Got into the Blackhawk Gladius game late, lots of questions

Onetoomany

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 14, 2018
Messages
3
I have a Night OPs and two Maximus.

1. Getting batteries for these in foreign countries is tough. After reading that someone is using Teregy without a problem, I'm willing to try it out. Any words of caution?

2. What are the differences between Night Ops and Maximus? Any particular differences when modding?

3. Is there a simpleton's way of figuring out what alternate leds could be put in either the Night OPs or the Maximus?

4. The Night OPs no longer goes into lockout. Everything else works fine. Trying to turn it to lockout, heavy resistance, then a feeling like gear slippage. Aligned the pin properly; what else could it be?

5. Any mod suggestions for finding one of these in the dark? I put some of the more expensive luminescent tape around the one I keep in the house, but I'm interested in other options.

edit: 6. One of the Maximus flashlights will intermittently stop turning on. If I tighten or loosen the tail cap a little, it will start working again. Is that something I can fix myself?

Thanks in advance.
 
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JPA261

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 5, 2013
Messages
2,137
Awesome choice!! One of my favorite lights back then and still is cause of the UI.

As far as the difference, I believe the night ops is the 120 lumen version vs the Maximus is the 200 lumen version.

There is one CPF member who did an awesome modding my night ops with another LED with a warmer tint and brought my light back to life. Now I carry it often. He did awesome work. I don't want to mention his name in case he isn't available to do work.

However, he does monitor the Blackhawk gladius/Maximus thread so he may chime in
 

sween1911

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 10, 2003
Messages
2,048
Location
Pennsylvania
Hey hey! Saw some or your posts and backtracked to this thread.


1. Rechargeable batts: 3.0v or 3.2v are fine, make sure they're not 3.7v. The Tenergy ones are a great fit for this application. The battery chemistry you're looking for is referred to as "LiFePO4"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_iron_phosphate_battery

2. Difference: The Maximus has an upgraded LED. The original is a LuxIII, the Maximus is an SSC P4 from what I can tell.

3. Alternate Leds: I am not an electrical engineer, my terminology is by the seat of my pants, but the key to LED's is current. My choice of an XML2 in the mods is based on a ballpark estimate that the stock Gladius circuitry puts out 900ma to 1000ma and is made for an older LED. The XML2 will take up to about 3amps at which point it puts out almost 1000 lumens, so we know 900-1000ma (.9amp to 1amp) won't kill it. The XML2 in a Gladius does about 300-400 lumsn based on the chart on cree.com and my own experimentation side by side with other lights of known output.

4. Lockout: To get into lockout mode, you are supposed to depress the tailcap slightly before turning it all the way to the left. I think there's a mechanical stop that can get worn and rough if you apply force without depressing slightly first. Blackhawk will still send a replacement tailcap if you need one despite the age of the light. I was pleasantly surprised by their customer service when a tailcap I had went south.

5. For failsafe finding in the dark, buy a tritium keychain fob and connect to the lanyard hole.

6. Intermittent on/off: Make sure the tailcap is always tight. Swap the tailcap around and see if it's the light or the tailcap.

Good luck buddy! If you're interested in modding let me know!
 
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