HDS Systems EDC # 19

[MosesEDC]

Henry replied to me today (from Nov 11th). He said that his main computer went down on the 10th and is just getting back up and running. He answered all of my questions (thoroughly) and was apologetic for the delay. I also asked about delivery date of a custom tactical rotary I wanted to order for Christmas, and he said that "may be problematic". I think I will still order my light, I just won't expect it until the new year. Hopefully all will be back to normal soon. I just wanted to let you guys know what I knew, re' delivery of rotary parts.

 

[Hogokansatsukan]

Sorry I've been out for a bit. Get's crazy busy this time of year in the shop and a moderator in another thread sort of annoyed me. No sense of Hogo Humor.
Anyway, I swung by Henry's yesterday, and as MosesEDC stated, Henry's computer was down for nearly two weeks. He is still dealing with it. Apparently a hardware issue on his Mac that turned into software issues as well. Anyway, he has been in cyber hell for a couple weeks. He isn't ignoring anyone, he just hasn't had access to his email for a few weeks. He doesn't have a smart phone, tablet, etc and relies on his computer for everything. Actually, he does have a cell phone, but it is only turned on when he is out of town and the normal land line is forwarded to it. It's not a "smart phone" either.

 

[Hogokansatsukan]

OK. Just finished reading the back posts.
The "new" tail, which is what has been shipping this last year, was made more robust inside, hence some have a more "gritty" feel counter clockwise. It's the little fingers going over the contacts. Henry likes to beef things up. The first priority is that the light doesn't break or stop working. To be honest, I never noticed it until I sat in a quiet dark room and started concentrating to feel it.
I can't seem to replicate the low level flash. That is a concern.
Has anyone had the Cerakote come off like USDiver's orange light? I've never seen one where it came off that badly. Cerakote lights were done in batches, and so I would have expected there to be an entire batch that would have done the same.
I do know that Kydex is horrible for wearing off a finish... yes, yes, I am a leather guy, but even custom knife makers are moving away from Kydex for that reason.
I've spoken to Henry about off-center emitters, and I do understand his reasoning, which is that it does not effect the beam or function, so is a non-issue. I did get him to realize it bugs the living crap out of some of his customers, so he is working on a production fix for that. I kind of relate it to my 1980 IMI Uzi front sight being all over to the right in order to be sighted in properly... it hits where it aimed at, but looking at the front sight from the top, it's way off to the right... and it bothers me. The emitter in my HDS... I just don't care, but I DO understand the issue, and Henry is trying to make corrective measures on this.

 

[glimmer]

Thanks for the update Hogo! Any idea when rotaries will be available again? Where do things stand regarding the possible 2700K/3000K run?

 

[Hogokansatsukan]

Thanks for the update Hogo! Any idea when rotaries will be available again? Where do things stand regarding the possible 2700K/3000K run?

Still hoping rotaries will be available this December. It's been out of HDS's hands for a while as it is the machine shop that we are waiting on.

I'm still not sure on the 2700/3000k run. I'm not deciding anything until the second High Noon run is done and in the hands of those who ordered them. Group buys can be a HUGE pain to organize and an even bigger pain to ship out correclty.

 

[usdiver]

OK. Just finished reading the back posts.
The "new" tail, which is what has been shipping this last year, was made more robust inside, hence some have a more "gritty" feel counter clockwise. It's the little fingers going over the contacts. Henry likes to beef things up. The first priority is that the light doesn't break or stop working. To be honest, I never noticed it until I sat in a quiet dark room and started concentrating to feel it.
I can't seem to replicate the low level flash. That is a concern.
Has anyone had the Cerakote come off like USDiver's orange light? I've never seen one where it came off that badly. Cerakote lights were done in batches, and so I would have expected there to be an entire batch that would have done the same.
I do know that Kydex is horrible for wearing off a finish... yes, yes, I am a leather guy, but even custom knife makers are moving away from Kydex for that reason.
I've spoken to Henry about off-center emitters, and I do understand his reasoning, which is that it does not effect the beam or function, so is a non-issue. I did get him to realize it bugs the living crap out of some of his customers, so he is working on a production fix for that. I kind of relate it to my 1980 IMI Uzi front sight being all over to the right in order to be sighted in properly... it hits where it aimed at, but looking at the front sight from the top, it's way off to the right... and it bothers me. The emitter in my HDS... I just don't care, but I DO understand the issue, and Henry is trying to make corrective measures on this.

