500 Lumen - AAA Flashlight (photos) - Work In Progress

[smarkum]

[easilyled]

Nice to see my bare Alu versions their tgwnn.

[Bigmac_79]

Looks great! :

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Looks Very Nice

I'll take two please

Mike

Thanks

Santa aka TGWNN, you can leave that one under my tree

Wish I could...
but soon enough

Thank you

Nice to see my bare Alu versions their tgwnn.

Thanks easilyled,
was your suggestion if I remember correctly

Looks great! :

Thanks Mac,
its been a long road,
good to finally have it here



I should mention, both models are looking very nice (black/silver),
but the circuit is still a proto so needs some refinement, adjusting.

Also, magnet is not inserted into the selector ring for proto,
rather using an external magnet (attached to ring with elastic),
to enable easier internal inspection and also size adjustments,
so the mode changing is a little funky as I havent had time to find the right position for the magnet,
not sure if the mode change function is working as intended but still have 4 modes.

The low is nice & lo~~~w

Also, both models are using a shiny smooth reflector (not OP) and not a single ring in sight!
the beam looks perfect with either.

Did a quick outdoor test and on high, easily lit up the whole alley way and whilst its a brilliant floody beam,
the pure muscle of the xml on high gives a modest throw out to at least 20 meters,
will need a bigger (longer) alley to check further.

tgwnn

[clg0159]

Don't know how I missed this one, but it looks great! Definitely count me in for a NW version with LOP if NW is indeed going to be an option. I look forward to watching what designs you come up with!

[BVH]

Also, both models are using a shiny smooth reflector (not OP) and not a single ring in sight!
the beam looks perfect with either.

Another reason to go SMO!

[kaichu dento]

Ok, Just had a few minutes.....

Its bright

some quick pics, then gotta do some family stuff... MERRY MERRY, HO HO HO

Sorry I keep forgetting about the family stuff, but I'm going to try and call again in the morning of the off chance of seeing this one!

...not sure if the mode change function is working as intended but still have 4 modes.

The low is nice & lo~~~w

Also, both models are using a shiny smooth reflector (not OP) and not a single ring in sight!
the beam looks perfect with either.

Did a quick outdoor test and on high, easily lit up the whole alley way and whilst its a brilliant floody beam,
the pure muscle of the xml on high gives a modest throw out to at least 20 meters,
will need a bigger (longer) alley to check further.

All of this sounds very, very good and does nothing to satisfy the curiosity!
Nice low level, floody beam pattern, no rings, battery versatility!

[Got Lumens?]

Ok, Just had a few minutes.....

Its bright

some quick pics, then gotta do some family stuff,
will try to post some a little later if the wine doesn't send me to sleep..

this is the 10250 body, lowish setting (I forget which one it was, too excited)
body is a little loose (not glued/potted) so I can open it up and inspect as needed.

some other non-finished things in terms of the circuits, but 4 modes are there,
using 10440 & 10250....

This is a ROCKET on high!
Beam is very smooth...

ok, gotta hit "Post" button then check this outside....

tgwnn

MERRY MERRY, HO HO HO

Happy Holidays Guy too you and your family,
Will stayed tuned to this channel, for your next update.
All is looking very good!
GL

[Sno4Life]

Another reason to go SMO!

I'm excited to see if the SMO gives more throw while maintaining a nice beam! It's looking promising!

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Don't know how I missed this one, but it looks great! Definitely count me in for a NW version with LOP if NW is indeed going to be an option. I look forward to watching what designs you come up with!

Thanks very much

Another reason to go SMO!

Yes, the beam is flawless and It may be the best SMO I've seen.

Sorry I keep forgetting about the family stuff, but I'm going to try and call again in the morning of the off chance of seeing this one!
All of this sounds very, very good and does nothing to satisfy the curiosity!
Nice low level, floody beam pattern, no rings, battery versatility!

kaichuuuuu~~~~~~
PM sent. Merry Xmas!



Ok, everyone is asleep and its 3am here.
The low is very very nice. Not blinding at all, even after being in total darkness, still nice, smooth and floody.

There are 2 things not yet complete in the proto
1) switch method is not yet properly implemented to spec
2) I think the max output is close to 1A but I need to verify it

The workshop did notify me in advance but I told them to send it on over, as we need to see something here
and they can complete the rest in the new year.

Those points aside, on high, it makes my itp eos AAA (running on li-ion) look like a candle!
The selector ring is smooth and I can see how this would be a great interface once the switch electronics is complete.

