Just ordered a new helios!

[windstrings]

Again, laying down $2,100 for a light is tough enough. The thought that the light is or might be dangerous is unnerving. I asked Mike to tell me what his statement that the Helios was "extremly dangerous" was based on but he has not got back to me. I have told sveral CPF members about this (they like me may have small kids and I do not want an extrmely dangerous device around them), so until this is cleared up I will hold off buying a Helios until this is cleared up, and it is my opinion that others who are thinking of buying the Helios do likewise.

I used to have an old streamlight I used back in the early 80's... it was 35 watts with a halogen bulb and I left it on accidently and it almost burn't a hole in my seat in my truck... left it black!

But HID gives much more light with less heat than halogen, but they are still hot. You have light bulbs all over your house, but they are stuck on ceilings and in lamps... all of those would get something to smoking if you exposed the bare bulb to a flammable or skin.

I don't think you will notice the light itself getting hot, but the beam coming out the front will be hot if it sits very close to something for a long time.

I would think a child would feel the heat and natually move in plenty of time.. unless it was an infact.

But these are bright, you don't want your kids looking straight into them up close!... I doubt they would or could... they're too bright.

Forgetting all that, I would not let a 2K light be played with by my kid anyway unless it was totally supervising it.

Any decent throw light at costco has the same concerns.... be careful, but don't make it bigger than it is.

 

[cmacclel]

Ken thanks for stepping in here. I have spoken to both Mike and Ken and have the highest regards for them both.

Mike's statement was not false, you have got to admit it stinks when your favorite light fails to turn on but it my case the Polarion X1 failed to turn off! Once I did manage to get the light to turn off via the switch I placed it down on my wifes dresser and ran out to my workshop for about an hour. When I returned my daughter was asking me when I got the remote controlled light as the X1 was turning itself on and off.

Polarion immediately took care of the light and had a new one to me in under a week. The Helios and X1 are great lights and I'm very happy with the X1. For the size nothing even comes close to touching the X1.


Mac

 

[Mike@PTS]

Hi Guys,
I was lucky enough too T&E a Helios about a month ago thanks to a friend. The light I had performed flawlessly. As far as design flaws that were dangerous, There Were None that I can see. I like the Helios and would buy one if I had a need for such a light.

02Scuba has been harassing us because we did not give him eBay feed-back.
Here is a post he made in our sales thread. :thumbsdow I guess he is taking it to the next level here. :shakehead
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1857984&postcount=107


By the way I would like to thank the CPF member that emailed me a link to this thread.

I think I've made my position on this mater perfectly clear and do not plan to revisit this thread.
Good luck Ken

 

[Ken J. Good]

Wow.

Thanx for clarifying that. Best to you and your business.

 

[02Scuba]

Ken J. Good:

Here is the PM I received from Mike at PTS:

{Moderator edit: Contents of PM removed because posting contents of PMs and emails is a rather severe CPF no-no}

Mike maintains I have an ax to grind and that I am harrasing him. I think part of what this Forum is all about is getting good truthful information out to other members. I called Mike on his ebay policy and his pricing policy and he clealy did not like it. Sometimes the truth hurts, but it is not harrassment.

But why he would make the statement that the PF-40 is dangerous due to some design flaws is beyound me. I have asked Mike to explain what the basis of the this statement is because I would like to buy a Helios but I am not going to if it is dangerous due to design flaws.

You can do with this as you will. But no way am I going to buy a Helios until I know they are safe. If Mike knows somthing that's going to prevent someone from getting hurt he should let us know. Not to do so would be irresponsible.

 

[mtbkndad]

02Scuba,

I was probably the most vocal person in voicing my concern about the "auto on" problem.
I do not have time to go into details, but Ken's post above in conjuction with my phone calls have convinced me that the problem was properly identified and corrected.
Let's also remember it was only one Helios and one X1.

My vocal comments were based on the fact that I did not want an X1 in my mtb pack and find out I am number 2. On some of the trails I ride that would put me in the hospital or worse.

Ken's statement above itself addressed all of my concerns-

"Polarion has identified the fact in some instances the original switch design, the original battery design and the Polarion ballast when used together were essentially not playing well together.

This I got directly from the owner/President of Polarion when I met him overseas a few weeks ago.

The exact reason why, I don't know why. I was working through a translater, and I could not alway get all the information I wanted to and quite simply I did not want to be rude. What I did get, was that he was totally aware of the issue and satisfied that they have ID'd the problem and it is resolved.

I will ask via email for the sake of clarity at this point, if they can give me answer that I can pass on.

