HDS Systems EDC #22

[nbp]

Why wouldn't you send it to Henry? There's a good chance he could revive it for you. I think he fixed one that went through a house fire.

 

[RCS1300]

Yup. I had one fall off a ladder onto concrete once and land on the corner of the rotary tail. Light was toast. Tossed it into trash.

Was it a rotary or an executive? How long ago did this happen? Why didn't you send it back to HDS?

 

[Mgizler]

He would have totally fixed it. Please tell me you are joking about throwing it into the trash!!

 

[bigburly912]

Maybe he was upset he bought the toughest light in the world and it broke from being dropped so he just tossed it. 375 bucks to some isn't the same as 375 to others. Me, I'd have had it fixed but oh well. To each his own.

 

[DayofReckoning]

The screw keeps the magic smoke in the light... or not.
It is just a stop. Remove it though and your water resistance all goes away. And yes, it will spin and go from high to low, or low to high depending on the direction of spin.

The machined hole on the cap is there to insert a teflon wire... this wire is what keeps the switch cap on the battery compartment, and until we get Scotty to get the transporter to work, it will have to be there. We have used a little rubber plug to cover this hole for quite some time. It keeps dirt out and also keeps down the posts and emails "I have this ding in my tail"... which sounds very... well, inappropriate for a family friendly forum.

Thank you for [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif]clarifying[/FONT]. I was suspicious as to whether the drill hole was a place of compromise in the design, and the comment about "keeping dirt out" would seem to reinforce that idea.

To the poster who's HDS broke, I would have sent the light back for warranty work, which I'm sure HDS would have taken care of for you.

 

[Random Dan]

Thank you for [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif]clarifying[/FONT]. I was suspicious as to whether the drill hole was a place of compromise in the design, and the comment about "keeping dirt out" would seem to reinforce that idea.

To the poster who's HDS broke, I would have sent the light back for warranty work, which I'm sure HDS would have taken care of for you.

The hole is outside of the o ring seals. Other than aesthetics it doesn't compromise anything.

 

[DayofReckoning]

The hole is outside of the o ring seals. Other than aesthetics it doesn't compromise anything.

That's what I've read before and have been told, yes. The comment "we plugged it up so we could keep dirt out" suggests foreign matter could potentially enter, and the manufacturer took a step to try and eliminate this, which would suggest a compromise, or at least a possibility of.

A hole that is safely outside of the o ring seals is objectively less secure than a light with no hole at all. The potential water/debris that the o ring stops would never have entered at all with a design with no drill hole.

Is the hole a problem? I guess not, otherwise reports would show this and it would be discussed more. Whether that is due to design of the light/ o rings seals, or due to the plug being put in there, I cannot say. But aesthetically, and from an engineering and design standpoint, the hole just looks bad, period, on what is otherwise a pretty astounding light by all accounts.

 

[lion504]

Maybe he was upset he bought the toughest light in the world and it broke from being dropped so he just tossed it. 375 bucks to some isn't the same as 375 to others. Me, I'd have had it fixed but oh well. To each his own.

I find TD's problem and resolution very interesting.

My initial thought was "the light is covered under warranty!" So I looked up the warranty on the HDS page, which states: "HDS Systems warrants to the original owner that Product will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for the life of Product. This warranty does not include cosmetic blemishes, damage, modifications and normal wear." (Was scout24's repair covered under warranty?)

Henry's approach is different than some other companies, whose warranties say something like "If you lose it or it's stolen, that's on you. If it stops working for ANY reason, send it back to us, and we will fix or replace it."

This second approach can be problematic for the manufacturer, because a customer (who wanted a new emitter) could just pound their older light with a sledgehammer (intentionally) and then make a claim under the warranty.

How then to discriminate severe but legitimate damage (for a product advertised as damage-resistant) from intentional, illegitimate damage? Maybe the best thing to do is to state (legally) that damage is excluded, and then just establish a reputation for repairing problems resulting from (legitimate) hard use. Does the resolution change if you're the second (or maybe third!) owner of an HDS light?

My personal experience is that Henry has always been very responsive and helpful.

Back to TD's problem: Is there a limit to how much impact stress potted electronics can take? 10' drop on concrete? 100' drop?

 

[peter yetman]

This is the problem with the litigious society in general. If you don't write it down in black and white (don't ask me how I know) and try to use your discretion, someone sometime is going to pick you up on it.
P

 

[Hogokansatsukan]

The plug is to keep to keep people from calling and keep dirt out from where the teflon wire rides, which is below the 2 O-rings that keep crud and water out from the electronics in the tail. The reality is, even with the plug not being there, there is hardly any room for crud to get in there as the teflon wire takes up nearly all the space.

As for warranty, yes, everything is covered. Henry doesn't care who the original owner was. Yes, he took care of the the house fire light. Replaced the lens and O-rings... didn't need the O-rings replaced but did it anyway. And yes, we have had folks purposefully take the light apart and destroy it which was quite obvious, then send it back for warranty, which Henry has covered.

 

[nbp]

And even if the light isn't "covered" and Henry charges for the repairs (which he should in cases of intentional damage) it is still probably cheaper to have him repair it if he's willing than replacing the whole light. I don't see the advantage of throwing it away, but hey, different strokes for different folks.

 

[peter yetman]

I wouldn't have minded being a Refuse Collection Operative in Southern USA that day!
Just for the day though.
P

 

[Hogokansatsukan]

The only time Henry charges is if it was from a bad emitter swap that killed the elf.

 

[Sos24]

Back to TD's problem: Is there a limit to how much impact stress potted electronics can take? 10' drop on concrete? 100' drop?

This issue also depends on how it lands. I have a rotary that fell about 10ft (off roof) onto concrete and still worked with just a few cosmetic dings. The difference between mine and TDs was most likely what part hit the concrete first and at what angle it hit.

 

[Johnnyh]

The only time Henry charges is if it was from a bad emitter swap that killed the elf.

...as just punishment for messing with his creation...[emoji13]

 

[turbodog]

Was it a rotary or an executive? How long ago did this happen? Why didn't you send it back to HDS?

Rotary.

It's been a few years. IIRC I was frustrated with there being an order delay of a year at the time. Did not want to deal with that.

 

[nbp]

Got my shipping notice today for my Silvertail! If it arrives by Friday it's going in my pocket this weekend for camping. I hope I Hope!

 

[JKolmo]

Same here! Panda on its way! [emoji209][emoji122][emoji106]

 

[thaugen]

I got my shipping notification as well! Bring on the Panda!

 

[peter yetman]

Got my shipping notice today for my Silvertail! If it arrives by Friday it's going in my pocket this weekend for camping. I hope I Hope!

Don't lose it! Tie it to your belt loops or something.
P