Examples of different Novatacs

jon_slider

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left to right:
Original first generation HDS Novatac w serial number and positive pad w 3 nipples and tailcap has rubber bumper, plus a black stainless bezel, built in Tucson by Henry and Hogo. Chinese Storm w anodised aluminum bezel, Transitional Spa not from Henry but has the black stainless bezel.
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left to right:
positive nipple and rubber bumper, positive spring and no rubber in the tail, positive spring and no rubber in the tail,
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left to right
Gen 1 Novatac, Chinese Storm w anodised aluminum bezel, Transitional Spa with black stainless bezel:
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These are all supposedly 120 lumen models, but none of them actually measured at that output with the stock LEDs, on my meter. They were all about 70 lumens, before LED upgrades.

Hogo assured me that the Original, on left, was calibrated, by him, in Tuson, to 120 lumens, but they used a special adjustment factor to account for the Low CRI LED.. They all use similar LEDs and had similar output on my meter, with stock LEDs

However, after modding to newer LEDs the output on the Original increases by about 3x, whereas the Storm had no increase in output. otoh, the Transitional Spa on the right also tripled in output.

The Original and the Transitional Spa use drivers with very small mcpcb, the Storm driver fits a larger mcpcb.

The original has all its modes calibrated and spaced per HDS specs. The storm does not, it is not fully callibrated on all outputs, only the 3 primary modes are calibrated. The Transitional Spa has mode spacing similar to the Original. I call it transitional because it seems to use a similarly calibrated driver as the original on far left.

All three lights were originally sold in Tactical configuration, which has all the modes locked. They are all unlocked with the 250 clic back door.

This is a late model Spa with spiky knurling, and anodised bezel:
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Always thought it was weird that Henry never used a positive spring instead of 3 dimples.
 
spring instead of 3 dimples
the early lights with the flat positive contact were vulnerable to recoil, which is why the rubber bumper in the tail was added

the spring for positive contact was supposed to help maintain contact, which in theory might be true, depending how stiff the spring is, and how much travel it allows. The positive spring also allowed the elimination of the rubber bumper in the tail.

In practice the positive springs tend to get bent offcenter, and are not soft enough to absorb shock. I dont like screwing them to the battery as they can walk off the positive nub on the battery, and feel grindy, and different depending which way im screwing.

This led to the late model Spa lights coming with the body glued to the head, so batteries on later Spa models can only be changed through the Tail.

The Original Novatacs with the flat positive contact and rubber bumper, feel better to change the battery by removing the head instead of the tail. The rubber bumper tends to drag on the battery when tightening the tailcap. So on my Novatacs with dimpled flat positive contact, I slightly overtighten the tail and leave it that way, changing batteries by removing the head.

New HDS lights use the dimpled flat positive contact, but it is spring mounted. This imo is the best option as it prevents the positive contact spring from getting bent to the side, and the spring tension is actually soft enough to serve the role of absorbing shock, in both directions, without losing battery contact.

On the HDS Rotary, the battery can only be changed by removing the head. The dimpled positive contact turns more consistently, around the positive battery post, than a bare spring.

imo any model of Novatac is a fun little light. Capable of using CR123a if desired, with potted construction and unbreakable acrylic lenses. They are tough little lights that can stand up to abuse, and the UI is the same as the HDS UI, for a fraction of the cost. I like the Novatacs with raised buttons, they make good little tactical lights. In stock programming they turn on in High Mode first, and have direct access to Turbo by momentarily pressing the button.

When the UI is unlocked, it can be programmed to be very versatile. This is how Henry has continued to offer multiple different preset programming, some for bicycle applications, some for civilian applications, and some for tactical applications.. Its all the same driver, just different preset programming..
 
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