jmm
Newly Enlightened
I found myself in the local Target store looking at the ~$25 Eddie Bauer 3 LED, 3 N cell light that has received ho-hum mention here in the past. Amongst the conspicuous absence of ANY worthwhile specifications on the packaging, a reference to "Powder Coated Metal" caught my eye. The weight of the thing convinced me it wasn't Aluminum, so maybe "pot metal", steel, or even... naw, couldn't be.
Wrong, it IS brass!
It appears that a quite tough "aluminized" metalic power coating has been applied over a thin flash layer of copper plating, but underneath is glorious brass. I don't know what the screw on bezel is made out of, because I ditched that and removed the bezel attaching threads along with the power coating from the barrel, and ended up with a "head" only slightly bigger than the barrel. I'm still trying to figure out how to handle securing and finishing the "insert" that holds the LEDs, too many options.
The "wasp waist" feature of this light (where the pushbutton switch is located) gives it a truly unique (dare I say ergonomic) feel.
Some might argue about the performance of this type of unregulated light, or the economics of N cells, and they'd be right, but if looks can kill, we may have a winner here. This thing is starting to look flat out gorgeous. Sorry, I'm short on working cameras right now, so use your imagination.
It looks like this light is an N cell adaptation of what used to be an AA light. There's a plastic tube inside the barrel to reduce it's AA capable ID down to N cell size (Energizer Double Barrel style, but on a smaller simpler scale). Such a shame, it could be even slimmer if it had been sized for Ns from the beginning.
John
Wrong, it IS brass!
It appears that a quite tough "aluminized" metalic power coating has been applied over a thin flash layer of copper plating, but underneath is glorious brass. I don't know what the screw on bezel is made out of, because I ditched that and removed the bezel attaching threads along with the power coating from the barrel, and ended up with a "head" only slightly bigger than the barrel. I'm still trying to figure out how to handle securing and finishing the "insert" that holds the LEDs, too many options.
The "wasp waist" feature of this light (where the pushbutton switch is located) gives it a truly unique (dare I say ergonomic) feel.
Some might argue about the performance of this type of unregulated light, or the economics of N cells, and they'd be right, but if looks can kill, we may have a winner here. This thing is starting to look flat out gorgeous. Sorry, I'm short on working cameras right now, so use your imagination.
It looks like this light is an N cell adaptation of what used to be an AA light. There's a plastic tube inside the barrel to reduce it's AA capable ID down to N cell size (Energizer Double Barrel style, but on a smaller simpler scale). Such a shame, it could be even slimmer if it had been sized for Ns from the beginning.
John
