# Mini-turbo (D36) head fo SF 9P - please help



## Filip (Apr 29, 2010)

Hello, 

I'd like to buy a mini-turbo head for my SF 9P to play with some of LF's D36 lamps. It should be black and bought from a seller who accepts PayPal and can ship to oversea.

I know of Seraph turbo head (it's not black) and miniturbo head at Cabelas (they do not accept PayPal).

I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

Filip


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## rjr104 (Apr 29, 2010)

The cabellas head is a good choice. They have two of the 9v (or 12v if you want to run rcr's) and I'm not sure how you ensure which one you get. One is shorter than the other. If you luck out and get the long one you can screw the 500 lumen wildfire bulb in there (from lighthound) with no modification. If you get the short one you have to stretch the springs out. There is a thread on the forum somewhere about this (about 18 months ago). The seraph is ok too, but it comes only in HA. With it you can use a large choice of 36 dropins. 
RJ

Here it is:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb//showthread.php?p=2904224


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## mdocod (Apr 30, 2010)

Paint a Seraph black? hehe...


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## Filip (Apr 30, 2010)

rjr104, thank you for the answer. Unfortunately, Cabela's doesn't accept PayPal.
Mdocod, you have been very helpful many times to me but today my idolum shook. I am hurt! :whoopin:


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## Paul_in_Maryland (Apr 30, 2010)

At this writing, five Digilight RX-12V miniturbo heads are available on eBay for less than $30 shipped. I hope you get one. The seller is therightdeal4all. He takes PayPal and ships worldwide.







added: The seller also has two Digilight miniturbo 9V heads. Same metal head, different lamp assembly included.

Damn--I'm tempted to buy one just so I can have bragging rights to the farthest-throwing 1AA keyring light...my 1xAA FiveMega! Its D26 head already looks ridiculously large.


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## LV426 (Apr 30, 2010)

OK... Anybody know if it's type II or III ano on the digilight mini-turbo, and will it work with Lumensfactory D36 Cree R2 dropin?


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## mdocod (Apr 30, 2010)

Hello LV426,

Do you already have the D36 R2 from LF or were you just planning on getting one?

Personally that's one of the few LF products that I am not really impressed with. I prefer the D26 modules as the reflector designs are optimized much better IMO. 

Eric


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## LV426 (May 1, 2010)

mdocod,

No, I don't own one, so thanks for the heads-up on the D36LED!

You sir, maybe just saved me some $80 of aggravation!


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## Filip (May 1, 2010)

:thanks: Paul!


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## Paul_in_Maryland (May 1, 2010)

*Re: Mini-turbo (D36) head fo SF 9P - Digilight*



LV426 said:


> OK... Anybody know if it's type II or III ano on the digilight mini-turbo, and will it work with Lumensfactory D36 Cree R2 dropin?


I owned one or two of these, in my incan days. I can't be certain, but I think the finish was Type II; Digilight was all about value. Then again, most Digilight lights and accessories met MIL SPECs, so perhaps it was Type III.

The bezel was 43mm in outer diameter--1mm wider than Wolf Eyes 42mm miniturbo for the Raider, 2mm narrower than Wolf Eyes hea-sinked (finned), nonreplaceable miniturbo head used on the Cobra and Rattlesnake. I used it with several Wolf Eyes D36 lamp assemblies; no problem fitting at all. That is to say, it was neither too shallow, too deep, too narrow, or too wide. I've never owned a Surefire body, just Digilight and G&P. So I can't comment on how well it threaded onto a Surefire C-type body. But Filip will be able to tell us that, soon enough.

I think I once looked into replacing the glass with AR-coated glass; now THAT took a great deal of trial and error. I think I finally found the perfect fit with Olympus multicoated glass from filters sold for the camera company's older compact cameras whose lenses were threaded for 43mm accessories. If you search cleverly, I think you'll even find an old post of mine on my quest for a Digilight-compatible AR lens.

You also might find full photos in my indoor shootoff between various D36 lamp assemblies, from about 2006, in this Incan forum.


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## Paul_in_Maryland (May 1, 2010)

*D36 miniturbo heads, bodies from Digilight, G&P, and LEDWave*

A few photos from my files.

