cut down on some of it. me personally like the spillage as it is enough to get an eye reflect when scanning.

 

changing the driver to a 1000ma will give you more as the led you have is a 100mah max. i have driven them a lot harder and got away with it, the reds dont like it but can be done, the whites are more tolerant to over clocking with the right heat sink, down side to it is the battery only last an hour and the torch get rather hot.

 

 

 

a beam shot really would help. if you can shine onto a light surface about 15 foot away and get a photo for us.

 

all best

 

Phil

 

Ile get a beam shot up over the weekend as for the driver, not sure a sparky at work did the led and driver for me I just put it all back together.

 

Something sounds wrong there LS. What spacer/reflector are you using?

 

The 1 I got from you, I might not of explained the results correctly so ile put up a beam shot of both torches for comparison.

[Dave-G]

Are the LED and star base flat and central?

 

Does it fire up bright then dim quite soon?

 

Is the base glued to the brass pill?

 

You can send it to me for a looksee if you like mate.

 

One of the lessons I learned about that LED on my first two re-flow's with it is that if you get it too hot during the re-flow soldering stage you will here it 'pop'

 

It still glows but at seriously reduced intensity.

Edited August 31, 2013 by Dave-G

[Dave-G]

Ouch, It didn't happen with a memebr of this forum but I have had a bad experience with postage.

 

I'm £90 out of pocket because a package has not been signed for and/or the buyer says it's not got there. RM Track and trace say they still have it but all that means is it has not been signed off. I'll probably never know what has happened to it. Signed for only records postage and delivery signature - not it's last known whereabouts.

 

In my past experience, RM only compensates the cost of the item rather than its value. For me that would be the cost of the components excluding labour costs, nor does it reflect profit or the loss of the sale value or what it costs to replace it. I have agreed to replace the items but it is a loss and I'm not going to let that re-occur.

 

 

I'm sorry about this but: Any item costing over £10 will now only be sent via RMSD - at an averaged cost of £6.

 

I am also not going to replace the 1 meter length of copper I used to make the one piece copper modules because it costs too much and has production issues that don't reflect the price I think they will fetch. The main reason I didn't use aluminium was that it can't be soldered to but I have found a solution to that issue. The aluminium one piece modules will cost the same £37.

[activeviii]

Sorry to hear this.

 

I will not use royalfail anymore. i use myhermes. cheaper and so far not has a problem. £4.20 for upto 2kg.

[garyc]

Hello guys, just need some help. I received the 2 501 b's I ordered and the batteries, got them charged up to find the torches don't work. I put the testers on the batteries and they are fine. And I did a continuity test on the torch body it's self and the actual modual it self and they both fine. Bearing it mind its just the standard white ones that come with it. But when I put them together I get nothing. Except when I give them a hard bang in my hand and they flicker on. It seems like the copper outer spring is not getting correct contact. Can you guys spread some light on this?

 

Sorry dave if its in wrong thread and needed to my own.

[Dave-G]

Gary - Its a 501b LED lamping torch topic.

 

You could either stretch the big spring - or slip it partially off the pill to see if that rules it out of the equation. Don't worry about deforming the spring - if you do I can put one in with the copper modules I have made up for you.

 

Is there a thin paper 'washer/insulator' covering up the solder terminals of the LED? if not the base of the aluminium reflectors might be making intermittent contact with one of them. It's very strange that you have the same problem with both brand new torches.

[garyc]

Well I have stripped it right back taken off the top section, taken off the reflector so just got the modual with the 2 springs across the battery and case of the torch where it would usually sit and still nothing, until I tap it and it flickers on. So as my conclusion I have come to put it to the lamp (not LED, as its got a filament in it bulb) that they are both ********!

 

Can you just buy white led moduals to just drop in?

 

And another note, how do u take the clear lens flat out for the new lens? Seems glued in!

[Dave-G]

Yes, sounds like the bulbs are naffed - I didn't think people still bought those.

 

Here's my dyslexic video attempt to show how to fit the upgrades you have ordered.

 

In its current form your standard reflector reaches deep into the torch head - as seen in the initial part of the video. You then see how to remove the flat glass lens retainer, then remove the flat lens and put the retainer back about 3/4 way in. That will allow you to ensure the new module gets pressed firmly against the front end of the torch body by the lens to improve the cooling path.

 

You can buy white modules off the bay, but they cannot be used with the new lens you have ordere. You would need to buy a shorter spacer - like the ones in the photo I sent you, or keep one specifically for the white module:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290-lumens-CREE-R2-LED-Bulb-for-501A-B-502B-Surefire-6P-G2-drop-in-module-S3-P60-/350876509537

 

As I have no knowledge of exactly which torch you have bought I should point out that my upgrades are only designed to be run off one 18650 rechargeable battery.

[garyc]

Cheers for the info. Is that you in the vid? Lol

[andy68]

Got me copper ir dropin and lens today from Dave,took 5 mins to fit then had to wait what felt like ages for it to get dark.
My home brew NV is pretty basic and the camera is a cheap one but i was seeing out to 50/60 yards no problem and as i am only
using 12ftlb airgun am well happy.So a big thanks to Dave another happy customer here

[ant.mass]

Yukon Photon + a T20 with my 17hmr its a great setup

[Bangerstox10]

Good afternoon Dave went out sat night with the torch (501b with a copper drop in visible red led and ahorten lens) and it was fantastic. Picked out rabbit eyes well over 120 yards managed to pick out some that my mates lightforce 170 didnt!!!!

Many thanks once again you are a true gent

Paul

Edited September 23, 2013 by Bangerstox10