Flashaholic's Dictionary?

Flashaholic\'s Dictionary?

Hi there,

My third post! And a simple question:

Is there an online dictionary of flashlight related terminology? I haven't been able to find one.

I guess this would hardly be necessary for you flashaholics, but newbies like myself would greatly benefit.
Here's a sample sentence from a recent posting by Size15s in ref. to "3 123 light other then surefire?", just to illustrate the problem, as I see it:

The KT2 for three SF123A models has the N2 Lamp. It is rated at 105Lu/60min. The MN16 225Lu/20min "High Output Lamp Assembly" (HOLA) will also work in the KT2 TurboHead.

Whooahh! (and there are even more extreme examples)

The kind of terms and definitions I'd like to see in such a dictionary would range from general, such as lumen, to vendor speficic, such as P or M for SF bulbs, and from the pretty obvious, such as LED, to the utterly incomprehensible, such as the example above. Acronyms should be included too.

A few examples of terms would be:

*Candle power/candela/lumens/lux definitions
*HA
*Halogen
*High dome
*Incandescent
*LED
*Low dome
*MN
*P
*TurboHead
*Xenon

..etc

Anyone?
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Re: Flashaholic\'s Dictionary?

I second that. You all can get quite confusing at times /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Re: Flashaholic\'s Dictionary?

Try this page here:

http://ledmuseum.org/acronyms.htm

Though named Acronyms (which is not strictly correct) it is actually a big list of the common abbreviations used here at the Candlepower Forums.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Re: Flashaholic\'s Dictionary?

Thanks Chris. I had visited the Led Museum before without noticing.

It's a really good dictionary and certainly has more than just acronyms. There are, however, plenty of other terms I'd like to see there, but it's all a question of time and enough interest.

An idea would be to have a database where CPF members could enter their own terms. Of course someone would need to review these (perhaps the guy who runs theLed Museum? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif but I think this would be a way of gathering an amazing amount of knowledge.

I also think acronymfinder.com works this way.

Anyone with more examples?

Re: Flashaholic\'s Dictionary?

[ QUOTE ]
larsh said:
...An idea would be to have a database where CPF members could enter their own terms. Of course someone would need to review these (perhaps the guy who runs theLed Museum? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif but I think this would be a way of gathering an amazing amount of knowledge....

[/ QUOTE ]

Larsh,

It's an excellent idea. One of our dilemmas in CPF is that there is a truly extraordinary amount of knowledge here, going way beyond terminology and definitions. The problem is how to organize it and make it easily accessible. Of course there's always "SEARCH", but that has problems of its own, as you probably know if you've ever used it.

I'm afraid that what's really needed is a continuously updated, extremely labor-intensive organizational effort by several knowledgeable Flashaholics with plenty of time on their hands.

IOW (in other words), it will most likely have to remain in the realm of fantasy.

OTOH (on the other hand), I could be wrong.

Brightnorm

Re: Flashaholic\'s Dictionary?

larsh -

I've ordered a Blaster VI that is designed to run off of 3 to Ds but will come with a 3 X 123 adapter. It will also be modded with a 5W RB LS. (I hope Nerd didn't hear that) I'm not really quite sure what that is but it sounds good and since it was only 80 bucks I'll bet I like it.

Actually, I know what that is. I've been here for 7 months. I've discovered that each forum in CPF has its' own lingo. It wasn't until recently that someone explained what a HOLA was to me. Go into the "Homemade" forum...a whole new set of terms to understand. Go into the "Electronics, batts included" forum...again, another group of scientifically based terms.

You have obviously discovered one of the things that draws me to CPF at least once a day. Flashlight technology is its' own science that is supported by many other sciences. I love it and CPF allows me to participate.

BTW and IMHO, it would be helpful if you would identify your EDC.

Re: Flashaholic\'s Dictionary?

oooooh.... Icebreak, try and be really really careful okay? 5 watt RBs gives very special editions of dalmation spots. *Nag nag nag on how UV is bad for the eyes*

Okay okay, I'll do it myself! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twak.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

Back to the topic, I think it would be great to include a link to abbreviations on every page in a more visible location. And someone has to update that link consistently without fail every hour, every minute.... or at least everytime someone comes up with a new abbreviation

Re: Flashaholic\'s Dictionary?