Thanks Hogo for shedding some light on the situation but first let me apologize to those who will allow me to fir recently I haven't been myself, and though I m not happy with the way things are going for me I have been too hard on Henry and gone over the line and I don't blame anyone for thinking what an a** I am. In saying that, I m human, though it's no excuse... and we are here to help each other and learn, not criticize and condemn because something isn't right.

Ok, on to the next one... off center emitters, yes I realize it may not affect the beam, but in my experience with HDS, various factors affect the beam, maybe very minimal but when you are looking for perfect as you can get then every little detail contributes to that.
Lenses, various reflectors, orange peel Matt vs op slightly mirrored vs smooth Matt vs smooth shiny, etc.
the orange cerakote I had was definitely from a bad batch and though was carried in kydex, the stuff peeled off with my fingernail. The first issue I had was when I flew with Lufthansa got on the plane, no marks but then noticed after Security and the scanner check my tail cap had a spot where the coating was rubbed off to the metal. I never took the light out of the holster. Shortly after a bit came off the body then I got curious and helped the rest of it.
Previously I had two other lights, green and bronze... not a mark on either and I used the hell out of those including the kydex usage.
I be taken on board what Henry told me about kydex but I m still using it with my tactical 250 and no issues nor has there been any issues with my other lights. Only that one.

I have an idea for lanyard device but yet have to get all the parts and supplies to make it.

I too am still trying to replicate that flash but suspect it could maybe happen easier with a lowish battery otherwise it was flashes from my retina detaching which I don't think is the case.
I ll keep trying. I do wish the fingers were smoother though.

My current 250 tactical is being used as my primary and with an older tail it's perfect though a hair cooler than the orange cerakote light I sold... not much but my brain/eyes picked up the difference even just a hair... as I said all these things can affect the beam.

 

[Lurveleven]

Does anyone know what bin code is currently used for the XP-L and XP-G2 emitters?

 

[Hondo]

No it actually looks to be the same emitter that's in my early NovaTac 120P. Although it does have a much more pure white tint to it.

I was lucky enough to receive the original, albeit very ugly, silver clip and hardware as well as a Oveready clip with it.

Sounds like you have a Seoul P4 120 lumen cool light. I have a "Legacy" HCRI 100, which is a Seoul P4 also, and offered at the same time as the 120 cool lights. Mine got one of the first HDS marked bezels, as he left the Ra name behind. BTW, there are three thread types. The original (before so-called "Legacy") HDS lights, and later the Novatac lights use a fine V-shape thread. The "Legacy" lights like yours and my HCRI 100 have a coarser V-shape thread. And of course the current generation is the ACME thread. I have a couple of the Golden Dragon EDC Executive 120's, and they are the current ACME configuration.

 

[A-MAC]

I'm new to HDS go easy on me. I've read a lot of this and other threads and can't seem to find what I'm looking for.

I'm looking at a used EDC 250 CW with LE programming.

I found a PDF of the manual online and read through it.

It seems like I can but, am I able to reprogram it to come on in low, double click to medium and triple click to high? Or some other way to come on in low then medium and high?

Will the programming reset when changing the battery? Or would a battery have to be out for 60 seconds to reset the programming?

 

[emarkd]

Close. You can program it to come on in low, double-click to mid, then click-press-hold to high. That last one sounds complicated, but think of it as a double-click where the second click is really a half-second long-press. On that second "click", you just don't let go of the switch until the light changes to high. It's very intuitive once you try it. Plus you have access to high momentarily by just holding the button too, without the proceeding click like for an actual mode change. Hold down the button and it goes to high, release it and it goes back where it was. It's great.

Yes programming survives battery changes, whether unpowered for 60 seconds or 60 days. You have to intentionally issue a reset for the driver to lose it's programming.

