js's USL reanimation and revivification thread

[darkgear.com]

Oh, right, and I forgot the original reason I came here.

I sent all of the stuff back to Bill, not because he demanded that I do that but because, honestly, I'm done. I'm sick of having all those flashlight parts on my shelves. And I didn't really want to deal with a dozen more USL kits orders and packing and shipping and trips to the post office and etc.

And I did what I set out to do, which is build USL's for the remaining orders. That's now done. And I want to move on!

So, I packed everything up, less enough parts for me to make myself my own USL at some point in the future, and sent it all off to Bill.

Oh, and I did talk to Bill on the phone, and he promised to send out chargers and powersupplies OR refunds in the near future. I mentioned some of the people waiting and he said he knew about them and had the list, etc. He also said he had some more battery packs, so he may possibly make a few more USL's and sell them in case anyone is interested.

Also note that his perennial internet troubles persist so he is often incommunicado.

So, that's the deal . . . it's out of my hands now!

Thank you everyone for being so gracious!

Finally, this thread is still active for the purpose of the eneloop field testing.

Looks like I missed out...Oh well. JS thanks for all your hard work in getting people their USLs. GOOD JOB!

Best regards,
Randy

 

[mst3k]

I just wanted to pop back in and say also, "JS you rock." You have done everything the "right" way. You really came thru and I just wanted to say Thanks.

 

[js]

Thanks js for all your hard work. It is nice to see this finished.

I have a triton charger that came with my USL years ago. I sold the USL but still have the triton. So I am going to give it away to a USL owner.

js, any ideas on who is next on the list to get one?


Cheers
Dave

Dave,

This is a very generous offer on your part! On behalf of all those USL people still waiting . . . waiting . . . waiting . . . I thank you!

I'm sorry I didn't respond to this sooner, but when I went to do so, CPF was down, then life happened. As for who is next on the list to get a Triton, I really don't know, but WB PMed me today or yesterday and apparently HE NEVER GOT HIS ORDER!!! And he's like #4 on the list. So unless there's some massive misunderstanding somewhere WB would definitely be next on the list.

However, I don't know if a Triton sans USL would do him any good. So, let's hold off for just a bit and see what's what. Otherwise, there were people that posted to this thread regarding their need for a Triton (after having received a USL), and they would all be good candidates. Their ranking order (in terms of who paid first) is posted in the first post of this thread.

So, sorry I couldn't give you a more definite answer, but thank you so much for this very generous offer.

Anyone who needs a Triton setup, please feel free to chime in here.

 

[js]

I just wanted to pop back in and say also, "JS you rock." You have done everything the "right" way. You really came thru and I just wanted to say Thanks.

Well THANKS! I appreciate your kind words!

But, honestly, I'm not so sure I did everything the right way. But at least it was something and I did eventually step up to try to make the situation better.

 

[js]

Looks like I missed out...Oh well. JS thanks for all your hard work in getting people their USLs. GOOD JOB!

Best regards,
Randy

Randy,

Do you mean that you are still waiting on a USL order? If so, that's depressing! But even in that case, Bill should have all the rest of the parts again, and he said he has some more battery packs that he hadn't sent me for some reason (couldn't find them at the time due to have packed moved etc. something like that). So, let me know if you are still out a USL order or refund on same.

 

[Codeman]

Okay, after a d/c down to 9.9 V, the following 1A/2500 mAh max charge left the cells at a safe 89 °F. The following d/c showed a capacity of 1863 mAh.

Unless you think I need to change the peak voltage to something other than 3 mV/cell, I guess we'll go with 1863 mAh for my baseline - a tad higher than my original baseline but not as much as I was hoping for.

Just out of curiosity, is your Triton one of the original models or is it one of the newer ones?

Okay, after one week of daily use, the results are good but a little creepy. Today's discharge was 1863 mAh.

 

[js]

Ray,

Why are the results a little "creepy"? Just 'cause it's the same exact number as before? Or what?

 

[Codeman]

Ray,

Why are the results a little "creepy"? Just 'cause it's the same exact number as before? Or what?

Yeah, I've never seen that happen. I think I've watched Transformers too many times and my Triton has become a Decepticon and is lying...:nana:

 

[Data]

Dave,

This is a very generous offer on your part! On behalf of all those USL people still waiting . . . waiting . . . waiting . . . I thank you!

I'm sorry I didn't respond to this sooner, but when I went to do so, CPF was down, then life happened. As for who is next on the list to get a Triton, I really don't know, but WB PMed me today or yesterday and apparently HE NEVER GOT HIS ORDER!!! And he's like #4 on the list. So unless there's some massive misunderstanding somewhere WB would definitely be next on the list.

However, I don't know if a Triton sans USL would do him any good. So, let's hold off for just a bit and see what's what. Otherwise, there were people that posted to this thread regarding their need for a Triton (after having received a USL), and they would all be good candidates. Their ranking order (in terms of who paid first) is posted in the first post of this thread.

So, sorry I couldn't give you a more definite answer, but thank you so much for this very generous offer.

Anyone who needs a Triton setup, please feel free to chime in here.

I will wait till WB's light is found or sombody else on the list asks for it.

 

[Codeman]

With the holiday this week, I wasn't able to run the USL everyday. So...I decided to give it a long continuous run today. After 6 minutes, I turned it off to briefly check temps:



Since 364°F is clearly hot enough, I'm going to bypass doing tvodrd's original USL fried egg test. :nana:

Although I didn't take any pictures, the body near the switch was around 135°F and the tailcap was 110°F. My guess is that the cells probably got cooked a bit, so I'll be limiting continuous runs to 4-5 minutes max.