Ok, gotta finish up some wrapping before sunlight but will check in when Im done.

tgwnn

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Happy Holidays Guy too you and your family,
Will stayed tuned to this channel, for your next update.
All is looking very good!
GL

Thanks GL,
and for all your input too!
We are closer to a production model and its nice to finally have a working model in hand!

I'm excited to see if the SMO gives more throw while maintaining a nice beam! It's looking promising!

Thanks Sno4,
Both proto reflectors are SMO.
By the looks of the beam though, I think its a perfect choice.
Usually, my reasoning for an OP reflector is to diffuse a hotspot a little and eliminate any ugly rings,
but the beam is truly perfect in these proto's.

Will try to post a pic soon as I can (hopefully before sunrise).

I should mention, the 5000K compared to the 6500K, looks plenty warm.

tgwnn

[Acid87]

I want one now!

[Sno4Life]

Will try to post a pic soon as I can (hopefully before sunrise).

I should mention, the 5000K compared to the 6500K, looks plenty warm.

tgwnn

In that case, if the 6500 is more of a neutral/cool, I will be changing over to a 6500k. I just don't want it to be too blue or green. Looking forward to beamshots!

P.s. get some sleep! It's only 1pm in Minnesota (USA)

[RCantor]

Wow, this is looking great! I'm still hoping for a 4x tint, ~4500K.

Sno, 5000K is just cool of neutral. Compare any 2 lights and the higher CCT one will look cooler and the lower CCT one will look warmer in comparison. Compare a 2800K light to a 3500K and the 3500K will look much cooler. It's still a very warm tint, though. For outdoor work most of us feel 4500K is the center of neutral. 5000K is already starting to make blue-green objects outshine everything else leading to perceptual difficulties.

[the_guy_with_no_name]

I want one now!

In that case, if the 6500 is more of a neutral/cool, I will be changing over to a 6500k. I just don't want it to be too blue or green. Looking forward to beamshots!

P.s. get some sleep! It's only 1pm in Minnesota (USA)

Ok, sleep time now
btw, the 6500K is not blue, just very white.

Wow, this is looking great! I'm still hoping for a 4x tint, ~4500K.

Sno, 5000K is just cool of neutral. Compare any 2 lights and the higher CCT one will look cooler and the lower CCT one will look warmer in comparison. Compare a 2800K light to a 3500K and the 3500K will look much cooler. It's still a very warm tint, though. For outdoor work most of us feel 4500K is the center of neutral. 5000K is already starting to make blue-green objects outshine everything else leading to perceptual difficulties.

Thanks

Still needs some work, but a fine start...

will post again tomorrow (& reply to pm's then too)

tgwnn

[BarryH]

Wow! That is coming together nicely and is looking very good. Thanks for sharing the photos.

I hope you and the family enjoy your holiday.

[Got Lumens?]

Wow, this is looking great! I'm still hoping for a 4x tint, ~4500K.

Sno, 5000K is just cool of neutral. Compare any 2 lights and the higher CCT one will look cooler and the lower CCT one will look warmer in comparison. Compare a 2800K light to a 3500K and the 3500K will look much cooler. It's still a very warm tint, though. For outdoor work most of us feel 4500K is the center of neutral. 5000K is already starting to make blue-green objects outshine everything else leading to perceptual difficulties.

Agreed.

I add, not only do the greens and blues stand out, the brown's and grey's(white's) appear less distiguishable with a higher CCT.

I believe it boils down to the tint bins of Cree inventory are available from the suppliers in the next couple of weeks. I also think that we all can be satisfied, it just may not be on the first released run of the Torpedo.

I know from this experience Tgwnn is doing his very best to please everyone. From us hardcore CPF crowd to the general customer. Based on design and function, I am liking it!

Thanks Guy.
GL

[rlcrisp]

Looking good! Congratulations on the working proto!

[fatbrad]

tgwnn,

I am a design engineer in another field. I found this thread when it was about half as long as it is now and read the first 25 pages almost like a mystery novel.

I really loved your handling of all input as an opportunity to brainstorm a better solution. I may print out part of this to share with my design team. We work in an area
where customer satisfaction can be somewhat predicted by objective measures but where there is a lot of work to transfer subjective attributes into actionable engineering
targets. I think that the attitude and careful communication that you practiced could be used to illustrate a "best practice".

Also, I love the user interface concept with the twist ring. I have an ICON 2 level clicky and a Fenix LD25. I really don't like the "twisty" interface very much. The idea of continually
sliding the threads on a light that should last 10's of thousands of hours strikes me as a bit worrisome from a durability point of view. Thus I really like your non-contact twist ring
and I like the idea of more light = more twist.

