Tough lights!

LEDagent

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 3, 2001
Messages
1,487
Location
San Diego, California
I have two stories i want to share. Don't expect these stories to be long...because they aren't. I am SOOOOoo burnt out after taking my last final this week.

Story 1:

I was hanging Christmas lights with my dad last week. I just came home from school and didn't bother to change into appropriate, Christmas light hanging attire, so i just stayed in my regular school clothes. It wasn't until i was on top of roof until i realized i should have worn cargo pants or something.
My dad had me go up on the roof first so that he can hand me tools before he started climbing. Even though i was only 18 feet above "comfort-level", my knees were shaking and my palms were sweating - i realized i'm afraid of heights. This was my first time up on the roof so i was quite scared...but i got over it in a couple of minutes.

So anyway...my dad started handing me tools. First was a hammer, then it was some extension cords. Still scarred stiff (literally) i had one hand on a support beam and the other on the hammer he just gave me. Trying to hurry up and look stable in front of my dad, i stuffed the hammer down my pocket and quickly grabbed the extenstion cords. After everything was handed to me, and my dad finally on the roof, i grabbed for the hammer and gave it to my dad. But as soon as it came out of my pocket...so did my Surefire E2!!!
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OH S#!t! I said (actually thought) as it dropped 18 feet to the concrete driveway - BEZEL FIRST! How do i know? Because my brother saw it drop from my pocket and onto the ground...that and i have the dent on the bezel to prove it.

Anyway...to make a long story short, my brother picked it up and started laughing, not because i dropped it, but because it still worked. I don't know any other flashlight that could sustain such a shock. I've dropped many a maglight waist high and they ALL have busted a bulb as soon as i dropped em.

Story 2:

Do you remember when the UKE Light Cannon 100 was such a big item on the CPF? There were many concerns about it's ability to absorb shock.
Well...i experienced first hand "SHOCK" when i dropped my Light Cannon for the first time.

It was about 3 weeks ago when i went East from San Diego to the mountains. After enduring many hours at my school library, and being inspired by Kenshiro's Superlights test, I decided to drive 40 miles east...just for the hell of it. I took 5 of my favorite lights up to the mountains and played for about 2 hours in the dark.

To make a long story short, i was playing with my Light Cannon and decided to put it on the hood of my car to "simulate" HID headlights. Even though it was only a 10w HID i was surprised it's ability to illuminate my surroundings in the pitch black night. I decided to leave it there for a while as i was awe struck. I opened the door of my car and attempted to enter and sit down to see what it would look like from a driver's point of view. As soon as i sat down, i guess i caused so much of a commosion that the light lost it's balance on top of my hood and slid of my CAR!!

The drop was about 3.5 feet and HARD! I watched it slip from my hood and land...once again...BEZEL first with a loud CRACK on the gravel roadside.

Guess what i said after that....it wasn't the same word in story 1.
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ANyway, when it landed, the light turned off. I got scared. The only thing that ran through my mind was "180 dollars...180 dollars...180 dollars."

I inpected the light, the lens was okay, the bezel and body were ok, but i couldn't see the bulb adequetly. I turned the switch to it's off position and turned it back on it again. Guess what....IT TURNED ON! WHEW!!! I guess the shock of it's impact momentarily jolted the batteries to lose connection with the ballast's terminals. With the light requiring at least 3 seconds before re-strike, i could understand why it didn't just come back on again.

I was very lucky and very happy that night to know that my UKE Light Cannon survived, and could possibly survive another fall like that.

Okay..that's the end of my stories.

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Nerd

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 19, 2002
Messages
2,271
Location
Singapore
Both nearly had my heart stopped.... you were super lucky I guess, so to speak.
 

monanza

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 1, 2002
Messages
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Location
Santa Clara, Ca
LEDagent, My my did you happen to buy a lotto ticket that day
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?

Actually the survival of your UK is a surprise (I don't own one yet but HID lamps are notorious - in a good way). Anyway congratulations on your good fortune.

Oh and thanks for the inadvertent shock testing of two of CPF's favorite lights (if I may be so presumptuous)
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. There is no way anyone will convince me to try that with my surefires.

