HDS Systems #23

[WarriorOfLight]

Anyone regularly carry their special metal HDS lights?

I use my special metal lights. Not dayly, but I use them. Even the BeCu was in my pocket some weeks ago, and stainless too. Also one of my Ti clickys have had contact to the ground. That is than ..... yes there are so much nice 4 letter words that came in my mind ... but most of the 'ding' on the tailcap could be sanded and polished out.
Anyway a HDS should be used. Therefore the Ti Clicky was used and has now a very tiny mark....

but in general I use all my stuff (not only flashlights) with care. Most of the things I own are in very very good shape. I must work hard for my money (at least my brain works hard) and I pay my money for my stuff therefore I am always careful to my stuff. Therefore also most of my HDS lights are looking like new or almost new.

 

[JKolmo]

Ohh I use my SM lights everyday. That's what they were made for. Dust collectors or shelf queens doesn't make anyone happy, rather the opposite (IMO).

 

[greatscoot]

2023 would be good timing. I will probably be able to afford one then

Anyone regularly carry their special metal HDS lights? I'm kinda glad I got all my HDS Al lights used with some dings, so I carry and use them all the time. I wouldn't be able to help it, but i'd be so worried with such a lovely chonk of gorgeousness...

I carry my Stainless all the time.

 

[wweiss]

My SDR50 is waiting for it's 18500 tube.

As I'm closer to the end of my life than not, I trust it will get here before I shed this mortal coil. I've instructed my heirs to put my ashes within it if my scheduling is off.

 

[kaichu dento]

Anyone regularly carry their special metal HDS lights? I'm kinda glad I got all my HDS Al lights used with some dings, so I carry and use them all the time. I wouldn't be able to help it, but i'd be so worried with such a lovely chonk of gorgeousness...

I carry my bronze Rotary as my main light and lack of a coating, not to mention being so durable to begin with, it makes wear and tear a complete non-issue.

 

[Strintguy]

My SDR50 is waiting for it's 18500 tube.

As I'm closer to the end of my life than not, I trust it will get here before I shed this mortal coil. I've instructed my heirs to put my ashes within it if my scheduling is off.

Best use of ashes I've heard of!

 

[kerneldrop]

Anyone regularly carry their special metal HDS lights?

hahaha I'm certain we all know the real answer to this question.
There would be a fallout if a used HDS got posted in this collector's thread

 

[dotCPF]

They all must feel so hearty to carry, like a comforting weight in pocket. I'd have such a hard time not constantly playing with them. Especially in a fun metal, the Al versions are so much fun to hold in hand and appreciate. I would love to feel what HDS knurling is like on another material. Some day! Thanks for the answers everyone

 

[TILL-22]

I just received a white "diffusing reflector" (I have no clue what their 'official' name is) and it came without o-rings. The right size to get would be 20.5mm x 1.5mm, correct?

I have the choice between acrylonitrile 70, nitrile 70 or 90, chlroroprene 70, silicon 70, viton/fluoro 75, ethylene-propylene 80. Thanks in advance!

 

[neco]

I think you're correct TILL-22. The HDS website says their O-Ring Kit includes 2 lens O-rings (19mm x 1mm) and 2 reflector O-rings (20.5mm x 1.5mm).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[doctordun]

I rotate my lights as much a possible. They all have a special place in my heart.

I recently found a chart on here that depicted lumens per step per total lumens of the light.
Is there a chart showing battery life per step per total lumens of the light?

Example: 300 lumen light, step 16, how long will the battery potentially last.

 

[archimedes]

I rotate my lights as much a possible. They all have a special place in my heart.

I recently found a chart on here that depicted lumens per step per total lumens of the light.
Is there a chart showing battery life per step per total lumens of the light?

Example: 300 lumen light, step 16, how long will the battery potentially last.

I'm certain that all the experts here will correct me as needed, but my understanding is that every single emitter is "tuned" for precise output.

Therefore, since efficiency will vary among bins and batches, runtime will be "luck of the lottery" to an extent ....

 

[InvisibleFrodo]

I am under the impression that all lights will have approximately similar runtime on setting 16, however 300 lumen lights are brighter on setting 16 vs a lower output light.

 

[Hogokansatsukan]

I'm certain that all the experts here will correct me as needed, but my understanding is that every single emitter is "tuned" for precise output.

Therefore, since efficiency will vary among bins and batches, runtime will be "luck of the lottery" to an extent ....

You are correct.

 

[Hogokansatsukan]

I am under the impression that all lights will have approximately similar runtime on setting 16, however 300 lumen lights are brighter on setting 16 vs a lower output light.

Similar, but not the same. Lumen output and minimum runtime is what is guaranteed.

 

[jon_slider]

Example: 300 lumen light, step 16, how long will the battery potentially last.

30 hours

if 300 lumens runs for an hour
and level 16 is 10 lumens then

300/10*1= 30 hours

 

[LEDphile]

30 hours if 300 lumens runs for an hour and level 16 is 10 lumens then 300/10*1= 30 hours

This assumes that the driver efficiency, LED efficiency, and effective battery capacity are all constant across the output levels. That's a pretty risky assumption given the published curves for LEDs and batteries at least, and the wide range of output levels. At any rate, there is a runtime chart for at least a few levels on the HDS site at https://www.hdssystems.com/Content/LightFaq/ (scroll down to "How long will the batteries last on each brightness level?")

 

[jon_slider]

This assumes

yes, ceteris paribus
thanks for the link, I overguesstimated by 7%

the minimum runtime for level 16 is 28 hours, not 30.. ;-)

bottom line is, to really know how long your light runs, you have to test it yourself, cause runtime is not exactly the same from one LED to the next

 

[archimedes]

.... bottom line is, to really know how long your light runs, you have to test it yourself, cause runtime is not exactly the same from one LED to the next

Runtime tests used to be a major part of CPF, way back when .... :candle:

 

[LEDphile]

yes, ceteris paribus thanks for the link, I overguesstimated by 7% the minimum runtime for level 16 is 28 hours, not 30.. ;-)

bottom line is, to really know how long your light runs, you have to test it yourself, cause runtime is not exactly the same from one LED to the next

Not quite - your initial estimate assumed that max (level 24) only ran for an hour, but in the table it runs for an hour and a half. So Level 16 runs for 18.67 times as long as Level 24, not the 30x in your initial estimate. (and using actual output numbers and not estimates, the 325 lumen variant gets ~485 lumen-hours at level 24 but only 310 lumen-hours at level 16. So clearly assuming the same number of lumen-hours at each level is a poor assumption). But the bottom line of "test data beats simulations" does still stand.