I generally use 2AA size lights which I find very comfortable for my nightly dog walks. I have followed this effort with such enjoyment that I may by a torpedo just to have one, but what
I would really like would be a 2AA size light with your twist ring user interface. I haven't gone beyond NiMH batteries yet. But with your driver and a 2AA, it should be possible to hit the 300 lumens
or so and still have a couple of good run time options that would be easily available.

Whether I buy a torpedo or not, I have really appreciated the chance to learn from your consistently positive interaction with your customers and I look forward to seeing your future designs.

Brad

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Wow! That is coming together nicely and is looking very good. Thanks for sharing the photos.
I hope you and the family enjoy your holiday.

Thanks very much Barry,
Its a busy time for sure. Wishing everyone here a happy holiday season.
I have a lot of testing and work ahead to be able to provide more concrete information,
very much hoping to get some time to post more details in the next few days.

Agreed.

I add, not only do the greens and blues stand out, the brown's and grey's(white's) appear less distiguishable with a higher CCT.

I believe it boils down to the tint bins of Cree inventory are available from the suppliers in the next couple of weeks. I also think that we all can be satisfied, it just may not be on the first released run of the Torpedo.

I know from this experience Tgwnn is doing his very best to please everyone. From us hardcore CPF crowd to the general customer. Based on design and function, I am liking it!

Thanks Guy.
GL

GL, as always, thank you for the continued feedback and ideas.

Looking good! Congratulations on the working proto!

Thanks rlcrisp,
the proto has the basic selector ring, which is smooth and a breeze to use, but the control is not yet operating as planned so that will need to be fixed though Im hoping its a lot less trivial than everything else so far.

The thermal sensor is definitely working.
On the 5000K model, I think it must be positioned too close to the emitter as it kicks in after just a couple of seconds (and steps down from mode 4 to 3, then mode 3 to 2, where as on the 6500K model, its usually about 20 seconds before thermal stepdown kicks in.

Still have not had time to open and unravel the driver, but will be doing so (very carefully) in the coming days.

tgwnn

[the_guy_with_no_name]

tgwnn,

I am a design engineer in another field. I found this thread when it was about half as long as it is now and read the first 25 pages almost like a mystery novel.

I really loved your handling of all input as an opportunity to brainstorm a better solution. I may print out part of this to share with my design team. We work in an area
where customer satisfaction can be somewhat predicted by objective measures but where there is a lot of work to transfer subjective attributes into actionable engineering
targets. I think that the attitude and careful communication that you practiced could be used to illustrate a "best practice".

Also, I love the user interface concept with the twist ring. I have an ICON 2 level clicky and a Fenix LD25. I really don't like the "twisty" interface very much. The idea of continually
sliding the threads on a light that should last 10's of thousands of hours strikes me as a bit worrisome from a durability point of view. Thus I really like your non-contact twist ring
and I like the idea of more light = more twist.

I generally use 2AA size lights which I find very comfortable for my nightly dog walks. I have followed this effort with such enjoyment that I may by a torpedo just to have one, but what
I would really like would be a 2AA size light with your twist ring user interface. I haven't gone beyond NiMH batteries yet. But with your driver and a 2AA, it should be possible to hit the 300 lumens
or so and still have a couple of good run time options that would be easily available.

Whether I buy a torpedo or not, I have really appreciated the chance to learn from your consistently positive interaction with your customers and I look forward to seeing your future designs.

Brad

Hi Brad,


Thanks for the very flattering and thoughtful post.
Im very glad you enjoyed reading through the first 25 pages.
Humbly, I think it might be an interesting read if you have ever had the urge to venture into creating some kind of product.


Not sure if my approach is anywhere near a best practice from an engineering perspective (as some of the very early posters had questioned/pointed out) , but I discovered a long time ago a few concepts that I found to have importance when it comes to product development:
No one has a monopoly on good ideas, its far better to have customers/users involved as early as possible and to understand not just what they want (in terms of form or function), but the reason behind why they want it.
Creating one successful product, is no guarantee of creating a second; Especially if the entire development concept happens in your head. Its far too easy to be overconfident with even a modest success under your belt so starting with a clean slate and mindset each time, helps keep reality in check (at least for me).


Perhaps to complete the picture a little more regarding the last few months…
there is still a large vacuum or void between everything we discuss here in terms of development and being able to turn that into reality which requires constant and careful communication with partners, and as its my first adventure into flashlight creation of any scale and so sourcing, assessment and calibration with the various suppliers and partners involved is a neccessity every step along the way.


