The battery canister is equally nicely made.
A straightforward electrical cable forms the umbilical to the battery-pack and passes through
a permanently fixed watertight gland at the lamp-head. However, this cable may be a weak point when compared to the pressure hose covering the cables of some rivals. The lamp may seem a little heavy to pack, but in the water it is virtually weightless, as the battery-pack substitutes for weight on the weightbelt.
This pack fits to a stainless-steel camband bracket so that you can attach it conveniently to a tank. Once the bracket is fitted, the battery-pack can be mounted and dismounted easily, using a precise spring-loaded release. A lightweight PVC alternative is available for attaching to a waistbelt.
The B5060 uses a conventional 50W Xenophot halogen light source that gives a comfortable warm light with an adjustable beam pattern.
The bulb is not shockingly expensive to replace.
A screw-down connection at the battery-pack is protected by two O-rings. The battery-pack is of solid-feeling anodised aluminium too, with a grippy milled finish.
It houses a 12V ni-mh battery that takes three to four hours to charge with an intelligent fast charger, and delivers a one-hour burntime.
An additional plug like that of a camera synchro-lead socket allows you to connect another battery, or several, inline to double the burntime. With the battery as tested, the one-hour burntime may be considered too puny. Buy a couple of additional battery-packs if you need that extra time.
The lamp-head is both longer and bigger than some others, because it has a handle. This is satisfyingly finished, with a milled grip. You twist the head against the handle both to switch it on and to adjust the beam angle. It's by no means slack and needs a firm grip to work. Using it repeatedly without having it connected tends to free it up a little. The front knurled section unscrews to allow bulb-replacement.
The beam is variable. The light from the xenon bulb, once focused down, was actually brighter than an HID lamp lined up against it, but does that matter either way unless your buddy has the brighter light?
The beam at spot setting was very oval, though this is not a problem if you rotate it so that it gives a horizontal spread. A vertical spread is a little visually disturbing. When racked out to provide a wider beam, this proved exceedingly patchy and a little disappointing. It simply formed a ring of light with a dark patch in the centre. I believe most users will keep it set to spot.
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| The beam at spot setting was very oval. |
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| Set to provide a wider beam, this proved patchy. |
COST £290 with a single battery-pack and charger
BURNTIME 60 min
EXTRAS Additional battery-packs
WEIGHT 2.3kg
DEPTH-RATING 150m
CONTACT JMD Technologies sells direct (www.jmdtechnologies.co.uk, 01751 476972)
DIVER GUIDE  
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