# Light Force SL240 Blitz (New Pic's 12-11-03)



## Sway (Dec 5, 2003)

*Light Force SL240 Blitz (New Pic\'s 12-11-03)*

Ok as most of you know I got a Light Force SL240 Blitz this week. The light comes from Australia and is made of a mixture of polycarbonate and glass filled nylon which makes the light very light around 1 pound and easy to handle for its size. The reflector is a little over 9” and uses a 12V 100W Xenophot Bi-Pin bulb with a 24V option available. In fact this light has a lot of options from different size reflectors, bulb combinations, colored lenses filters, battery packs, LED feature on the ENFORCER and mounting devices. Check out their web page Light Force 

But what I like best about this light is it can be focused from spot to flood and its amazing throw easily illuminating objects past 300 yards. I don’t have a lot of lights to compare it to but as you can see in the beam shots it definitely manages its photons very well.

I bought mine here Rod Hall 

SL240 Blitz & Dorcy 1 MCP 55W 6V






This Church is around 150 yards away and both pictures are zoomed, as you can see the Dorcy for it's cost $20.00 or less and size does a good job. I didn't have a tripod for the camera when I made these 2 pictures and it's hard to hold the light and camera still for the several seconds it takes for the picture so the hot spot from the Blitz ended up on the yard /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink2.gif

1MCP Dorcy





SL240 Blitz, Hot Spot in the yard.....





*12-3-03 * 
Now I have the tripod /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif this house and garage is around 300 yards as you can see the Dorcy is making the trip but I had to zoom the camera for it to show up as I was seeing it.
1 MCP Dorcy





Now for the Blitz, the camera is set for actual viewing distance, as you can see it is more than making the trip lighting up the house and garage hope I didn't wake anybody /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif 
LightForce 240 Blitz





I am trying to get my paws on some more powerful lights to compare it with depending on the weather and my work schedule permitting more beam shots in flood and maybe something in the 600 yard range if my camera will pick it up.

Later
Sway 

*12-5-03 Tonight's targets weather permitting* 

The gray house and garage in the middle is the one from the other night very close to 300 yds. Now look to the left of the house for a larage white golf ball looking thingy it is .5 mile or 880 yds, look to the right of the house and just a little farther you will see a light color mobile home or trailer .7 miles or 1232 yards. I just hope my antiquated camera is up to the task. This picture was taken at close to full zoom. Later ?





Well the fog lifted after it got below freezing and I got the picture of the big golf ball the distance is very close to 1/2 mile give or take a little. I think this is just about the useful limit of this light because you would need binoculars to pick out a man size object at this distance. I couldn't pick out the second target due to the haze still in the air, maybe tomorrow night /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif





*New picture 12-7-03 no zoom!* 





*I know this picture is futile and serves no practical purpose, that’s the reason I took it. This is a shot of the trailer that is visible to the right of the gray house even though they have a night light the trailer is not visible at night until BAM!* 





*12-10-03* 
OK, Gang I picked up the 3MCP Vector today I just couldn’t take it any more after hearing so much about it here. All lights have a full charge and the pictures of the Church look a little different because I am holding the light as high as possible because the spill really excites the camera taking away from the throw. 

Dorcy 1MCP





Vector 3MCP





$7.99 NELCO form Big Lots





LightForce Blitz





And now for the last three dog's left in this fight. The 1/2 mile shot. I'm trying for the Golf Ball Thingy /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Vector 3MCP




$7.99 NELCO form Big Lots




LightForce Biltz







Later Sawy


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## milkyspit (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

*Sway*, okay, this thing looks really cool, but I know it's not cheap. Something like $140, is that about right?

Actually, my question involves the battery pack in your picture. Does that come with the light, or is it a seperate purchase? What is it, and what does it cost? How long does it power the SL240?


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## paulr (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

I believe the battery pack is separate. I don't know how much Lightforce's costs, but my guess is it's basically a 12 volt SLA pack, so you could put your own together fairly inexpensively if you keep it simple. Lightforce's looks rather fancy.


