GatLight V3 - Carbon Fiber / Titanium with Cree XR-E

[mobile1]

Tigerhawk first congrat. on the cool petri dish photo.. that looks pretty neat. Nice little ecosystem you have living there under your optics

Ok first flickering, try wiping off the lubrication of the knob. The lubrication is only for the ORing, and is not needed for the thread that one is self lubricating. The less lube in the electrical path the less flickering.

....Especially the network of fine lines near the top right. What is that? :thinking:

The Network of fine lines is most likely a Dinoflagellates Microbe

They have long whip-like structures called flagella that let them turn, maneuver and spin. 90% are normally ocean dwelling so this one is of the rare 10%, some glow in the dark and the bright Gatlight optics might have attracted these bioilluminescent creature. If it is attached on the outside of the optics, you can just wash it off with water or even better alcohol - however that will kill the lifeform - on the other hand that way you don't have to dry it off or it won't leave calcium stains. If the Microbe is somehow inside of the ORing, gently remove the front screws, than you can remove the optics and clean the area underneath the ORing. When putting the screws back in make sure to not overtighten the tiny screws - since the threads can easily be stripped. Also put in 4 screws first and tighten them equally so that the optics is equally pressed down to the ORing.

Just one warning the Microbe can get easily agitated when moved quickly and half of those microbes are predator microbes that attack larger lifeforms with neuro-toxins (ciguatoxin). Even humans can suffer from ciguatera, a combination of gastrointestinal, neurological, and cardiovascular disorder caused by the microbe (I am not making this up read the link here). So don't get this killer microbe agitated, if you do you'll notice that the bioilluminescence will increase giving you an advanced warning before.....


Seriously some isopropyl alcohol should do the job savely, or water if you blow away the water with a hairdryer. If not feel free to pm/email me.

 

[wvaltakis2]

............:wow:

 

[TigerhawkT3]

Okay, now I'm DEFINITELY keeping it this way. Nothing beats launching into an anecdote about the dinoflagellates living in your optic to become the life of the party... or get strange looks... whatever. A classic. It doesn't even affect the beam, anyway.

There was a whole bunch of goop in the threads. I cleaned it up, and it works a lot better. I'll check it for buildup periodically, and that should smooth out the functioning quite nicely.

I've already got a few pics for the contest. I have a few more ideas I'd like to try, as well.

 

[freewheelin']

Personally, I find all of the open discussion quite the opposite of boring. Even with the minor 'issues', I still can't wait for my shipping notice to arrive in my inbox, let alone, my gatlight in the mail!

~Chip

I too find all the little problems and nitpicking helpful information. I'm now better prepared to troubleshoot and fine tune my Tux. Please continue here unless the moderators feel were taking too much bandwidth.

 

[mobile1]

Ok all remaining GatLight orders will ship out today (except for one larger one that ships this coming Tuesday)

Than we were thinking of a second contest next to a photo contest however we first need to find out how feasible that one is.. so go here and cast your vote.

 

[wvaltakis2]

(except for one larger one that ships this coming Tuesday)

Now that I'd like to see...:naughty:

 

[AndyTiedye]

Larger order? Larger Gatlight??

 

[wvaltakis2]

:rock: mine's on it's way, can't wait to get my grubby lil' paws on it.

~Chip

 

[jki]

Now that I'd like to see...:naughty:

Yes! Size of a real Gatling gun. Runs on 1000 CR123's in a special series/parallel configuration, housed in a bulletproof carbon fiber tube. If one or a few cells go ka-boom, redundancy prevents an interruption in power to the 500 Rebel array (100 l/w diodes). Conservatively rated at 75,000 torch lumens. Water cooled. Only one in existence. Don't ask about price.

 

[mobile1]

I meant a larger order... there are no larger V3 GatLights... only shorter V2 ones maybe ... however not for sale or planned for sale..

 

[luxlunatic]

What is that, a CR2 version on the left? Cool!

 

[reptiles]

Perhaps someone likes it

Jochen

Yes, Interesting, but not for me. I like the little extra safety margin of the side spill --allows others to see you, even when light is pointed away from them. This feature is great if you're working on your vehicle on the side of the road; or walking the dog, etc.

Besides, it is one of the essential differences that make this light unique.

Its almost like replacing the rods with a solid piece of metal

Regards,

Mark

 

[Stillphoto]

I meant a larger order... there are no larger V3 GatLights... only shorter V2 ones maybe ... however not for sale or planned for sale..

