Hi guys,
A very nice gent at Pelican sent me a 1W HD flashlight for a quick look see and evaluation. I got it in time to take along on our CA meet. In the presence of lights ranging from TVODRD's mini-wonders up to and including a number of HID's and the KEN5; not to forget a case full of SF "Cool Science" and Peter Gransee's preview into the workings of the LS4, a new 1W Luxeon flashlight could easily be overlooked.
The prototype sample I received is housed in a BlackKnight 3C package:
For size scale, it's shown next to a well used and abused SuperSabreLite I've had for years. I understand that the LED light source with electron and photon management system will also be available in the SuperSabreLite for dive and rugged duty applications. There is a fundamental difference with this light compared to any other lights I have seen or know about. This difference is distinct enough that there is a patent pending as I understand it for the reflector design and integration with a LED source. The picture below will hopefully illustrate this *difference*.
There is an extruded web bridge that hosts the LED, inverted, over the reflector. This bridge has a minimal impact on photon passage. The reflector is situated to receive ALL of the light generated by the lambertian Luxeon. The result is a very narrow and tight beam of very evenly distributed luminous output. At 3', you have a 5" square beam of light. This production light is the first Luxeon based "single beam" light I have seen with a tightly focused output that is likely using a very high percentage of the light produced. In the beam shot below, the beam you see is what you get. There is no additional direct, spill of light.
I was provided with some general information and specs from Pelican which I list below:
************
LED Voltage regulated 1W Lambertian
Battery Life 6 hours
Lumens: 30-35 Lumens measured in our sphere
Lux: 1500 at 5 feet
Water Resistant
6 ft concrete impact (but don’t try it please!)
Hazardous location approvals: Class I, Div 1 T5 U and CE approved
Battery Tray to prevent mixing up the battery polarity and causing an out-gassing scenario
Intellectual Property – Patents filed and pending
Estimated MSRP is $80 to $90
Launch date October 1st
**********
From the little I understand of Pelican's current markets in industrial, fire/ rescue and dive, I believe this light will be well accepted as a viable and improved, solid-state replacement or alternative, to their current incandescent offerings.
The high luminous output suggests a possibly overdriven LED coupled with a very efficient release of light. Aside from the understanding that the LED is driven by a voltage regulated circuit, I don't have any more information on typical current to the LED or what have you.
Admittedly, this is a weak review and I leave comprehensive evaluation to others who will do a much better job. I was offered a quick look at a pre production unit and gladly accepted. I asked for, and received, clearance for posting pics and some general information on this light.
I think the LED and reflector design and placement is very effective in accomplishing the intended results. This design is not new, in general concept, as I understand it but it is certainly a first for a luxeon based light to the best of my knowledge. I suspect that some of us have considered similar strategies but thermal and mechanical issues are not trivial. Now that we've seen it done, at least at the modding and hobby level, I would expect to see other examples. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif I think a synthetic flat diamond lens/ heat sink with thin gold bond leads would be just the ticket. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
- Don
A very nice gent at Pelican sent me a 1W HD flashlight for a quick look see and evaluation. I got it in time to take along on our CA meet. In the presence of lights ranging from TVODRD's mini-wonders up to and including a number of HID's and the KEN5; not to forget a case full of SF "Cool Science" and Peter Gransee's preview into the workings of the LS4, a new 1W Luxeon flashlight could easily be overlooked.
The prototype sample I received is housed in a BlackKnight 3C package:
For size scale, it's shown next to a well used and abused SuperSabreLite I've had for years. I understand that the LED light source with electron and photon management system will also be available in the SuperSabreLite for dive and rugged duty applications. There is a fundamental difference with this light compared to any other lights I have seen or know about. This difference is distinct enough that there is a patent pending as I understand it for the reflector design and integration with a LED source. The picture below will hopefully illustrate this *difference*.
There is an extruded web bridge that hosts the LED, inverted, over the reflector. This bridge has a minimal impact on photon passage. The reflector is situated to receive ALL of the light generated by the lambertian Luxeon. The result is a very narrow and tight beam of very evenly distributed luminous output. At 3', you have a 5" square beam of light. This production light is the first Luxeon based "single beam" light I have seen with a tightly focused output that is likely using a very high percentage of the light produced. In the beam shot below, the beam you see is what you get. There is no additional direct, spill of light.
I was provided with some general information and specs from Pelican which I list below:
************
LED Voltage regulated 1W Lambertian
Battery Life 6 hours
Lumens: 30-35 Lumens measured in our sphere
Lux: 1500 at 5 feet
Water Resistant
6 ft concrete impact (but don’t try it please!)
Hazardous location approvals: Class I, Div 1 T5 U and CE approved
Battery Tray to prevent mixing up the battery polarity and causing an out-gassing scenario
Intellectual Property – Patents filed and pending
Estimated MSRP is $80 to $90
Launch date October 1st
**********
From the little I understand of Pelican's current markets in industrial, fire/ rescue and dive, I believe this light will be well accepted as a viable and improved, solid-state replacement or alternative, to their current incandescent offerings.
The high luminous output suggests a possibly overdriven LED coupled with a very efficient release of light. Aside from the understanding that the LED is driven by a voltage regulated circuit, I don't have any more information on typical current to the LED or what have you.
Admittedly, this is a weak review and I leave comprehensive evaluation to others who will do a much better job. I was offered a quick look at a pre production unit and gladly accepted. I asked for, and received, clearance for posting pics and some general information on this light.
I think the LED and reflector design and placement is very effective in accomplishing the intended results. This design is not new, in general concept, as I understand it but it is certainly a first for a luxeon based light to the best of my knowledge. I suspect that some of us have considered similar strategies but thermal and mechanical issues are not trivial. Now that we've seen it done, at least at the modding and hobby level, I would expect to see other examples. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif I think a synthetic flat diamond lens/ heat sink with thin gold bond leads would be just the ticket. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
- Don
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