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## Sway (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

[ QUOTE ]
*milkyspit said:*
*Sway*, okay, this thing looks really cool, but I know it's not cheap. Something like $140, is that about right?

Actually, my question involves the battery pack in your picture. Does that come with the light, or is it a seperate purchase? What is it, and what does it cost? How long does it power the SL240?


[/ QUOTE ]

Milky that is a Schumacher Mity Mite jump starter that I had for starting cars with dead batteries and it just happens to have lighter plug on it for powering accessories. You can find them on sale for around $40.00 and it has a built in charger with LED indicators, I don’t know about the run time, weight 14 Lbs. I’m looking at a Gell Cell battery pack that Kevin has at Battery Station for $17.00 5.6 Lbs, it has potential.


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## Ginseng (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

I've been contemplating a high powered light as well. The Osram HLX bulbs stand out as the best candidates for the light engine. I'm building mine from scratch from the bulb mount to the casing. The battery system is the main sticking point for me. Some SLAs can provide high current for short periods of time. The compact SLA in my Vector 2MCP provides 8.3A but only for about 18 minutes due to its relatively small 3.0Ah capacity. 

Enersys/Yuasa makes the NPH and NPX series of SLA that are rated for high rate discharge but the NPX gets expensive and heavy fast for more capacity. I think the thing that I'm learning is that the problem is not so much supplying high current, It's doing so for more than 15 minutes at a time without massive voltage sag. I have not yet started looking at the Powersonic range so I don't know what they offer. 

Clearly the ideal solution would be something that supplies 10A continuous at 12V for 30 minutes, weighs 3 pounds and costs less than $60. Rest assured, such a solution does not exist. Nimh, nicad and SLA each have their own advantages and disads. 

I'm watching your experimentation with great interest.

Wilkey


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## milkyspit (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

*Ginseng*, had a feeling you would show up. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

If you really want to crank some juice through a light and feel like getting a little extreme, you might also consider a deep discharge marine battery, heh heh... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif


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## DrJ (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

.


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## milkyspit (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

*DrJ*, your link isn't working quite right for me. I think you mean this one. Scroll about 2/3 down the page, to the listing for a NiMH "D" with 7.0Ah capacity, weight of 160g, and 24-30A discharge rate.

From those specs, some quick (and possibly wrong!) calculations would mean 10xNiMH "D" would cost $80, supply 10A continuous at 12V for an estimated 42 minutes, and weigh 1.6Kg, which is roughly 3.5 pounds.

Based on their quantity 100 pricing, I assume that if 10 of us decide to buy together, one of us could place the order and we'd all get the $80 price plus shipping.

That sounds pretty decent to me. What do you folks think? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif


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## DrJ (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

.


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## cheesehead (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

What? How can NiMH out current SLAs? SLAs start cars. I can't imagine a D-cell battery pack putting out 10 AMPS for 30 minutes. The cells would cook. I want to be proved wrong and then,...er,...um,...sign me up for group buy!


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## DrJ (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

.


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## Sway (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

OK, I’m dumber that a sack full of hammers when it comes to batteries so you just have to spell it out to me and /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twakfl.gif to make it go in, have I been barking up the wrong tree looking at a 12V 9.0Ah 5.9Lbs Gel Cell for $17.00 each. I need 2 12V packs in parallel for the Blitz = long run time and series for the 24V bulb in my project light where the run time is not important.


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## paulr (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

The Blitz uses a 120 watt bulb which means 10 amps. I bet it actually might be a little bit underdriven with a small 12 volt SLA pack instead of the 13.8 volts coming from an alternator. With a 9AH gel cell you should have close to an hour of runtime--is that not enough for what you're doing?


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## milkyspit (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

There are a few things going on here. First, cheesehead, an NiMH could easily outcurrent an SLA depending on how each is designed. The lead-acid batteries that start cars are specifically designed to crank a massive amount of current, but they can only do so for a short time. (Also, technically those car batteries aren't SLA, they're normal lead-acid batteries.) A relatively small SLA could very well be outclassed by a stack of NiMH cells specifically designed for high current output.