 

[A-MAC]

Close. You can program it to come on in low, double-click to mid, then click-press-hold to high. That last one sounds complicated, but think of it as a double-click where the second click is really a half-second long-press. On that second "click", you just don't let go of the switch until the light changes to high. It's very intuitive once you try it. Plus you have access to high momentarily by just holding the button too, without the proceeding click like for an actual mode change. Hold down the button and it goes to high, release it and it goes back where it was. It's great.

Yes programming survives battery changes, whether unpowered for 60 seconds or 60 days. You have to intentionally issue a reset for the driver to lose it's programming.

Thank you for the information and the quick reply.

 

[jdboy]

Sounds like you have a Seoul P4 120 lumen cool light. I have a "Legacy" HCRI 100, which is a Seoul P4 also, and offered at the same time as the 120 cool lights. Mine got one of the first HDS marked bezels, as he left the Ra name behind. BTW, there are three thread types. The original (before so-called "Legacy") HDS lights, and later the Novatac lights use a fine V-shape thread. The "Legacy" lights like yours and my HCRI 100 have a coarser V-shape thread. And of course the current generation is the ACME thread. I have a couple of the Golden Dragon EDC Executive 120's, and they are the current ACME configuration.

Thanks for all the info Hondo. I originally purchased the 120 so I could use the body on my 170 light. Reason being is the tail cap doesn't thread off of my 170 and I'm worried that the oils from my job will break down the rubber boot. With the newer threaded tail cap I could always just remove it and replace the boot if needed. But in saying that I find myself carrying the little 120 quite a bit so I've never made the switch of bodies. These older HDS lights really just stand the test of time even when surrounded by lights with 5x the output in a similar size.

 

[peter yetman]

That's how I have my highest setting too. But you can set the triple click to hich also.
P

 

[Random Dan]

Having high as click-hold is my favorite. When using a lower power level you hold the switch to get momentary high, then let go to return to where you were. So if you are walking along using 30 lumen or so to light the path in front of you and you want to see something farther away, just hold the switch for high then let go and you're back at 30 lumen. This is probably my favorite UI feature of any light.

 

[bigfoot]

Having high as click-hold is my favorite. When using a lower power level you hold the switch to get momentary high, then let go to return to where you were. So if you are walking along using 30 lumen or so to light the path in front of you and you want to see something farther away, just hold the switch for high then let go and you're back at 30 lumen. This is probably my favorite UI feature of any light.

+1 to that! :thumbsup:

 

[kaichu dento]

Having high as click-hold is my favorite. When using a lower power level you hold the switch to get momentary high, then let go to return to where you were. So if you are walking along using 30 lumen or so to light the path in front of you and you want to see something farther away, just hold the switch for high then let go and you're back at 30 lumen. This is probably my favorite UI feature of any light.

That right there, along with momentary on and auto-shutoff have ended up being programmed into every Ra/HDS I've owned. Perfection.

 

[Hondo]

Thanks for all the info Hondo. I originally purchased the 120 so I could use the body on my 170 light. Reason being is the tail cap doesn't thread off of my 170 and I'm worried that the oils from my job will break down the rubber boot. With the newer threaded tail cap I could always just remove it and replace the boot if needed. But in saying that I find myself carrying the little 120 quite a bit so I've never made the switch of bodies. These older HDS lights really just stand the test of time even when surrounded by lights with 5x the output in a similar size.

Cool, glad you like it even though you can't lego with the 170. As far as I know, on any (non-Rotary) 170 light the tailcap should be able to be opened. Now, it may have a little thread lock and need some persuasion, or even heat, but mine were bare hand operations. You might try wrapping a bunch of rubber bands around the cap and body for more leverage and friction, gave me the edge I needed to unthread a light more than once.

Now, the old pre-Novatac Basic and Ultimate lights were permanently sealed tails. Someone might be able to break in, but I won't even try.

 

[emarkd]

Oh you guys are right of course. You can set triple-click to be high if you wanted to. Honestly I hadn't tried that in so long I had forgotten, sorry. The click-press-hold is the way to go...

 

[peter yetman]

Oh, it certainly is.
P

 

[reppans]

Momentary max from low is also one of my favorite flashlight features, except it works better with mechanical switches which are truly momentary - ie, able to signal morse, won't mistakenly change modes, works just like car high beam flashers between low & Max.