Where did all the oldtimers go.

[greenLED]

Then came all those "ultraviolet" tints, so you could pick between purple and green.

My favorite Arc LS has a beautiful purplish tint! (I'm serious, I like it.) I believe it's a "P" model too.

[milkyspit]

My favorite Arc LS has a beautiful purplish tint! (I'm serious, I like it.) I believe it's a "P" model too.

The "P" is for purple, right?

Truth be told, I still have the first modded light I ever bought: a SureFire E1E with a Luxeon low dome pill in it, modded by Lambda. The LED has a purple cast to it, and... well, yeah, I like it too.

(Though the brightness, or lack thereof, shows pretty dramatically how far we've come in the past half-decade or so.)

[cy]

some of the nicest tints were found in the original Arc LS First Run lights. I'm referring to Peter's original offering on CPF of 100 lights. which were the world's first production Luxeon lights.

after that run... it was almost impossible to find any early low dome Luxeon light that didn't have a greenish tint.

my brother alerted me to that deal and that was my first exposure to CPF. I was on Peter's original list but for some reason never connected, missing out on that historical run.

still remember reading about Craig's (LED Museum) sudden illness and CPF rallying together sending help.

from what I've gathered ... aside from special edition LED lights made for trade shows, etc. world's first production LED light was made by Techna.... a direct drive (powered by button cells) red LED Titanium light. I've got one laying around somewhere along with my collection of world's earliest LED lights.

don't forget about Wayne Yamaguchi's ground breaking contributions... his electronic wizardry made possible those early LED lights.

[rizky_p]

wow those registered date goes way before mine..not an old timer myself but will be somedays..

[lctorana]

The tint on the LED is rotten cat urine green!

Which, ironically, is quite good at colour rendition.

Point it into your sock drawer on a dark morning and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[Cyclops942]

Ah... see - right there is the problem. Expectations are too high.

I won't speak for all of the first 1000 or so members, but I can tell you that some of the "new" has worn off of CPF for me. It comes in cycles - I get way into it for a while, and then I have to back off for a while for my own sanity. Back in the earlier days, we all knew all of the active posters and would carry on conversations that would normally be reserved for email. And in those days we could read ALL new posts for the day in about 10 minutes. Miss a weekend, and in 20 minutes, you'd up-to-date. Miss a weekend now, and it takes the whole next week to catch up! So much goes on now that I haven't even the slightest clue about. I'll be talking to a CPF friend who will bring up a thread that has been going on for weeks - that I've never even seen! I do miss the days when I could read EVERY single post from every day. It is great to have new blood, certainly. And we're still one of the best communities on the internet. With our growth has come the inevitable growing pains of course, but we keep plugging away at maintaining what we're all here for.

Funny to be writing like I'm an old-timer. I'm really not. I have a vivid memory of when I was the newbie asking all the questions I still see being asked today. I remember frantically scouring the forums (we had like three back then!) to find out what this mysterious E2 was that everybody was talking about. I remember asking Craig how many batteries I needed to fire up one 5mm LED. I knew NOTHING when I joined. Now I have a few people convinced that I am actually a *source* of information.

OK, carry on.

+1

I *do* remember a discussion you and I had regarding "focus" one time.

[milkyspit]

Time was, one could keep tabs on everything happening at CPF with a bit of regular attention. I sincerely doubt that any one person can adequately keep up with all the goings-on in all the various nooks and crannies of CPF these days. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just different.

[Cypher]

LMAO, I thought my Chop-modded KL1 bumped to 700mA on a Q3J was a MONSTER, and then I put a R2L DD'ed in a Streamlight 3AA

I still love my Chopped KL3. He increased the drive current up to around 850 mA and put a cut down McR27 and a TWOJ Lux3 in it. I thought I was living large with (maybe) 80!! lumens OTF.

I swapped the lux for a seoul and it's still great.

I lurked CPF for a while before I joined and still mostly lurk as can be seen from my post count. I remember when I first started checking in that a lot of the conversation was on the Longbow led lights that were somewhat new at the time I believe.

Because of CPF I got my first real light (not including Mags): a Surefire 6P. I love it now as much as I did then. The quintessential flashlight IMO. It has classic lines but it's so upgradeable that it stays on the cutting edge. It has a Malkoff M60W right now. A far cry from the 60 lumen p60 and 19 lumen purple tinted KL3 that made up my first High/Low, Long/Short runtime duo.

I still have my first mod too. A DD Lux3 TV1K on a Hotlips heatsink in a 3D Mag. It's rarely used by me but strangely it's the one my kids grab first.

So much goes on here now that I can't keep up anymore. I suppose you could say I'm in transition away from CPF. I've been in transition for about a year now but I keep coming back so.........

[Owen]

I remember when I first started checking in that a lot of the conversation was on the Longbow led lights that were somewhat new at the time I believe.

