USL Field Test Thread, Pt 3

[Codeman]

Okay, I'll surrender to the wisedom of Bill & MR Bulk. I am waiting for one of my camera's to get back from the shop already.

Fat_Tony - the first experience I had with the USL was right after I installed the bulb from where Bill shipped it with the bulb wrapped separately. Well, since I had the head off, I decided to go ahead and slip the Nite Ize Lite Ring on before I put the head back on. Note, however, that that was AFTER I installed the bulb.

While slipping the ring over the switch, with the USL about 7" away from my eyes, which were looking straight down at the switch - BOOOOMM! Instaflashed my eyeballs. I think it was about 20 minutes before I could see ANYTHING and another half-hour or so before the spot went away. That's the picture that should have been taken!

At times, like Charlie said, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/stupid.gif

 

[naromtap]

Nice pics....much prefer the solo beamshots to the comparism ones...keep on snapping gents!

 

[bwaites]

I like both, because it gives you a scale to judge against, though the Beast and the Maxabeam are pretty heavy competitors.

Bill

 

[naromtap]

How about a comparism between a standard 2/3D Mag & the USL?...LOL..same size are'nt they?!...oh and I did like Mr Bulks idea of a ceiling bounce comjparism with a standard ceiling light?!

 

[tvodrd]

[ QUOTE ]
Fat_Tony said:
I want to see an "after" picture of Ray, you know, a picture of him after he has singed his eyebrows while trying to take a picture of the USL's beam!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey! I laid claim to the first singed facial hair! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Larry

 

[Dynacolt]

Fantastic pics Ray. Despite the USL being described as putting out a wall of light, you've managed to capture the core spot/throw of the light. It's amazing to think it has a light sabre spot that bright, and also a phenomenal amount of spill/flood. and to penetrate fog that distance is a feat for any light I'd say.

I had a thought re a safety for the USL: I'm not sure of the switch dimensions and the exposure of the switch rocker, but would it be possible to drill a clean hole through the rocker at a transverse to the switch action, such that a split-pin or wire could be inserted through the hole and across the switch (possibly the wire being wrapped around the body of the light) thus preventing the rocker being pressed forward and this would prevent any accidental turn-on?

I hope this makes sense and could be considered.

Thanks,

Dave.

 

[tvodrd]

Hi Dave,

I am working on a possible safety guard for the USL's switch. The issues are how much will it detract from the "stealth" aspect, including non-matching color, and will it delay the project. The first is negotiable, but the second isn't. I lost three days travelling and will be out of town again again fri-sunday. I hope I can do it, but will not delay this project! I hadn't considered drilling a cross hole through the switch! It might work, but I only have the light and I have cut into spring pockets attempting to modify switches before. Maybe Bill could give it a try with a bare switch? (1/16" hole for a cotter?)

Larry

 

[Codeman]

Larry definitely earned the first singed facial hair award! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif

Dave, I had thought of your idea a couple of weeks ago. I just think the switch is just too small for it to be practical. Were a hole to be drilled in it, I suspect it would only be a matter of time before the switch broke. However, I would be tinkled pink if the wizard of things small, tvodrd, could pull it off! My escapades of a week or two back with the disassembly of the prototype was to get Larry some measurements for what he's working on. I've got complete faith that, between Larry and Bill, if something can be worked out, we'll see it at some point.

Regardless of what can or can't be done, this light definitely calls for the owner to be responsible. I very much like the Nite Ize Lite Ring for some added protection against accidental turn on. It hasn't happened once since I've had it on the USL, well, except for that very first flash of myself. But, it's my responsibility to remember to push the ring back onto the switch. If I forget to, or I put the light somewhere where the ring could get pushed down and the switch flipped, it would be my fault - not the light's.

It's just like keeping your finger out of the trigger guard and off the trigger until you are ready to fire. Repetition, repetition, repetition is what makes it safe. It's now a habit for me, so I feel relatively safe. It's not perfect, but nothing humans can invent will ever be perfect.

For the extra safety it provides, the Lite Ring is a clean, easy to use, and very cheap addition. I'd even tried to track down a supplier with enough on hand to consider the possibility of a group buy on them. I found 12 at one dealer, and about 20 more at another. After that, well, it will probably just be easier for individuals to buy them directly. Several internet sites sell them (see www.niteize.com for a list), as well as REI and some other traditional stores.

naromtap - I bought a stock 2D Maglite a week or so ago, for that very reason. I should have thought about it this morning. It's on my list to do.

 

[tvodrd]

Hey Ray,

Not to forget no good deed went unpunished! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif (Thanks, the pics "enlightened me!") /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif urself!

Larry

 

[Codeman]

Some things are worth the punishment! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Let me play devil's advocate a bit more on the cross-pin idea.

I'd really be surprised if it could not be done. So, let's say I've got one.

