markdeerhunter
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2012
- Messages
- 51
I currently own an HDS cr123, single aaa Peak Eiger, and have a Mallkoff single aa on order. So no, I like smaller lights.
Zebralight has it's single, glaring flaw in that the driver is not constant current, and as a source of migraine in those susceptable, it is enough:
(stealing jon_slider's image, Zebralight on the far left)
Please avoid the weak and cruel argument "I don't care." Zebralight will abandon their pulsing schema and go fully constant current should it's customer base cease to ignore this. Once Zebralight does advance their drivers to fully, legitimately constant current on all modes, I can't see how they would not be "perfect." (except for their dirth of high cri emitter offerings)
Zebralight has it's single, glaring flaw in that the driver is not constant current, and as a source of migraine in those susceptable, it is enough:
(stealing jon_slider's image, Zebralight on the far left)
Please avoid the weak and cruel argument "I don't care." Zebralight will abandon their pulsing schema and go fully constant current should it's customer base cease to ignore this. Once Zebralight does advance their drivers to fully, legitimately constant current on all modes, I can't see how they would not be "perfect." (except for their dirth of high cri emitter offerings)
Never noticed at all, with three of my ZL'S this so called pulsing, migraine causing whatever you call it. Not one time!
Lol, your making a mountain out of a mole hill man. It is only one ZL model that is not fully current regulated, it is not even true PWM, and has zero effect on most people. Did you know that almost every household LED on the market has PWM or flicker of one kind or another? Same with the screen you are currently looking at. You make it sound like it's going to kill you or something lol. Even true PWM(which is not found on any ZL) has no effect on most people, especially if it is high frequency. Slow frequently PWM can be annoying for sure and can cause some people to have headaches(in very rare cases) but, again this is not what ZL has.Well, just to drive the point home, it is not necessarily true that what you can't see won't hurt you. I have never noticed at all, with three of my cars' exhaust, this so called poisonous gas, death causing, Carbon Monoxide, whatever you call it. Not one time!
The only ZL, that I am aware of, that doesn't use full constant current regulation is the SC5. Plus, even it doesn't use PWM. It simply lowers and raises the output and is not visible at all by the eye or with most normal visual tests. There has been no research that says this kind of regulation has any affect on migraines or any other condition. Again, it is not PWM and the output never turns off.
ZL has pretty much the most advanced and efficient drivers in the industry. They are also one of the smallest, lightest, and highest quality lights on the market. If you chose not to use them because one model uses a new form/variation of regulation that is not even detectable by the eye or most methods then you are missing out if you ask me.
Most research on migraines is with strobing light that fully turns on and off not light that only dims. And, it is usually low frequently strobe to boot. Also, only a very, very small portion of humans are even susceptible to any ill effects or migraines caused by strobing light. You also don't appear to know what kind of regulation they are using or how that may effect anyone. One oscilloscope reading is far from proof of anything and to draw the conclusion that it may affect anyone in any way is a bit presumptuous.ZL drivers across the models are very similar. ZL doesn't use PWM. However, the lower modes of each group are not constant current, and it has been revealed they use a pulsing scheme that only differs from PWM in that the emitter does not drop to zero. The SC5 certainly is not CC on all modes, neither is the SC62, neither are the SC30 and H31. It is thus likely that all ZL drivers utilize this pulsing scheme, as it would not make any sense for ZL to have so many different types of drivers. They are all in the ZL family.
selfbuilt's published oscilloscope tests bear this out (selfbuilt doesn't always share his oscilliscope tests, esp. if he has been hoodwinked into believing the circuit is constant current by the odd pulsing data):
It is obvious from this test that whatever selfbuilt is detecting here, it is neither constant current nor analogue circuit noise, but an intentional scheme that rapidly lowers the brightness, and returns it to the regulated output, possibly for the purposes of extended runtime in a circuit that is less difficult to design and produce than a fully and legitimately constant current circuit.
Further, the argument that "something can't be seen, therefore it is not harmful" has already been obliterated as nonsense. Besides my carbon monoxide example, which is sufficient as a single counter-argument to defeat "I can't see it, so it doesn't matter!" here is another counter-argument: you can't see UV-C light, yet enough exposure will damage your eyes enough to cause blindness. It doesn't help your case, nor does it help anyone's understanding of the existing problem to repeat a failed argument once it is defeated. It doesn't get any more defeated than this.
There is a mountain of evidence that migraines can be triggered by flickering light, whether conscious of it or not, and whether it is visually detectable or not. Though migraines are not entirely understood, this does not diminish the case studies of those that have experienced them. Not everyone will experience a migraine in their lives, some will have a few, and some will have enough to have a good idea of what triggers them. Speaking from personal experience, I know that PWM can cause migraine with enough exposure. I also know that ZL pulsing schema can also cause headaches and trigger the more serious migraine, and it took me a couple months to figure it out because, like many, I assumed the drivers were CC because that is all anyone ever said, including selfbuilt, so I personally incorrectly had eliminated my ZL as a cause. Eventually, with the help of jon_slider and his smear images, I discovered the treachery, and I was honestly depressed about it because of how great ZL models are. I wouldn't lie to you Tachead, I have no agenda with ZL, I am not competing with them in any way by trying to hawk my own CC drivers as competition. I am ashamed to admit that I do not manufacture any such thing, but only wish.
I have already praised ZL as likely the most advanced flashlight on the planet. The single major flaw I find with ZL drivers is that they are not CC, even if they do not use PWM. A less important flaw, IMO, is that there are no ZL emitters, as beautiful as they are, that approach the color rendition of high CRI emitters now produced by Nichia and Cree.
I'm not sure what you and others stand to gain by attempting to sweep under the rug the simple fact that ZL drivers are not constant current. I admire their work, immensely, but no matter how much I love something, I'm not going to attempt to deceive others about the facts as I have experienced them. Loyalty is certainly a virtue, but honesty is a far greater virtue, especially and primarily honesty with oneself.
NOT a PWM thread.