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  1. idleprocess

    Flashlights are like the holly grail

    Hank (Emisar/Noctigon) is working on an 90º 14500 light which will almost certainly run Anduril. I'm hoping it also works with NiMH but that would be a fundamentally new driver for him.
  2. idleprocess

    Explain "stepdown"

    Due to the logarithmic nature of brightness perception, you will have difficulty discerning 1000lm from ~650lm and even greater trouble telling 800lm from 600lm. Personally I have two of the same general model of flashlight with different drivers and different 4000K LEDs in them. On paper one...
  3. idleprocess

    Are there open source flashlight UIs?

    As I understand it, USB charging is simple to implement as evidenced by thousands of devices that don't even have microcontrollers (or seemingly even ICs) utilizing it. USB communications likely requires chips more complex than the extremely modest microcontrollers running Anduril.
  4. idleprocess

    Anyone see this light on Kickstarter called DARKFADE

    That's gonna be a hard no from me. Way too much ego-stroking, incompetent "inventors", outright hucksterism, and shady attempts to avoid post-purchase support on that platform.
  5. idleprocess

    how much throw do we need ? really!

    Living on the prairie the terrain around here is - shockingly - quite flat. I'm aware of but a few places in the region with even a 50' elevation delta on a 20% grade. The issue I've had is that there's enough water vapor, dust, and air pollution in the air that about all one sees of a thrower...
  6. idleprocess

    how much throw do we need ? really!

    This is the key qualifier in answering this sort of question. I could take up the questionable hobby of illuminating the underside of airliners on final approach to DFW ~1000m overhead (but that might lead to being compelled to answer awkward questions posed by humorless men in serious suits)...
  7. idleprocess

    how much throw do we need ? really!

    If I had dogs I could trust off leash or I lived in the country with long sightlines then maybe I'd need the reach to spot something hundreds of meters away. But neither of these is the case - nor any other plausible use case - thus my throwers generally sit on a shelf save for the ~quadrennial...
  8. idleprocess

    the perfect light dont exist maybe it wont ever

    Last time I visited a Cheesecake Factory restaurant the menu was extensive - easily 20 pages - to the point that I imagine it takes patrons an additional ~10 minutes vs other restaurants just to scan the entire thing to decide what to eat. I fell for that pitfall the first time I visited but on...
  9. idleprocess

    the perfect light dont exist maybe it wont ever

    Owning just 3.
  10. idleprocess

    the perfect light dont exist maybe it wont ever

    Reminded of the many variations of the hypothetical if you only had one {thing} for {task} what would you choose question often resulting in a lot of weird duck responses (it can swim, walk, and fly!) that might not otherwise make a "best of" list for even a single category but can score better...
  11. idleprocess

    do led lights bother bats? attract them?

    Whenever I visit the folks' house in the country I sometimes scan the sky for bats flying around. They don't seem to notice nor do the bugs they're pursuing.
  12. idleprocess

    lumitop fwaa almost perfect!!!!!

    R-975 would be so much more unique.
  13. idleprocess

    lumitop fwaa almost perfect!!!!!

    If I recall the FW* drivers are relatively simple hybrid linear / direct-drive FET arrangements, ala most lights running the Anduril UI. For the low range, linear regulator(s) provide variable current to the LED(s). For the high range, a FET directly connects the cell to the LED(s), PWM'ed at...
  14. idleprocess

    lumitop fwaa almost perfect!!!!!

    Would require a fundamentally different driver than they've been using for the rest of the FW* fleet.
  15. idleprocess

    Storacell slimline battery holders

    I bought some of these years ago and discovered they had a significant flaw for rechargeable cells - they're rough on the outer wrap in general and any labels in particular. Primary cells that are apt to go through a single insert-remove cycle aren't really an issue.
  16. idleprocess

    Sticky for Neutral White flashlights possible?

    Same. Some >99% of the time I need to be able to see at all, and be able to distinguish colors sufficient to recognize objects. Even ~20 years ago in the days of unpublishable CRI, wild swings in the Luxeon tint lottery, and Nichia angry blue white LED was sufficient.
  17. idleprocess

    Sticky for Neutral White flashlights possible?

    Parametrek has a tint filter (LED color) if you'd like a reasonably up-to-date listing of what's on the market. It is, but context matters; when your entire field of view is being flooded with sunlight in the 100,000 lux range - or about 1000 watts per square meter - your pupils snap nearly...
  18. idleprocess

    How much difference is there between smart phone "Flashlights"?

    In my casual observation, smartphone LEDs plateaued in raw output several years ago and have since declined as cameras keep improving their low light performance; I recall the Galaxy Nexus and 1st generation Moto X (2013) seemed to have similar output brighter than that which came before and...
  19. idleprocess

    Why didn't you buy the last light you 'almost' bought?

    Nearly bought a Noctigon K1 before coming to the same realization I always do when it comes to throwers - I don't have a need for them that's not already served by my Emisar D1 and D1S, both collecting dust on a shelf.
  20. idleprocess

    Disappointment with BOTH of my Lumintop FW3A

    A few issues I'm aware of with the FW3A and some of its variants: The E-switch relies on a precise line fit between the exterior housing and sliding interior cell compartment liner. If the liner is a fraction of a mm shorter it doesn't 'make' consistently; a fraction of a mm longer you...

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