Longbow! I still think it's the best made light of its type that I have seen to date, with construction that would shame even Surefire, and is a great example of what overseas manufacturers are capable of if they would commit to quality.
With the stock pill, and a McR18 reflector and UCL up front, my Micra isn't impressive by today's standards, but is still my go-to "most reliable" light, and I expect to be using it(after another pill/reflector mod) for years to come.

[Bullzeyebill]

So much goes on here now that I can't keep up anymore. I suppose you could say I'm in transition away from CPF. I've been in transition for about a year now but I keep coming back so.........

Please do not transition away from CPF. I started a year or so ahead of you, and it got different over time, but it was worth the stay for me. In the long haul CPF has been very worth while for me, and the people here are just great, so continue back to CPF and be one of the great ones that make it worth while to be here.

Bill

[Graham]

The burning question for me from the data provided by bigfoot is whether Graham will be around to give Darell a T-shirt for 20k posts?!?!

Be careful what you wish for...

[darkzero]

Please do not transition away from CPF. I started a year or so ahead of you, and it got different over time, but it was worth the stay for me. In the long haul CPF has been very worth while for me, and the people here are just great, so continue back to CPF and be one of the great ones that make it worth while to be here.

Bill

Agreed, I was heavily addicted to CPF when I first came here & then left for two years. Somehow I'm back..... I'm sure there's many others like this. I'm sure I'll disappear again & then be back again. Some things are just too good to leave behind.

[gtwace]

I come back once in awhile for the raffle haha, and it is killing me.

[Kestrel]

I just wanted to post to state my appreciation for the 'old hands' who are still here & helping us noobs with timeless good advice - you didn't get this far without learning a lot about this hobby. Your time & help are always appreciated.

Thank you,
K

[asdalton]

For us oldtimers:

Remember the various mania periods we've gone through? Examples:

Arc Mania - all things Arc, the LS and AAA craze - regulated! hi-dome lux!

My first Arc LS was one of the "hybrids." Then came the LSL and the LSH-P. This is where I learned the tactic of selling one expensive light in order to fund the next one.

I still have an original design Arc AAA (from before the 2003-2004 quality problems) that I'm keeping as a shelf queen.

Minimag Mod Mania - Sammies! Bad boys! Opalec!

I had some of those, too. That was when you couldn't buy a decent production LED light that would run on AA batteries.

SF A2 Mania - get several so you can have the different led colors!

If I remember correctly, there were a lot of complaints about the A2 -- its lateness and its price. Now it's very well respected.

[MicroE]

Time was, one could keep tabs on everything happening at CPF with a bit of regular attention...

I don't even try to keep up now.
I stop by once or twice a week to read a couple of threads on new lights. With two kids, two jobs and other hobbies, it is impossible to keep current.

[Lasernerd]

been here awhile,,love CPF!

[Lord Bear]

Bump
I like to think I'm an old timer. Not on CPF but in life. It's nice to hear people reminisce. Good memories should be treasured. Nuff said.

[LuxLuthor]

I recently reacquired one I'd given to my mother years ago. The tint on the LED is rotten cat urine green!

Eew LOL

I don't know what is more revolting. The fact that someone would keep track of cat piss to know it has a green color, or that someone would add on their disgust as if they recognized the horror of the color also.

Back when I had cats, all I ever saw was dark spots in the litter box.

[Ray_of_Light]

I still have a small stash of Arc LSes and never found the inner strenght to modify my First Run... of that exact tint of green you mentioned...
BTW is good to see, seven years later (for me) that love for lights never ends.

Anthony

[Sharp]

Unlike some, I was introduced to the forum through my dad, a fellow flashaholic. He introduced me in this never-ending quest for enlightenment at the inappropriate age of 16. I joined the forum a couple of years later and posted whenever I felt I could make a contribution.
I have taken a break from the forum but as others have said, you eventually look at yourself and realise you are still a flashaholic at heart. But I guess that having as an EDC three torches on myself and two in the bag with enough batteries to last me a week is a bit of a giveaway in any case.

I have to agree with many points made on here. CPF definitely used to be tighter-knit and friendlier. Back then you would log in to firstly have a laugh and an insight on the CPF world and then to share the geekdom of flashaholicism with users you would recognise all the time. When I was not on CPF I would be on Craig's review website.
I remember a time when having an ArcAAA around your neck or anywhere near your body was the Flashaholic's initiation. Old freeze tests come to mind as well, driving over Inova X5s, regarding Princeton Tec's Xenoid polymer as the best thing after Surefire's Hard Anodisation, and the mighty tradeoffs between a Krypton bulb and a Xenon bulb...

There are still elements of that friendliness today in CPF although scale has had an impact. Changes in technology are also to consider to explain this change! Back then, High Dome and Low Dome were the big things. You used Xenon incandescence for colour rendition and throw. You used High Domes if you wanted the throw and concentrated beam and a low dome for good spill. With today's variety, after a few months' hiatus, it took me a week or so to wrap my head around the R2, R4 and R5 LEDs, the Cree MC-E, and so on.
Today mods are much more labour intensive and involve a number of components that come out every month or sooner. Back then I remember feeling like an all-powerful flashmaster for helping my dad make a modified Princeton Tec Blast which used the 3LED drop-in made for the Maglite AA.

