rtaylor Posted February 7, 2015 Report Share Posted February 7, 2015 I know this has been done quite a few times but it appears to have been a bit diluted. Could someone with more knowledge and experience on the subject give a list of the components to make a decent lamping torch. 300-400 yards would be nice. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Red or White ? or what colour do you favour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 300-400 yds is serious distance for shooting in the dark, In white , best led I have used, for performance and image size at them ranges is an sst-90 led,running on an 9amp driver , through a 78mm aspheric lens, makes a L170 look like a candle! also works well in red, Cree xlm in white next best smaller die size so smaller image, xlms don't do colours, in xpe leds pick your colour,but wouldn't go past a 50mm aspheric lens as the die size is small, but it wont get you that 300yd clear image to shoot at, but your choice just my preferences. Previous owner of nighmasters, Crelants , lightforces and various other lamps but the sst90 is oldschool but will take some beating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evo Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 can I ask is it 300-400 to see eye shine or are you shooting to those distances Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtaylor Posted February 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2015 If I could get eye shine at 3-500 yards and then shoot at 2-200 yards that would be nice. My eyes don't work great with red light and I prefer white. Where is the place to buy LEDs and lens'? Would I need to machine a new body or can an existing one be modified? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo Posted February 15, 2015 Report Share Posted February 15, 2015 Tested the sst90 the other night one with a lens on the led , the other dedomed, the results were quite surprising! the lensed led nice large die image at 300yds and plenty bright to shoot at that distance, the dedomed led tighter beam and good clean image at 400yds,lighting up way further in the distance. Both through a 78mm aspheric running a 9 amp driver, so not really suitable for riffle mounting,built to use on a mule as a foxing tool. Custom build, with a large heatsink. For a easy thrower in white take your standard t20 flashlight, face off the head down to the threads and fit a Yukon sparten 3 x42 lens! really clean beam image, great throw easily 200yds plus and easily gun mountable, fitted with a 3.4 amp/hr 18650, probably give you a good hour of light if left on, torch and lens set you back about £50, need a battery and charger, knocks a nm800 into tomorrow at a 1/3 of the cost. Will try and host a picture of both..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo Posted February 15, 2015 Report Share Posted February 15, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konnie Posted February 15, 2015 Report Share Posted February 15, 2015 do you build supply these, as at present using ledray tactical 700 on HMR not looking to shoot long distance, but as flat as a pancake here and would like to see further behind target. green/red Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo Posted February 15, 2015 Report Share Posted February 15, 2015 Nope sorry just a hobby....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtaylor Posted February 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2015 That sst 90 looks like a real bit of kit. Where do you get the bits from? I take it its 12v? When you say dedomed is that an aspherical lens? What kind of cost would it be to make them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-B-T Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Have you tried a T50 or T67 torch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evo Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 can I just say,,if you want a decent torch at a decent price then get a T20 and fit the 66mm crelant head, in red in the summer they are more than capable of well over 300yrds for eye shine, I have even seen rabbits at over 450yrds, steer clear of the T67 as it is pathetically heavy, so is the T50, another decent torch is to use a T20 and fit a x2 converter this will tighten the beam and throw the light further, just two options that will save you a fortune,, its no good slating the nm800 because that is a cracking torch and will certainly throw a red /IR beam a very long distance BUT they are expensive, a T20 built properly with decent parts is a cracking torch BUT to many are appearing on ebay which are basically cheap carp and the single mode drivers seem to pop after a while, the T20 I built 2 yrs ago is still working fine and has not missed a beat but I can use it as standard for air rifle use or put the x2 lens on for rimfire, works fine for me and anyone else I have built them for here is a pic of the T20/x2 on my wolverine, with the red pill it will see eye shine well over 300yrds with my NV kit I can see 200yrds+ which is more than enough for .22 .17hmr and air rifle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Problem with going above a 50mm aspheric with an xpe led is the size of the die image projected at distance, Granted you can use 66,74mm or whatever size lens you want but is the image really usable being so tight with the xpe"s, NM800 also uses the xpe, but a quality lens, still pricey though. A good quality 40mm lens on a T20 would be an ideal match for the xpe leds. Talking colours here not i.r. The sst lamp was solely built for foxing off a mule, giving a good size image at distance, like a regular lamp but more intense. Its in the realm of using a blitz, possibly brighter! and for centerfire use in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evo Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 whilst I agree with you on some points I have to say the 66mm crellant head is superb for shooting foxes out to 200yrds although its a tight beam it is more than big enough to see a fox at those distances, the xpe leds are fine and do work well certainly the red 3w xpe , problem now is the leds have become brighter but the forward voltage is now lower usually around the 2-2.2v which makes things a bit more difficult unless using a constant current driver, I,m yet to see a red torch upto 70mm out perform the 66mm crellant for performance, useability,lightness, and for ease of use on top of a rifle, BUT the T20 with a x2 telephoto lens is a cracking torch for the price boo, also mate the glass in the crellant is good quality also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-B-T Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 You can now get a T67 and T50 in a one battery version making them a lot lighter and considerably shorter also you can get a replacement 67mm lense for the T67 from ANT SUPPLIES which reduces the spill and improves the beam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 Red xpe on 3watts? have to have a link for that, assumed the xpe range ran at 1amp, know the xlms run at 3 watts but don't do reds. The Crelant head at the time was used as the only 66mm lens host we could find out there, the lens quality in the Crelant lenses used to vary a fair bit, dx ones better, always favoured the kaidomain or ants supplies ones , Using a Yukon Sparten lens will give you near as dam it 66mm performance , but with a cleaner image, but still really tight using the xpe, a good quality 50mm aspheric will also give a sufficient picture and die size at 200yds so a compromise. Pity cree didn't bring the xlms out in red, be ideal. Drivers for the leds are not that difficult to source, 3mode/memory for the t20 or bucks/dimmers for custom builds, simple to do. Havnt held one of the new T67 torches but believe its a bit of a beast. Evo if you want to try an experiment try a c-cell Maglite head on a T20,quality 50mm aspheric , 20 mm driver board , 3 mode driver and you will have a good as if not better torch than the NM800 for less than £35, will host a picture to see what I mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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