Infiltration

lifeofbean location: Plano, TX Gender: Male \| \| \|	LED Flashlights < on 2/13/2005 3:15 AM >

	Don't know how many of you prefer LED flashlights over traditional ones for your trips.. Just picked up a new LED flashlight - it's made by Dorcy and has a Luxeon 1 watt LED. Seems to be pretty tough (aluminum), and the construction looks like it'd be water proof if you can put tape over the switch. It's pretty small - about 6 inches long or so, although it's a little thicker than a regular AA flashlight (about as thick as a roll of quarters, although a little lighter). Those who don't know, the Luxeon 1 watt LED is actually brighter than most flashlight bulbs (and much brighter than most LEDs). Looking directly at this thing while it's on HURTS. The battery life won't be nearly as long as regular LED flashlights since it has this big 1 watt LED, but should still be longer than a normal flashlight. Uses 3 AAA's and goes for $25 at Target. http://www.dorcy.com/1_watt_led.htm I'll try leaving it on and see how long it goes on a set of batteries...

lifeofbean location: Plano, TX Gender: Male \| \| \|	Re: LED Flashlights <Reply # 1 on 2/13/2005 3:16 AM >

	Just noticed - Dorcy claims a 30 hour run time on a set of batteries. Pretty impressive when you consider the light output. My old 2AA LED flashlight would run for several days, but barely gave any usable light.

ngamer007 location: Upstate NY Gender: Male Time for some thrilling heroics. \|	Re: LED Flashlights <Reply # 2 on 2/13/2005 5:57 AM >

	Does it come with a nylon belt holster?

lifeofbean location: Plano, TX Gender: Male \| \| \|	Re: LED Flashlights <Reply # 3 on 2/13/2005 6:32 AM >

	No, but you could probably modify one from another light to fit.

ArmchairExplorer location: Vancouver \|	Re: LED Flashlights <Reply # 4 on 2/13/2005 9:05 PM >

	Neat light. Review at: http://www.flashli...s/dorcy_luxeon.htm Since this is an unregulated light, you'll get much better runtime performance using nimh or lithium batteries. With alkalines, the brightness will drop off fairly rapidly.

ngamer007 location: Upstate NY Gender: Male Time for some thrilling heroics. \|	Re: LED Flashlights <Reply # 5 on 2/14/2005 2:00 AM >

	This light was pricey at $25, but I just bought it at SEARS today. It's pretty bright, WAY brighter than a minimag. Now I just need a holster for it.

Xanadu location: Las Vegas NV Gender: Male \|	Re: LED Flashlights <Reply # 6 on 2/14/2005 2:06 AM >

	That would be cool to machine a casting out of a solid piece of aluminus and put the parts in it. "Hey Fat Dave. <--Period"

ofberenonehand location: Minn-e-snow-ta "Where now is Boromir the Fair? He tarries and I grieve." \|	Re: LED Flashlights <Reply # 7 on 2/14/2005 4:00 AM >

	The inova lights are machined from a solid piece of aluminum. "That's What Government Is For; To Get In A Man's Way" -Mal

Arc-light location: Calgary \|	Re: LED Flashlights <Reply # 8 on 2/14/2005 8:27 AM >

	The LED i use is a NEXXTECH WATER-PROOF DIVER'S FLASHLIGHT, got it for $40 CAN at radioshack, its a geat little light, so far it has stood up to me dropping in a drain oh about 4 times now. http://www.radioshack.ca/estore/Product.aspx?language=en-CA&catalog=RadioShack&category=Flashlights_W aterproof&product=6118956

Servo

Re: LED Flashlights
<Reply # 9 on 2/14/2005 4:23 PM >

Posted by ofberenonehand
The inova lights are machined from a solid piece of aluminum.

Really? If so that's horribly inefficient...

ofberenonehand

location:
Minn-e-snow-ta

"Where now is Boromir the Fair? He tarries and I grieve."

Re: LED Flashlights
<Reply # 10 on 2/14/2005 4:37 PM >

Posted by Servo

Really? If so that's horribly inefficient...

I think the goal is structural integrity, not efficiency(crush proof to at least 2000lbs). Maybe a machinest or engineer will chime in and say it makes no difference. It sure makes it sound tough though...

"That's What Government Is For; To Get In A Man's Way" -Mal

Servo

Re: LED Flashlights
<Reply # 11 on 2/14/2005 5:53 PM >

Posted by ofberenonehand
I think the goal is structural integrity, not efficiency(crush proof to at least 2000lbs). Maybe a machinest or engineer will chime in and say it makes no difference. It sure makes it sound tough though...

Yeah, that's why I chimed in, I'm a mechanical engineer.

Machining doesn't do anything to improve the strength of the material -- however it was processed before it was machined (forging, heat treatments, etc.) would make it stronger or less strong. Plus, if it's already strong material, machining on it would be more difficult.

