Just ordered a new helios!

goodspeed

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Hi, my name is stan, I am a flashaholic. I stumbled across this forum just a couple days ago, during my hunt for a searchlight. I have tried several different lights over the years, but I am always looking for something brighter, better, nicer. I learned a lot from all of your posts, I think the helios will be something I will use often. Thanks for all of your knowledge and advice.
 
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windstrings

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goodspeed said:
Hi, my name is stan, I am a flashaholic. I stumbled across this forum just a couple days ago, during my research for a searlight. I have tried several different lights over the years, but I am always looking for something brighter, better, nicer. I learned a lot from all of your posts, I think the helios will be something I will use often. Thanks for all of your knowledge and advice.

You go girl!.. "just kidding stan!"....that oughta be a very nice light!.. you will get many oohs and aahs from it!....

Congrats you could afford it!... enjoy!
 

hoppy1010

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Feb 15, 2006
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Hi all,

I have one on the way also Thought
it would be no problem to get one
but when I ordered it found out ken
did not have any, nice to know these
lights are so popular I think it will be
amazing and worth the wait. If it is half as
good as all the reviews it will be awesome.

Reguards Jay
 

goodspeed

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Don't worry Jay, I am in the same boat. I have to wait for mine too! I am just hoping that i don't get one of those helios tested by the elite forces mentioned elsewhere in the forum... lol
 

02Scuba

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Goodspeed - I two am looking to purchase a Helios. I presently own an X1. However, I am told by Mike at Pacific Tactical that these lights are potentially dangerous. I am going to check with the people at Polarian about this before I purchase. I am not telling you what to do but this is a pretty serious claim and I would rather be safe than sorry.

02Scuba
 

Ken J. Good

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Mike at Pacific Tactical said what specifically if you don't mind me asking???

I have very interested in what he has to say on the topic if Mike (don't know his last name & whom I have never met or talked to) did in fact make claims that he Polarion HID lights are "potentially dangerous".

"Potentially dangerous" is a bit ambiguous...

Are they dangerous because if you drop them on your toe, you will break your tootsies...
Are they dangerous because if you spend the money, your wife will leave you...
Are they dangerous because if you look at the center of the beam too long, you will damage your eyes...
Are they dangerous if you open up the electronics and stick you tongue on them?
Are the chemicals contained within the batteries dangerous to ingest?

What exactly makes the Polarion HID Searchlight Product line "potentially dangerous"?

I just called the number listed on their website several times and all I got was an answering machine. Left a msg for someone to call me back.

Gave them the reason I was calling.

I don't like fires like this getting started, so I will bring this into the open and track it to ground.

If it is the case that he wants to make his product offerings look good...Well shame on him.

If it is the case that he can site some legitimate reasons for these statements, well quite frankly I want to know and at this point will give him the benefit of the doubt if he in fact made such a statement.

The only thing I can think of, is a light (1st gen X1) that I did not deliver was activating when the battery was inserted no matter the switch position. I had one Helios do the same thing. Product improvement is all part of the process.

They key is, what is the distributor/manufacturer going to do about it, once issues are identified.

Product issues that have been identified by Beta Testing and customers have been actively addressed on multiple design and manufacturing fronts by Polarion. Any light that is not up to speed will be backed up by excellent customer service to include repair, replacement or refund.

To date, we have lights with government agencies, law enforcement teams, individuals, search & rescue folks, hunters and I have not heard word one from any of them about potentially dangerous behaivors of the Polarion lights they are using on regular basis.

Polarion is not a total new-comer to the HID world. I am not a new-comer to this industry in general.

I don't like this type of stuff to say the least.
 
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65535

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A match is potentially dangerous, there is nothing dangerous about a high quality light such as the helios when used properly, I would buy one If I had the cash.
 

mtbkndad

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Ken,

My guess would be the issue with the X1 turning itself on, which from what I understand cannot happen any longer due to the new design of the switch mechanism.

Bad news travels faster then good and in this case I have not seen ANY public information explaining the nature of the switch re-design or explanation as to what was the problem in the first place.

As a consumer who is interested in an X1, I think explaining to people what caused the accidental turning on and how it has been resolved is just good business.
Particularly since the problem has been so well documented on CPF with Mac's X1 experience.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:
 

LuxLuthor

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Probably the best idea is to get the actual facts of what was said or implied, as Ken is doing. Who knows what may have happened with the telephone tag from one person to the next. No question the Polarion is top shelf quality, and backed by reliable people like Ken.
 

mtbkndad

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LuxLuthor said:
Probably the best idea is to get the actual facts of what was said or implied, as Ken is doing. Who knows what may have happened with the telephone tag from one person to the next. No question the Polarion is top shelf quality, and backed by reliable people like Ken.


I agree with you and am interested in finding out. The fact, using Ken's analogy, is that a fire was started back when Mac reported his X1 turning itself on. It does not matter to me who sold that to Mac. I also recognize that Polarion took care of that light.

Ken now mentions that one Helios had the same problem.
I am merely saying that until Polarion explains what was wrong with Mac's light and the Helios that had the same trouble and also explains how this has been fixed, the statement of Mike from Pacific Tactical may not be unreasonable even if what is being reported as being said is rather vague.