He did tell me, that Polarian has taken complete charge/control/ownership of the battery manufacturing along with some internal battery circuitry changes. He shared the drawings with me.

I have also seen a re-designed center section which is the where the rotary dial is situated. The new design is uses a different internal indexing/tensioning and self-cleaning scheme.

I personally believe the lack of really good indexing in some cases with respect to the magnets in the switch contributed to the undesirable Power-ON scenario. That is conjecture on my part."

I am now once again planning on getting an X1 when I can get the descretionary funds together. Of course my descretionary funds keep going to other things like more equipment and devises for light testing, photo shoots, Wii, etc.
:hairpull:

Added section-

Ken's post above and his post in the manufacturer section recently put to rest my only other concern.
It is very clear that Polarion is very serious about setting up a strong US distribution channel and Ken clearly has an ongoing relationship with the owner of the company.

"This I got directly from the owner/President of Polarion when I met him overseas a few weeks ago."

That is good for all of us customers regarding support over that long haul.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:

 

[02Scuba]

Hello mtbkndad !

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. However, I think there is all the difference in the world between a faulty on/off switch (which can happen to any device no matter what it is and who makes it) and design flaws that make the light "extremely dangerous." My opinion based on how far Mike had his nose up Ken's behind in his last e-mail and the fact that he has never explained what the design flaws or danger are is that he said something without thinking about it and when he was called on it he tried to deny it.

I own an X1 and once Ken tells me the Helios is safe I'm gonna buy one and not give this another thought. On the other hand I have purchased a WISELED, a WE Crocodile and WE Boxer from Mike at PTS. That's almost $1,500 in lights. Not the best customer in the world but better than a sharp stick in the eye. Then I try to give the guy a little constructive criticism about the way he does business and he basically called me a liar. Based on the way he has responded to all this I have decided that I would not buy a light bulb from PTS.

 

[mtbkndad]

Hello mtbkndad !

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. However, I think there is all the difference in the world between a faulty on/off switch (which can happen to any device no matter what it is and who makes it) and design flaws that make the light "extremely dangerous." My opinion based on how far Mike had his nose up Ken's behind in his last e-mail and the fact that he has never explained what the design flaws or danger are is that he said something without thinking about it and when he was called on it he tried to deny it.

I own an X1 and once Ken tells me the Helios is safe I'm gonna buy one and not give this another thought. On the other hand I have purchased a WISELED, a WE Crocodile and WE Boxer from Mike at PTS. That's almost $1,500 in lights. Not the best customer in the world but better than a sharp stick in the eye. Then I try to give the guy a little constructive criticism about the way he does business and he basically called me a liar. Based on the way he has responded to all this I have decided that I would not buy a light bulb from PTS.

I had a chance to try an X1 recently and accidentally started the foam in its case smoking because I was holding the business end to close to the foam.
An X1 or Helios in a confined space with combustables around that can turn itself on can be considered extremely dangerous to some people. Read my original posts in the X1(Picture intensive thread) and you will see that I am the person that was voicing the most concern.
Any high powered small HID should be treated with care. I am the person that said a high power HID that can turn itself on can be dangerous. I am the person that said in post #29 of that thread-


I find this to be an issue of great concern for me as a prospective customer. Any light that can potentially get hot enough to start fires and is capable of turning itself on, while the switch is still off, is a real serious issue.

I don't think of this as a prototype issue, at best an early production problem. As such, it is an early production problem that can have very serious or potentially even fatal consequences.
That is why I am so interested in the following ...

All Mike would have had to do is read my post and know the Helios and X1 have the same switch to come to the conclusion that he came to.

I stand by what I said and am pleased to know it is fixed.

Every one of my concerns posted in that thread has been taken care of.

If you do not think an HID in a packpack that can turn itself on and potentially cause a fire or at least alot of heat and destraction when riding single tracks with sheer drop offs can be potentially dangerous, then that is fine, but I do. After all I am the person on the bike.

That is why I held off on any plans to get an X1 until now that I have found out the problem has been identified and fixed.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:

 

[cmacclel]

 

[BVH]

02scuba, my recommendation is to not buy a Helios if YOU believe it is dangerous. By what I read here, I would say the rest of us believe there are no safety issues with the Polarions now that the switch issue has been resolved. Any high-wattage HID light - be it a Polarion, Xeray, Amondotech, Costco, Harbor Freight, etc. is going to produce a significant amount of heat out its business end. That is the nature of the light. It is prudent to operate the light keeping this fact in-mind. My Larryk14 probably emits 6-10 times the heat that these HID's do. I am careful how I use the light. Its that simple.