McGizmo - 2018

[fyrstormer]

I seriously doubt you do enough business to threaten Maglite. No offense. Your lights target a totally different market than Maglite does, and there are many higher-volume flashlight makers that Maglite could go after if they wanted to.

Personally I'd much rather have an aspheric "zoomie" rather than a reflector "zoomie"; All the Maglites I've ever seen have horrible donut-holes when the reflector is adjusted, whereas I don't particularly care if the edges of the beam look like an outline of the emitter as long as the brightness is consistent in the middle. And given how incredibly bright LEDs are nowadays, I'd be willing to write-off a significant portion of their output in exchange for adjustable focus, because the end product would still be more than bright enough for any task a single-cell pocket flashlight is suited for. Keep in mind I still carry a Jetbeam TC-R2 XP-G S2 from 2011 and I rarely wish for more brightness than it offers.

 

[59ride]

Do i hear a Mcgizmo Haiku in Zirc ???? maybe one day

 

[fyrstormer]

Zirconium is 50% heavier than titanium. You could just get a stainless-steel light if you want a boat anchor in your pocket.

 

[easilyled]

Do i hear a Mcgizmo Haiku in Zirc ???? maybe one day

That's highly unlikely in my humble opinion. Unless there's a practical justification for Zirconium instead of Titanium?
McGizmo products put practicality very high up on the agenda.

 

[DTF]

Happy New Year! guess I'm a bit late but I just don't drop by here anymore, but on this lazy Sunday morning, WC on TV, figured why not?

The reason I haven't been back is that, after acquiring a fair number of McGizmos, there has no need. My main purpose flashlight is a Sundrop that was setup for photo. I have used that flashlight for many thousands of pictures and there simply is no better flashlight for photography, at least the type of photography I do. A lot of nightclub work were using a flash just isn't possible and since it's all but black something has to be used.

Also have a few other McGizmos but for the most part they don't see much use. They sit in their assigned locations and I know with absolute certainty that they will perform when and if needed. Which is why I purchased McGizmos in the first place.

Thanks!

 

[McGizmo]

Happy New Year! guess I'm a bit late but I just don't drop by here anymore, but on this lazy Sunday morning, WC on TV, figured why not?

The reason I haven't been back is that, after acquiring a fair number of McGizmos, there has no need. My main purpose flashlight is a Sundrop that was setup for photo. I have used that flashlight for many thousands of pictures and there simply is no better flashlight for photography, at least the type of photography I do. A lot of nightclub work were using a flash just isn't possible and since it's all but black something has to be used.

Also have a few other McGizmos but for the most part they don't see much use. They sit in their assigned locations and I know with absolute certainty that they will perform when and if needed. Which is why I purchased McGizmos in the first place.

Thanks!

Thanks for stopping by and the comments! I am glad to hear you are getting some utility from the lights; especially the SunDrop. Cool!

 

[qmtu]

My main light that I grab at home is a Haiku AA HiCri
When I go out to a movie or dark restaurant, it's a Sapphire.

 

[alangloi]

My main light that I grab at home is a Haiku AA HiCri
When I go out to a movie or dark restaurant, it's a Sapphire.

Ditto here. (Love my AA Haiku HiCri)

Wonder which lights Don will use if the power goes out in his place soon. (Note: I hope his power (and his neighbors power) does not go out due to Lane.) Does he still have solar power (with batteries?)?

 

[McGizmo]

Ditto here. (Love my AA Haiku HiCri)

Wonder which lights Don will use if the power goes out in his place soon. (Note: I hope his power (and his neighbors power) does not go out due to Lane.) Does he still have solar power (with batteries?)?

Looks like we might get some close attention from Lane. I do have solar but it is tied to the grid and if the grid goes down I have no access to it. I can tap into my LEAF though with an inverter and have plenty power to keep my refrigerator going for a couple days I would guess and I have a 1kW Honda generator i converted to propane which can also step in to provide some power. I do have a number of lights to use.