I'll post this week's d/c results when the test is done.

By the way, I had a new HVAC system installed a few weeks ago. They came back out this week to tweak the thermostat settings since it's cool down some (dual fuel communicating system). My charging station sits underneath the thermostat, so the technician made a comment about my flashlights. I did a quick demo of a stock 2D Mag vs the USL for him. I never get tired of seeing people's reaction to the USL!

 

[Bullzeyebill]

I've never tried 6 minutes continuous, and have keep it to about 1 minute, and it still gets hot, though very tolerable. Yeah, it is an attention getter.

Bill

 

[rdh226]

Hi.

Randy,

Looks like I missed out...Oh well. JS thanks for all your hard work in getting people their USLs. GOOD JOB!

Best regards,
Randy

Do you mean that you are still waiting on a USL order? If so, that's depressing! But even in that case, Bill should have all the rest of the parts again, and he said he has some more battery packs that he hadn't sent me for some reason (couldn't find them at the time due to have packed moved etc. something like that). So, let me know if you are still out a USL order or refund on same.

Just perusing the forums (been awhile, not paying attention), and came across this. Does this mean
I missed out (rdh226, #69 on list)?

I'm not too concerned 'bout that (as I managed to score a couple used USLs over the intervening years),
so I'm pretty well stocked, USL-wise.

I was much more interested in your new battery packs, especially using the Eneloops. One of my packs
is completely dead, and the other is showing advanced senility.

Never got a Triton from Bill either. Sigh. Caveat Empter fer sur, eh?

-RDH

 

[Codeman]

Weekly Eneloop 0.5C (1A) discharge test results:

11/15 - 1863 mAh
11/22 - 1863 mAh
11/29 - 1858 mAh

 

[js]

Codeman,

Aiight then! We're on our way.

As for burn length, I don't see any problem with repeated 6 min burns. When I field tested the proto type USL I did a number of full 10-12 minute burns and the batteries didn't seem to take any capacity hit--although they were CBP1650's and not eneloops! But cutting that in half (12 min to 6 min) should give a decent margin. Of course, obviously less heat is better. But still, if you can't use your USL like you want, what's the point? Roast those marshmallows baby! Have fun!

RDH,

You know, I really should have known. Bill didn't give me accurate information, obviously. OK. Water, bridge, etc. At this point, we are field testing the eneloop pack to see how it will hold up to the PUNISHING environment of a USL. However, even if we eventually decide against the eneloops, I can always make up packs from Elite cells, or whatever high current AA cells are best these days.

However, the thing is that I sent all the parts back to Bill so that he could make up USL's from the extra battery packs he said he (probably) had on hand. And also 'cause I had had enough and wanted to reclaim the shelf space for my beloved books.

Let me talk to Bill and post back here.

 

[Codeman]

Weekly Eneloop 0.5C (1A) discharge test results:

11/15 - 1863 mAh
11/22 - 1863 mAh
11/29 - 1858 mAh

12/6 - 1850 mAh

 

[darkgear.com]

Randy,

Do you mean that you are still waiting on a USL order? If so, that's depressing! But even in that case, Bill should have all the rest of the parts again, and he said he has some more battery packs that he hadn't sent me for some reason (couldn't find them at the time due to have packed moved etc. something like that). So, let me know if you are still out a USL order or refund on same.

JS,

Yes, I am USL-less. I missed checking this thread for the important months that you were working on the project. No big deal though. If you have a list that you are passing on to Bill put my name on it and don't worry. Mahalo again for all the work you put in. Nice to see new USL's in the hands of their rightful owners

Best regards,
Randy

 

[Bullzeyebill]

12/6 - 1850 mAh

Ray, are you still doing 6 minute runs during the week, or more intermittent use?

Bill

 

[Codeman]

Ray, are you still doing 6 minute runs during the week, or more intermittent use?

Bill

No, that one week was the only time I did a 6 minute run.

 

[Codeman]

Weekly Eneloop 0.5C (1A) discharge test results:

11/15 - 1863 mAh
11/22 - 1863 mAh
11/29 - 1858 mAh (one long 6 minute run)
12/06 - 1850 mAh (1.1A?)
12/13 - 1846 mAh (1.1A)

Well, crap. I just noticed that I had my Triton set for 1.1A discharge. I had made some notes on the first few tests, so I'm confident they were at 1.0A, but last week's may have been at 1.1A. I'm running another 1.0A discharge, so I'll try to post that result in a couple of hours.

12/13 - 1858 mAh (1.0A)

js - it just occurred to me that the reason why my capacities are lower than what you saw might be because I'm taking them right when the top-off charge has completed without allowing any time for the trickle charge. If you did allow trickle charging, then that could account for most of the differences between our discharge tests. This is one area that the Triton manual doesn't make very clear. If I understand the manual correctly, the top-off charge runs at the user-specified top-off rate for a fixed 20 minutes after the termination, after which a trickle charge is applied at a non-configurable rate based on the initial charge rate.

Assuming that you did allow time for a trickle charge, how long did you give it?

 

[mst3k]

For anyone that didn't get a USL and you still want one or at least something that can cook marshmallows and eggs. You can even get an extra battery and It's in stock.

http://www.wickedlasers.com/lasers/The_Torch-74-41.html