MBI #3 - Codename: HF

[A.D.D.i.c.t.]

That's awesome! At first as I was scrolling, it looked as if you had designed a new HF-R variant with the mode selection happening by turning a knurled head. I was fooled! This is a really cool addition to the line up, I've never seen anything like it.

 

[walterr839]

I'm in for one
Titanium preferred


Sent from my iPad using Candlepowerforums

 

[VeloWeave]

Brilliant idea Guy. I want one. Any idea on price range?

 

[Bigmac_79]

...
Its a waterproof spare battery carrier
(oh, and it also charges your batteries)
...

Looks like a great innovation!

 

[Heywood Floyd]

Oh Yes ... Very nice and am in for at least one Ti Charger / Case.
Strange though ... Maybe you knew that already ... :thumbsup:

 

[Tixx]

Hi Tixx,

Thanks for the feedback
Very curious as to why you prefer this setup.

I've been checking sizes and usage...
When the HF is on a keychain, it does some easier to squeeze (eg. for momentary burst) as opposed to holding and pushing against the tail (eg. to click). It is very usable that way though too.


Ok, now for some updates....but let me do it in a new post as I have lots of pics to post.

Tgwnn

I think I would use low and medium for extended period and justify the clicky and easy access on the side. High would be more Wow! and for short periods of time.

 

[AdamB]

First post here. I've had my HF-R for a few months now and I couldn't be happier. The new charger is very cool. Please put me down for 1 in titanium and thanks for the great work!

 

[ChibiM]

those lights look awesome..
They look like something I`ve seen yesterday...at cozy corner

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

I'm in for the battery charger!! Looks very cool and sleak!

Thanks ZzmadzZ,

Zzaa best is yet to come

ALL GO, Yes.

Thanks KITROBASKIN

I didn't see that coming from those pictures. What an awesome surprise!

Thanks Alex,
You know how much I enjoy a bit of mystery

Cool charger, Guy! Awesome stuff! That looks like a great way to charge AND store Nukes on the go. I want one in Ti for sure!

Oh, and thanks for the flawless operation! Love the new shorty you made for me!
Posted photos on the main photo thread for better exposure.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-your-lights&p=4509187&viewfull=1#post4509187

Thank you jonwkng,

Sincerely appreciate your very kind post in that thread (as I do everybodies posts) and pleased you are enjoying your shorty.

That's awesome! At first as I was scrolling, it looked as if you had designed a new HF-R variant with the mode selection happening by turning a knurled head. I was fooled! This is a really cool addition to the line up, I've never seen anything like it.

Hi A.D.D.i.c.t.,

The finished product will actually be better than my hack

I'm in for one
Titanium preferred

Thanks walterr839,

There's definitely a shortage of titanium chargers LOL (like, maybe none)

Brilliant idea Guy. I want one. Any idea on price range?

Hi VeloWeave,
Thanks. Not sure yet.
I'm still finalizing/confirming all the parts that need to be machined which will influence the final cost because with titanium its not just the raw material cost, but also the machining cost as it eats away the equipment very quickly.

If I had to take very rough guess, based on some of the other parts I've made I think a ti version should fall in the vicinity of $40-$60. Totally dependant on the finished package, any other surprises that land in it and of course the quantity (PCB's / Components are costly in small runs but become far more cost efficient at high volume).

Looks like a great innovation!

Thanks Bigmac,
I'll be looking forward to your video review when the time comes and should not be too far away.

Oh Yes ... Very nice and am in for at least one Ti Charger / Case.
Strange though ... Maybe you knew that already ... :thumbsup:

Thanks HF,
You know I know

I think I would use low and medium for extended period and justify the clicky and easy access on the side. High would be more Wow! and for short periods of time.

Hi Tixx,
Thanks for the extra details.
I think it comes down to frequency of use for each mode type, carry method and application and I do realize the combination of those 3 will vary for different people and use cases
Always enjoy having lots of different opinions, helps keep my brain from going hard (like cement).

First post here. I've had my HF-R for a few months now and I couldn't be happier. The new charger is very cool. Please put me down for 1 in titanium and thanks for the great work!

Hi AdamB,

Welcome to CPF and great to see you here
Happy to put you down for a Ti version.

those lights look awesome..
They look like something I`ve seen yesterday...at cozy corner

Hi ChibiM,

Thanks for posting, now I've connected the dots
Yes, Identical I'd say.

