My first post

Brian In Michigan

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 3, 2008
Messages
5
I have been a flashlight freek for years but I have to admit you folks are heads and tails above me and you are all quite amazing. There is a lot of terms I am still trying to figure out. bin is one of them but also I thought that led's had anodes and cathodes not emitters. Emitters in my life have always been related to transistors not diodes. Is there a section on the abreveated terms that are used? I too am looking for the pintical of flashlights I want the cool white color on a led light. I want a fair amount of run time on standard batterys. I want it bullet proof and easy to hold. Do I ask too MUCH, I don't think so. I think over time I will catch up but to be honest I am a slow learner
Brian
 

Gunner12

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 18, 2006
Messages
10,063
Location
Bay Area, CA
:welcome:

I'd suggest reading the Welcome Mat if you haven't already. It will clarify a lot of the terms.

What kind of batteries do you want to use?
Size?
Output?
Multimode?

Enjoy your stay!
 

KeyGrip

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 18, 2006
Messages
2,536
Location
Back in Santa Cruz
Welcome to CPF. The link Gunner12 supplied is a good way to answer a lot of questions. Real quick; people here refer to the diodes themselves as emitters. So when someone says they're going to swap out the emitter in their Fenix L1P, they mean that they're going to physically remove the LED and replace it with a different one.
 

MikeSalt

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 10, 2007
Messages
1,948
Location
Stoke On Trent, Staffordshire, UK
There is a lot of terms I am still trying to figure out. bin is one of them
Brian

'Bin' refers to a sorting category. All emitters (basically LEDs) are sorted into efficiency bins, i.e. the higher the bin number (or letter), the more lumens you get per watt of electricity. The efficiency figures of the lastest and greatest emitters are astonishingly good.

More discerning LED producers will then go further to sort their emitters into tint bins. There is no exact science to determine which of these bins are the 'best', it is best to look at the manufacturer's data sheets for this information.
 

JimH

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 8, 2004
Messages
2,714
Location
San Jose, CA
welcome7.gif
to CPF.

A really good source of information is the CPF Wiki. I use it a lot myself.
 

divine

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
1,840
Location
Virginia
Keep reading, you'll get a good idea, check out reviews, too.

Bin is just... they seperate their led's by performance, into bins.

Emitter is the diode, it is what is "emitting" the light. Not an actual electrical term.
 

Oddjob

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 24, 2006
Messages
2,175
Location
London, Ontario, Canada
...I want it bullet proof and easy to hold. Do I ask too MUCH, I don't think so...
Brian

Welcome To CPF!
HDS (now Ra Lights) makes a pretty bulletproof/bombproof light. The "Twisty" will be coming out soon. I believe they are working on a programmable clickie model as well but that may be a ways off. The Novatacs are from the HDS design but opinions on them vary here. Some love them and others don't. When they were first released last summer there were some issues with flickering and anodizing. I don't know if they have been resolved but I did see a picture of a black one in another thread. I have both an HDS and a Novatac and they are both good lights but I prefer the HDS. Good luck finding what you need and have fun!
 

1wrx7

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 20, 2007
Messages
533
Location
SE MI
:welcome: from another MI guy. All of the tech is overwhealming at first, but you'll find great info here. Keep reading, and hold onto your wallet. I started this wanting 2 nice flashlights for different purposes. I would have to count to be certian where I'm at now, not to mention spare parts. Your world will be much brighter if you hang out here for awhile.
 

JimH

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 8, 2004
Messages
2,714
Location
San Jose, CA
Brian,

Where in Michigan. I grew up in Grand Rapids and went to college in the UP.
 
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