Digilight RX-9V 43mm head on Digilight T9:





G&P 9S miniturbo 3x123A light:





G&P X-12 with stock G&P miniturbo head:





LEDWave Z-3 (3x123A) shown with Surefire Z49 tailcap:





I remember using the Z-3 as well as the Digilight; I can't recall any significant difference, but I'm fairly sure I compared them in a thread in this forum.


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## mdocod (May 2, 2010)

LV426 said:


> mdocod,
> 
> No, I don't own one, so thanks for the heads-up on the D36LED!
> 
> You sir, maybe just saved me some $80 of aggravation!



No problem 

My feeling is that a D36 LED would be best served as a backup lamp to a preferred D36 incan. The D36 incans IMO are far more impressive than equal wattage D26 modules, they seem to have more efficient bulbs and the throw is much better. If a thrower class LED is what you are after, I would suggest buying one of the dedicated lights out there that does this. A deeper reflector design is required to get more of those lumens from an LED into that central beam. 

Eric


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## jaundice (May 12, 2010)

Paul (or anyone else);

I grabbed one of the Digilight D36 turbo heads you linked to above. It just arrived, and I was surprised to find that the reflector is fixed to the bezel, and the lamps screw out of the base of the reflector. I'm puzzled how you used other brands of D36 lamps in this turbohead. Is there a way to remove the reflector?

If I want to use other brands of D36 lamps, or even a Nailbender D36 drop-in, can I use this head, or do I need to get a Seraph D36 head?

Regardless, it appears to be a good deal for what I paid for it.

-John


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## Filip (May 13, 2010)

jaundice, 

my Digilight D36 miniturbo head arrived yesteray, too. I bought the 12V version as it is cheaper than the 9V and I plan to use Lumens Factory LAs anyhow.

The reflector is not fixed to the bezel - you just have to unscrew the upper "lip" of the head. Then the reflector can be easily unscrewed from this "lip" (notice the fine thread there) . At the end you have 3 pieces: 
- unscrewed lip/ring (pitty you don't speak Czech here  ), 
- rest/main part of the head and 
- LA itself (which, compared to the pictures of D36 9L lamps from LF, looks quite similar to them).

I was curious if LF's lamps fit into this head as its stock reflector is roughly 40mm wide and those from LF should be 36.5mm. I asked gabriel from LF and he replied that their lamps "should fit. But it is not a direct drop in fit, you might have to play around with the springs and fitting a little bit".

Before I buy any of them I would like to ask if someone has an experince with this setting (i.e. Digilight D36 miniturbo head + LF's D36 9L lamp assembly). Paul or mdocod maybe?

By the way, the Digilight head fits perfectly to SF 9P. Whether it's type II or type III I have no idea.

Filip


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## jaundice (May 13, 2010)

Filip;

Thanks for the tip! I tried to unscrew the reflector by hand, but mine was stuck pretty tight. Your information gave me the courage to put it in my vice (with plenty of padding) and crank on it pretty hard. Now it's unscrewed.

I actually ordered the 12v version from the seller, but a 9v version arrived. It's all the same to me, but the 9v is slightly more useful to me as is. I used the "make an offer" function to get the head for a good price.

If anyone else is looking for these, this website has them for a cheaper list price than the eBay seller above: http://www.athenapolicesupply.com/S...turer=Digitec+Tactical&RefineBy_Price=&Search=

They also have extra 12v and 9v turbo head lamps for $13 to $15, including reflector.

Now I need to track down the Olympus 43mm AR coated glass lens that Paul mentioned.

-John


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## Paul_in_Maryland (May 15, 2010)

jaundice said:


> Paul (or anyone else);
> 
> I grabbed one of the Digilight D36 turbo heads you linked to above. It just arrived, and I was surprised to find that the reflector is fixed to the bezel, and the lamps screw out of the base of the reflector. I'm puzzled how you used other brands of D36 lamps in this turbohead. Is there a way to remove the reflector?


Wow: That's not how I remembered it; I think I used it with my favorite lamp assembly of all time, the RICO Alpha-9, and had no problem. But it's been a good four years, and I can't remember. I actually threw out the Digilight head and a few other parts from my incandescent phase when I shed my lithium-ion hotwires for AA LEDs.


