xevious
Flashlight Enthusiast
Both the original NovaTac 120P and the SPA Defense SPL-120 have the same basic parts design. Battery is changed by removing the tail cap, as BullzeyeBill mentioned. Just be mindful of the screw threads. I always rotate CCW for a bit until I find the "lead in" and start rotating CW. Also, because of the tension from the spring, it's a good idea to press down a little as you turn to help alleviate stress on the threads. If you have some o-ring lubricant, apply a little the threads to help keep them smooth.So those are both other models in the last pic in this thread?
The NovaTac is the first "high volume" sold programmable flashlight. It was a major milestone in LED flashlights.
EDITED for corrections, thanks to Hogokansatsukan.
Henry Schneiker, the original creator of HDS Systems had conceived of it and was approached to take it to a more mainstream market (predominantly tactical). It was branded NovaTac at that time. Unfortunately it wasn't managed well and fell apart. Henry broke away from the initiative and then NovaTac fell apart not long after. In picking up the pieces, some enterprising people licensed the design to a company in China that churned out the "NovaTac Storm" and a number of other form factors to include different battery types. It was a cheaper version of essentially the same light (internally).
The NovaTac was released in 85 and 120 lumens options, and came in several models, "E" (executive), "P" (programmable), and "T" (tactical). The Spa Defense SPL-120 is essentially the tactical NovaTac 120T with just a few brightness levels. But like it was already mentioned, the "Easter Egg" is that these lights all have the programming inside, released by doing 250 consecutive clicks. It's a pain in the butt, but you do it one time and that's it. The programming UI is not intuitive and you need to read through the topics to find a link to the manual. Most people don't really bother much with it. You can "reprogram" brightness levels rather easily, without having to go into the full programming menu.
If you do decide to get into the programming menu, it is a bit of a rabbit hole. You'll be amazed at all the things you can set with this flashlight. And if you're intrigued, but a little put off by the complexity, there are newer flashlights out today with even better programmable user interfaces. NarsilM and Anduril are some of the most popular right now (I prefer Anduril).
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