Tgwnn

 

[Bigmac_79]

...
Thanks Bigmac,
I'll be looking forward to your video review when the time comes and should not be too far away.
...

I'll be looking forward to that time as well :thumbsup:

 

[Gadgetman7]

Just got mine a couple of days ago. Nice fit and finish but I really don't like the switch design. I've already seen it loosen and I think it'll be easy to accidentally turn on. I wear it on a chain around my neck so I'll probably know pretty quickly but it's still troublesome. I also ordered the less expensive charger with it but it's died and I need a replacement. Any ideas?

I want to like the light, especially since it was expensive so I'm trying to give it a chance. Right now I'm disappointed in the light and I'll likely try and sell it.

 

[A.D.D.i.c.t.]

Contact Guy. He'll most certainly take care of you the best he can. Sorry you had a bad experience

 

[Gadgetman7]

I'm sure he would but there's nothing wrong with the light itself. I think it's more the design and my preferences. How loose is the switch supposed to be? It still has a good bit of friction but not enough to make me comfortable.

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

I'm sure he would but there's nothing wrong with the light itself. I think it's more the design and my preferences. How loose is the switch supposed to be? It still has a good bit of friction but not enough to make me comfortable.

Hi Gadgetman7,

Thanks very much for posting and your feedback.
There is a little variance in the friction level of the switches.
In the most recent batch, I opted to make most of the switches tighter rather than looser and I'd be happy to send you a tighter switch if you'd like to try it out. Some of them ended up being too tight so I sent them in for loosening though I've been making some adjustments here.
The internal design is getting very close to where you might actually be able to adjust the tightness yourself but I'm still testing that.

Which model is it that you have?

Regarding the charger, I get very few reports of them dying short of an accidental reverse polarity of the battery which is usually instant death and the reason I'm launching my own charger shortly.

Happy to send you a replacement charger too.

I do also have an unconditional 30day happiness policy so that after using it for a month, regardless of the why, you can return it to me for a complete refund, which saves you having to go to the trouble of trying to sell it.

Please feel very welcome to mail me via the contact form on my website (<==this is a link to it) and I'll be happy to help you.

Tgwnn (Guy)

 

[KITROBASKIN]

I'm sure he would but there's nothing wrong with the light itself. I think it's more the design and my preferences. How loose is the switch supposed to be? It still has a good bit of friction but not enough to make me comfortable.

I bought the HF partially BECAUSE of the switch design. With about 10 months of daily carry, I can tell you that if you don't sit on it or lay on it, it is unlikely it will activate unintentionally. (At least my copy, but I lay on mine regularly, and try not to clip it on my belt past the side midpoint of my body)

When going to turn it off, go from one level to another to get a feel for how much distance is between them, then stop halfway back to the first level you started on.

But really, it boils down to whether you will like the light. I think the design of the switch will make for a very long-lived mechanism.

 

[Gadgetman7]

Thank you Guy and KITROBASKIN. I like the idea of the switch design but in practice I think the lack of detents bothers me. Just a personal preference I guess.

Guy, thank you for the generous offer but if I decide not to keep it I'll sell it. It isn't fair to ask you to restock a used light or replace one that isn't defective.

I found out what happened to the charger. I removed it from the USB socket and laid it down on the kitchen table while I finished cooking. I disconnected the battery but didn't move it. My wife moved it to an end table by my chair.The battery must have reconnected because she told me that when she moved it to my valet the charger was really hot. I guess the battery discharged back thru the charger and burned out the circuit. Anyway, I don't think the charger was defective either. I'd still like to get another one though but with a better design. Any suggestions?

Thanks again for the quick response Guy. BTW I have the MBI HF-R Ti UTT Neutral White (Holy Flashlight - Round Titanium Ultimate Trit Tail)

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Contact Guy. He'll most certainly take care of you the best he can. Sorry you had a bad experience

Thanks for filling in A.D.D.i.c.t. :bow:

I bought the HF partially BECAUSE of the switch design. With about 10 months of daily carry, I can tell you that if you don't sit on it or lay on it, it is unlikely it will activate unintentionally. (At least my copy, but I lay on mine regularly, and try not to clip it on my belt past the side midpoint of my body)

When going to turn it off, go from one level to another to get a feel for how much distance is between them, then stop halfway back to the first level you started on.

But really, it boils down to whether you will like the light. I think the design of the switch will make for a very long-lived mechanism.