Looks like 2nd to the left is a V1 in cr2 size considering the slight difference in height next to the 123a version next to it. To the left of that...wth, is that a coin cell/hearing aid battery version of the V2? N cell?

 

[mobile1]

Actually from the right to the left
PILA V2
PILA V1
123 V2
123 V1
V2 with shortened bars - for either a stack of lithium coin batteries or N/CR2... however haven't tested it yet with those...

 

[Rudi]

Received my light and find it simply fantabulous in every respect.

I do have a question. Three actually.
When increasing brightness any faster than very slowly, the intensity at first over-reaches momentarily before falling back to where it belongs.

Has anyone else noticed this?
Is it normal?
Does it have an explanation?

 

[mobile1]

Hi Rudi.. My guess is that it has to do with the batteries. When pulling that many watts out of the battery under full load, the voltage of the battery drops sharply to 2V (using primary lithiums) - it might be that your battery drops a bit more, with 2V the driver needs to pull even more current to get the required watts for the selected level, however at that low voltage the current that can be pulled out is limited (by battery and boost chip). My guess is the higher brightness is sustained for the short amount the voltage drop is within normal limits.
Of course you can try different battery brands they tend to behave differently with different voltage drops. It could also be that your LED needs a bit more watts and probably puts out more brightness.. however pulls more watts and as such taxes the battery a bit more at max brightness. If you f.e. put in a protected rechargeable 3.6V (if you do so read first my comments I posted earlier in regards to risks) you'll likely won't see the drop anymore which I think would confirm my theory above (however Kyle knows more about the electrical stuff I'll ask his opinion too).

Than of course as mentioned earlier, generally I'd wipe off the lubrication on the knob (just leave a little bit on the ORing) - the thread doesnt need lubrication - but less lube improves the smoothness of the brightness. I have been testing a conductive lubricant and for the future that's the way to go. Still need to do some more testing but I'll let you guys know what works best when we're done.

 

[PhantomPhoton]

BTW I received shipping notice for my Tuxedo today!
:rock:
Now the stalking of the short yellow truck begins! (The one without children inside)

 

[Rudi]

Hi Rudi.. My guess is that it has to do with the batteries. When pulling that many watts out of the battery under full load, the voltage of the battery drops sharply to 2V (using primary lithiums) - it might be that your battery drops a bit more, with 2V the driver needs to pull even more current to get the required watts for the selected level, however at that low voltage the current that can be pulled out is limited (by battery and boost chip). My guess is the higher brightness is sustained for the short amount the voltage drop is within normal limits.
Of course you can try different battery brands they tend to behave differently with different voltage drops. It could also be that your LED needs a bit more watts and probably puts out more brightness.. however pulls more watts and as such taxes the battery a bit more at max brightness. If you f.e. put in a protected rechargeable 3.6V (if you do so read first my comments I posted earlier in regards to risks) you'll likely won't see the drop anymore which I think would confirm my theory above (however Kyle knows more about the electrical stuff I'll ask his opinion too).

Thanks for the detailed explanation and suggestions Walter.
I must clarify, however, that the momentary brightness-overshoot phenomenon I described three posts above is also quite noticeable when there is no great demand placed on the battery (which, by the way, arrived with 100% charge). For instance, adjusting up just a wee bit from very-very-low to very-low will noticeably overshoot momentarily if the small adjustment is made rapidly. This is not the flicker that has been reported.

I don't dispute your assertion that my LED may put out more brightness. It certainly is bright. But my observation applies also to when it is dim.

This light is totally awesome.

 

[TigerhawkT3]

Yep, I'm noticing that too. Mine is also extremely flickery.

Anyhow, here are my competition pics so far. I don't know which ones should go in the normal comp and which in the Photoshop comp, so I'll leave it for someone else to decide.

This is the one I posted earlier, with a head-on look at a Gatlight V3 on low. Minimal Photoshopping, like cropping and unsharp masking.


In this next one, I did the usual crop/unsharp/shadow/highlight stuff, and I also pixelated the background, since it included my mother.


Just the usual crop/unsharp/etc.


Again, the usual crop/unsharp/etc.


This next shot would be impossible with current photographic techniques, AFAIK. I zoomed in and focused for the shot of the moon, zoomed out and focused for the shot of the V3, then combined the two images in Photoshop.



For these next two, I did the usual stuff, plus pixelated the background.




Enjoy. If I manage to get any more, I'll post them.

 

[AndyTiedye]

Do you think you'll do Pila-sized Gatlights again some time?