Updates: Sure....
ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif
I feel better now, thanks.....
By tomorrow evening, I will have ordered the following:
20 mm reflectors and 38 mm reflectors ( Already have the 27 mm reflectors)
Aleph 1,2 and 3 heads (27, 20 & 38 mm reflector hosts respectively)
1x123, 2x123 & 1x17500 battery tubes
E screw and ES can for the screw
McE2S switch cap and components
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As for parts already received, I have all of the tail cap components and the tail caps in HA-Nat & Black
I have 1x123 batery tubes in black and a batch going in for their second attempt on HA-Nat
Monday, I will have 2x123 and 1x17500 tubes in black as well. I will need to face off both lips of the tube for ground path and then I can get some of these to Wayne. I was going to leave raw tubes of these sizes with the HA-Nat anodizer on friday but after seeing the 1x123's I didn't even mention that I had these and I took them back. More on anodize later down...
Summertime, vacations and lack of communication have conspired to set back the expected ship date on the Aleph 1 heads as well as the E screws. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif I have the ES cans and they have been nickle plated already. I approved the First Article of the Aleph 1 Head a month ago. I expect First Article of the E screw at the beginning of next week and the machine shop is going to do all they can to play catch up here.
20 mm & 38 mm reflectors are about a month away as are their heads (Aleph 2 & 3)
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Aleph 1 lights should be in existance sometime towards mid to the end of next month both as DIY components as well as build to suit if Wayne, I or any others so chosing, have the time and inclination.
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In regards to the names, there is ultimately no rhyme or reason to how these have become to be named and it's a mess. I promise to never criticize SF and their part numbers again!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif
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Anodize: First and foremost, anodize provides a hard and protective film over the Al 6061 T6 which in and of itself is well suited to the environment it is typically subjected to even in its raw form. The color is a cosmetic issue and for many it is understandably important. I have had the range of success on getting components HA-Nat anodized. From unacceptable scrap to reasonably compatible with SF parts, I have received all of these. Since the tailcaps do have a good relationship with SF HA-Nat components, I will continue to provide these if the anodizer can hold up their end. Regarding the Aleph series in its entirety though, after the crap I saw on Friday, I was finally compelled to make a decision I have been contemplating all along. I am going to go exclusively with what I have been calling black HA.
To be more specific, the parts you have seen from me and identified as black HA are not the same as the standard black HA type III parts which in fact use a dye for getting the color. My parts are a hard anodize but they are done in 40' long tanks that are more commonly used for sailboat spars as well as lamp posts and other architectural components like railing. There are no dyes added and this hard anodize is typically not as thick of a film and I would catagorize the color as a dark slate gray. I believe that it is a good functional hard coating and it is reasonably "neutral" if coupled with HA-Nat parts or EN plated parts. Frankly, I personally prefer the color and with the hassles involved in trying to get consistant color of the HA-Nat, I say screw it! I think I'll take a "marketing" slant on this and point out that the Aleph series will be available in the "unique" HA-slate color only and it is a mark of distinction! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
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At the moment, I seem to be short on money, certainly room, patience and wits. Oh yeah and time! I am really short on time! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif My only consolation is taking the prototypes out and re affirming that these lights are going to be honest, functional and different than other offerings. In other words, I believe they will be sellable both here and beyond CPF and I think at some point, building these and getting them out will be fun and satisfying. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
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So not only do you get an update but you also got some whine; sorry but no cheese to go with it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
As soon as I have representative parts, I will put together some images as well as text and possibly a matrix of what and how these components can be combined and to what results. There need to be the ever so misleading and two dimensional beam shots and you know you can count on runtimes! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif
Every new part that comes along always has its mod potential and these likely have yet to be discovered alternative uses both as is and with some modifications. Just today I took a P60 LA and found that it could be loaded from the front end into a Aleph 1 head. The ground spring needed cutting and some bending. Lamp changing will be a bit of a PITA but the Aleph 1 head on the 2x123 battery tube with a tail cap modded with clickie inside makes a pretty cool host for the P60 or P61, IMHO.