BTW you are not alone in having problems on a slanted roof. Although I don't shake I do find that my body is a bit sluggish in obeying my orders particularly when moving closer to the edge and trying to get onto the ladder when going down. It is not fear of heights mind you it is just reluctance to risk my neck on a roof
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. OK OK I am afraid of heights. Thankfully it is manageable. Time to go climb the roof and see how I fare today
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.

Cheers.
 

Wingerr

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 24, 2001
Messages
1,336
Location
N 40.711561 W 74.011753
Well, since we're on drop stories.. I was removing my window air conditioner, and was paying more attention to what I was going to do when the invariable stream of water comes pouring out of it when I bring it in.. Not thinking (obviously) I slid the window open, and thwwwwp! out it flies, giving me just a fleeting tantalizing whip of the power cord as it merrily headed earthbound from the second story- that was enough hang time for me to stick my head out, aghast, watching it bounce off the corner of a serendipitously placed garbage can before crashing to the floor.
I think at that moment I was looking around to see if any of the neighbors happened to be watching- it HAD to be a pretty hilarious sight, I'm sure.
Amazingly, it STILL worked, though only on full cold now, and with a telltale crack in the plastic case.
Yeah, it's not a flashlight...
 

Josh

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 13, 2002
Messages
1,058
Location
Rottenchester NY
I watched my E1e fall from the hight of my vanity in the bathroom and land bezel first, and it still works! I love this light and it's with me 24/7 so a blow-out would be bad! I still could have put the KL1 on and been ok.
 

Destroid Monster

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 13, 2001
Messages
107
Location
Singapore
I'm not so lucky, I dropped my E2 from a height of approx 1m and poof.....I go back home and change the LA and accidentally drop the LA alone from a height of about 1m and poof again....All these within 2 hours.

Luckily Surefire Customer Service is great and I have juz receive my two replacement LA.

I now carry two E2e....
 

Carpe Diem

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 9, 2001
Messages
2,544
Location
Wisconsin
And Wingerr...!

Just so you know. I`m an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and also a very superstitious football fan.

The Wisconsin Badger football team just escaped with a victory in overtime in the Alamo Bowl (playing against Colorado)...and they won SOLELY BECAUSE by my staring at your "smiley hugger" in your "air conditioner" post they finally stopped making mistakes and pulled out the victory!

Thank you, Wingerr...thank you!

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And now..."Let`s GO Green Bay Packers!"

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McGizmo

Flashaholic
Joined
May 1, 2002
Messages
17,291
Location
Maui
Yeah Carpe Diem! Green Bay Packers? Is that a hockey team?
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OK, here I'll save you the need to type........
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Carpe Diem

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 9, 2001
Messages
2,544
Location
Wisconsin
Hi LEDagent!
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Hi McGizmo!
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You know, guys...when you cheer for the Green Bay Packers, you are NEVER "off topic"!
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Take care...and I`m out of here. I`ll let a soul braver than myself get this thread back on track!

Best wishes to both of you!

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Darell

Flashaholic
Joined
Nov 14, 2001
Messages
18,644
Location
LOCO is more like it.
Originally posted by Carpe Diem:
Take care...and I`m out of here. I`ll let a soul braver than myself get this thread back on track!
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">You rang? Here, let me help. I'm good at this.

This actually reminds me that I should be out removing my Xmas lights while it isn't raining. I'll stick some expensive torches in my pocket before I climb the ladder so I can come back and have some storied for everybody.
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Barring that, I'll just post my Magdrop video again..
 

Skyline

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 17, 2000
Messages
755
Location
New Jersey
Originally posted by Wingerr:
I was removing my window air conditioner...
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Reminds me of a friend of mine. He was moving the window a/c in his 7th floor apartment when it fell out the window. He immediately stuck his head out to look where it was going to fall, and then saw it dangling there right outside. In the panic, he grabbed the power cord without realizing it and saved it.
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As for dropping Surefires... I've only done this really from about four feet to carpeted floor and that scared me enough! No problems though.
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Wingerr

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 24, 2001
Messages
1,336
Location
N 40.711561 W 74.011753
Originally posted by Carpe Diem:
And Wingerr...!

and they won SOLELY BECAUSE by my staring at your "smiley hugger" in your "air conditioner" post they finally stopped making mistakes and pulled out the victory!

Thank you, Wingerr...thank you!

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And now..."Let`s GO Green Bay Packers!"

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Always happy to help!
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If you need any other help, say, moving pianos, just hollar!

Wingerr!
 
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