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Sold/Expired Mako Mk. II Run

Endeavour

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Messages
1,673
Location
Texas, USA
Hello Everyone,

For the last several months I've been working on a new website and a revised version of the Mako. The project is finally nearing completion, and up for offer here is a batch of Mako Mk. II lights, which offer subtly refined styling, new and brighter LED options, in a slightly smaller 6AL4V casing than the previous model.

There are three versions of the Mako Mk. II:
High Output (HO)
This is a 21-lumen output flood light, with much higher brightness and spacing between modes than the previous model, which was around 10 lumens. I'm very excited about the performance characteristics of this light.

Ultraviolet (UV)
This is a regular output Mako equipped with a UV LED with a nominal wavelength of 375 nanometers. Useful for finding things that fluoresce, curing adhesives, activating glow phosphors, finding scorpions, etc.

Regular Output (RO)
This is essentially a "6/30" Mako flood, with updated styling.

Brightness gains on the HO model have been achieved through using higher power LEDs than previously used, while still providing a smooth, homogenous beam free from major artifacting and color amalgamations common to 5mm type LEDs. All versions of the light are driven within specification to ensure maximum longevity.

For those of you familiar with some of my previous lights, output on the new HO version of the Mako is similar to what the original CR2 Ion did back in 2006, but with a more common cell and a fraction of the power consumption.

A few renders of the new version of the light are below:

13343589993_5181507803_z.jpg


13298871575_80405e0683_z.jpg


The styling has been changed slightly, retaining the fundamental Mako "look", but being slightly shorter, having closer spacing on the grips, and being more rounded in a variety of areas instead of the previous angular cuts.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Mako, it's a small, long-running, AAA based flashlight made out of 6AL4V titanium. The intended purpose is to have a minimally small, lightweight, and durable utility torch that runs off of the world's most common battery, and does so for a very long time. It comes equipped with a two-stage regulator circuit, which gives you a choice of output levels and runtimes to suit your needs.

The light was first created in 2008 and has seen periodic runs since. The design has been well tested by many people over the years – the best overview of the light is probably given by coyote in this thread. http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...the-most-important-flashlight-i-ve-ever-owned

The lights are currently in production, and are expected to be ready to ship on July 7th. The electronics are here and ready for assembly, and will be sent off after the pre-orders have ended. I have 50 pieces available at $199 for the RO model, and $225 for the HO or UV models:
http://store.muyshondt.net/product/mako-mk-ii/

Serial numbers on the flashlights will correspond to the order in which they are purchased (IE: first light bought is A001, second A002, etc.)

The website has been updated. There is now a full shopping cart and account system present to allow you to place and keep track of your orders, as well as a pre-order system that allows you to purchase in advance and allows me to send direct e-mail updates (as opposed to just relying on the forum as I have in the past).

I have spent a substantial amount of time completely redesigning the website, and I hope that it helps to provide a better overall experience for you guys.

If you have any questions at all please feel free to post here or send me an e-mail at [email protected]. I will be active here during the duration of this project, and am greatly looking forward to getting this new light in your hands!

Enrique
 

Endeavour

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Messages
1,673
Location
Texas, USA
I'll be sending e-mail updates on this project to those who have ordered, and will also try to post more general information here as things progress as a general overview so that you don't have to search through an entire thread for information.
 
Last edited:

carrot

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 6, 2005
Messages
9,236
Location
New York City
It's great to hear from you again Enrique.

Love the new Mako. Unfortunately I think I might have to sit this round out because I have recently made considerable investment in new (or maybe old, but rediscovered) hobbies, but I look forward to catching a second wave!

Question for you: what are the mA drive levels for the new HO version?

For those of you who don't know Enrique, the legacy of the Mako lights and the other Muyshondt lights, Enrique's build quality is nothing short of truly superb. His drivers are efficient and stable, the designs are meticulously considered, and the smoothness of his threads are unparalleled.
 

