HDS Menu Options & Behavior

Thankfully, I took the advice of several CPF members who suggested the Ultimate instead of the Basic when I was trying to decide which model to buy. I had been leaning toward the Basic because the four chosen light levels seemed right for me. Those factory selected levels match my needs at this time and I haven't changed them, but it's nice to know they can be customized should a special circumstance arise.

The two options that made the light more useful for me are: simple momentary & turn on to last level. The find me & strobe are, potential, useful features and it's nice to have them.

On occassion my light will "act up" like a computer. Once, it turned off while on the lowest level, other times it will "hunt" or change levels or turn on to the wrong one or won't turn on until it's given several commands. These are infrequent and have been temporary. Only once did I have to employ a soft reset.

I suspect this is normal and if the hiccups don't increase it won't be a problem.

What features are most useful for you and has your HDS done anything strange?

I've used my HDS Ultimate 60 at least a couple of times a day, every day since May. I haven't noticed anything like what you're describing. But with only two samples (your and mine), I can't tell which is normal. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif I hope mine is.

I have had no problems with my Ultimate 60.
I use the lowest level a lot.

Maybe you could verify your battery connections are ok and then try a hard reset...

Like you I like having all of the options available but have only enabled simple momentary and turn on to last level.
My lowest level is set to the light's lowest level so as not to destroy my night vision.

No operational glitches on mine, either - although when I first got it, it would flicker on the lowest setting (although the manual says that's normal, I didn't know it at the time...reinserted battery and flicker stopped).

I've got turn on to last level enabled, I occasionally use the locator flash, and have the surround sound boosted to max /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif .

The only other setting I can see myself using right now is the auto-off, but it's nice having options if you ever need them.

I have had the low level flicker occur only once - I THINK when I pressed and held for HIGH intensity and then went back to Low, it went away.
I also have the GPS disabled... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I hope the flickering hasn't been discussed to death elsewhere. I saw this thread and thought I'd add my two cents.

The flickering is really my only complaint about this otherwise fine light. Mine is a Basic 42. It flickers on the lowest setting.

The flickering tends to vary depending on its mood. Usually, it flickers once every seven to nine seconds. Sometimes it flickers once a second. Occasionally, it doesn't flicker at all. I tried different batteries, and I tried wiping the various electrical contacts clean. It makes no difference.

Is there any explanation as to why it does this? I know the manual says it is "normal". But, it's still annoying. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

This is my wild guess, but I think the flickering is a side effect of the tint-correction feature of ALL HDS lights.

Tint shift happens due to different drive currents in the led. Lower current means less light. Henry chose to hold the current stable and use some PWM control (or similar) to vary the amount of light emitted.

I think that certain emitters flicker due to different drive currents and different Vf. When the conditions get just right, you get a flicker. I think that the persistence of image of your eyes also factor into this.

Furthermore, these factors all change slightly with the temp of the light/led. This might explain why some units flicker after switching from high to low.

No hiccups of any kind with my Ultimate 42 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy14.gif

I've reset all 3 levels (below the maximum) to suit my needs. They are significantly different from the factory settings, BTW.

The switch lock is one feature I especially like. I did once find my HDS turned on in it's holster; fortunately, it was at my lowest setting.

I had forgotten to 'verify' the switch lock was engaged by pressing the switch and getting the 2 fast double blinks. Great feature! But I've learned you have to wait a second or two after turning off the light, to engage the switch lock. If you do it too quickly after turning off the light, it doesn't engage. Since it has the 'verify' function, I try to remember to always check it.

Brilliant design!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif

I'm beginning to get nervous about my light due to the number of, so far minor (I hope), problems. Yesterday and today my HDS became unusable a number of times: it wouldn't turn on, or to the wrong level, or flicker and change levels, turn off, go to max level, or become unprogrammable.

I tested and changed cells, cleaned the contacts, made sure everything was tight and performed several soft resets which corrected the malfunctions...until the next time I tried to use it.

Even though I had already cleaned all the switch contacts when I corrected an improperly installed snap dome and spring, I finally recleaned them. So far (knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's wood) so good. It's back to what I hope remains to be normal.

I really hope others haven't had or develop problems and that mine is just a rare, nontypical, case. The degree that my HDS has to be tightened seems excessive and it looked like all the threads and contacts had been factory lubed with a dark grease - so I was surprised I had to clean everything up inside.

On the more technical side: the original Duracell lasted exactly one week of heavy use and didn't show signs of weakening until only 1/2 "flash amp" was left. Now I'm trying the Battery Stations CR123.

Send it back!!

Not a single problem with either my Basic 60 GT or Ultimate 60 XR after months of daily use... And this is after many pavement drops...

John F
LV, NV