ILL PILL - Light Meter Measures It BRIGHTER Than Lambda Illuminator

Got mine. Installed it and zowie, it is whiter and brighter than my Illuminator.

Light metered it at one meter on lux setting, and it gave a reading of 297 vs. 280 for the Illuminator. Just to make sure, I turned off the meter and turned it back on and did the measurements again, all in pitch black darkness, similar results -- Illuminator 281, Pill 297. And this particular Pill has a noticeably whiter beam to boot.

With a Kroll tailcap switch installed it is a virtual clone of the Illuminator (run times/temps have not been tried yet) that is slimmer and can utilize the hordes of MiniMag accessories, plus the MiniMag is focusable -- although I found out for myself what rlhess already told me, that the focus is tightest at the moment of turn on, and only gets wider (along with the trademark MagLite dark center spot) as you turn more.

Thanks Lambda, helluva mod!

(Waitaminute, upon finishing this Skill 1 mod assembly I immediately grabbed the only AA batteries at hand, which were used ones from the Illuminator [EDC always with me], and later put NEW batteries in the Illuminator for the light meter tests! Hmmm, now I gotta swap the batteries back and go do another test, Pill may be brighter still...)

With fresh Kirkland AAs the Pill now measures 309 lux, with the Illuminator (also new batteries) still at 279...

i would imagine the variations are LED based, in that you have a newer production LS in the pill and, since it is whiter, would register higher on the lumen chart.

i would imagine, though i don't know 100%, that the circuits are exactly the same in each light.

i can't imagine what all the hubub is about the CMG POS when people can have this instead.

Agreed on all points.

Duplicating Mr. Bulk's setup, I'm measuring about 322 cd for the PILL and 258 cd for the ILLUMINATOR.

I did these tests using the LUX setting on the Meterman LM631 light meter and putting the light 1 meter (39.37 inches--yeah right, I got it to 1/100th of an inch) away.

These measurements were done with the same set of Panasonic AA industrial batteries dated Feb 2006. Illuminator measured first and third. Pill measured second. The pill has a Brinkmann slight magnifying lens on it, but then again, so does the Illuminator.

So now we have seven measurements for Lambda LSs

Mr. Bulk's measurements of 297 cd and 280 cd
My measurements of 258 cd and 322 cd
Craig measured 242 cd for the pill and 256 cd for the Illuminator, but shows 795 cd for the Illuminator in the ProMetric plot which is something we don't understand.

If we're rating these lights I would put them long term in the 170-200 cd range.

Mr. Ted Bear's measurement on this web page shows a plateau running from about 77% to 44% of peak during constant discharge. Disregarding the initial surge of brightness, averaging the plateu gives us 60% of peak.

Averaging over the first two hours (including the initial peak) gives us an average of about 75%.

Averaging the six measurements gives us 276 average peak initial candela.

Using just tha plateau would give us an average light output of 166 cd (let's round that up to 170). Using the first two hour light profile would provide an average light of 205cd.

This is where the 170-200cd class comes from...average over TWO HOURS or more! Much more if the light is used intermittenly. Not bad from 80 cents worth of batteries!

Also, our sample of six lights shows a variation of appoximately +/- 15% which is nothing to get alarmed over by any means!

WAY TO GO LAMBDA!

By the way, I don't know where Mr. Ted. Bear placed his sensor for the light meter, but it certainly was closer than a foot, I think...or he has a VERY bright Illuminator. I would guess a hair under 10 inches.

Cheers,

Richard

Ok... I just got my Meterman, and did a *QUICKIE* comparision between it and my Tektronix J16.

Test subject: Lambda Illuminator with well-used batteries.

Test conditions: Quick setup only; sensor alignment between the two was visibly off (the Meterman's was a touch closer), but by no more than 1/3" to 1/2".

Results:
Tektronix: 150.9cd (light slowly waved around and peak reading memorised)
Meterman: 160.7cd (light slowly waved around with "Peak Hold" enabled)

Using a dimmer light (a Beam-Fire Quattro with toasted batteries), the results were closer; within around 1 or 2 candela of one another (34.5cd vs. 36.4cd); my Tektronix had a higher reading this time. This could well be due to environmental or physical measurement error; like I said these are QUICK tests with crude setup and a lot of light pollution from Momma Nature.

I'll try it on a bunch of other flashlights with brand new batteries in them once it becomes dark in the Emerald City.

Well, isn't that interesting.

At what distance did you do these measurements? What factor did you apply?

I'm trying to do most of the small light measurements at two feet and then multiply the fc meter reading by four to get cd.

So, if this is the case, I still don't understand the Illuminator Web page at the LEDMUSEUM as this shows a peak of 795cd in the ProMetric graph.

I feel REALLY GOOD that the J16 and the Meterman agree. Since another Meterman and a Minolta T1 agreed as well, I think there is a reasonable consistency of calibration--and Mr. Bulk's Meterman and mine agree within reason. This is certainly not NIST-based, but it's good enough.

The average peak of a Lambda light is about 276 cd with fresh batteries. (see above in thread).

