Dorcy AAA Gains Stand-up Status

Thanks to an idea submitted by Lurker, I managed to solve the Dorcy AAA ceiling bounce mode challenge.
The scenario -
The fairly convex round and shinny black 'momentary' button on the end of the Dorcy AAA / 1 LED prevents the light from standing upright for ceiling bounce mode.
The solution-
I used a Dremel grinding tool # 971 http://www.dremel.com on low to grind the convex button into a slightly concave one instead. I then ran the button by hand over a piece of emery to 'flatten' the edeges a little.
It now stands up nicely on a smooth level surface and is much easier to press ( thanks to the improved match between finger shape and button shape! )
All other functionality is identical to the original
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/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Way to go! Time to check the workbench to see if I have the same bit for the Dremel.

Lurker
Actually the answer to your question > "Simple changes like that make you wonder why they didn't design it that way to begin with.(?)" is...
A large number of products, even technology products that are available to consumers are not thoroughly tested or evaluated. I hazard to guess that most are not tested at all. Having said this, the 'Public Beta' of product in actual use or 'Gemba' , is a stage where input from end-users like the CPF can feed back into product improvement to continuously ( Kaizen ) work towards perfection. In otherwords, the refinements almost always require that a large sample population be exposed to the product or technology after launch.The process of thier evaluation combines ethnography or 'cultural norms' with 'Action Research' - user communities designing 'on the fly'... as it were. The way that many people on CPF bring thier products into fruition is an excellent example of this. The real question is "How many manufacturers/designers are savvy enough to monitor and mine feedback from user communities such as CPF and then pipe that data back into the development process?". My guess is few and when they do, the results are as startlingly successful as the Longbow.

Sounds like a worthwhile idea! But I wonder if it is too top heavy to be a practical tailstander -- is it difficult or delicate to get it to stand up on the first try? Does it tip over too easily or can it withstand, say, bumping the table it's standing on?

Inquiring minds want to know . . . .

Cheers,

Dave

EDIT -- please don't take my question as a criticism. This seems like a clever way to bring an elegant and simple improvement to a great light. Just curious as to your experience, that's all.