Sold/Expired The next generation.

In the not to distant future it will possible to buy a LED powered light with a full guarantee for less than the cost of one of the drop-in modules that have been pioneered by people on this forum.
Even now to a certain extent commercial lights are available that are close to the best of the best here. Their prices will be driven down and the modders will not be able to keep up.

I'd like to suggest to those people that it is time to start building the next generation.

What I want is a "head unit" with two or more regulated LEDS of at least three watts, variable focus, variable power out, and a wide range of input power. It might hold a nine volt battery for temporary use and an always on feature similar to my PAL light.

Input would be through a female socket on the unit.

Size and weight would be aimed at something that would be comfortable worn on the head.

It would be waterproof.

Any battery from 1.25 volts to 12 would be allowed.

This is what I want.

Ah, such a simple laundry-list of demands...

Playing devil's advocate here:

SureFire and Nuwai (to a lesser degree) already have mechanical modularity similar to your concept. One can freely swap components between SureFire E-series lights - usually without problems (just be careful with voltages on the incadescents). Nuwai's modularity is more mechanical on the manufacturing side - they can swap heads and bodies with ease. Light modules don't seem to move with heads, however.

Swappable head units is going to be tough for the most modders to accomplish since it would require some costly custom machining.

Variable voltage input is nice, but it usually has a price in terms of efficiency - I'd expect perhaps 80-85% efficiency from the average buck/boost driver. Boosting 1.25V to 3.5V or even 7V isn't easy, and adding heavy output-side current demands is even tougher.

Waterproof. Do you want a dive light or just something you can use in a driving rainstorm? I want something I can use in a rainstorm that can survive an occasional shallow dunk. Waterproofing something for dive use is entirely different - and far more expensive.

Vari-focal, variable power - those could be done so long as the power pack is a dumb unit and the head encompasses some of the real estate traditionally associated with the body. I think Mag has trademarks on the easiest method of variable-focus lights, so that makes focusable lights a challenge.

If you want sub-milliamp current "always on," get a few tritium vials strategicly inserted into your light.

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idleprocess said:
Ah, such a simple laundry-list of demands...

Playing devil's advocate here:

SureFire and Nuwai (to a lesser degree) already have mechanical modularity similar to your concept. One can freely swap components between SureFire E-series lights - usually without problems (just be careful with voltages on the incadescents). Nuwai's modularity is more mechanical on the manufacturing side - they can swap heads and bodies with ease. Light modules don't seem to move with heads, however.

Swappable head units is going to be tough for the most modders to accomplish since it would require some costly custom machining.


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Not at all. It's just a head with two (polarized) holes in it in a twist lock configuration. I can snap on a battery pack, run an extension cord from the pack or plug it into my cigarette lighter. If I want a maglight hooked onto the back I buy a maglite interface plug, remove the head, screw the interface in and snap on my light. The usage for the light dictates the shape. If I want it on my helmet I snap on a conventional "tube", If i want it on my coat I use a right angle connector. These would be simple devices requiring little or no machining.

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Variable voltage input is nice, but it usually has a price in terms of efficiency - I'd expect perhaps 80-85% efficiency from the average buck/boost driver. Boosting 1.25V to 3.5V or even 7V isn't easy, and adding heavy output-side current demands is even tougher.


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Clearly this would be designed to run with some optimal voltage as a target but the ability to run at other voltages would offer huge benefits

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Waterproof. Do you want a dive light or just something you can use in a driving rainstorm? I want something I can use in a rainstorm that can survive an occasional shallow dunk. Waterproofing something for dive use is entirely different - and far more expensive.


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Not really. My old Dacor dive light used a flat rubber ring to obtain a waterproof seal good to far deeper than I would go. An o-ring seal is simple enough and gets better as you descend. Most of our O2 bottle still use the crappy plastic rings. They require a lot of force to stop leaks. O-rings don't.

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Vari-focal, variable power - those could be done so long as the power pack is a dumb unit and the head encompasses some of the real estate traditionally associated with the body. I think Mag has trademarks on the easiest method of variable-focus lights, so that makes focusable lights a challenge.


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With more than one LED it would be "interesting" However a diffuser would probably work for most needs. I want a flood light or a long reach and rarely care about 37.564 degrees.
The idea of small difusers that rotated over each LED is one way.

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If you want sub-milliamp current "always on," get a few tritium vials strategicly inserted into your light.

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But how woould you know the battery was dead? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

I saw a light at Wal-mart the other day with a LED indicator for battery condition. One of the things it "indicated" was a dead battery...

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Waterproof. Do you want a dive light or just something you can use in a driving rainstorm? I want something I can use in a rainstorm that can survive an occasional shallow dunk. Waterproofing something for dive use is entirely different - and far more expensive.


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What is expensive about it? Even soda bottles are waterproof.

Sealing something against water ingress - especially when it's high-presure water - is tough. Doing it once like a soda bottle or can with pressurized contents is simple. Doing it with a threaded connection or switch or other moving joint isn't so easy since conventional splash/shallow-dunk seals begin to fail under pressure.

If you can find a dive-rated light for the same price as a comparable non-rated light, then I guess I'm wrong.

"What is expensive about it? Even soda bottles are waterproof. "

Every soda bottle I ever bought with a switch on it leaked, not to mention collapsing when it was submerged with any air in it! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nana.gif There is also a small issue with out gassing.

When I first joined CPF, mods were for the most part limited to modifications of existing lights with hand tools. In the last couple years, the bar has been raised and the modders and tinkerers are now working with precision machined and even some simple molded custom parts in their applications of late breaking technology and components. The level of sophistication has increased considerably and the small economies of scale are gaining in height as a hurdle to clear. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

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McGizmo said:
"What is expensive about it? Even soda bottles are waterproof. "

Every soda bottle I ever bought with a switch on it leaked, not to mention collapsing when it was submerged with any air in it! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nana.gif There is also a small issue with out gassing.


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/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crackup.gif That cracked me up. Kudos, Don. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

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Sealing something against water ingress - especially when it's high-presure water - is tough. Doing it once like a soda bottle or can with pressurized contents is simple. Doing it with a threaded connection or switch or other moving joint isn't so easy since conventional splash/shallow-dunk seals begin to fail under pressure.

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Over here, the soda bottles are mostly both threaded and resealable.

Good point on the switchable bottles, Don, but why would you need a switch on a soda bottle? I suggest you either get soda bottles without a switch or refrain from drinking soda when it rains.

Again, if it were so easy, there wouldn't be a distinction between "dive-rated" lights and regular lights.

It's not very difficult to make lights with varying degrees of water resistance, suitable for operation in driving rainstorms and able to gracefully handle a dunking in shallow water. Maglight has been doing it for decades.

Just to point out that the price difference between a waterproof and not flashlight doesn't neceserily mean that they are more expensive to make. edit: at least for the twisties I presume. check out the arc AAA for instance, from the FAQ: "Waterproof to 50 feet (tested 100% to 340 feet)". Doesn't look too difficult or expensive to machine?

Don, re the collapsing of the switch, try sealing the inside of it and fill it with incompressible liquid. The flexibility of the boot might make it still possible to push.

The ARC AAA retailed for $30-$40 - far more expensive than all other lights in its class I'm aware of.

One could argue that the hard anodizing and machining was what drove up the price, but a $5 Dorcy AAA is water-resistant and brighter.