 

[F89]

Looks like we might get some close attention from Lane. I do have solar but it is tied to the grid and if the grid goes down I have no access to it. I can tap into my LEAF though with an inverter and have plenty power to keep my refrigerator going for a couple days I would guess and I have a 1kW Honda generator i converted to propane which can also step in to provide some power. I do have a number of lights to use.

Stay safe mate.
I'm pretty sure you'll be sorted lighting wise.

 

[jellydonut]

I would think a "10th Anniversary" Lunasol 20 run with modern emitters would pretty much stop time here on CPF... In other words,

I can only concur.

 

[staticx57]

I can only concur.

It is a great idea indeed.

 

[octaf]

Hi, McGizmo folks.
just a quick question.
Is RCR ok for single speed sundrop - earlier version ?

 

[McGizmo]

Hi, McGizmo folks.
just a quick question.
Is RCR ok for single speed sundrop - earlier version ?

Yes but use a protected one since the converter will attempt to pull the power out beyond the point at which the battery needs to be recharged.

 

[fyrstormer]

Yes but use a protected one since the converter will attempt to pull the power out beyond the point at which the battery needs to be recharged.

IMRs are safe to use, even if unprotected. I've done it many times with no greater loss of capacity over time than what I see from protected ICRs.

 

[Thetasigma]

IMRs are safe to use, even if unprotected. I've done it many times with no greater loss of capacity over time than what I see from protected ICRs.

Discharging a lithium ion cell to too low of a voltage causes irreparable damage to the cell, which if you are lucky will shorten the lifespan or outright kill a cell. In the more likely event you are unlucky, it tends to cause venting and hellfire.

Edit: to be more specific, the problem arrises when you try to recharge an over-discharged cell, as the degradation typically results in dead shorts inside the battery eventually.

 

[fyrstormer]

Hypothetically yes, but any charger worth paying for nowadays will sense an internally-shorted cell and refuse to charge it. Additionally, a microscopic short inside a cell can usually be melted by the current inrush when the battery is first placed in the charger, similar to what happens to an overloaded fuse. Since IMR cells don't have freely-available oxygen inside them like ICR cells do, those events carry minimal risk with IMR cells. In one of my other hobbies, recently-deceased lithium-polymer batteries are often "defibrillated" by charging them at 10 amps or higher for a few seconds, to melt any microscopic shorts inside the cell packs and extend their lifespan a bit. And that's with the relatively dangerous LiCoO chemistry, same as used in ICR cells.

In my experience, an IMR cell that needs to be recharged will underpower any reasonably-powerful flashlight on all but the lowest settings, which will cause the light to flicker or drop-down to a lower setting, both of which are pretty easy-to-understand indicators that the battery needs charging. If you continue to run the light beyond that point just because the battery doesn't have a hard-cutoff built in, well, that's your mistake to make.

Lastly, "getting unlucky" and having a cell vent is far less likely than simply discovering the cell will refuse to take a charge anymore. That is somewhat due to smarter chargers nowadays, somewhat due to the cell manufacturers getting better at designing cells that don't fail catastrophically, but mostly due to people overestimating the likelihood of worst-case scenarios -- especially on forums such as CPF which tend to attract people of a cautious mindset.

 

[EasEWryder]

Don,

You probably don't remember me, but I have a Ti-PDS I got from you that I have been carrying for 10+ years now. Its a faithful companion that I have with me every single day. I haven't kept up with recent trends for the past 10 years, and the only new light I purchased for myself is a Sapphire by you, lol. The pursuit of balanced functionality that I feel your lights represent is the bar I judge many purchases with. Thanks for making them, and I look forward to what the future holds from you!

Mike

 

[McGizmo]

Don,

You probably don't remember me, but I have a Ti-PDS I got from you that I have been carrying for 10+ years now. Its a faithful companion that I have with me every single day. I haven't kept up with recent trends for the past 10 years, and the only new light I purchased for myself is a Sapphire by you, lol. The pursuit of balanced functionality that I feel your lights represent is the bar I judge many purchases with. Thanks for making them, and I look forward to what the future holds from you!

Mike

Thanks Mike. Lights may have changed but the need for them and their utility really hasn't.