There are other processes that can allow you to obtain good strength and the shape you want without wasting a ton of material like that. My guess is that they start with treated tubing in the rough shape they need, then machine on it to give it small, needed features, such as the switch hole and threads for the endcap. If they started with solid tubing or even a solid block, you'd be probably machining away 90% of the material... plus, machining is pretty slow, even with NC equipment, compared to something like forging or drawing.

Uhh, wait.. this was about LED lights? Enough engineering geekery, we now return you to your regularly scheduled thread...

greenman999 location: Dallas, Texas Gender: Male I am a curious man, that is why I climbed those fences, and walked in that abandoned building \| \| \|	Re: LED Flashlights <Reply # 12 on 2/23/2005 1:24 AM >

	But a downside to this L.E.D. flashlight, is that it has the blinking emergency feature...which for epileptics(I am one) it is a little bastard...bean you know exactly what I am talking about... Tunnel Rats Are Just Beneath Your Feet! Just Keep An EyE Open, We Are ALWAYS Watching! And if u cannot see us then we are doing as we are supposed to...btw...we can see up ur skirt :-D

Bizurke

location:
Los Angeles, CA
Gender: Male

Re: LED Flashlights
<Reply # 13 on 2/23/2005 1:55 AM >

Posted by BigTex
But a downside to this L.E.D. flashlight, is that it has the blinking emergency feature...which for epileptics(I am one) it is a little bastard...bean you know exactly what I am talking about...

I can see how that would pose a serious problem to an epileptic, I never even really thought about that being something to worry about. Then again I don't have any lights that have a flashing feature on them so it never came to mind. I don't personally think I would ever need to use something like that so it just seems like a useless feature to me. However I can see how in the event of an emergency it could come into play.

Freak location: Usually Alaska, now MSP. Gender: Male Hypocrite \| \|	Re: LED Flashlights <Reply # 14 on 3/10/2005 9:19 PM >

	I use a Petzl Duo headlamp, with Halogen and LED modes. Unfortunately there's something wrong with the switch, so it wants to pop out of LED mode and turn itself off randomly. I tend to use the LED for short-distance viewing and reading maps and such, but I love the halogen for long dark tunnels. Depending on the situation and how many backup batteries I have, I'll often use the leds more than the halogen and save the brights for large open spaces. Turn off the internet and go play outside. http://spamusement...hp/comics/view/137

lifeofbean

location:
Plano, TX
Gender: Male

Re: LED Flashlights
<Reply # 15 on 3/15/2005 1:17 AM >

Yeah, the biggest downside to this flashlight - the switch isn't a simple "on/off". You press it once, it goes on solid. You press it again, it starts strobing. You press it AGAIN and it finally shuts off.

rainman8889

location:
H.T.S.F.C. Time to gain and a time to lose.

Bye for now.

Re: LED Flashlights
<Reply # 16 on 3/15/2005 2:37 AM >

Posted by lifeofbean

Yeah, the biggest downside to this flashlight - the switch isn't a simple "on/off". You press it once, it goes on solid. You press it again, it starts strobing. You press it AGAIN and it finally shuts off.

Sounds neat but I will stick with my maglite... for now.

Gone for a while. Be back when I'm back.

ofberenonehand

location:
Minn-e-snow-ta

"Where now is Boromir the Fair? He tarries and I grieve."

Re: LED Flashlights
<Reply # 17 on 3/15/2005 2:48 AM >

Posted by rainman8889

Sounds neat but I will stick with my maglite... for now.

You should look into the drop in LED replacements for mag's. They are brighter, run much longer, never burn out and end up bein cheaper than any decent LED light.

"That's What Government Is For; To Get In A Man's Way" -Mal

rainman8889

location:
H.T.S.F.C. Time to gain and a time to lose.

Bye for now.

Re: LED Flashlights
<Reply # 18 on 3/15/2005 2:49 AM >

Posted by ofberenonehand

You should look into the drop in LED replacements for mag's. They are brighter, run much longer, never burn out and end up bein cheaper than any decent LED light.

Thanks for the advice. I'll check it out.

Gone for a while. Be back when I'm back.

PaulGanguly location: Rochester NY Gender: Male \| \| \|	Re: LED Flashlights <Reply # 19 on 3/16/2005 9:19 AM >

	I'm pretty sure on my last outing my buddy's led flashlight is what got us caught. Well, that coupled with his absolute refusal to put a gel on it. He had a blue and a red gel, that really helped dull it down so that the beam didn't travel so far. The flashlight was bright as HELL. Seriously, you could get a tan from the thing. It's a nice flashlight if that's what you're looking for though. I recall it being like 10 bucks at walmart. Came with a holster, and a red, green, and blue gel. The gels are great if you're looking to make them much less noticeable from far away, as red light doesn't travel as far as white light. Also, it's just a good idea to dull them down when possible. I have some nice gels for my mag. Make it a lot easier to deal with. You'd be surprised how little light you need in most areas. http://photobucket...v292/paulganguly/?

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