greatscoot
Flashlight Enthusiast
We should start a "What Will it Run Off" thread. 
The Malkoff Front Porch
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thermal guy
Flashaholic
I'm telling you if gene posted the true voltage that his stuff could be run at it would be a huge selling point. I held off for years on getting a M91 because the listed voltage range didn't really work for me.
What he lists is the regulated voltage, if I'm not mistaken? Perhaps total voltage range could be added, but that may perhaps put some extra liability because we know some battery combos might not be recommended in certain conditions, like 2xCR123 in an M91b may not be the best idea.... I'm sure you could pull standard alkalines (I know not us but others) far too hard very easily.
Should just have a link to here on his site! It's funny seeing one of us answer a question on the site.
PoliceScannerMan
Flashaholic
Received my HDS (ha ha hound dog super) today. Loving it, great beam on this one. Boat is about 160'.
PoliceScannerMan
Flashaholic
MD3 with clipped Triad. [emoji41]
thermal guy
Flashaholic
The super is fantastic for my long walks out here in the country "no street lights" also for night hikes in the woods I live on. Never been one to walk around on trails at night using moon mode! More and more bears and other animals with sharp things have been reported right in my backyard. Kinda like to see them first. The super sure does just that.
rayrevolver
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2021
- Messages
- 3
First post!
Ladies&Gents,
To anyone curious, the newer E1HT head fits and works on the Rosch Works SL1. The original head was a Malkoff as well and you folks probably know more about it than I do!
This is a nice upgrade to go from a 250 lumen flood to a 325 lumen spot.
Ladies&Gents,
To anyone curious, the newer E1HT head fits and works on the Rosch Works SL1. The original head was a Malkoff as well and you folks probably know more about it than I do!
This is a nice upgrade to go from a 250 lumen flood to a 325 lumen spot.
AmadeusChapter
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2020
- Messages
- 14
I don't know if this is the right place to put this or not, but I have a Malkoff story that I'd like to share.
After a lot of searching, last month I decided that the light that would best suit my needs would be a Malkoff MD3. I bought a body, an M61 drop-in, and a high-low switch. I also decided I was going to upgrade some old D-Cell Maglites, so I threw in a couple of the Maglite LED upgrades and the reflectors. After that, I realized that my Streamlight Microstream wasn't quite as sexy as it used to be, so I added a AA MDC with an M31 drop-in. All of that added up to a not-small chunk of change, so before I finalized the purchase, I subscribed to the newsletter to get a 20% off coupon.
Then, like a dummy, I went ahead and paid without applying the coupon. The moment I hit "Accept" I realized what I had done. I immediately sent an email explaining the situation, and asking if there was any way the discount code could be retroactively applied. Gene got back to me right away and and told me that I would be receiving a refund to cover that 20%, and about an hour later, the refund went through.
Absolutely top-notch, tier-one customer service. The lights are fantastic, but the quick response and personal attention alone would have been enough to make me a customer for life. Just wanted to share, in case anyone in this thread was on the fence about picking up any Malkoff devices.
After a lot of searching, last month I decided that the light that would best suit my needs would be a Malkoff MD3. I bought a body, an M61 drop-in, and a high-low switch. I also decided I was going to upgrade some old D-Cell Maglites, so I threw in a couple of the Maglite LED upgrades and the reflectors. After that, I realized that my Streamlight Microstream wasn't quite as sexy as it used to be, so I added a AA MDC with an M31 drop-in. All of that added up to a not-small chunk of change, so before I finalized the purchase, I subscribed to the newsletter to get a 20% off coupon.
Then, like a dummy, I went ahead and paid without applying the coupon. The moment I hit "Accept" I realized what I had done. I immediately sent an email explaining the situation, and asking if there was any way the discount code could be retroactively applied. Gene got back to me right away and and told me that I would be receiving a refund to cover that 20%, and about an hour later, the refund went through.
Absolutely top-notch, tier-one customer service. The lights are fantastic, but the quick response and personal attention alone would have been enough to make me a customer for life. Just wanted to share, in case anyone in this thread was on the fence about picking up any Malkoff devices.
thermal guy
Flashaholic
There one of a kind they are! Good people through and through.
GrizzlyAdams
Enlightened
Mrs. Malkoffs hand written thank you note is my favorite part of opening those rectangle packages from Gene. After all these years her penmanship is as lovely as ever.
Favorite company ever!
Which "last several" of my posts would those be?
It's funny I find a problem with people who don't even know how a buck circuit works giving advice?
Lights can run out of regulation for a very long time, particularly when they have emitters with a low Vf. There's nothing magical or special about it. It's not some Malkoff feature. The LED doesn't even need to be mounted in a flashlight.
This was the question posed:
It's a simple question, but there's not a simple answer, as different types of LEDs with unknown specs are being used.
Most of the time, when you look at a runtime chart of either, whether with primaries, or a single li-ion, you're going to see a period of regulated runtime followed by another period where the output tapers off as battery voltage decreases.
The longer it ran in regulation, when there was greater current demand, the less time it will run out of regulation, and vice versa.