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## Paul_in_Maryland (May 15, 2010)

Filip said:


> Before I buy any of them I would like to ask if someone has an experince with this setting (i.e. Digilight D36 miniturbo head + LF's D36 9L lamp assembly). Paul or mdocod maybe?
> Filip


I believe I used it with my RICO Alpha-9 (9V, 250 lumens, flood) and various G&P D36 lamp assemblies, with no fit problems that I can recall. But I must confess, I'm now uncertain; I also owned a G&P miniturbo and LEDWave, and I can't remember one from the other. But I do think that the Olympus 43.5mm glass filter was used in the Digilight. You can still find it at used camera sites and eBay.


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## jaundice (May 15, 2010)

Paul_in_Maryland said:


> Wow: That's not how I remembered it; I think I used it with my favorite lamp assembly of all time, the RICO Alpha-9, and had no problem. But it's been a good four years, and I can't remember. I actually threw out the Digilight head and a few other parts from my incandescent phase when I shed my lithium-ion hotwires for AA LEDs.



Paul;

No worries, my reflector was just screwed in a little tight, so it wouldn't come out with just hand pressure. Filip pointed me in the right direction, and with a tad more force, it unscrewed just fine.

Bummer you threw those parts out; someone here probably would have pounced on them.

I found an ebay seller selling the 43.5 olympus filters for $12.99, including shipping. I haven't decided if it's worth it, yet. We'll see how this turns out before I take the additional plunge.

-John


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## Flash_Gordon (May 18, 2010)

Received my D36 mini turbo head from Athena Police Supply today.

Mounted it on my SF D3 body. Fits perfectly and works fine. It should fit any standard SF body-D, C, P, Z, etc. Good beam shape and the quality appears excellent. Finish appears to be Type III, but I can't be sure of this based only on appearance. A very nice alternative to a full sized SF turbohead. Compact and easy to carry.

At under $19 shipped, this is a real bargain. That is less than the cost of a typical D36 lamp assembly alone.

The plastic window included measures 39.3mm in diameter. It is rather difficult to reinstall with its grooved gasket, so I would not remove unless you have a piece of AR glass ready to go. I have no idea where to get a glass window that size.

M


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## herbicide (May 24, 2010)

I ordered one of ^^those^^ Digilight heads earlier in the month. It arrived, oh... half an hour ago, at most.

Glass lens, LOP reflector, well-lubed o-rings, decent threads, type II anodising.

There's just one thing I failed to consider. (I'm blaming the heat...)

4x RCR123s != 12V, but 16.15 by DMM (horse, stable door and the securing thereof).

On the plus side, it had a nice, tight _very white_ hotspot. For all of a second.


Time to break out the soldering iron and transplant some springs. [edit] Or not. Can't get the lamp out either (which shouldn't be _that_ hard, really, it's just frustrating)[/edit]





bah.


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## Filip (Jun 10, 2010)

Hello,

I'd like to inform you that the D36 9L lamps from Lumensfactory can be installed into Digilight D36 miniturbo head. 

LF lamp assemblies have no thread, they are of smaller diameter and they are shorter compared to the original lamp that comes with Digilight D36 miniturbo head but all these differences can be easily "fixed" by putting cca 3.5mm long piece of (plumbing) pipe of 40mm outer diamater and cca 1.5 - 2.0mm thickness into the gap between top part of the lamp assembly and the lens.

I had no contact nor heat problems (LF's LA fits nicely into the bottom/main part of the head). This easy fix works great for my EO-9L and I'm impressed. While not as powerful as HO-M6R in KT2 (running on 3 x AW 18650), I consider EO-9L (2 x AW 18650) a subtle and more comfortable alternative.

Filip


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## herbicide (Jun 10, 2010)

Do you know if they focus when (or even if they can be) screwed into the digilight reflector?


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## Filip (Jun 11, 2010)

D36 lamps should be called lamp assemblies, as they include their own reflector.

To answer your question - LF lamp assemblies cannot be screwed into the Digilight reflector because they have their own reflector.

If you are talking about taking apart both lamp assemblies (original and LF) and putting "bulb" from LF into reflector from Digilight I have no idea if this can be done but I think it is not worth it.

Filip


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