Muyshondt Mako Prototype Evaluation

[Hitthespot]

CPR? Coyote, I need the defibrillator, STAT!

CLEAR!

:nana:

this place is a riot!


One of the things that usually disappoints me about keychain AAA 5mm lights is either the blue or purple tint. The fact that you say this light has a neutral white tint makes its worth it wieght in gold. I hope all of the production units are the same. I personally would of liked to have seen a high of around 10 lumens though.

Thanks for you first impressions.

Happy Holidays

Bill

 

[mcmc]

Neat review, Goatie (hehe). Btw, have you carried it on your keychain much? What about the other lights in your picture lineup? I was just wondering how the Mako (and those other lights, some of which I am thinking of getting, esp. the Ti Aeon), holds up to keychain duty amongst keys. Thx!

 

[carrot]

I just ordered one and it will replace my CR2 ION on my keychain. How does it compare, output wise? :thinking:

It is pretty dim by comparison. No worries though, because if you decide you hate it someone else is guaranteed to want it

 

[:)>]

Neat review, Goatie (hehe). Btw, have you carried it on your keychain much? What about the other lights in your picture lineup? I was just wondering how the Mako (and those other lights, some of which I am thinking of getting, esp. the Ti Aeon), holds up to keychain duty amongst keys. Thx!

I haven't carried the Mako on my keychain as the hole for the split ring attachment on the prototype was not sized right and I barely got the split ring in... I didn't want to take a chance to damage it. I have carried the Ti Aeon on my keychain extensively nearly w/out interruption since I received it and it still looks great. I would say that it holds up wonderfully.

The prototype is made from aluminum and it will wear very differently than the Ti production model as well.

 

[:)>]

I spent a little time walking last night and brought the Mako along. It was dark but not pitch black; it was light enough so that I would not have to use a flashlight to get around if I was careful with my steps and it was very foggy.

The low works well for seeing out to approximately 15'; the high while still not amazingly brighter than the low beam was noticeably brighter and worked well out to about 20'. The light level reminds me of the Infinity Ultra Task Light (the green one); I used the Infinity Ultra for night hikes in fully wooded areas, loaded with spider webs and it did great (LED's do a good job showing where the freakin' spider webs are BTW). Outside, there are not a lot of white or other highly reflective colors or items; inside, because of these more highly reflective colors or items, the range is extended.

I can easily see this light doing most of the task related activities in a campsite. I am eagerly awaiting its arrival.

 

[Mr. Blue]

I am eagerly awaiting its arrival.

which is when?

 

[carrot]

which is when?

Which is very likely to be before the end of the month, if my estimate is correct.

 

[Fallingwater]

I wasn't aware Cree made 5mm LEDs. I understand they have a much nicer beam than Nichia GS, but how do they compare efficiency-wise?

 

[:)>]

My 2 boys and me slept outside last night in the fort out back and I used the Mako with a diffuser tip on low to provide a night light. It was more than enough light for my dark adapted eyes and since it runs in the neighborhood of 60+ hours on low, it would be fine for many nights

 

[Rudi]

Re: Mushondyt Mako Prototype Evaluation

I suppose it can use lithium AAAs?
bernie

I belive that Enrique said absolutely NOT, or you'll fry your Mako for sure.

 

[Fallingwater]

Re: Mushondyt Mako Prototype Evaluation

I belive that Enrique said absolutely NOT, or you'll fry your Mako for sure.

You'll fry it with lithiums or lithium-ions?

 

[Rudi]

I believe Enrique said to avoid any higher voltage than alkalines provide.
I don't exactly know where to find that post though.
Enrique, necesitamos tu aclaración por favor.

 

[Endeavour]

:shrug: It depends on what a "Lithium AAA" is to you I guess.

Bottom line: The light runs on 1.5V cells.

The means your typical NiMH, NiCd, Alkalines, Lithium Primaries, and various other standard size and standard voltage cells will work just fine. I was not even aware until just recently that someone was foolhardy enough to create a AAA cell with a 4.2V cell voltage, which will destroy almost any electronic device AAAs are intended to be used for.

I am disinclined to repeat what I've said before about cells that are improperly designed for their intended applications, and refer to a post I've written before on the topic here:
http://weblog.muyshondt.net/?p=11

If you all wish to continue the discussion of that sort of topic, feel free to do so on the weblog linked above, or in another thread.

Fallingwater: The LEDs I'm using are 24000mcd at 20mA. The Nichia GS is 30,000mcd at 20mA. The Nichia part cannot, in my opinion, be considered a white LED and is very blue even at just 20mA. The parts I'm using are actually white, I'm not overdriving the LED at 2-3x the rated maximum current (which does kill the LED over time), and the driver I designed has efficiencies in the upper 80s, which results in happy LEDs, happy batteries, and a rather long runtime, which was the primary objective behind the Mako.

Mr. Blue: It's looking like late February or March right now.

Take care folks.

-Enrique