A brief history of the HDS universe

[Hondo]

Sweeeet! I have not modded one of mine since I put the HCRI Seoul in one of my 120P's. That mod was so freaking easy! I wish the LED's were still as modular as those Luxeon/Seoul LED's were. Took me all of 30 minutes to turn my B42GT into a B100+.

 

[ven]

Thanks Hondo, yours sound very nice. There is just something about these little novatacs. It has to be one of the most comfortable flashlights to hold(subjective). The form factor is just prefect for me(HDS is of corse amazing, but a little longer). These two are my go to 16340 furled lights right now. Real happy I went 219c 5000k as it is a very nice example. Pretty much white, ever so slight hint of creamy in there if makes sense. Side by side it is obvious which is which (219b 4K and 219c 5k). But they are not hugely apart, to a point where if someone was happy with either colour temp, they could pick up the other and be happy still. Colours look superb without any exaggerated bump..

Great little lights out of the box,which can be made amazing imo by just an LED swap. Presuming the lower vf is making the magic happen, 220lm today is far from amazing. Yet for me and my flashlight wants and needs is quite plentiful in the lumen department . This latest light comes on in high, double tap for low of 38lm. Either level for me works well, both are useful . Plus beam type/quaintly /CT and tint win out for me againastnraw high lumen output. They actually do appear brighter than measured, certainly a bump up from the 200lm hi cri(not to be sniffed st again, as this could easily be 250-300lm imo.

The bit I do miss , is the three levels on the ano stripped driver(champaign gold has hi,low, strobe when held. Also the press hold for max/turbo or what ever to call the highest mode. Tap then tap/hold from off puts it on max output without the need to press/hold for what is like a momentary turbo mode.

Just that damn 250 thumb killer to crack !

 

[Hondo]

I've cracked all of my Novatacs that are not 120P's already. The nice thing is it stays programmable as long as you don't do a factory reset. On my B42's, you have to do 250 clicks for every change you want to make!

 

[ven]

Thumbs of steel! and ....for the b42.

 

[Lithium466]

Yep...went through a similar thumbs nightmare for my B60

 

[Hondo]

I did that twice (times two B42's). I turned off force setting (really memory on), which was big for me, and turned on momentary. Would not mind a lower low, but based on the Novatacs, I figure I would be likely to find a level where they start to flicker, and then I would want it back up, so, nah. I figure with a little higher low, I can spend more time on that level, and save more battery. It's by no means blinding in the middle of the night, but is way more than the minimum. I believe default low (D) was 0.33 lumens before I modded it, so now probably around 3/4 of a lumen. Minimum stock was 0.08 I think, so that would mean they are on level 5 now. Those bottom few levels had a tendancy to flicker, and I see it routinely on my Novatacs when set real low. Sometimes I can just give it a quick burst of momentary max with a press-hold, and it stops, but then sometimes it comes back. These are the sort of things Henry flushed from the circuit design in the new ones. Unfortunately, along the way the uber-long low run time got lost too. I've said it before, my favorite UI is the 120P.

 

[Lithium466]

I must be lucky, because my B60 does not flicker on its minimum setting...but pretty much all my Novatac does. The bust trick can make it stop for a while sometimes, but it is eventually back. No big deal though, I reserve these lights to day duty, with a medium start up level.

 

[gottawearshades]

Just wanted to say thanks for starting this thread, Hondo. I also appreciated Hugo's history of the rise and fall of NovaTac.

I don't have all my lights in one place, so I only just counted up all my HDS: from a stock B42 to the latest (well, a couple of years old) clickies and rotaries, I own twenty. It creeps up on you.

 

[Lithium466]

OMG, twenty!
You definitely have to post pictures

 

[thermal guy]

Just wanted to say thanks for starting this thread, Hondo. I also appreciated Hugo's history of the rise and fall of NovaTac.

I don't have all my lights in one place, so I only just counted up all my HDS: from a stock B42 to the latest (well, a couple of years old) clickies and rotaries, I own twenty. It creeps up on you.

WOW I have 13 and thought that was a lot 😳

 

[Hondo]

Just wanted to say thanks for starting this thread, Hondo. I also appreciated Hugo's history of the rise and fall of NovaTac.

I don't have all my lights in one place, so I only just counted up all my HDS: from a stock B42 to the latest (well, a couple of years old) clickies and rotaries, I own twenty. It creeps up on you.

I had to think carefully, but you beat me by three! (or seven if I don't count the four later model Novatac's that are imports - I don't like to put those in the same class as my US made 120P's).

On the Basic/Ultimate lights flickering, I think it is a matter of luck. Henry has mentioned it on his list of continuous improvements along the road to the current lights. I have better luck on my later SN US-made Novatac 120P's. My Arizona made unit, and the imported lights do it on the really low levels like clockwork.

 

[Hogokansatsukan]

I used to joke when working at NovaTac that the low level flicker was "candle mode", and that is eventually what lead to the Easter Egg in the new HDS lights. I only have one NovaTac from my time there. It's an olive Cerakote with my name engraved on the side. Has a great tint... but then was hand picked... and has the original "candle mode" on the low levels.

 

[mikeymoto]

I'm trying to figure out what emitter was in the Basic 42 XR GT. I think I've pieced together that it was the Luxeon SW0H. Can anyone confirm or correct?

 

[Lithium466]

I'd say Luxeon III...can't be more precise about the exact model/bin/tint.

 

[mikeymoto]

Thank you :wave:

 

[Hondo]

I'm as close to positive as anything ever that Lithium is right. While we don't know bins and such, yours is the cream of the crop, as it was hand picked from hundreds to have the purest white, no green, yellow, pink etc. Also, it was an overachiever for efficiency, so it could meet the 42 lumens at a lower power level and run longer. Of course, you can do WAY better with a more modern LED, tossing out the premium feature of the light. I did it to my B42GT, but it was worth it. With the Seoul P4 it is probably about a B80 - B100 now. If I program max down two levels it would be like a B42XXXR! I also have an un-modded B42XRGT.

It was a little easier to do the B42XRGT's, as he could use an LED that could have cut it on efficiency for a standard B60/U60. The U60XRGT was a rarer bird. And I wonder if anyone will chime in as owning one of the rarest birds of all - the U85XRGT?

And of course not all of the LED's that did not make the grade in one or the other, or the rare few both categories, of tint and efficiency went into standard lights. In fact, I think Henry may have just scrapped more than he kept to meet his minimum specifications.

 

[Hogokansatsukan]

bump to move

 

[archimedes]

bump to move

 

[jon_slider]

what a great thread!

Now a hard one. Can someone tell me about this prototype?

looks like the inspiration for this light:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...D45-and-27LT&p=5206924&viewfull=1#post5206924

27LT

much like the Arc inspired the Sapphire

I must be lucky, because my B60 does not flicker on its minimum setting...but pretty much all my Novatac does.

My SPA likes to flicker visibly, at the 5 lumen level

I used to joke when working at NovaTac that the low level flicker was "candle mode

LOL, its not Flicker, its "candle mode"

 

[Lithium466]

Does it still flickers if you push it a brief moment to full output (long press on the button) then come back to previous low output ?