A M61 or M91 isn't going to run in regulation on 1x123 or 2AA to begin with, so your regulated runtime is 0, and all you're getting is the long taper. Without a boost circuit, you're direct driving the LED with the batteries, so, all else being equal, the output and runtime will depend on the forward voltage of the LED(Vf).
This is where saying one is more suitable than the other gets tricky, because Vf is not a fixed number.
If you look at the specs of different Cree LEDs Malkoff has used over the course of time, you'll see their Vf rated like this:
XR-E 3.3V @ 350mA
XP-G 2.9V @ 350mA
XP-G2 2.7V @ 350mA
XP-L 2.9V @ 1050mA
The XP-L complicates things by being rated a 1.05A. Vf typically increases and decreases with drive current(the latter being what makes underdriving with even lower voltages possible), but that change is not linear. On top of that, I've read test results of XP-Ls being 2.87V@350mA, so who knows.
What we're not given is a minimum, rock bottom voltage at which a LED will turn on at all.
The newer SST-20 Hi CRI LEDs are also spec'd at 350mA, but have additional binning information that separates them into 3 Vf groups of 2.5-2.7, 2.7-2.9, 2.9-3.1(and you can't order specific Vf groups). In other words, and it's actually true for all of them, one might work better than another; they're not necessarily going to be consistent.
So yes, the M61 and M91 will both run at lower than specified voltage. As far as which might run longer, or with higher output, all we really have are indicators. And even those leave some play room, because they are based on ranges and unspecified minimum numbers.
The easy answer is "just take your pick", because that's really what it's going to come down to.
I'm not a fan of underdriving these lights, and also have my doubts about runtime tests where the light is left on for the duration, because I think there will be a point during that runtime that the light wouldn't come back on if switched off.
Thank you, Owen. I had the same question and this explains it well.
Right now I'm testing an Elzetta Charlie with two AA rechargeables. When I read your post I switched it off and on again. True, it didn't come back on.
It ran for 40 Minutes on 2xAA rechargeable.
Sorry I messed up your runtime test, but that's what us trolls do
That is why I don't like all the talk about using 2xAA in a 3 cell light for an emergency, though. I'm afraid people will develop false confidence in a configuration that won't actually work when they need it to, and an emergency is not where you want to find out!
Personally, I would much prefer to have primaries and a hi/lo ring(tailcap for the Elzetta), or lights like the MDC AA and 2AA that are made for those batteries' voltages, and have boost circuits that can dependably provide long regulated runtimes in the lower modes.
That AVS head is really interesting, since it regulates at different outputs based on voltage. I wish I understood how the "automatic voltage sensing" circuit works.
Lots of possibilities there, especially if there were a buck/boost version that could work with very low voltages. Just think, there could be one dropin that acted as a M31, M61, and M91, depending on what batteries you were feeding it with. That would be pretty cool.
It came back on after some time and ran all together for 2h 45min.Sorry I messed up your runtime test, but that's what us trolls do
Yes, you are right, it's not a good idea as an emergency light. It could fail exactly when you need it. That's the most important result of my runtime test. Nevertheless, I'll do the same test with the old M60 instead of the AVS head. Just out of curiosity
thermal guy
Flashaholic
Running 2XAA's in a 3 cell host "MD3" is a nice bonus and pretty handy in an emergency situation but it does have its downfalls. Still it's nice to know if needed it will work but honestly let's face it, if it came to the point that all you had was some AA's to get you light you probably have much bigger problems at hand😂
thermal guy
Flashaholic
" Right now I'm testing an Elzetta Charlie with two AA rechargeables. When I read your post I switched it off and on again. True, it didn't come back on.
It ran for 40 Minutes on 2xAA rechargeable."
You want to see some LONG runtimes use 2 alkaline AA. She will run practically forever. I did a bunch of test like this I have the data somewhere but they were much better then rechargeables. Just don't keep them in your light.
It ran for 40 Minutes on 2xAA rechargeable."
You want to see some LONG runtimes use 2 alkaline AA. She will run practically forever. I did a bunch of test like this I have the data somewhere but they were much better then rechargeables. Just don't keep them in your light.
Elzetta Charlie with Malkoff M60 drop in runs on two cheap AA rechargeables for 12 hours. Now, after 16 hours, it still has a useful output although significantly dimmer than at the beginning. During this test I switched it off and on several times. It never failed to come back on.
I think this setup could be a cost-effective alternative to 3xCR123 for applications where one doesn't need full output.
I think this setup could be a cost-effective alternative to 3xCR123 for applications where one doesn't need full output.
greatscoot
Flashlight Enthusiast
Another bit of Malkoff awesome customer service.
I had a switch go bad in a AA tube, so I emailed Gene. He was going to ship me a new switch, so I figured I'd order an MD2 body while I was at it. Not only did I receive the parts in two days, I wasn't charged shipping either. As always, included was a hand signed note from Cathy.
I had a switch go bad in a AA tube, so I emailed Gene. He was going to ship me a new switch, so I figured I'd order an MD2 body while I was at it. Not only did I receive the parts in two days, I wasn't charged shipping either. As always, included was a hand signed note from Cathy.
