Surefire Hellfighter (picture intensive)

[ShortArc]

Congratulations scout24! This light is a world of fun with one of the best beams out there. For what folks are paying for these off eBay, there is nothing like them in my opinion. I also think you will be very happy with the LiPo pack solution. I bought mine in a hard plastic housing ready to be velcroed to the bottom of the light. Sure you have to be carful charging them but one can not beat the energy density and weight.
Cheers!

 

[XeRay]

So this is what a Hellfighter looks like taken apart.
The white "shell" surrounding the reflector/bulb/ballest assembly is some type of thermal compound like silicone. The ballest assembly looks to be three circuit boards that screw onto the reflector assembly with 2 screws in each one. The entire assemble came out of the head without any problems, just a poke in the rear.

Do you have any idea who makes the ballast, can you see any names or identification on any parts of the ballast? I have always wondered this question.

 

[jamesmtl514]

I got my connector from allied electronics. Great service and quick shipping.

 

[scout24]

I should have my connectors from Allied tomorrow or Momday. Meanwhile, here's a pic of my now-portable, new-to-me Hellfighter running a 3600ma Li-Ion pack to get my feet wet. A bit of soldering, some shrink wrap, some Dean's connectors and away we go!!! Shown with two not quite as bright relatives...

A big thank you to ShortArc, and those others who made this thread the resource that it is... :bow: I'm starting to like this whole HID thing...

 

[ABTOMAT]

A word of warning: Those Lipo packs will catch fire if they get punctured or damaged. Don't drop that light. I put mine in a project box for protection.

 

[scout24]

Abtomat- I picked up a "Rat Shack" project box today, gives me something to do at lunch this coming week. may need to look into a sturdier one, we'll see. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Rat]

William- I have not ordered yet, but in ShortArc's first post he mentions Allied Electronics, and the proper part numbers. The connectors are shown as in stock, I'm going to order a few on Monday.

Thanks for that. They are not cheap are they.
I was looking for a water proof unscrewable connector that could handle 40amps. Does not have to be made of metal.Any idea's 2 OR 4 PIN

EDIT: found some 30A ones which will work fine here http://au.mouser.com/Search/Product...71)virtualkey64550000virtualkey798-JR25WP4P71

 

[Solscud007]

I met up with Scout24 to problem solve my HF. It works with Mac's handle but when I use the SF cradle it wont fire up. Even went to Mac to problem solve it. We deduced it was the cradle. Called SF and sent it out to them. It returned Monday and nothing was done. Except they replaced the vibration damper. I know this cause I called them about it.

I plugged it int my car and it fired up. Then put Mac's handle back on. When I visited Scout24 the cradle wouldnt work. Tried his power supply, his cradle and it still didnt work. Only upon swapping his head did I notice the prongs of the metal contacts in the head were flatter than his HF.

So I pried them up with a flathead screw driver. Sure enough it worked.

Here are some Hellfighter Shenanigans.

 

[Patriot]

Some pretty annoying problems you had there but good diagnostic working figuring out an odd but simple problem. Since you have both Mac's handle and the conventional under-slung battery, which system do you prefer?

Fun pictures btw!

 

[Solscud007]

Some pretty annoying problems you had there but good diagnostic working figuring out an odd but simple problem. Since you have both Mac's handle and the conventional under-slung battery, which system do you prefer?

Fun pictures btw!

Mac's Handle is sexy no doubt. Im gonna order a new plug and have Scout24 help me make an underslung battery pack. One issue with Mac's Handle is the power supply. 4x26650s. It just takes FOREVER to charge them up. Im using the Nitecore Intellicharge i4 charger. It can only charge two 26650 batteries at a time. I charged two of them yesterday after noon. They werent done when I went to bed after midnight!!!

From scout24's mouth, his li-poly pack takes like 4-6 hours to charge. Much faster than it takes me to charge up my handle batteries.

 

[ABTOMAT]

If you use balanced hobby LiPo packs you can charge in under an hour, depending on the packs/charger you use.

And glad to hear you figured that problem out. Weird deal.

 

[Solscud007]

If you use balanced hobby LiPo packs you can charge in under an hour, depending on the packs/charger you use.

And glad to hear you figured that problem out. Weird deal.

yep. It was weird. Your cable works great. It was just the spring contacts. Who knew?

 

[scout24]

I'm using a cheap Tenergy balancing charger for my 3600ma pack, which may contribute to longer charging times. That, or I need to eyeball it more frequently!

 

[CMAG]

when you balance charge it takes longer, depending on C rating of Lipo you can fast charge but good idea not to push full voltage then lower amps to top off if needed
I only balance every 3 to 4 charges with a broken in pack or when stored long time.

 

[RetiredFireCaptain]

That is one awesome looking flashlight.

 

[Solscud007]

My friend is a technician at a radiology therapy office. We have been trying to hook up and xray some guns like I have seen floating around on the internet. Well due to schedule conflicts we have finally been able to do it but since I had to pick up my wife at JFK airport and go into Manhattan, I was not about to bring firearms ANYWHERE near those places. As I would xray them and then immediately continue on to pick up my wife.

So the compromise was to Xray the Hellfighter. I didnt know that the image would be so low resolution. Oh well. Beggars cant be choosers.

And with Mac's handle. This is a composite of two images cause the imager cant see that much at one time.

 

[erehwyrevekool]

The fighter seems in good health! :thumbsup:

 

[Solscud007]

Has anyone used a HF on a booster pack? Those portable car jumper cable packs. Scout24 was joking I wear one and hook up the HF and wear it like a ghost buster. Haha.

 

[jamesmtl514]

My friends are also convinced I'll be walking around with a car battery...

Here are some horrible beamshots from my phone.

 

[TEEJ]

My friends are also convinced I'll be walking around with a car battery...

Here are some horrible beamshots from my phone.

Wow - your phone's light is WAAAAAY better than my phones light!





BTW - I have a Hell Fighter with the SF cig lighter connector, etc...and it has the option to hook up TWO batteries as well.

So, I've been using it with the 12 v set-up, but, the directions indicate it will also be able to use 24 v.


Does anyone one know if the HF would be brighter with 24 v than it would be on 12 v, or is it just able to use both equally, etc?