[ QUOTE ]
Nerd said:
oooooh.... Icebreak, try and be really really careful okay? 5 watt RBs gives very special editions of dalmation spots. *Nag nag nag on how UV is bad for the eyes*


[/ QUOTE ]
.... Like in permanent dalmation spots? You should nag about this. It will be a very dangerous light and I will be careful with it. Thanks for the reminder. However, if I'm in the woods and human critters refuse to identify themselves I will flash the light and fluoresce first then ask questions later.

Back O.T.

I agree that a data dictionary would be valuable for CPFers.

Re: Flashaholic\'s Dictionary?

You could make a input box at the end of each page for looking up acronyms at http://www.acronymfinder.com/

Or we could program it into UBB and when it sees that word, it automatically becomes a link for you to click on for the definition...

Just my $.02.

Dan

Re: Flashaholic\'s Dictionary?

acronymfinder won't have everything. It's more than acronyms. Whats a Luxeon? BadBoy? Inrerech?
I still don't know what exactly a 3 to D is. Took me forever to find out where thoes nifty 'CMG' thingies could be found. Then I realized it was a flashlight brand and not just a type of bulb, lol.

Re: Flashaholic\'s Dictionary?

[ QUOTE ]
brightnorm said:
I'm afraid that what's really needed is a continuously updated, extremely labor-intensive organizational effort by several knowledgeable Flashaholics with plenty of time on their hands.

IOW (in other words), it will most likely have to remain in the realm of fantasy.

OTOH (on the other hand), I could be wrong.

Brightnorm

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Brightnorm,

To a large extent I think you're right. I'm an amateur web developer myself and I'm weary of people who keep suggesting functionalities and content to add to the websites I administrate. More often than not they have little understanding for the fact that it takes time, and usually free and unpaid time, to do what they want. And AFAIK CPF is done mainly on a voluntary basis.

On the other hand, if enough people request something I might feel more motivated to at least look into it and possibly even do something about it, if time allows.

Also, the reason I suggested a database would be to allow for pretty decentralised content management, thus reducing the workload for the flashaholics that would administer the whole thing. I have found that databases mean a little more work in the beginning but a lot less work once they're up and running.

But yes, I agree it would take time and I understand it might not happen tomorrow.

And to be fair, this forum is great as it is!

Lars

P.S. Sorry for the late reply but there's a timelag to consider. I just got up...
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Re: Flashaholic\'s Dictionary?

[ QUOTE ]
Icebreak said:
larsh -

Actually, I know what that is. I've been here for 7 months. I've discovered that each forum in CPF has its' own lingo. It wasn't until recently that someone explained what a HOLA was to me. Go into the "Homemade" forum...a whole new set of terms to understand. Go into the "Electronics, batts included" forum...again, another group of scientifically based terms.

You have obviously discovered one of the things that draws me to CPF at least once a day. Flashlight technology is its' own science that is supported by many other sciences. I love it and CPF allows me to participate.

BTW and IMHO, it would be helpful if you would identify your EDC.



[/ QUOTE ]

Icebreak,

Yes, I love it too. The technological and scientific aspects of flashlights are what maintains my curiosity and interest in the subject. I've discovered there's a lot more to flashlights than meets the naked eye (I'm not sure if that was a pun?) plus CPF and the other websites I've found these past weeks have come to shed light (hmm?) on the many uses for flashlights and how utterly functional they can be, and..ooops I guess I lost the thread.

Well...

But I guess I'll have to be patient. After all, I am very new to this. And that should explain why there's no long list of flashlights at the end of my messages.

In fact, I recently posted my first thread here at CPF asking for EDC advice. My interest in serious flashlights started when I saw the Inova X5T. I ordered it alarmingly fast and received it just two weeks ago. I am very happy with it and it is now my bedside light (not sure of the acronym for that?). So the answer is: I don't have an EDC!

However, the replies I got to my question helped me decide on the E2e as my EDC to be. I also ordered the KL1 and a red filter and beamshaper. Should be here this week I hope. As soon as I have it I'll add it to my signature. It won't be an impressive list, but still...

Lars /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif

Re: Flashaholic\'s Dictionary?

Hello again,

Just to notify everyone that I changed my name from larsh to kimchikungfu. It's the name I use for my email address so will be easier to remember for me.

Oh, I also added a signature...it has to be the most pathetic one here at CPF, hahaha! But I'm happy with my X5T /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif