m500a light problems > Lights and Lasers

Posted: 1/5/2005 10:59:09 PM EDT

Has anyone experienced a problem with their m500a or m900a having an oval shaped beam? I purchased mine approximately 2 months ago and used mine in a heavy fog. The beam had a very flat oval shape. I contacted surefire and a tech told me that the bezels on the m500a has a natural oval shape, and that most are not round. He even went on to say that he dug through several bezels at surefire and was unable to locate a bezel that projected a round beam for his own personal light. Basically they told me that I would be wasting my time by sending the unit back to surefire. Any similar problems with anyone else???

Posted: 1/6/2005 10:30:15 AM EDT

[#1]

My M511a is pretty frickin' round. I'v only got one so I have nothing to compare it with.

Mark.

Posted: 1/6/2005 2:47:26 PM EDT

[#2]

If you look closely at the lamp and reflector of the M3 (M5xxA / M9xxA / M96 etc) you'll see that there is virtually no gap around the bulb between the bulb and the reflector.
Now check out pretty much any other flashlight and you'll see how "tight" the M3's bulb is in the reflector. This is significant.

The M3's beam is the result of maximising the light output forming the central beam. This is achieved using a filament that is curved (bent) rather than straight and a masterful reflector design. Compared to the P90/P91, the MN10/MN11 bulbs are a major step forward. They achieve more output from a more robust bulb. The light is bright and is brighter for longer.

Shelby Chan Photography

The beam is oval or sometimes referred to as "squashed" has this extra light focused into the central beam that would have been lost by other bulb/reflector combinations. In an ideal world, the light source would be a tiny, round, point source. In reality, the filaments are lengths of coiled wire and a quality reflector and well focused bulb will show this by focusing as much of the light produced as possible into the beam.

Here are some beam shots and photos taken by Shelby Chan:

So the beam produced by the MN10 lamp is normal and is the result of having more light focused into the beam.
I know that some people aline the beam either horizontally or vertically in their WeaponLights.
From my personal perspective, I prefer the high output MN11 lamp. One of the reasons is because the beam is not so "squashed". The M3 for me is a toy rather than a tool though.

I hope I have been able to explain my understanding of why the beam is not round.

Al

Posted: 1/6/2005 4:51:37 PM EDT

[#3]

Mine has a diagonal oval, which does'nt bother me...My only disappointment came 2 weeks ago while coyote hunting at night, I could not get a visual through my ACOG while projecting light with my M500A because it was snowing...very unexpected...I'm glad the coyote were not armed.

Posted: 1/7/2005 10:27:18 AM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
Mine has a diagonal oval, which does'nt bother me...My only disappointment came 2 weeks ago while coyote hunting at night, I could not get a visual through my ACOG while projecting light with my M500A because it was snowing...very unexpected...I'm glad the coyote were not armed.

I had the same problem at the last night match I went to. The smoke from shooting and rain made it very difficult to get a good sight picture. This is why I now think lasers actually have a place in the world.

Mark.

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