HDS Systems EDC # 16

[TyJo]

Just recieved and opened the package with my new Rotary 200 enclosed. The rotary ring was a bit stiff but after a couple of twists it is feeling better already. There is one question i would like to ask though?

I have a silver bezel for this light on the way from Henry and i just went to unscrew the bezel like i do on my legacy 170T and the whole section beneath the bezel, including the reflector started to unscrew instead. Should the bezel come off the same as my legacy or will the silver bezel for my rotary come with the reflector as well?

I have tried to grip the bezel just to turn that but there is very little to grab hold of.

Help!

IIRC you can damage the reflector or LED on the old legacy lights by tightening down the reflector too much. I believe the new lights are designed so that you cannot over tighten the reflector, but do so at your own risk, I don't want my advice ruining someones light. I have also had a hard time getting the bezel separate from the reflector, but I have never removed the bezel completely. I believe the new bezel you ordered will be a bezel without the reflector, the bezel should unscrew off of the reflector assembly I believe, but it is a tight fit.

 

[Mgizler]

Then I suggest you call Henry and send it back. Could be a case of misalignment on the reflector.

I emailed Henry about the issue and he wants me to send it in so he can take a look. I honestly think that its got alot to do with the emitter not being centered, its actually off to the side quite a bit. Ill keep you guys updated.

 

[Phil40000]

I feel a bit of a knob but I have quelled my panic. I have managed to separate the head and the bezel assembly is very like the 170T I have already. I have had a bit of a mess with the rotary this very evening and it is truly the flashlight of the gods. Keep that good stuff coming Henry, this is the flashlight of champions.

If you could not tell already by my subtle words, it freaking rocks.

 

[MrBenchmark]

In my opinion, anything more than 200 lumen is a want, not a need. I am happy running my lights at 100 lumen or less and find that it covers most of my needs. Just to make sure I am certain of what I am talking about, I went on a trekking trip using only a 80 or 90 lumen McGizmo high CRI Haiku and realized that it is enough. Of course I am not denying that the more we have the merrier it will be, but day to day usage who really needs more?

I completely agree. I have a 170 lumen HDS light. It's plenty bright. I don't really see much use for a brighter light in this form factor. I guess if a 400 lumen LED were available with similar runtime on a single cell, then, sure, why not? But honestly, with that much light, I'm liable to want a bigger reflector, or other optimizations towards throw, and probably more runtime than could be had with a single cell as well. So I don't really see the use. Honestly, for this form factor, I'm with you - 100 lumens is plenty bright in my opinion. I'd guess that 90% of the time I use this light at about 20 lumens.

 

[bansuri]

I've actually never been able to separate the bezel from the reflector. I don't know if they used Locktite or something similar during assembly. I haven't taken tools to it yet because I'm afraid of causing damage.

A big, wide rubber band around each section should give you the grip necessary to separate them without tools
I haven't seen any Loctite in the newer models.
The rubber band method has opened at least half a dozen of the new models for me. Got mine at a local hardware store in the check-out lane with other impulse items.

 

[davyro]

I've just pulled the trigger on a 170T to go with my rotary exec,i guess i'm going to want the R1B-200 next, god these lights have got me bad.

 

[CrazyIvan2011]

...I think I already want another one! The 170t was what I was originally going to get, before the 200 Rotary.

I could just see a flush button clicky sitting next to the rotary here?

How hard is it to get the custom colours from Henry? (love the pics of people with the orange).

Has anyone just got an existing HDS and had it coloured somewhere? (sure someone will have). I have had many PC case parts powder coated before... didn't know what would be best for a HDS, hard wearing finish etc, and a process that would not damage the light!

 

[davyro]

...I think I already want another one! The 170t was what I was originally going to get, before the 200 Rotary.

I could just see a flush button clicky sitting next to the rotary here?

How hard is it to get the custom colours from Henry? (love the pics of people with the orange).

