What is Mc** stuff?

[pm91]

I'm kind of new here...I have not been able to figure out what McGizmo's and McClickies or another "Mc" terminology. Is this some sort of name brand? Is there a website? Is this stuff expensive or inexpensive?

Thanks,
paul

 

[Fenris]

Heres the subforum for Mcgizmo.

 

[carrot]

McGizmo is the name of a CPFer over here. He makes lights that are very well regarded. He also happens to design/make a plethora of other things, like carabiner clips and replacement clickies for flashlights. Some of his things are expensive, others are inexpensive.

 

[pm91]

Interesting. Seems like you choose what you want to build. I think you have to know what you want and the best combinations in order to do that. Looks like he makes fine products. Thanks for the info.

 

[carrot]

Some of his things are designed for DIYers but he also makes full lights available for sale from time to time. This is the thread to check if you want one of his lights: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=58234

He seems to have unfortunately forgotten to add the Sapphire 25 to that list, but it is also apparently available for sale at this time.

 

[pm91]

Nice stuff...I subscribed to the thread on from the link you gave me. I understand he doesn't have the ability to measure brightness, but you'd think he'd be able to provide a range that it would fall into. I don't know if these are 100 lumens or 230 lumens.

 

[Kiessling]

Don has an integrating sphere, he is one of the few select CPFers who is able to measure flux relatively accurately.

Which light's flux is of interest to you?

bernie

 

[pm91]

Thanks for you assistance. I'm not sure at the moment. I'm new to all of this. First there was warm and cold lights - which I sort of understand now. Then there are measures of lumens, candlepower, and flux(?) and no real standard because Sure-Fire measures there models differently than all the rest. Some are measured OTF and I guess some are measured at the LED. I saw reference to "bin", which initially I thought was "Buy It Now" (that's what eBay uses), but it means something else. I forget to mention all the different UI's and all of the battery types. Were flashlights always this complicated? I'm 49 years old, I didn't think I was a dinosaur/throwback/old school until I found this forum!
I was all set to purchase a Nitecore D10 SP, now I can't find any USA website that has them in stock or even on order. I see no need to order something from China.

 

[Th232]

For reference, Don has threads about a light, and then a separate sales thread for the light (which contains a link to the former), the output of the lights is generally in the thread about the light.

 

[Kiessling]

I saw reference to "bin", which initially I thought was "Buy It Now" (that's what eBay uses)

Now that made me laugh


OK ... my advise ... take it slowly, read and learn, and most of all, enjoy! There is a lot to see and experience, no way you acan get it all in one day.

Let's make a start:

lumens is a unit to measure the luminous flux of a light. Lumens are flux.

Candlepower and lux are unit to measure peak brightness (or just simply brightness) of a light source. Typically we use it to measure the peak brightness of a flashlight's beam. It is a measure for the throw capacity of a light and is not directly correlated with lumens.

To get the idea ... think of an ordinary light bulb that has a lot of lumens but not a very high lux reading as it is all flood ... whereas a laser produces a high lux reading in the spot but has very low lumens.

To measure lux or candlepower, all you need is a luxmeter. It is cheap and a lot of guys have one. To measure flux/lumens, you need an Ulbrichtkugel / Integrating sphere which is expensive and tricky to operate. So few people have one. Don is one of those people.

Then there's the cheating and lying. Normally you'd want to know how much light your torch puts out of the front end, which is what should be measured and supplied by the manufacturer in an ideal world. Unfortunately, some do not have the equipment for this (Int. Sphere) and some just like to inflate their numbers for marketing purposes.
One such thing is quoting "emitter lumens" which is the calculated luminous flux at the emitter (according to a data sheet) for a given drive current. This method does not incorporate the losses of the window and refelctor and whatnot, so it is basically useless.
Surefire tends to underrate their lights, some more, some less. This means you get a guaranteed minimum flux, and most likely more. It is a very fair practice, but also a annoying one as it makes comparisons somewhat tough to do.
In the end, estimating the flux of our lights is a whole science on CPF, it is fun

Have fun exploring the rest ! :wave:

bernie

 

[pm91]

Ok, thanks for a pretty good start. I'm still digesting it all.

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

@Kiessling

That was one of the easiest to understand, most succinct intro posts Ive seen.

I wish I'd read it when I was trying to figure all this stuff out!

Very well written.

tgwnn

 

[pm91]

Agreed!
I found this statement to be very helpful, "To get the idea ... think of an ordinary light bulb that has a lot of lumens but not a very high lux reading as it is all flood ... whereas a laser produces a high lux reading in the spot but has very low lumens."

 

[carrot]

I wrote a guide to high end lights, but I'm not sure that many people read it.

 

[pm91]

I was going to ask you where it was it, then I saw it in your signature. I bookmarked and will read it in the next day or two. Maybe they can make it a "sticky" on this forum?
Thanks,
paul

 

[Metatron]

I wrote a guide to high end lights, but I'm not sure that many people read it.

oy! i read it:wave:

 

[carrot]

It is a sticky!

Also, I will be moving it as soon as I figure out where I want to host it, because I don't like the way Google's hosting it now. Very inconvenient for me. But don't worry, I'll make sure everyone can find it again.

 

[THE_dAY]

Batteryjunction (US dealer) has the D10 sp:

http://www.batteryjunction.com/nitecore-d10-r2.html

You can use coupon code: cpf2009 for 5% off.

 

[pm91]

THe dAY,
Thanks! Not sure how I missed that.

 

[Kiessling]

Thanx

Also ... there's the Welcome Mat where basics and terminology are explained. Very useful, too.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=172991