Ra Clicky Part 5

[turbodog]

Except for the retaining ring. I'd say that the retaining ring was one of the major errors with the NT. First it can easily come loose as the battery tube treads against it, and second, a LE which just plops into the body will have a much poorer thermal path compared to one that screws into the body.

This ring's much beefier that the novatac. That's more thread area for more torque and more thread area for the loctite to hold onto.

Also, Henry says the light engine's potted to the entire body. The rings are there for cosmetic purposes mainly. He says the engine will NOT come out.

 

[SaturnNyne]

Anyone no the price on the prototype?
Looks like a nice light......

Same as the 100/140C, because that's what it is internally.

Which is why...

It was between the golden dragon and the P4. Looks like he went with the P4. The golden dragon would give you the narrower beam.

There was definitely no chance of it being the GD. He made the choice to use the Wide beam internals months ago and would not offer the option to switch it to Narrow, I asked.

I'm an engineering study turned finance major. I would never pre-order anything. 😛

Ha, good call! 😀

 

[paxxus]

This ring's much beefier that the novatac. That's more thread area for more torque and more thread area for the loctite to hold onto.

Also, Henry says the light engine's potted to the entire body. The rings are there for cosmetic purposes mainly. He says the engine will NOT come out.

OK, I see, cool.

(can't understand what "cosmetic" purpose an internal component could offer though)

 

[SaturnNyne]

Hi turbo, thanks for getting photos up so quickly! Good work. :thumbsup:

This is the proto run. Pics from the normal run should be appearing soon. Parts *MAY* interchange, but you won't find me doing any research into that.

Do the parts work with the old EDCs?

Henry has already stated that the prototype parts will not interchange with those of either EDCs or production Ras. We've heard that before, of course, but I have reason to believe it this time.

Also, for those that misunderstand what I mean by "prototype". This is part of a run of maybe 100 lights that Henry made using some old bodies. So, in short, the REAL run of lights will look like the pics on his website.

Yes, we know what it is, and it's plenty real enough to get excited over. Also real enough to count as an odd form of Clicky, in my opinion, since it uses the same internals and is built by Ra. That means it's real enough that an early owner of a prototype could be the first official registration on the-- oh nevermind, I was going to give you a hint but I see you already beat me to it! :twothumbs

Black anodized body

Black anodize? Henry said it's HA natural, and Turbo's photos of it compared to a Twisty confirm that. Is yours different somehow?

The lowest setting (customized) is lower than the lowest Novatac setting. It appears to be even lower than the HDS B42 I have (reprogrammed for the lowest low).

Part of that might be due to the less defined spot, but it is actually ever so slightly dimmer, 0.07lm instead of 0.08.

It is LOP like the Ra Twisty or crappy smooth just like the HDS EDC ?

You really had a problem with artifacts in an HDS beam? Anyway, it wasn't actually smooth, if you look very closely.

 

[kromeke]

Well, mine looks to be black anodized. My HDS B42 is olive, the Novatac 85P looks to be a light olive, My Surefire U2 is black (slightly purple in some spots).
Yes, the specs do say that it has a 0.07lm low. Ever so slightly lower than the B42.

It has a larger hotspot than the 85P.

Not so sure about the potting in place. Is that for the prototype or the production models? This one has a red anodized bulkhead where the emitter mounts, similar looking to the Novatac's light engine. I'm afraid to try too hard to remove the rings, so I'm not in a hurry to take it apart.

 

[Not So Bright]

The Clicky has landed!

Just got home, had maybe 5 min with my new Ra 140C.

I'll TRY to post some pic's after I get back from work. (and had some quality time with my new Clicky)

:wave:

 

[SaturnNyne]

Kromeke, very interesting. I've noted the different anodize on the registry.

Not So Bright, congratulations on being the first! We're all looking forward to further reports. And I've got you all registered up too.

 

[karlthev]

Proto arrived...and paid for!!!:shrug:



Karl

 

[SaturnNyne]

Proto arrived...and paid for!!!:shrug:

Isn't it usually the other way around? 😕

 

[tsl]

Also, Henry says the light engine's potted to the entire body. The rings are there for cosmetic purposes mainly. He says the engine will NOT come out.

Does that mean that you can't do an emitter upgrade later?

Seeing as Novatac's can be had for one-half to two-thirds the price, is the prototype that much a better light?

 

[turbodog]

OK, I see, cool.

(can't understand what "cosmetic" purpose an internal component could offer though)

Restated... rings don't hold the LE in so much as they are conductive for the ground path.

 

[turbodog]

Does that mean that you can't do an emitter upgrade later?