Mac reported his problem on 12/20/2006.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/145199
On 12/23/2006 in the same thread, as a potential X1 owner, in post 29 I publically asked for an explanation for what when wrong.

It is now 2/27/2007, I personally think there has been plenty of time for Polarion to figure out what the problem was and explain how it has been fixed. I feel this is only reasonable.
Mac was very good about stating Polarion quickly took care of the problem light.

I have said it before and I will say it again, only more direct this time.

Ken,
As a person interested in an X1,
What has been changed about the switch to prevent it from turning itself on
in the future?
Yes problems with beta products is part of the normal product cycle.
So is a manufacturer explaining how the problems have been fixed.

Whether the point is popular or not I am only saying there has been a "fire" burning in public for over 2 months now that could easily be put out.
Just explain what was wrong with the switch and how it was fixed.
The idea that the X1 is "potentially dangerous" is not unreasonable for anybody that read Mac's original thread and has noticed, like me, the silence from Polarion for over 2 months now.
If I missed a post then by all means let me know where it is.

Even if this is not what Mike was referring too it still needs to be addressed.
As a person that really likes Polarion products, I feel the "fire extinguisher" is your hand.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:
 

02Scuba

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Hi Ken J. Good !

Mike at Pacific Tactical Solutions in response to my inquiry if he carried the Helios and what the price would be with the CPF discount responded: "... in fact one of the products you mention (Helios PF-40) is extremly dangerous due to some design flaws." If someone can tell me how to forward Mike's PM which contained the quoted statement, I will send it to you.

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.

The X1 is the crown jewel of my colletion. My collection (for now) needs only the Helios to be really complete but if it means risking harm or injury to my family and friends, my colection will not include the X1.

This deserves looking into. I'm glad to see Polarian has responded the way it has. As soon as you know the Helios is safe (or not) would you please let me know. Thank you.

Mike
 

mtbkndad

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02Scuba said:
Hi Ken J. Good !

If someone can tell me how to forward Mike's PM which contained the quoted statement, I will send it to you.


Thank you.

Mike

Copy the text of the PM and then open a window to send a PM to Ken and paste the text into the new PM window.

If you are not real familiar with computers.
1. click and hold your mouse or track pad.
2. drag it over the text to highlight it.
3. press control and C on a PC or the apple button and C on a Mac simultaneously. (This will copy the text)
4. Open a PM window to Ken (click on his name in this thread and then click on send Ken J. Good a PM link)
5. Press control and V on a PC or the apple button and V on a Mac sumultaneously. (This will paste the text)
6. Send the PM

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:
 
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02Scuba

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Chellyc - for those most interested you are right. Mike's PM came directly to me so that makes it third party information as I pass it along to you. Tell me how and I will pass Mike's message on to you. Then, please tell us what you as a third party getting second information feels about this. Good luck !

Mike
 

Ken J. Good

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Fair enough.

First of all, although Mike did not get back to me, I have no axe to grind with him it's all heresay he said/she said at this point. I am sure he has better things to do with his time.

The main point should be: Why does a Polarion Light get activated when the switch is in the OFF position?

Background:
In terms of this issue (the previous X1 thread) I was not intentionally trying to avoid anything. I do drop into this forum a least 3-4 times a week. Sometimes the threads go sideways, so when I orginally read them, I don't always continue to scour them as they develop because they go in directions that I lose interest in.

I went back to that thread, and I did not locate any specific questions to me. I did not sell that light or even bring it into the US, so I was unaware of it's existence to that owner, which is minor point. In the back of my mind I guess I was leaving it to the person that sold him the light to take the con. But as I re-read the entire thread, it would have been good for me to jump in there and pro-actively get an answer.

If anybody has a question, E-mail is a way better way to communicate directly to me, as posts in is a thread are not always the best way to get an answer from me.

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

If somebody asks me a question, I endeavor to answer it relatively quickly to the best of my ability/limited knowledge.

Back to the main point:
First of all, as far as I am aware, the X1 and the Helios share the same switching design.

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 don't know whether there have been any other incremental changes to the circuitry or ballast.

So as far as I am aware out of all the lights I have put into circulation one PF40 was turning on as soon as the battery was installed. The other known instance was the X1 in the other thread. In both cases it was identifed almost immediately.

For full disclosure:
I have also had several lights that have had issues with turning off during a power-on scenario. 2 recently surfacing were pre-production lights, 1 was an X1 and 1 was another PF40.

That's 4 lights to date. 2 pre-production, 2 production.

All other issues have been isolated to battery circuitry. I replaced everybody's batteries that have had issues with fully functional batteries.

In terms of percentage of lights in circulation....It's very low. Would I like 100% yes.

Best to everybody.
 
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mtbkndad

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Ken,

Thank you very much and when I can recover from getting the kids (okay and me too :D) the Wii bundle I do plan on getting an X1.
The fact that Polarion identified the problem and solved it and you got this from the president himself is VERY GOOD NEWS.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
The fact that you have seen the new design shows Polarion truly does take these issues seriously.


I hope you get the PM from 02Scuba so you can get to the bottom of what that is all about.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:
 
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