Mr Ted Bear's measurements are higher because of the integration of off-axis light reflected back into the light meter.

Anyway, this is really good news that (a) you have a backup light meter and (b) they agree!

Cheers,

Richard

Yes yes yes! 'Coz we all be on same page naow!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rlhess:
Well, isn't that interesting.

At what distance did you do these measurements? What factor did you apply?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

First and foremost, the batteries in the Illuminator have had a good deal of use on them, so it should *NOT* be taken as a fresh measurement. I'll re-measure with brand new coppertops later tonight.

As for measuring distance, that was 12" as the Tektronix is set up for footcandles only, not Lux. My yardstick is broken, so I don't have a handy (RELIABLE) way to get a 1 meter measurement just yet. I keep forgetting to buy a new one. I do have a rusty old measuring tape, but they're pretty hard to keep straight once you have more than a foot or two of tape out. Guess it's time to get out the electrical tape and start taping markers to the carpet like I do for the tripod legs.


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rlhess:
I'm trying to do most of the small light measurements at two feet and then multiply the fc meter reading by four to get cd.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'll try that with a few lights and see what kind of readings I get.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rlhess:
So, if this is the case, I still don't understand the Illuminator Web page at the LEDMUSEUM as this shows a peak of 795cd in the ProMetric graph.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think for now, the "peak" should be ignored; use the one labelled "average" and see how that compares to your readings.



<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rlhess:
I feel REALLY GOOD that the J16 and the Meterman agree. Since another Meterman and a Minolta T1 agreed as well, I think there is a reasonable consistency of calibration<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, it certainly WILL do the job, and then some. It will work in a few places I can't position the large head of the Tektronix; though I've yet to figure out a mounting scheme for the Meterman's head that would allow me to use the instrument hands-free. The cord always tugs at the head and pulls it back, no matter how close to the instrument you try to set it up.

One thought is to use that heavy, rubber-shielded DMM that came with it as a "base" for the Meterman's head - it plugs right in to the COM and V+ banana jacks on the meter and there's no known electrical connection - the "plugs" are simply there as posts on which to store the head on the Meterman's body when not in use. Plugging it into the heavy DMM and using the DMM as a weight would certainly do the trick.


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rlhess:
The average peak of a Lambda light is about 276 cd with fresh batteries. (see above in thread).<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, the sun isn't down yet, but let me load up some batteries and try another quickie. Two feet, eh? Well, here goes...

Reading from 2 feet, 103.3cd, multiplied by 4 gives 413.2cd. Ambient light pollution measures only 2.5 cd, so the reading from the Illuminator drops to 410.7cd.

But when I retake the measurement from the usual 12", I get a reading of 274cd, not including the 2.5cd light pollution deduction.

You have the hottest illuminator in history <smile>!

Do you have any surface reflecting back into the light meter so that a ray that wouldn't have hit the light meter in free space hits the light meter?

This is exciting--all of us on the same page?

Cheers,

Richard

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rlhess:
Do you have any surface reflecting back into the light meter so that a ray that wouldn't have hit the light meter in free space hits the light meter?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Nothing that I could see. Nothing that would amount to more than a few tens of millicandelas, anyway. The nearest back wall is a round trip of 12 feet or so, and there's so much junk piled up there the effective albedo is quite low; less than 15 to 20 in my estimation. It's a fairly good light trap back there. And the computer in front of me is BLACK. None of the Illuminator's light struck the monitor glass, so that wasn't an issue - it's AR coated anyway so even if some did, virtually none would reach the Meterman.

As an interesting aside, here's a picture comparing the Meterman's sensor probe to the one on my Tektronix.

Tried a re-test, this time using the LUX setting and a test distance of just over 39 inches.

Meterman peaks at 181 lux, the foot-candle metrer says "213" at the same 39" test distance. I don't know how to convert its readings into lux, because it wasn't designed for a test distance of more than 12". So the Meterman is my new instrument of choice, for the moment anyway.

For the record, I stuck my green laser on there (in foot candle setting) got a reading of 171300 fc. I wanted to try it with a red laser pointer, but I don't know where it is.

Back to 181 lux at one meter? Old batteries again?

Hope you enjoy the Meterman--I thought you might like it which was why I thought it would be better just to get you one rather than loan mine!!

Cheers,

Richard

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rlhess:
Back to 181 lux at one meter? Old batteries again?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Brand new batteries, the same ones I ran this afternoon's test on (used for maybe 2-3 minutes total), and haven't used since. Let me set it up and try again...

With another $3 worth of batteries in it, it measured 267 lux this time. I guess it really sucks em down fast, if the last brand new set I put in this afternoon were down to 181 lux with only a couple of minutes of usage. Figured they'd have bounced back, but I guess not.

267 lux? Okay, I feel very relieved about mine now at 279-280...

Craig,

Mr Ted Bear posted some run times for the ARC LS and the CMG Reactor here.

He also posted the Lambda Illuminator run times here.

There is a substantial initial falloff in the Illuminator.

I think (as I've said before) that long-term we can consider the Lambda a 200cd light.

Cheers,

Richard