Seeing as Novatac's can be had for one-half to two-thirds the price, is the prototype that much a better light?

In my opinion....

Novatac's stuck with the (unfinished) light that Henry designed. They are offering price cuts and different colors, but that light is finished. Henry's offering new models with new/more powerful features.

If we were to NOT support Henry, he would fold and we would have no lights of this type.

At this time, and for not much longer, the novatac _is_ a decent light for the price.... unless their price/production cuts keep dropping the quality. Even before the recent cuts it had some semi-serious problems. And now....

If you like novatac lights.... wait a week or two. Once the new ra lights start shipping in bulk there'll be plenty of novatacs for sale.

 

[tsl]

Initial observations:

3. The edges on the body tube's milled flats are sharp, sharp enough to say "hey!" about.

Are we talking about the edges of the tube itself or the milled flat areas inscribed with the S/N and RaLights.com?

 

[HDS_Systems]

LLCoolBeans,

No, it looks like a slightly stretched EDC Ultimate with two flats for lettering and a PD bezel. The interior is very different, with all previous known bugs fixed.

LuxLover,

You will not find any gray rubber baby buggy bumpers in our tail caps because we do not need them to control battery movement. And so you won't see any thread problems that are common to another design.

Tebore,

The runtime characteristics will be the same for the two lights. The thermal characteristics are similar - with the prototype being perhaps a couple of degrees higher temps when running on the high setting - not a real significant difference.

There is no part interchangeability between the protos and any other flashlights. As I have said many times in the past, the thread design is completely different. And a lot of other things are quite different as well.

The LED choice for the prototypes was made over a year ago when the parts were produced. Once the aluminum is cut there is no changing your mind.

FredericoFreire,

Both reflectors use a light orange peel finish. However, the two reflectors use very different designs.

Paxxus,

Although the design of the prototype may look similar to another, I think you will find that the two are very different. The retaining ring is actually only used as a shim and is firmly attached and should not come loose over time. The power supply is built in and cannot be removed and has a much better thermal path than the design you are comparing it to. And then assembling the flashlight correctly - as it was designed to be assembled - gets around quite a few other problems.

The power supply changed after the bodies were cut and so the ring in the head had to stay, even though the power supply no longer needed one. Sometimes things have to be done for historical (hysterical) reasons...

The prototypes should be considered as an EDC Ultimate on steroids.

SaturnNyne,

All of the prototypes are black. There are slight variations in black and the reflections in the photo off of the counter top can have an affect of what color the camera sees.

Kromeke,

You have to remember that the prototype is a combination of an earlier mechanical design with a later mechanical design. The original design used a separate heat sink while the new design uses an integrated heat sink. One of the internal parts had to be modified to allow the designs to mesh. Remember, prototypes really are prototypes and not production units - although we always strive to build them to full production quality.

Henry.

 

[LLCoolBeans]

LLCoolBeans,
No, it looks like a slightly stretched EDC Ultimate with two flats for lettering and a PD bezel. The interior is very different, with all previous known bugs fixed.

lol. Gotcha, nudge nudge, wink wink. You are absolutely right. What was I thinking? Say no more, say no more.

 

[SaturnNyne]

All of the prototypes are black. There are slight variations in black and the reflections in the photo off of the counter top can have an affect of what color the camera sees.

Thanks for clearing that up. Hmm, does that mean you changed your mind since a couple months ago when you told me "the finish is natural hard anodize"? Or did our lines get crossed somehow.

 

[tebore]

Henry any plans to make anymore of these Clicky "Classics"?

 

[LLCoolBeans]

Henry any plans to make anymore of these Clicky "Classics"?

Ooh, I like that. Clicky Classic

That's what it looks like Henry, a Clicky Classic.

 

[Not So Bright]

I've been putting my Ra 140C thru some customization.
Here is a few things I've found: Low,low does not flicker.
My Clicky wobbles during tail stand.
The beam is the same as my Tw Twisty. Tint is a little on the violet side.
My Twisty is the same.
The 10 second burst works as advertised, dropping down to the next lower level after 10 seconds.
Holes are pre-drilled and tapped for clip attachment. Just like my EDC B42XRGT.

Sorry, I am still trying to post some pic's. :sigh:


I'd like to give :twothumbs to Henry for a job well done.

 

[matrixshaman]

Thanks for the brief review NSB. If you have trouble getting the pics up you can email them to me and I'll either host them direct from my web site or one of the pic hosting sites (that assumes it is just a problem getting them here and not from your camera to computer).
BTW can you tell if the clip holes are the same spacing as the HDS EDC lights?