Re: Introducing... PocketMate-W. 5W variable outpu
Mine arrived yesterday but I just got to it today. I am delighted with it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy14.gif
Howie included the liner for the Pila 168S (fits 2xCR123As as well) and the liner for the Pila 168A.
My Pilas and charger haven't arrived yet so I slipped in two new 123s and lit her up. Very bright hotspot and spill, at 4 feet the hotspot is about 1 foot in diameter with a barely discernible Luxeon V donut hole. The spill at 4 feet is about 7 feet in diameter.
The thumb switch and dimmer switch work perfectly. I can easily manipulate this light with one hand. The OA2C host feels very comfortable in my hand and the PMW is cut down to an overall length of about 7 11/16 inches which will fit handily in alot of places, if not a front pocket on my Levis. But, in a pinch, if I need both hands, it will indeed fit bow or stern ends first.
Workmanship is outstanding in my opinion.
Being able to dial up exactly what level output you want and then click it off and the next time click it on and it's right where you left it...well...it's just the cat's meow to me.
Being able to run this light on a Pila 168S or 168A allows me to use this light whether CR123As grow on trees or not. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
But, being able to run it on 2x123s is an option I very much appreciate. Being places where the grid power is down or non-existent, I can still use this versatile light.
I put a couple of new 123s in a 2x123 McLux PR-T 917ma/T binned Lux III, which is my benchmark for beamspot comparisons, and compared and then photographed some comparisons.
My old Sony FD88 1.3 megapixels camera has a heck of a time in my hands taking beamshots.
The amount of light let in can be adjusted in .5 increments from + 1.5 down to - 1.5. Anything above 0, and the light from the beamspots just overwhelmed the camera.
In the photos, the tint of the beamspots looks different than it does to my nekkid eyeballs. So I cranked the saturation down to -100 (lowest it would go). Then I cranked the light setting down to -.5, -1.0, and -1.5.
I wanted to compare the "brightness" of the two lights in relation to one another. Only when I did this could the camera clearly capture the difference in output of the PMW on high and the PR-T DB917ma with a high ranked T Luxeon III.
These are just for comparison purposes of output, not for gauging tint. The PocketMateW is always on the left and the PR-T DB917/T Lux III on the right. Both are on "high".
light at 0 saturation at normal
light at 0 saturation at -100
light at - .5 saturation at -100
light at - 1.0 saturation at -100
light at - 1.5 saturation at -100
You can really see the difference in output in the bottom photo. It's the beginning of evening nautical twilight and soon I'll see how it does out in the night.
Thanks, Howard, I am very pleased and congratulate myself for jumping in for one of these.
Britt