By the way, my understanding is that lead-acid batteries including SLA are relatively wimpy. I don't think they have the same charge density as NiMH or lithium, and they're awfully heavy. The reasons they're used so widely are that they're cheap to produce and handle abuse (like overcharging) well.

Okay, another difference between the battery technologies: SLA tends to drop in voltage as it's used, similar to alkaline cells. It starts at a high voltage, but falls continuously until needing a recharge. NiMH tends to have a much flatter discharge curve, meaning it will remain at roughly the same voltage for most of its runtime. That's another benefit to going NiMH with one of these lights.

Sway, I believe those "gel cells" are actually SLA? If so, they'll probably work pretty well for you, but you can expect your light to grow dimmer as it runs, and the batteries will probably be pretty heavy.

Now one intriguing concept might be to build a regulation circuit into your power supply. You could choose your SLA batteries such that the voltage starts quite a bit higher than what the light needs, and use a voltage regulation circuit to keep the light running at the same brightness until the batteries can't keep things in regulation any longer. The circuit would probably be fairly inexpensive if you build it yourself, and the SLA are dirt cheap (relatively), but such a pack would still be heavy. You could do the same thing with NiMH, but might not need to.

Or you could hook your light to a "deep discharge" marine battery, which looks like a smallish car battery and is designed to run stuff like electric trolling motors, which incidentally need high current as well. Your light ought to really hum with one of those! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

It's also worth mentioning that the type of NiCd cells used by the people who build those "robot wars" devices supply something like 80A of current flow. Those guys typically exhaust the cells in something like 5 minutes, then fast charge them in 30 minutes or so to get ready for the next round. Surely THEY could handle the SL240! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif


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## Ginseng (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

Milky and DrJ,

Powerstream offer some of the more appropriate battery solutions but as you know, they are available in 100+ quantity. For this reason, I did not entertain them as an option. However, the prospect of a group buy makes this now a feasible option. Now the only issue is to decide on the item. I would suggest we also take a look at the "3.5Ah nimh C, 90g, $284/100, 30A." The power density is superior from this cell and the option to run two 10-packs is attractive. The reasons are two-fold. You can run 1 pack for lighter weight but shorter run time. You can parallel two packs and get runtime roughly equivalent to the D's. You can serial two packs and run the bone-crushing Osram 24V 64655/6/7HLX for an output of about 10,000 lumens. Personally, I'd be happy running the 6,000 lumen 64640HLX at 24V, 6.25A. Additionally, at 20-22 cells per participant, fewer participants will be needed for a buy.

While SLA batts are superior in terms of short circuit current rating, nimhs provide better voltage stability at high draws. The additional sneaky benefit of a nimh pack is you can make your pack an 11. This way, even though your draw may be pushing the individual cells below 1.2V for the majority of its output, the fact that you have 11 cells keeps the aggregate voltage above 12V. Can you say "overdriving a 24V, 10.4A bulb makes crazy bright?" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif I thought you could /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

In any case, the quick and easy project at hand is to convert my poor ol' Vector 2MCP to run the Osram 64625HLX. I do believe I'd be happier with the 3,600 lumens this bulb puts out over the stock 100W H3 bulb.

Wilkey


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## Sway (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

[ QUOTE ]
*paulr said:*
The Blitz uses a 120 watt bulb which means 10 amps. I bet it actually might be a little bit underdriven with a small 12 volt SLA pack instead of the 13.8 volts coming from an alternator. With a 9AH gel cell you should have close to an hour of runtime--is that not enough for what you're doing? 

[/ QUOTE ]

The info I have says the max for the Blitz is a 100 watt bulb that draws 8.33 amps. I will need to 12 volt packs, as I will be using them to power a 12 and 24 volt light parallel series configuration respectfully. I can always leave one of the packs behind when using the Blitz but when I want to really WOW! somebody or land small aircraft I will need the 2nd pack for the 24 volt light. 

My jump starter reads 13.7 volts on a fresh charge, run times have been limited so far so I don't know what it will do. I want to get away from it and put it back in the truck where I need it the most.


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## Sway (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

Ginseng 

I'm in on the GB somebody will have to /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twakfl.gif so I will know what I need for 2 12V+ packs. 