Endeavour

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Messages
1,673
Location
Texas, USA
gunga: No tritium. As for price, I'm disinterested in doing higher volume runs at this stage of things. The quantity is small, the driver boards are made in smaller batches and assembled by hand, among a variety of other things. The HO version is a bit over double the output of the previous versions of the light while maintaining good performance characteristics and is done so at a fairly modest premium. There isn't much else in this form factor, power, and runtime class that offers two fully regulated output stages, output level and quality, and general reliability and performance that the Mako does, and the RO version is still an option as well!

carrot: Thanks for the kind words. High mode is set to 65mA. The light sucks the batteries dry, as usual, too; lithium primaries work great for longer runtimes, and good quality alkalines are fine as well. (The light will, of course, run on any primary AAA cell, but lower quality cells give you diminished performance, and you run the risk of leaky batteries)

Here's a shot of the new Mako off the machines, before bead blasting and engraving:
14405372731_6af1db230c.jpg


Will keep you all posted!
 

gunga

Flashaholic
Joined
Nov 29, 2006
Messages
8,080
Location
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Thanks Enrique. Too bad about the Trit slot. Any option for the rough polished finish as per the last run? It was quite sharp!

I'd purchase a non bead blasted model. Love the machined finish.
 

VeloWeave

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 8, 2013
Messages
123
Location
Sunny Southwest Florida
Hi Enrique, I just discovered your products and am enjoying my brand new Aeon MK II with the XP-G2 emitter. It's just about the most perfect EDC light I've ever held. I love the idea here with your new Mako run. The closest thing I have to it is my Preon 0 and it's nowhere near as efficient and durable as the Mako appears to be. I would love to get in on a future run as I've just spent a bit of change on my new Aeon. The Mako would be a perfect backup to the Aeon.

One question, in the description of the Mako in your first post, what does a "6/30" flood refer to? Maybe someone could enlighten me. :candle:
 

eala

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
May 1, 2009
Messages
1,452
Location
Canada
One question, in the description of the Mako in your first post, what does a "6/30" flood refer to? Maybe someone could enlighten me. :candle:

This is the drive current for the LED. Basically, on low the LED is driven at 6 mA and on high at 30 mA. In reality, these levels are pretty close to each other. A factor of 10 makes them appear visually better spaced. This is what makes the HO version appealing.

eala
 

moshow9

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 10, 2010
Messages
2,222
Location
El Paso
Well it would appear I am not too far out from the flashlight world as I thought I would be right now lol.

Order placed for a UV and High Output Mako Mk. II. Looking forward to these two. :D
 

Endeavour

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Messages
1,673
Location
Texas, USA
gunga: All lights will be bead blasted on this batch. The polished versions that were offered through Unique Titanium were a one time small thing (and sales on them showed a strong preference for bead blasting). Choice is fine, but two different finish options, tritium slots or no, as well as three LED types, starts becoming a hassle, both to keep track of for me, and for the people to make decisions on. The choice is left open on this run for what makes the most material difference and keeps things simple for everyone - the LED type. :)

VeloWeave: Thanks! The 6/30 refers to the drive levels on the light at 6mA low and 30mA high, as eala mentioned; just as a minor point of reference to those who previously purchased a Mako from an earlier batch. If I were looking at a Mako purchase with now I'd go with the HO model, simply because the low mode still gives me very long runtime, and the high gives me substantially more light than the RO version on high (21 lumens vs 10 lumens). Of course, if your use case doesn't need the higher output, you may as well just keep the extra runtime.
 

TtownLarry

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Messages
12
Just made my first purchase! Wish it had trit slots.....but, Wow!! Looks beautiful regardless!
 

Endeavour

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Messages
1,673
Location
Texas, USA
neco: No;
High Output (HO)
This is a 21-lumen output flood light, with much higher brightness and spacing between modes than the previous model, which was around 10 lumens. I'm very excited about the performance characteristics of this light.

...

Brightness gains on the HO model have been achieved through using higher power LEDs than previously used, while still providing a smooth, homogenous beam free from major artifacting and color amalgamations common to 5mm type LEDs. All versions of the light are driven within specification to ensure maximum longevity.
 

bmstrong

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 23, 2002
Messages
1,334
Absolutely fantastic to see the Mako up on it's feet with a new version. The original Mako was one of my all-time favorite lights. Mad props for the BB being the standard finish. I'm hoping the M2 still retains the waterproofing of the original models? (Mine could go anywhere wet without worry.)

Unfortunately, without the Trit slot I'll be sitting this one out, hoping that a revised, M2 HO BB makes it's way down the pipe. The Trit slot has saved my bacon a couple times in the past, so much so that I won't purchase a light without one now. Serial numbers don't interest me in the least, while neat for the collectors, what I need is functionality. Please reconsider, as a number of us in thread have expressed a desire for this feature. (Just make it easy for skew sake: make them all with Trit slot.)
 

Toons

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 21, 2004
Messages
130
Location
Texas
Is the HO brighter on low than the RO? If so by how much? :thinking:
 
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