Has anyone just got an existing HDS and had it coloured somewhere? (sure someone will have). I have had many PC case parts powder coated before... didn't know what would be best for a HDS, hard wearing finish etc, and a process that would not damage the light!

Alright Ivan,hope your well.There was one for sale in the market place last week,it went straight away though some lucky person was in there like a shot.
I actualy was going to buy the other rotary from the one i have or a 200T but i searched the web high & low & today while i was at work a mint unused
170T came up for sale with a spare battery compartment at a really good price so i got straight in & bought it.I should have it by Mon/Tues so that was
a bonus because i was going to order direct from the U.S.The thing is i've got nearly half the money left on what i would of had to pay.So you know what
that meen's,i still want the R1B-200 & i've got half the money already.As my wife says it's better than wasting it on drink.:devil:

 

[CrazyIvan2011]

Alright Ivan,hope your well.There was one for sale in the market place last week,it went straight away though some lucky person was in there like a shot.
I actualy was going to buy the other rotary from the one i have or a 200T but i searched the web high & low & today while i was at work a mint unused
170T came up for sale with a spare battery compartment at a really good price so i got straight in & bought it.I should have it by Mon/Tues so that was
a bonus because i was going to order direct from the U.S.The thing is i've got nearly half the money left on what i would of had to pay.So you know what
that meen's,i still want the R1B-200 & i've got half the money already.As my wife says it's better than wasting it on drink.:devil:

Haha....my wife would say the exact same thing (she does actually). I dont have any money spare at the moment, now I got the Rotary, but I think as a treat from my new job I will be starting soon...I will have to get my self a HDS 170!

And apart from the weather here (100mph winds), im just peachy at the moment...actually just adjusting some of the Rotary options
The weekend approaches, and that means time to look at, and desire new lights!

 

[chaoss]

That rotary does look good but for now I am pretty happy with my older 140GT & just ordered a flat tail cap for it.
These lights are work horses.
Keep up the good work Henry.

 

[Phil40000]

I am struggling with the programming on my HDS lights, i had a little mess with my T170 but as the standard settings are so well thought out in the first place i did not pursue it at the time. Now i have my 200 Rotary i want to set it up the way i like things. Is there an idiots guide to getting in the customisation menu and changing things, i read the booklet and card that came with the light but it goes over my head.

 

[TyJo]

I am struggling with the programming on my HDS lights, i had a little mess with my T170 but as the standard settings are so well thought out in the first place i did not pursue it at the time. Now i have my 200 Rotary i want to set it up the way i like things. Is there an idiots guide to getting in the customisation menu and changing things, i read the booklet and card that came with the light but it goes over my head.

I think the manual does a pretty good job once things actually click, no pun intended (seriously I just noticed I said that when I proofread my post). If you can post what your exact problem is I'm sure you will get some help. I love the programming questions/discussion on the HDS lights. Are you able to get into programming (enable programming)?

EDIT: This might help, I posted something similar in the last thread.

To enable customization: turn light on, unscrew light completely, screw light back together. It will turn on dimly, immediately click the light quickly repeatedly until it stops turning off, once it stops turning off hold the button down until the light turns off. Customization is now enabled.

To program a preset: Turn the light on with customization still enabled. Select your preset that you want to program. Double click press hold (2 clicks followed by a 3rd click where you keep the button held down). Now you can customize that preset. Click until you have the preset you want. Once you have the correct choice hold the button down and it will save that selection.

Those are the basics IMO. You can scroll backward with a double click, program all the features in the options menu, and do a few other things. I think everything comes easier once you figure out enabling customization and programming a preset. Hope that helps, if not ask away.

 

[flatline]

For all you guys wondering if 200 lumens or 100 lumens is enough, here's my two cents.

I have a high CRI Clicky and 99% of the time, I'm using it at 30 lumens or less (the vast majority of my use is at 3 lumens). Besides showing off, the only time I use 100 lumens is when I'm testing the battery. If I push it up to 100 lumens and it blinks, I know that it's time to recharge the cell.