Have you done any testing with the 24V Osram yet to see how much they will take? I would like to over drive both lights a little, the Blitz should take 14V as it's taking 13.7 off a hot charge right now.....


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## paulr (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

Yes, gel cells count as SLA (sealed lead acid). NiCd and NiMH have much higher energy per pound but will cost a lot more. How portable do you need this power pack to be? I thought at first that you wanted to run the light on house current. 

If you want to do a regulated supply, the simplest approach is probably use 18 or 24 volts worth of batteries and use PWM regulation, sort of a Surefire A2 regulator on steroids. You will need some pretty big power transistors on heat sinks but otherwise it's basically the same design. I guess it's doable.

What are you going to use for a 24 volt light? Do you have the bulb, reflector, etc. picked out? If you can run on house current, you may as well use a 1600 watt searchlight bulb. I saw some descriptions in another thread about those but have no idea what the costs would be or what reflector or housing you'd use.


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## milkyspit (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

*Wilkey*, I'm liking your idea. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


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## cheesehead (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

I also thought there was some problem with hooking the individual cells, as in the Kenshiro banana vector project. Ordinary connections weren't good enough for that one? 

Milky, SLA and normal LA aren't too different. My bike has a SLA and plenty of current to start. You're right about charge density, so there is a weight penalty with LAs. Marine batts are even heavier for a given output (I think the plates are thicker or something). Eh, I'm starting to dream about NiMH now.


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## Ginseng (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

Sway,
I have not yet purchased or tested the Osram HLX bulbs but from what kenshiro reported, the 50 and 75-hour lifespan bulbs are not tolerant of overdrive. In a sense, they are already pre-overdriven. The 300+ hour bulbs, such as the 64657HLX are tolerant of overdrive. ken ran it on 21 cells and it held up. Serial 11-cell packs would push it a bit harder than he did, about 14.3V or better fresh off the charger. BTW, sorry about hijacking your thread /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

paulr,
I want portability so large SLAs are out of the question. The Enersys Datasafe MX series looks promising but not for me. I don't have the wherewithal to design and build a PWM controller but then I don't need to. Willie Hunt makes the LVR3G and it's capable of handling up to 25A. It provides for 9-30V in and 5-15V out so I think this is the ticket. The PCB is 2.5" x 3.8" so I imagine it must have some of those big honking FETs you're talking about. As for reflectors, the Carley 2102 will work as will the steel reflector in the Vectors. The quality of the Carley units is superior though. 

Scott, 
This could be fun /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Wilkey


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## Sway (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

Paulr,

The Blitz will remain in its factory configuration, the other light is the CHMS in my other thread I will be using one of the 24V Osram bulbs like Ginseng, the host will be the NELCO. After some thought I will not be using AC power for safety reasons but the rest of the criteria is the same. After carrying the jump starter around for several nights I want something lighter that I can put in a shoulder bag and keep a hand free while moving around.


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## Ginseng (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

Cheese,

Ken used very small cells in order to fit into the banana vector body. I believe this means the cells were very highly stressed. I'm guessing they were AA or A size. C-cells will run significantly cooler. As for my application, I would be able to use a screw terminals and bypass the soldering altogether. We'll see. 

Wilkey


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## paulr (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

Sway, Ginseng: sorry I'd gotten your two projects confused. Sway, I'm not sure I understand the safety concern: an AC powered spotlight doesn't sound especially more dangerous to me than an AC powered work light, and people use those all the time. If you can put it on a (rotating) stand instead of carrying it around, that's even better.

Ginseng: the Willie Hunt board sounds promising if you use SLA's. For NiMH, the cell voltage should be stable enough that you don't really need regulation. NiMH cells are probably your best tradeoff between energy density and cost. I'd go with ten of those 9AH D cells if you can really get them for $6 each. That's a stupendous bargain.


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## Ginseng (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

Right, 

I use a 500W AC halogen in my garage and it's freaking bright. If I can save the $60 on a PWM circuit, I could apply that to batteries /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif For my purposes, I'd prefer the C's.