With times changing however, it is good to see that the love of torches is still around. People, whatever the reasons, still join the search for enlightenment (and the financial and marriage repercussions that come with it). It is obvious how CPF has contributed to the development of torches, batteries, LEDs and circuitry worldwide. It is therefore welcome to see how the forum grows and continues to provide a basis for the continued development.
I, for one, am expanding my collection and find myself EDCing Fenix torches rather than the old trustworthy Surefires. It came as a bit of a shock when I had to move on and realise there was a whole new world of torches out there!

Regards,
Richard

[Lord Bear]

I don't know what is more revolting. The fact that someone would keep track of cat piss to know it has a green color, or that someone would add on their disgust as if they recognized the horror of the color also.

Back when I had cats, all I ever saw was dark spots in the litter box.

To eliminiate seeing dark spots, don't look into the working end of a....aww, I'll bet you know the punchline already.

[dudemar]

I don't know what is more revolting. The fact that someone would keep track of cat piss to know it has a green color, or that someone would add on their disgust as if they recognized the horror of the color also.

Back when I had cats, all I ever saw was dark spots in the litter box.

LOLOL!

[dudemar]

CPF definitely used to be tighter-knit and friendlier. Back then you would log in to firstly have a laugh and an insight on the CPF world and then to share the geekdom of flashaholicism with users you would recognise all the time. When I was not on CPF I would be on Craig's review website.
I remember a time when having an ArcAAA around your neck or anywhere near your body was the Flashaholic's initiation. Old freeze tests come to mind as well, driving over Inova X5s, regarding Princeton Tec's Xenoid polymer as the best thing after Surefire's Hard Anodisation, and the mighty tradeoffs between a Krypton bulb and a Xenon bulb...

There are still elements of that friendliness today in CPF although scale has had an impact.

I agree as well. Even 4 years ago when I first joined there were some very nice people, but they have long since faded away, had major changes in their lives or moved on to other things. Today it just seems like every other member is hell bent on getting the best and brightest LED, and if you don't have it you "suck". Sadly it makes me feel like I'm in high school all over again... but c'est la vie.

[Carpe Diem]

Hi Guys....

I just found this thread again, after first posting in it years ago. An enjoyable and highly nostalgic trip through times past, to say the least.

I was fortunate to first join when the CPF was still pretty young, and over the subsequent years have spent many, many enjoyable hours here. Cyberspace friendships were created that will forever withstand the tests of time. The CPF essentially became, and always will be, a part of me.

Time changes everything, though. I still frequent the CPF almost daily, but now more as an observer than an active poster. I commend Kelly in the efforts she went through in the past years to save the CPF from drifting off into oblivion...and to then make it thrive into the even bigger cyber presence that it is today. Kelly...kudos to you for a job well done!

I also am pleased to see that the passage of time has brought to the CPF legions of newer members who now are the key contributors to this great forum. I take great comfort in seeing that the proverbial baton has been passed to such a worthy group of passionate people.

I`ll still regularly visit the CPF and occaisionally speak up. And, as always, when I do the pleasure will be all mine!

Long live the CPF...and my continued best wishes to the nicest group of kind and eclectic souls to ever assemble in cyberspace!

[ygbsm]

been here awhile,,love CPF!

Same here.

[nekomane]

Is it just me, or do I see a lot less of the 'oldtimers'?

Where is everybody? Drop in and say Hi

[cy]

hey Nekomane... long time no talk... hope things are going well

[nbp]

I would agree. I was just thinking of this thread the other day. I don't see a lot of posts from the the members who joined in the c. '00-'04 era, which is kinda what I consider the "old-timers". Some days it seems all the members posting have joined in the last year or so and I feel like an old timer, with just four years here, although I certainly don't feel I deserve that title.

[vestureofblood]

I started reading this thread and was several posts in before I realized it was started before I even joined.


I cant speak for the truly "old timers" but there have been drastic changes here on CPF just since I joined.

When I arrived here just a few short years ago was on what I caught the tail end of the incan hot wire explosion. Where everyday chatter was about Mag 85 and 64623. Man am I glad I had the privilege to be here for that.

I think that the past 2 years since LED tech has finally reached the point it can compete with the 3,4, and 5000+ lumen hot wires has caused the either to wear off a bit for some.

Even more that than I think the craze of "all things production" has disenchanted some as well.

What I mean by that is one thing a member that I learned hordes from in my early days said specifically. That he was trading in his flashlights for a fishing pole because anything we could come up with here at CPF now would be in a production light weeks later.

Man this has been some ride.... I hope the next few years bring bout the many rapid changes that the past few have.. .