In the year and a half that I've had my Clicky, there has only been one time when I needed more than 30 lumens: it was a bright sunny day and I needed to quickly inspect the crawl space under a house. I didn't have time to let my eyes adapt and using the full 100 lumens let me see what I needed to see, but really I could have used much, much more (it's hard to compete with the sun!).

--flatline

 

[TyJo]

For all you guys wondering if 200 lumens or 100 lumens is enough, here's my two cents.

I have a high CRI Clicky and 99% of the time, I'm using it at 30 lumens or less (the vast majority of my use is at 3 lumens). Besides showing off, the only time I use 100 lumens is when I'm testing the battery. If I push it up to 100 lumens and it blinks, I know that it's time to recharge the cell.

In the year and a half that I've had my Clicky, there has only been one time when I needed more than 30 lumens: it was a bright sunny day and I needed to quickly inspect the crawl space under a house. I didn't have time to let my eyes adapt and using the full 100 lumens let me see what I needed to see, but really I could have used much, much more (it's hard to compete with the sun!).

--flatline

My usage is similar, I find myself using the lowest mode on my rotary most of the time. Sometimes I slightly bump up the output if I'm in a situation that I'm not dark adapted to or there is light pollution. I also use the click press hold to get to max frequently when I want a lot of light.

Do you carry spare cells? I only get a couple minutes when my HDS gets low on a RCR123 so I keep my RCRs topped off and always leave the house with a fully charged cell. Li-ions are nice since they don't suffer any ill effects from frequent charging.

 

[flatline]

My usage is similar, I find myself using the lowest mode on my rotary most of the time. Sometimes I slightly bump up the output if I'm in a situation that I'm not dark adapted to or there is light pollution. I also use the click press hold to get to max frequently when I want a lot of light.

Do you carry spare cells? I only get a couple minutes when my HDS gets low on a RCR123 so I keep my RCRs topped off and always leave the house with a fully charged cell. Li-ions are nice since they don't suffer any ill effects from frequent charging.

I do carry a spare in my holster, but I've never needed it. The one time I let my cell get low enough that it blinked at max output, I simply switched to another light with a fresh cell and continued my work. I've never tested how much runtime is left at 3 lumens when the light begins to blink at 100 lumens, but I've always assumed it would be more than just a couple of minutes.

--flatline

 

[pobox1475]

I feel the same way... I'd be more then happy with 100 high CRI lumens.

I am willing to pull the trigger once they become available .

 

[mau91]

How significant is the difference in throw between the 170 and the 200? I know that HDS lights aren't meant to be super throwers, and I'm really considering the Rotary because I like how I can set any brightness level I need before turning it on, but I don't really want to sacrifice too much throw.

 

[Kgp]

I am willing to pull the trigger once they become available .

The thing I don't understand is with the demand of these lights, why henry won't up the supply. I understand he is having issues, but broaden your horizon. If he is a tiny 1 man show, hire some employees for goodness sake. I have been waiting on one of these lights for well over a year. I'm about to give up. This couple month crap is just that... Crap. There is opportunity for a lot of money to be made and I don't understand why people are sleeping on this.

 

[davyro]

The rotary's have exactly the same throw as a 200T so i'd expect them to have a slightly better throw than a 170T so you would be gaining in throw not sacrificing.

 

[davyro]

The thing I don't understand is with the demand of these lights, why henry won't up the supply. I understand he is having issues, but broaden your horizon. If he is a tiny 1 man show, hire some employees for goodness sake. I have been waiting on one of these lights for well over a year. I'm about to give up. This couple month crap is just that... Crap. There is opportunity for a lot of money to be made and I don't understand why people are sleeping on this.

If you've bought direct from Henry & your still waiting after a year i would have been e-mailing him at least once a week to find out what was happening.