Hi KITROBASKIN,

Thanks for sharing your feedback :thumbsup:

Thank you Guy and KITROBASKIN. I like the idea of the switch design but in practice I think the lack of detents bothers me. Just a personal preference I guess.

Guy, thank you for the generous offer but if I decide not to keep it I'll sell it. It isn't fair to ask you to restock a used light or replace one that isn't defective.

I found out what happened to the charger. I removed it from the USB socket and laid it down on the kitchen table while I finished cooking. I disconnected the battery but didn't move it. My wife moved it to an end table by my chair.The battery must have reconnected because she told me that when she moved it to my valet the charger was really hot. I guess the battery discharged back thru the charger and burned out the circuit. Anyway, I don't think the charger was defective either. I'd still like to get another one though but with a better design. Any suggestions?

Thanks again for the quick response Guy. BTW I have the MBI HF-R Ti UTT Neutral White (Holy Flashlight - Round Titanium Ultimate Trit Tail)

Hi Gadgetman7,

My pleasure on the reply of course.
Sure, I can understand the personal preference thing.
Its similar to an IVR (Inifinitely Variable) light with no fixed modes or position.
A lot of folks love them but to others, it doesn't feel right unless they know exactly what mode they are in.

>>It isn't fair to ask you to restock a used light or replace one that isn't defective.
No problem and I'm happy to do it.
Its just part of my learning and in the big picture the value of real feedback far outweighs anything else.

Glad to hear the charger didn't die from a malfunction.
I can send you a replacement charger but please mail me so I can make sure I match your cpf name/ real name.

I just did a quick re-test with my own newly designed charger circuit.
Connected the battery the wrong way whilst it was both in and out of the USB plug.
Still works fine.
I then connected the 2 leads that should go the the battery, directly to each other and plugged it in.
Still works fine.
I'll have to measure if there's any drain when a battery is connected with no USB power as I don't remember.
I hope to have the functional proto in a few weeks, with the new chargers available by late Nov.

Do feel welcome to ask anything else at all.

Tgwnn

 

[ZzmadzZ]

After using the HF for 2 weeks extensively I would say I for one absolutely love the way the rotary switch works. The friction to change from level to level is tight and smooth enough and I have never accidentally activated the light while keeping it in my pocket.

I usually keep my switch in the off position between medium and low and since I'm using the mom-switch with the rotary I have really quick access to all 3 modes at a time!

So much more efficient then having to click multiple times just to change mode!

I would though really want to get the brand new mbi designed charger as it looks so much safer and rugged as compared to the current one that's offered.

Guy! Please put me in for any version of metal for the charger please XD. Copper/brass/Ti will do haha

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

After using the HF for 2 weeks extensively I would say I for one absolutely love the way the rotary switch works. The friction to change from level to level is tight and smooth enough and I have never accidentally activated the light while keeping it in my pocket.

I usually keep my switch in the off position between medium and low and since I'm using the mom-switch with the rotary I have really quick access to all 3 modes at a time!

So much more efficient then having to click multiple times just to change mode!

I would though really want to get the brand new mbi designed charger as it looks so much safer and rugged as compared to the current one that's offered.

Guy! Please put me in for any version of metal for the charger please XD. Copper/brass/Ti will do haha

Hi ZzmadzZ,

Thanks for the feedback and sharing your usage.
Happy to put you down for a charger

Update...
I've been working on a drop-in of sorts for the HF/HF-R to make it easier for both me and you to more easily swap out the LED engine without having to re-solder things.

There are 2 critical factors though:
1) Heat
2) Size

Being such a small package already, I want to maintain the same size yet at the same time, we need to enable very efficient heat transfer to the body.
I have a design I've been working on for some time and it does look good on paper but its been a challenge finding a partner who's able to make it (though I recently did find one).
As its a very expensive process (nano-machining + PCB + Copper, all in one) I decided to go ahead and make a working model with the same electrical footprint, just to verify things will all fit.

The PCB arrived and after a quick test (~45sec) the LED got so hot, it melted the solder holding it onto the PCB.
This was expected as the test PCB is only using standard fiberglass for the PCB base whereas the production version will be a pure copper core.

The next step is to make the samples of the real drop-in.
I'm waiting to hear back on whether I can make some samples before having to pay zillions of $$$ for a full run.

I finally have my new computer set up and working, usb ports all working again too so hoping to get working on a newsletter/subscriber update in the coming week ...as its been far too long since I did one.

Tgwnn

 

[invisible_kid]

I'll take a battery charger as well