Flashlight Rating System

wmirag

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 22, 2004
Messages
411
It seems to me it would be possible and desireable to have a standard flashlite rating system that would describe the characteristics of (most) flashlights. In fact, I bet if such a rating service were available, all the "serious" manufacturers would pay to get rated. I envision the following:

1. A physical description of the light.

2. An line graph of overall lumen rating vs time over the life of one set of batteries.

3. A color temperature rating vs time (as above).

4. A bullseye graph of the beam at some fixed distance, with fresh batteries, showing Lux ratings for each of several concentric circles - kind of like shotgun patterning.

I think this information would describe much of what most "light sensitive" people would like to know. It sounds like it might be a nice little business for someone with a few bucks and the technical know-how.
 

Malpaso

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Feb 4, 2005
Messages
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Location
MA
That's a great idea. Another thought would be a 1 to 10 scale of throw, spill and other specifics. This would be very helpful to the non-technical of us who need laymans terms.
 

DimBeam

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Feb 21, 2004
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CT
Good idea but I don't see the maufacturers going for it unless it was something OSHA or a influential safety organization mandated it.
 

Malpaso

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MA
[ QUOTE ]
DimBeam said:
...I don't see the maufacturers going for it...

[/ QUOTE ]

Right, the people here would be better for our purposes at rating than the manufacturers are.
 

LightObsession

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 12, 2004
Messages
1,385
[ QUOTE ]
Malpaso said:
[ QUOTE ]
DimBeam said:
...I don't see the maufacturers going for it...

[/ QUOTE ]


Right, the people here would be better for our purposes at rating than the manufacturers are.

[/ QUOTE ]

I also doubt if all the manufacturers would invest in an integrating sphere to measure items 1 & 2 in the 1st post. Even if they did all have integrating sphere's, they'd also have to cooperate with each other to verify that they're data collection setups were nearly identical so that the data collected could reliably be compared.


IIRC, only one CPF member has posted as having an integrating sphere available for their use and they only have limited use. It would be great if a CPF member could perform this service on any light someone sent to them.
 

Malpaso

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Feb 4, 2005
Messages
506
Location
MA
[ QUOTE ]
LightObsession said:
It would be great if a CPF member could perform this service on any light someone sent to them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Even if we had a forum, or listing where members could post their own personal reviews, somewhat like this Reviews
 

DimBeam

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Joined
Feb 21, 2004
Messages
220
Location
CT
[ QUOTE ]
Malpaso said:


Even if we had a forum, or listing where members could post their own personal reviews, somewhat like this Reviews

[/ QUOTE ]

Excellent idea!!
 

greenLED

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
13,263
Location
La Tiquicia
Manufacturer's find it hard to agree on a standard. Think DVD formats, wireless protocols, etc. And that's with stuff that has a greater market than flashlights.
 

xpitxbullx

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 20, 2004
Messages
1,465
Location
Las Vegas
Even if the manufacturers started doing that, most of them would still give false measurements to sell more of their lights. I would prefer to just trust certain people here.

Jeff
 

JohnJ80

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 26, 2003
Messages
300
Location
Minnesota
Whoa there guys. Isn't this one of the 7 warning signs of terminal flashaholism?

Take a deep breath, go for a walk (preferrably during the light of day) and think about ANYTHING else for a bit.

;-)

J.
 

NikolaTesla

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 15, 2003
Messages
1,220
Location
Illinois
Try this site. Alot of people on here don't like him but its hard to fault his review / rating system. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
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