CMG Infinity (standard) question

From the time I became a CPFer I've stayed away from the standard Infinity Task Light because of the reviews on how dim it is. When the Ultra came out I bought one and was quite pleased with it's output (Ultra-G). On the standard Infinities with colored LEDs I've never heard much of anything discussed on how bright they are compared to other single LED lights using colored LEDs. Can anyone tell me how a standard Infinity with an amber LED compares in brightness to an amber Photon? Same thing for any other colored LED Infinities...how is their output compared to other single LED lights of the same color? I'm wanting to get an amber Infinity, but if it's output or the output of any of the other colored Infinities is as dim as the standard white Infinity compared to, say, an Arc AAA, I won't bother. Thanx in advance for any in-put!

PJD

Great question! I'd like to echo this inquiry as it pertains to red. Thanks,

Dave

If it's of any help the LED Museum has tested the CMG Infinity colored LED tasklights:

http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/inf1.htm

as has the LightSite - but only the white and blue-green

http://thelightsite.cruxial.com/reviews/cmg_infinity2.htm

My green infinity (FWIW) is eye shockingly bright compared to the 4 Ultra g's I have had in my hands. It lights up a large area and is really bright. The beam is ringy tho...sorry I couldn't be more on point to your specific question. g.

I second Mr. Blue. My green and BG Infinities are of the same apparent brightness as the Ultra in a dark room, but both have less smooth beams.

I use the BG most of the time, and the Ultra when I need to discern color. Sometimes, someone walking with me will complain the BG color hurts their head and I'll switch to the Ultra.

I have used a blue one here and it is annoyingly bright to the eye. Yellow is very nice to read by. I guess my opinion would be that the original white is the least bright in relation to the colors. Would others agree?

I have been thinking hard about getting a standard Ifinity. What do most people find they use it for over the Ultra? Do you like it better than the Ultra for night use without being to bright? Just trying to think why I would need one if I have the Ultra already, other than the fact that I just want a new toy.

I have the Infinity red, an Arc AAA red, a Princeton Tec
pulsar red, and the StreamLight Stylus-II red. All are
about equally bright, and all the beams are somewhat ringy.
Get the one which uses the batteries you like, the light
from all these is very nearly equal.

The standard Infinity has plenty of output for night use after your eyes have adjusted to the darkness. It's low output becomes a problem in mixed light situations, such as if the room is already illuminated by a nightlight...but then why would you need the Infinity?

The Infinity's strength is its runtime and comparatively level output through that period. I'm working on a special "nightlight" powered by a standard Infinity. Imagine a wood block about 1 1/4" x 3" x 4" lying flat on your nightstand. There's a recessed area and hole for the Infinity. A pair of nested recesses holds a right angle prism and a 3" diameter art glass paperweight. At bedtime you turn the Infinity on and stick it in the recess, which turns the paperweight into a beautiful nightlight. Need to go get a snack or visit the bathroom? Pick the Infinity out of the recess and go about your business.

I've prototyped this set of tasks, and the Infinity works well, despite being even dimmer on account of my use of NiMH. The lower voltage = lower current draw by the Infinity, which should = battery life even longer than 40 hours. I'll see how it goes, but expect almost a week of snoozing before I wake up and find the battery dead and drop it into the charger. My only worry: drawing the battery so far down as to reverse polarity.

I just recieved red Infinity yesterday. It's *extremely* bright. Almost too bright for interior use. I have a 2AA Rayovac with high-brightness led which is running at 30ma (personal mod). This mod is almost a little brighter for night-time house wandering. The Infinity red is probably twice as bright as the Rayovac.

The Infinity blue/green is wonderful at night. It's a highly effective and comfortable light source both for inside and outside. Won't wake up the household at night. But is fine for following a woods trail. And not too visible from a distance.

[ QUOTE ]
Dave Wright said:
... My only worry: drawing the battery so far down as to reverse polarity.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think reverse polarity only applies if you are using more than one cells. This is because on one cell set up, if the battery is exhausted, then there is no more current that the circuit will be able to drain, so there will be no reverse polarity. On 2 cells or more, if one cell drained faster than the other(s), then the other one cell will push a current along the drained battery, and resulted in the drained battery to be reversed backward (hence the name reversed polarity). Once that occured, you already entered the circle of death for your battery.

That is absolutely correct. Tough to bring them back.

I got worried about over agressive NiMH discharge after reading the Eveready tech data page on NiMH. It includes this text:

"To prevent the potential for irreversible harm to the cell caused by cell reversal in discharge, removal of the load from the cell(s) prior to total discharge is highly recommended. The typical voltage profile for a cell carried through a total discharge involves a dual plateau voltage profile... The voltage plateaus are caused by the discharge of first the positive electrode and then the residual capacity in the negative. At the point both electrodes are reversed, substantial hydrogen gas evolution occurs, which may result in cell venting as well as irreversible structural damage to the electrodes. It should be noted that the nickel-metal hydride cell, because it uses a negative electrode that absorbs hydrogen, may actually be somewhat less susceptible to long-term damage from cell reversal than the sealed nickel-cadmium cell."

You may wish to view the passage in context. Here's the page:

http://data.energizer.com/batteryinfo/application_manuals/nickel_metal_hydride.htm

Eveready's general, probably conservative, recommendation is to avoid discharge below 0.9 volts. I wouldn't be surprised if the Infinity cutoff was around that level, and matters would get much worse if it went dead right after I snoozed off. Eveready includes a formula for batteries run in series. The more batts the higher voltage at which you should stop and recharge them.

Next time I run my Infinity dead flat I should check its remaining voltage. The good news is that NiMH cells don't have a memory effect. I suppose that the safe approach would be to pull the cell 1 or 2 nights before it is scheduled to run out.

[ QUOTE ]
RichardMT said: What do most people find they use it for over the Ultra

[/ QUOTE ]Nightime bathroom run light. My Ultra is too bright for this task. Sometimes I even have to cover part of my Infinity's (green) LED with my finger as I trek to the john. Also, trekking through the woods with my telescope. It's dim, and you have to be careful, but your night vision is largely preserved so you can actually see faint objects through the scope without having a long dark adjustment period.

My Infinities (standard and Ultra) will light up on alkaline batteries below 0.9 volts. Closer to 0.8 volts, if I remember right. I can't recheck them because they have been disposed of. So, I would be a little careful about running NiMh batteries until they dim out as they could well be discharged below 0.9 volts and who knows how this will affect the batteries.