Wilkey


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## Sway (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

[ QUOTE ]
*Ginseng said:*
Sway,
I have not yet purchased or tested the Osram HLX bulbs but from what kenshiro reported, the 50 and 75-hour lifespan bulbs are not tolerant of overdrive. In a sense, they are already pre-overdriven. The 300+ hour bulbs, such as the 64657HLX are tolerant of overdrive. ken ran it on 21 cells and it held up. Serial 11-cell packs would push it a bit harder than he did, about 14.3V or better fresh off the charger. BTW, sorry about hijacking your thread /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

paulr,
I want portability so large SLAs are out of the question. The Enersys Datasafe MX series looks promising but not for me. I don't have the wherewithal to design and build a PWM controller but then I don't need to. Willie Hunt makes the LVR3G and it's capable of handling up to 25A. It provides for 9-30V in and 5-15V out so I think this is the ticket. The PCB is 2.5" x 3.8" so I imagine it must have some of those big honking FETs you're talking about. As for reflectors, the Carley 2102 will work as will the steel reflector in the Vectors. The quality of the Carley units is superior though. 

Scott, 
This could be fun /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Wilkey 

[/ QUOTE ]

Your not hijacking my thread /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif It looks like several of us have very similar projects going at the same time and can benefit from the exchanges and a possible group buy. Sorry I have nothing to contribute in area of batteries like I said before “a sack full of hammers” I just hope the snow hold off till 0200 hrs so I can get home and take the beam shots I have planned.

Guess I will have to bite the bullet and order some bulbs next week for the CHMS project, have you found a bulb base yet Leviton


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## Ginseng (Dec 5, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

I plan on getting the bulb socket from Topbulb. Here's the page for their G6.35 socket. G6.35 socket it looks identical to ones offered elsewhere, like Gilway. It should do the job.

Wilkey


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## DrJ (Dec 7, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

.


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## Sway (Dec 8, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

I'm going to make bold statement having never seen a Vector 3MCP in action. The Vector would probably clobber /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twakfl.gif the SL240 out to 200 Yds or a little better it’s 1MCP vs. 3MCP but that’s where the SL240 kicks in and struts it’s stuff, it’s small spot up close starts to open up past 300 Yds and will illuminate objects over 1/2 mile.

You guys are tempting me to go get a 3MCP Vector just to try out knowing once I get it in my paws I won’t be able to take it back. All of you are EVIL and should /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/whoopin.gif by Sasha.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif


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## DrJ (Dec 8, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

.


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## paulr (Dec 8, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

I'm tempted by the Vector 3MCP but it's kind of scary. It has a cig lighter plug but I realize that with those two 100W lamps it will need 15+ amps. My whole dashboard electrics (cig lighter, instrument lights, radio/tape player) go through a 10 amp fuse which I've blown by trying to power a laptop computer through an inverter. So I think there's no way to power the Vector from the cig plug. That makes it sort of marginal for use in a car. Other thing is the vectormfg.com FAQ says you can't leave their spotlights plugged in and charging, since overcharging can damage the batteries. That's pretty lame, since there's apparently a charge level meter, so you'd think they could put in an auto-shutoff circuit. I'd certainly pay a few extra bucks for that. As it is, basically you have to remember to charge it up every so often and then take it off the charger, and can only run it on the internal batteries. But for handheld use I guess the cig lighter issues are less important.


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## cheesehead (Dec 8, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

The cig light won't draw 15 amps unless the light's battery is completely dead. At first, even with 2 bulbs on, the car battery will only supply a small part of the power since the light has it's own battery. But, you can run it on one bulb and then it's a non-issue. 

I don't know of any SLA powered lights that have a auto-shut off circuit or battery float charger, especially at this price level (even a lot of expensive lights don't have this feature). I just keep my collection on a timer and intermittently charged. All SLA powered spotlights will get damaged if left on a charger. Alternatively, I have a float battery charger that could be connected to the 12 volt port and maybe I'll have to do that (more idiot proof for me).

My 3MCP has no LED "meter" (like the other vector family does), so that part is lame.


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## DrJ (Dec 8, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

.


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## cheesehead (Dec 8, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

DrJ

Excellent decision. I think a 12dc to 120 ac mini-convertor would be handy. May even have to try and see if a lighter would work in it (I doubt it, since I don't think it's shielded like a car jack).

Sway, 

Sorry for highjacking, but I always check here to see the updated pics. Very nice and they get better every day. Hey, have you tried a sky shot with two lights? I think the Blitz would clearly be further throwing. The V 3MCP only seems to throw a extra 20% over a 6v Dorcy.


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## Sway (Dec 8, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

Cheesehead,

I may just have to try some sky shots if I can work out the logistics of it. I'm a one man show when it comes to this and the usual response is *“you want to do what it’s 2AM and below freezing out there have you lost your mind!”* it’s evident some people just don’t have their priorities in order. I’m always looking for ideas as taking beam shots is something very new to me and to tell ya the truth it’s kind of fun now that I have figured my camera out. Now if I can just master the * Ohoooo, Ahhhhh WOW!* part of it because what looks like a good target in daylight may be a total flop in the dark. 

Later
Sway


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## cheesehead (Dec 8, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

Sway, 

Well, you're braver than I am. I still haven't admitted my problem to the significant other-I sneak out and test in private. Plus, I'm an idiot when it comes to posting.

Have you seen this one?
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=MODS&Number=410554&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&vc=1

This looks like an easy comparison. But on the other hand, I'd be just as happy to hear your description of the Dorcy versus the Blitz, being shot straight up into the sky. Does the Blitz shoot 20% farther, 50% farther or 100% farther? It needs to shoot at least 20% further before I look away from the V 3MCP.

thanks,
cheese


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## cheesehead (Dec 9, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

Sway,

Hey, I tried looking up 24 volt battery supplies and it still seems that your best bet would be 2 12v SLAs. 
Otherwise, 24 v scooter batteries seem like a good candidate for power. http://www.batteryspace.com/product.asp?3=431
seems ok, just a little low on "oomph". Powerstream has a nice 24v pack, just not available for retail sale.

Finally, what about 5 x 6v SLAs? Eh, might be a little too much overdrive.


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## cheesehead (Dec 11, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

From the updated pics, looks like the Nelco holds it's own against all the "big boys". Is that true, or a reflection of the auto-exposure on the camera? The Blitz still looks like it has the best throw, but it seems like it's closely followed by the Nelco. Vector seemed like almost more of a flood. Hmm, may have to look for a Big Lots tomorrow-8 bucks for a Nelco is pretty silly cheap.


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## paulr (Dec 11, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

That Nelco looks like a heck of a deal. I'd like to get one if I make it to Big Lots anytime soon.


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## Sway (Dec 11, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

paulr,

The Nelco is one heck of a deal if you have a power supply for it. It's hard to capture what these lights will really do with just beam shots but you get an idea. I was a little let down by the performance of the 3MCP Vector it’s a very bright light but more like a flood if that’s what you need it’s the best thing going and I will probably hang on to it, a tool for a different job. The Blitz is a Gray Hound and will throw as far as the normal eye can see and will open up into a flood with less throw if needed.

I’m going to Big Lots today and buying out what ever they have left of the Nelco’s if you can’t find one let me know. 

Later
Sawy


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## paulr (Dec 11, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

I'd probably use the Nelco mostly in a car powered by the cig lighter socket. However, if I got industrious, I might rig up a small SLA or Nicad pack for it. I wouldn't care too much about runtime for that kind of light.


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## Kenny Yum (Dec 11, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

I want to know the Light Force SL240 Blitz and the LSI RC-3800 which one is brighter? Thanks. Because I just have RC-3800.


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## Sway (Dec 11, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

Kenny,

The Blitz is rated at 1MCP the LSI RC-3800 2MCP, what are you looking for throw or flood. Most of the lights I have been able to try out are focused some where between which is a good trade off that makes for an all round useful light. The LSI RC-3800 should be brighter but these are manufacturer ratings and we all know how that goes.

Sorry I can't answer your question, now if you want to send me your LSI /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/poke2.gif with return postage I will make all the beam shots you want /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink2.gif

Later
Sway


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## phyhsuts (Dec 11, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

Kenny Yum - I have both. The Light Force SL 240 is quite a bit brighter thanks to its larger reflector.


