Gladius Fades

Hi Guys,

I got a new Gladius today, and it does something I've never seen before in a LED light: when switched off, the LED glows and fades out.

For example, I hold the button down in momentary and release to turn it off. The LED glows slightly and fades out for a little more than one second. Other modes and all brightness levels behave the same way. My SureFire M3 with the 225 lumen HOLA does the same thing.

Anyone seen a LED do that before?

Scott

Not me =/. Hrmm interesting.

beezaur said:

Hi Guys,

I got a new Gladius today, and it does something I've never seen before in a LED light: when switched off, the LED glows and fades out.

For example, I hold the button down in momentary and release to turn it off. The LED glows slightly and fades out for a little more than one second. Other modes and all brightness levels behave the same way. My SureFire M3 with the 225 lumen HOLA does the same thing.

Anyone seen a LED do that before?

Scott

Click to expand...

Must have a capacitor or similar in circuit, possibly to allow strobe pump effect.

HDS lights do that too.

wasnt exactly that behaviour a disadvantage of incans in tactical situations? (could give a hint in which direction one moves, after he switched off the light)

BBL said:

wasnt exactly that behaviour a disadvantage of incans in tactical situations? (could give a hint in which direction one moves, after he switched off the light)

Click to expand...

Afterglow is what I think they called it. An operator is supposed to light briefly, shut off, then move. If the light leaves a trail while you're moving you're giving away position.

i have 2 gladiuss (gladii?) and neither one of them exibit this type performance...hmm...maybe someone with a little more knowlege of the circuit design could chime in?

darkhanger18 said:

i have 2 gladiuss (gladii?) and neither one of them exibit this type performance...hmm...maybe someone with a little more knowlege of the circuit design could chime in?

Click to expand...

Should that be Gladio lights !!

Gladi

Gladii, From the Wikipedia encyclopedia

It will be going back for warranty service for a problem with the tailcap, apparently unrelated to the fading behavior.

"Gladius Interruptus."

Scott

I have 2 and this is not normal behavior. Nigh-Ops will fix it. New tailcap might fix it.

Just chiming in, my Gladius drops off pretty much instantly. My HDS EDC does glow for a bit though, probably about 3/4 of a second or so.

Friends:
My Luxon lights do it too.
Could it be the phospors glowing after the UV "exciter" is shut down?
Go to a VERY dark room and close your eyes tightly. Turn on your light and let it run for a few seconds. Turn off the light and then, open your eyes and look at the LED. I bet it glows for up to 30 seconds.
I have seen the same thing with the flourescent lights in my basement.

My LED/Lux lights do this.
The afterglow is negligible.

Both my Gladius and my HDS have an afterglow, but not the same:

If I use my HDS in constant mode and switch it off, the LED glows very dimmly with constant brightness for a fraction of a second, flickers slightly then it shuts off. When using momentary on, I can't see any afterglow though.

The afterglow of my Gladius looks quite different: It quickly fades just like an incandescent. Maybe it's the phosphor coating which still emits light and causes this glow? But then, all white LEDs should do the same, but they don't...:thinking:

I thought Night Ops stated on their FAQ's that the bulb does actualy fade since the LED needs to discharge? I THINK, i dunno! Ive just orderd one. I'll see if this happens when it arrives.

I played with my HDS in several modes and did not see any "afterglow".

Mine does it too.

For me to see it I stand in the dark looking into a mirror. I shine the light at something "off axis," i.e., not straight back at me. When I release the switch I point the light at my reflection and move the light, as if to simulate a "flash and move" tactic. Then I see a green streak that fades out.

I should point out that it is not anywhere near as pronounced as with my SureFire M3, but nevertheless it is noticable with my particular Gladius.

I had a Gladius before, but it didn't do this; the old one just went out.

I really don't know if it is much of an issue. The potential problem is of betraying your movements in tactical situations. But an M3-CB -- a light designed expressly for combat -- is far worse. Even my G2 does it to some extent.

I suspect this behavior is just another aspect of the "Luxeon Lottery."

BTW, the folks at Blackhawk were very easy to deal with. I would purchase the light again.

Scott