Over the last few months, I have found some good and capable partners, and also honed my method of assessment to find quality partners, faster.
Slowly but surely I've also become quite adept with 3D imaging/design which will certainly speed things up in the future and combined with 3D printing, at least the external designs can be implemented and confirmed at a much faster pace, and at some point in the future, I do hope to have a fully equipped development facility to be able to produce just about everything from start to finish.


I won't rant on too much beyond this, or purport to know much more than a few core, guiding philosophies but I do believe the best work/creation is one that arrises from passion and when it comes to flashlights, afaik, there is no greater collective of passion than here on cpf.


Thanks again to everyone for the ongoing support and feedback and I'm still working hard on all aspects of both the Torpedo, Core and a few other things and hope to be able to finally deliver these in the near future.


tgwnn


p.s. I do have plans for a AA version in the future and so a 2AA would likely be done at the same time with a choice of standard 2AA body &/or extendable single AA body.

[calipsoii]

tgwnn, please make this light available in an unfinished metal version. I don't know if that was what kaichu was asking for, but something like stainless steel would be perfect.

I'm not a huge unfinished alu fan since it has a weird feel in the hands (feels almost slippery?) and tends to leave black marks on whatever you rub it against. Stainless steel or brass or bronze or something else that is not anodized would be amazing though.

[coyote]

tgwnn, please make this light available in an unfinished metal version. I don't know if that was what kaichu was asking for, but something like stainless steel would be perfect.

I'm not a huge unfinished alu fan since it has a weird feel in the hands (feels almost slippery?) and tends to leave black marks on whatever you rub it against. Stainless steel or brass or bronze or something else that is not anodized would be amazing though.

once its been on some CPF hands for testing, all the bugs worked out and everything finalized, i sure hope for a "unfinished" titanium version.

[Got Lumens?]

GL, as always, thank you for the continued feedback and ideas.
The thermal sensor is definitely working.
On the 5000K model, I think it must be positioned too close to the emitter as it kicks in after just a couple of seconds (and steps down from mode 4 to 3, then mode 3 to 2, where as on the 6500K model, its usually about 20 seconds before thermal stepdown kicks in.

Still have not had time to open and unravel the driver, but will be doing so (very carefully) in the coming days.

tgwnn

Hi Guy,
Thank You.
It will be interesting to read your findings on unraveling the drivers and the thermal sensor placement
Do you have plans for a titanium model Torpedo? Stone washed finish Torpedo would be awsome, even with an increased price of the standard Torpedo version 1. How about calling it Tipedo
GL

[Bigmac_79]

Tipedo

:

[Iamnuts]

tgwnn


p.s. I do have plans for a AA version in the future and so a 2AA would likely be done at the same time with a choice of standard 2AA body &/or extendable single AA body.

Hmmm if the AAA is a good as it promises to be I think Ill be in the market for a 2AA and spare AA body when the are made, and im sure I wont be the only one

[the_guy_with_no_name]

tgwnn, please make this light available in an unfinished metal version. I don't know if that was what kaichu was asking for, but something like stainless steel would be perfect.

I'm not a huge unfinished alu fan since it has a weird feel in the hands (feels almost slippery?) and tends to leave black marks on whatever you rub it against. Stainless steel or brass or bronze or something else that is not anodized would be amazing though.

Thanks calipsoii,
I know SS should be doable at the current facility. After the first production run, I can definitely take a count on additional materials and aim to do a version in another finish.

once its been on some CPF hands for testing, all the bugs worked out and everything finalized, i sure hope for a "unfinished" titanium version.

Hi Guy,
Thank You.
It will be interesting to read your findings on unraveling the drivers and the thermal sensor placement
Do you have plans for a titanium model Torpedo? Stone washed finish Torpedo would be awsome, even with an increased price of the standard Torpedo version 1. How about calling it Tipedo
GL

:

Thanks,
Ti should be possible too, though it may be 3rd run (with 1st and 2nd run being within just a couple of weeks of eachother)

Hmmm if the AAA is a good as it promises to be I think Ill be in the market for a 2AA and spare AA body when the are made, and im sure I wont be the only one

Thanks, a few people had mentioned wanting a AA.
With a little more size, there is one more feature I want to add but will tackle that as we get closer.
Certainly seems like the next obvious path once the AAA is complete.

tgwnn

[excfenix]

This is totally a homerun!

[nbp]

Tipedo. Yes please.

[kaichu dento]

I want an SW Tipedo! Stonewashed Tipedo!