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## Nerd (Dec 13, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

Uh, Sway... do you happen to have a LS 1 watt or 5 watt with you? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Are you thinking what I'm thinking? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


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## AilSnail (Dec 14, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

I like the looks of that blitz. Has anyone got experience with the marine version, ml240?

With a backscatter collar it could be a great searchlight for my boat. My credit card is screaming for it, too. Where is a good place to buy?


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## AilSnail (Dec 14, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

By the by. I looked at the powerstream site, and the Ah/Kg of the 2Ah AA cells is superior to the other sizes mentioned. I don't know how many amp they can do though, anyone care to make an educated guess?


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## Sway (Dec 14, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

AilSnail,

The ML240 comes with the long life 100W bulb GL02 horizontal filament "they say to cope with voltage fluctuations of outboard motors" where as the SL240 has the vertical filament 100W bulb GL06.

The longlife bulb GL02 is rated at 730 000 CP.
The standard bulb GL06 is rated at 1 000 000 CP.

You may want to pick one of the GL06's up also /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Later
Sway


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## AilSnail (Dec 15, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

You bet /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Do you know if the mounting thing for through-roof remote control fits the handheld ML240?


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## AilSnail (Dec 20, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz*

I ordered a 240 marine and both the high output and the long life 12v bulbs, a combi filter and a through roof remote control /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I was told that anything over 100w might melt the reflector and the lexan lens.


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## mwr (Dec 20, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz (New Pic\'s 12-11-03)*

What is that low-priced NELCO that showed up so well in the photos?


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## Sway (Dec 21, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz (New Pic\'s 12-11-03)*

Hi mwr,

The NELCO is a cheep spotlight some of us have been able to find at "Big Lots" Look Here for a pic it's a big chunky plastic light and I'm not very fond of it but it has 3 redeeming features (1) Glass Lens (2) Metal Reflector like the 12V Costso Banana which lends it's self to high power modification if I ever get around to it and (3) as you can see it's already a decent thrower out of the box. In real word use this light is not very practical just because of its size and weight but I think most have modifications planned for these lights and at $7.99 if things don’t work out it’s not a big loss. 

Later
Sway


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## mwr (Dec 21, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz (New Pic\'s 12-11-03)*

So the Nelco is powered by a 12v plug-in to your car cigarette lighter socket unless you rig up something special. Correct? 

I've never seen (or heard of) a "Big Lots". What/where are those?

What's a "12V Costso Banana"? (I have seen a Costco


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## paulr (Dec 21, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz (New Pic\'s 12-11-03)*

MWR, yes, the Nelco is a corded light powered by a cig plug. Big Lots is a retail chain that specializes in closeout stuff left over from other stores. They used to be called MacFrugals. Costco Banana a/k/a/ Banana Vector is a rechargeable 12v spotlight made of yellow plastic, sold at Costco for around 20 bucks.


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## Sway (Dec 22, 2003)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz (New Pic\'s 12-11-03)*

MWR, check out this post by richpalm it should help get you up to speed on the Costo Vector and with a little searcing in this forum you will find other threads about it that will temp you even more 

Later
Sway /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/santa.gif


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## makar (Jul 18, 2004)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz (New Pic\'s 12-11-03)*

i'm interested in this light and would like to see some beamshots.
is it my browser not showing them or aren't there any photos in this thread?
marc


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## Sway (Jul 18, 2004)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz (New Pic\'s 12-11-03)*

makar,

Sorry the pic's are down they are some that I had at imagestation and they will no longer link. You can right click on the box with the red x and get the url for the image and try that some of the will still work that way.

Here is one pic around 175yds....I will try and make some new shoots soon.






Later
Sway


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## makar (Jul 18, 2004)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz (New Pic\'s 12-11-03)*

thanks sway! looks really cool! i'm looking forward to see more of these /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


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## StEaLtH_ (Jul 18, 2004)

*Re: Light Force SL240 Blitz (New Pic\'s 12-11-03)*

I've seen em before, but damn nice pics /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


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