fyrstormer
Banned
Years ago, I bought a few Arc6s. One I modified with a Philips Luxeon K2, and later with a Cree XM-L; another I modified with a Cree MC-E; and the third I left stock. Of the three, the one with the Cree MC-E always gave me the most trouble, because of its funky 4-in-1 emitter design. (but it looks so cool though!) First I used the stock reflector, but the beam was terrible, so I added a piece of diffuser film to the lense, which smoothed-out the beam but destroyed the throw. Then I tried a TIR optic designed for the MC-E, but the only one that really worked well also had a diffusing layer on it, so the throw was still no good. Plus, with both of those solutions I couldn't see the emitter, and frankly I think the appearance of the MC-E is half the fun of owning one. In any event, I was out of good ideas, so I stuck it in a plastic bag and tossed it in a box, to revisit someday.
A few years later, Prometheus Lights started making lights using the Cree MC-E. His lights used a reflector made by Ledil, which I'd seen before but I'd never realized they had a version specifically made for the MC-E. His results were very good, so I bought a few reflectors from him to try on my Arc6 MC-E...eventually. Once I got the reflectors, I saw they were much larger than the Arc6 reflector, and they would take a lot of work to trim down. In fact, I wasn't sure I could even do it without a proper lathe. So into the box they went, next to the Arc6 MC-E, to be revisited sometime between now and never.
Well, tonight I finally decided to give it a try. I recently wrapped up a particularly satisfying RC project, and I was looking for a change of pace that wouldn't cost me hundreds of dollars more, so I dug out my Arc6 MC-E, the Ledil reflectors, and my Dremel and packs of sandpaper. Three hours later, here's what I managed to come up with:
An un-modified Ledil Boom reflector is on the left. The modified one is in the middle. The original Arc6 reflector, which has the outer dimensions I needed to copy, is on the right. Working with just a Dremel and sandpaper, I'm frankly amazed I didn't ruin the reflector outright. When I was done, I used a smaller light to shine through the side of the reflector, and I discovered I came closer to ruining it than I ever would've guessed -- in a couple places, the remaining plastic is so thin the light goes straight through the reflective layer and can be seen glowing faintly on the other side. However, I didn't breach the reflective layer anywhere, so the reflector is still usable.
The modified Ledil Boom reflector is on the left, and the original reflector is on the right. I don't pretend to understand the math that makes the array-of-mirrors design work, but it produces significantly better results than the random texturing on the original reflector.
I am frankly amazed I managed to get the reflector to fit this well. I'm really not trying to kiss my own *** with that comment, I just had serious doubts that I could get the reflector to fit without ruining it. I'm super-pleased that it fit properly.
As you can see from the beamshot, there are still hints of the 4-in-1 emitter design, but having seen what the beam looked like with previous solutions, I can tell you this is orders of magnitude better. This could actually be used as an EDC light without being irritating to look at.
- - -
So there, that's how I spent my Thursday evening.
A few years later, Prometheus Lights started making lights using the Cree MC-E. His lights used a reflector made by Ledil, which I'd seen before but I'd never realized they had a version specifically made for the MC-E. His results were very good, so I bought a few reflectors from him to try on my Arc6 MC-E...eventually. Once I got the reflectors, I saw they were much larger than the Arc6 reflector, and they would take a lot of work to trim down. In fact, I wasn't sure I could even do it without a proper lathe. So into the box they went, next to the Arc6 MC-E, to be revisited sometime between now and never.
Well, tonight I finally decided to give it a try. I recently wrapped up a particularly satisfying RC project, and I was looking for a change of pace that wouldn't cost me hundreds of dollars more, so I dug out my Arc6 MC-E, the Ledil reflectors, and my Dremel and packs of sandpaper. Three hours later, here's what I managed to come up with:
An un-modified Ledil Boom reflector is on the left. The modified one is in the middle. The original Arc6 reflector, which has the outer dimensions I needed to copy, is on the right. Working with just a Dremel and sandpaper, I'm frankly amazed I didn't ruin the reflector outright. When I was done, I used a smaller light to shine through the side of the reflector, and I discovered I came closer to ruining it than I ever would've guessed -- in a couple places, the remaining plastic is so thin the light goes straight through the reflective layer and can be seen glowing faintly on the other side. However, I didn't breach the reflective layer anywhere, so the reflector is still usable.
The modified Ledil Boom reflector is on the left, and the original reflector is on the right. I don't pretend to understand the math that makes the array-of-mirrors design work, but it produces significantly better results than the random texturing on the original reflector.
I am frankly amazed I managed to get the reflector to fit this well. I'm really not trying to kiss my own *** with that comment, I just had serious doubts that I could get the reflector to fit without ruining it. I'm super-pleased that it fit properly.
As you can see from the beamshot, there are still hints of the 4-in-1 emitter design, but having seen what the beam looked like with previous solutions, I can tell you this is orders of magnitude better. This could actually be used as an EDC light without being irritating to look at.
- - -
So there, that's how I spent my Thursday evening.
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