Well, the cross-pin itself adds to the switch's effective surface area in regards to being bumped, meaning it's more likely to be bumped with a cross-pin than without. So, as time goes on, the cross-pin keeps the light from turning on when it's bumped and I build up confidence in it. But, each time it's bumped, the pin transfers the force of the bump to the switch, but it does so in a way that the switch was not originally designed for. It's a strudy plastic/polymer/whatever it is, to be sure. But, over time, those stresses will almost certainly lead to the hole enlarging or micro-cracks forming. Eventually, the material will fail. By then, I may have develped an over-confidence in it's safety, maybe to the point that I've taken to tossing it in a bag without being careful. Well, when the switch finally does break, I might not notice that it happened. I walk off, only to discover later what happened, possibly in a very unfortunate way.

If that happens, was the USL really made safer by a cross-pin safety? I don't think so.

I much prefer a known danger to the possibility of a hidden one cloaked by over-confidence in a less-than-ideal arrangement. Which is why I discounted the idea not long after it occurred to me.

Still, I'd love to be proven wrong on this. A cross-pin that would hold up over time would be the ideal solution, IMO. Unfortunately, though, I think the switch would have to be made of some type of metal to reach that level of reliability.

Having had the honor of seeing Larry's idea in some email he sent to me, I do think Larry's guard idea would add a lot of safety. With all due respect, and that would be a lot, I'm just not sure I'd want to give up the stealth aspect of the USL. I might, though. I think Larry's the last person I'd say "it can't be done" to. He's probably the most able person around to prove such a statement wrong!

 

[KevinL]

Inretech fried a camera (partially) by trying to take a beamshot of their Helios with 5x5W cyan emitters. They say the camera was never quite the same after that. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

And here we are lining up the USL...

Actually I think we're onto something. Yaknow all those folks being hounded by the paparazzi?

Bill, when you become filthy rich, remember us please /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Codeman]

Sheez, did my ranting on the switch chance everyone away?

More pictures, more pictures, more pictures...

If the weather gods will give me a break, my camera makes it back from the shop, and I can get the land owner's permission, I've found a great place to take some shots. It's a little par-3 neighborhood golf course that a fella built on a field that he no longer uses to graze cattle. The landscaping is perfect, including a re-furnished barn that's probably somewhere in the 150 yd to 250 yd range. There's a bit of a drop between where I want to shoot from and the barn, so it will be very similar to the picture that Paul_DW posted in Pt 2 of this thread of a TL85 shot made by, I think, js.

 

[bwaites]

Sounds Cool!!

Bill

 

[naromtap]

Looking forward to it Codeman! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy14.gif

 

[tvodrd]

Back from a couple days/nights in the desert with no moon. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Every couple years, the shack gets completely infested with 1" moths. I unlocked the door and there were several hundred dead and dying on the floor. I never have figured out what they eat. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif I swept-out, unpacked the truck, and settled in for 2 day's of R&R. The wild flowers were the best I have ever seen them!

Friday, very late twilight, there were abt 25 live moths trapped between the north window and screen. They were randomly-wandering back and forth/up and down. On a whim, I lit them up with the USL. All 25+ of them froze in their tracks and 3-5 of them dropped/fell off the screen! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif (Not to mention I was immediately attacked by 50 or so who weren't trapped in the window!) Ever notice that moths' eyes light-up when caught in a beam?

The freekin' moths limited my cabin illumination to a MiniGag with MJLED in candle mode many feet away.

I was fully prepared with camera, manual, and tripod, and I have a couple 10' boulders at the crest of the hill at 172 and 182 yards per the rangefinder. The camera refused to cooperate. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mecry.gif Interestingly, all the lights lit the hillside beautifully!

Another (unrelated) observation: The MB and Beast will wipe-out an FM radio's reception from several feet. (The USL only melts the speaker grill. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

I snagged a couple locals for a group pic, so might as well post something. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

Larry

 

[Kiessling]

[ QUOTE ]
Ever notice that moths' eyes light-up when caught in a beam?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yepp. Very beautiful, even if one doesn't like moths at all.

Nice gathering you have there, Larry! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Conversation should have been a bit limited though ...

bernie

 

[Paul_DW]

[ QUOTE ]
Codeman said:
so it will be very similar to the picture that Paul_DW posted in Pt 2 of this thread of a TL85 shot made by, I think, js.

[/ QUOTE ]

Bring it on! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Codeman]

Larry, you should send that photo to PK!

Mother nature is finally cooperating, Paul. Now if my darn camera will ever come back from Nikon, all that will be left is the landowner's permission.

 

[Fat_Tony]

[ QUOTE ]
tvodrd said:
Another (unrelated) observation: The MB and Beast will wipe-out an FM radio's reception from several feet. (The USL only melts the speaker grill. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif )


[/ QUOTE ]

Larry, do you mean when pointed (aimed) at the radio, or is merely being in close proximity to a radio while it is on enough (like how running a vaccum messes up TV reception)? Thanks for the interesting post, Larry.

 

[tvodrd]

Joe,

Just proximity. I have a small multiband receiver I listen to local FM programming (muzak) when out there. Like your "vacuum cleaner" example, the 2 HID's take it out from several feet away. They seem to emit quite a bit of RFI. I don't know if it is from the arc itself or the ballast electronics. (I suspect the arc.)

Larry