HDS SYSTEMS:mounting holes yes/no?

[InvisibleFrodo]

I'm definitely more used to bezel down carry, but I'm open to bezel up for a solution especially to allow the rotary to have a nicely functional pocket clip/anti-roll.

So mounting holes are okay for me. My Haiku has them.

 

[fyrstormer]

Clip wise, the Rotary is problematic. No matter where it is attached, it's in the way of the Rotary dial functioning nicely. If it's on the bezel, it rubs on the tail... if on the tail, it rubs on the head... and either way, it makes it harder to manipulate the dial.

Mine works perfectly.

It also prevents the light from rolling away if I set it down on a flat surface.

It is easier for people who don't want clips to remove them than it is for people who do want clips to add them. There will be a few people who would complain about screw-holes being left over after they remove a clip, but you can't make everyone happy.

 

[usdiver]

Mine works perfectly.

It also prevents the light from rolling away if I set it down on a flat surface.

There are people who hate clips and will complain about screw-holes being left over after they remove a clip, but you can't make everyone happy.

Not bad 🤔

 

[fyrstormer]

Just to be clear, the mounting position of my bezel-down clip doesn't block any of the 24 modes. I checked before I installed the clip; there is a large enough gap between Mode 24 and Mode 1 to accommodate the width of a McGizmo clip. (or something similar -- I opted for a different brand that was shorter and more flexible.) The clip takes the place of the stopper screw (and I plugged the hole with epoxy afterwards), so the clip prevents the dial from being able to spin endlessly. I suppose some people might consider it an advantage to be able to rotate the dial directly from the brightest mode to the dimmest, and thus consider the installation of a clip to be a loss of functionality, but I am not one of those people.

 

[jon_slider]

Mine works perfectly.

looks great, but now the rotary dial stops on either side of the clip.

so you lost part of the lowest modes, or part of the highest modes that the dial could reach with just one stop screw

 

[fyrstormer]

:thinking: Read the post immediately before yours.

EDIT: Video for proof:

 

[jon_slider]

Just to be clear, the mounting position of my bezel-down clip doesn't block any of the 24 modes. I checked before I installed the clip; there is a large enough gap between Mode 24 and Mode 1 to accommodate the width of a McGizmo clip. (or something similar -- I opted for a different brand that was shorter and more flexible.)

that is Great Info!

I just verified and confirmed there is indeed a large enough gap between the lowest mode and the stop screw:

plus a large enough gap between the highest mode and the stop screw:

I have the same clip you installed on your HDS, and just confirmed it is narrower than the combined gaps between the lowest and highest modes:

So, I nominate you for an Award of Hogo/Henry's Choosing!

I completely agree that a pair of holes in the ring under the rotary dial will will fit, without limiting access to Any of the lowest and highest modes, as long as the clip is centered over the factory stop screw hole.

soooo.. I vote for 2 stop screw holes, that can double as a pocket clip attachment point for bezel down carry of the HDS Rotary.

I put my HDS on my light meter, and started turning the dial, very slowly, until it changed from minimum by one step, then dialed back until I got minimum again. The photo shows the gap between the rotary dial tooth and the stop screw, when the light is still on minimum. Same drill for maximum.

I then placed the clip centered on the factory stop screw, and confirmed that the tooth on the rotary dial was stopped far enough away that Yes, the Clip Fits! without losing access to minimum and maximum..

This is Really Exciting!
you have figured out something that nobody else has been able to solve, in many years.

 

[Hogokansatsukan]

You could market that as a service. Henry and I discussed that very thing in the past i.e. using the stop screw segment for a clip, but Henry is adamantly opposed to adding screw holes anywhere.

 

[scout24]

I applaud FS's clip solution, at the moment it seems to be the only bezel down clip option out there. I personally would love something more deep carry, either a u-shaped clip that mounts there or another as-yet vaporware solution.

 

[fyrstormer]

You could market that as a service. Henry and I discussed that very thing in the past i.e. using the stop screw segment for a clip, but Henry is adamantly opposed to adding screw holes anywhere.

Perhaps I could, if I had a drill press and a supply of clips. I installed this clip by hand using a Dremel and a hand-tap, which was very tedious as you might imagine.

jon_slider makes a good point: You could replace the single stopper screw with two stopper screws (somewhere around M2.5 threading), and then people could install clips if they wanted to.

I applaud FS's clip solution, at the moment it seems to be the only bezel down clip option out there. I personally would love something more deep carry, either a u-shaped clip that mounts there or another as-yet vaporware solution.

I considered trying to bend a longer clip into a U-shape to achieve a deeper pocket-carry position, but I concluded I'd rather have more clearance around the dial. (also it was easier to use an unmodified clip. ) Anyway, the pocket-carry position is quite unobtrusive already:

 

[jon_slider]

Henry and I discussed that very thing in the past i.e. using the stop screw segment for a clip, but Henry is adamantly opposed to adding screw holes anywhere.

yes, but, that was before it was Proven to Work!:

The search for a solution for a Rotary bezel down carry has been Found!

I suggest you show Henry the photo, so he can begin to let go of past trauma, and embrace a truly elegant solution.

 

[thermal guy]

I get that people complaining over an over again on the same topic is a pain in the ***. At my job we get it all the time so I completely understand but adding extra holes can't be that much of a chore for HDS.Cant HDS just offer it as an option? It would also give you a feel for how many customers really want it. Not just us crazy nuts 🥜

 

[jon_slider]

I applaud FS's clip solution, at the moment it seems to be the only bezel down clip option out there. I personally would love something more deep carry, either a u-shaped clip that mounts there or another as-yet vaporware solution.

well, here we are on the bleeding edge of making history, and you are already raising the bar..

fwiw, the clip under the bezel is also not deep carry, and the clip on the stop ring is not much different

I do respect your desire to improve on the solution that fyrstormer has illuminated, that uses a clip that is presently available.


Once the HDS stop ring is drilled with 2 stop screw holes, a whole new market for U shaped pocket clips will be created
The key is to have the Holes!

so, Im changing my vote
Yes to Two stop screw Holes.
(still, just say No to holes in the head)

 

[nbp]

You could market that as a service. Henry and I discussed that very thing in the past i.e. using the stop screw segment for a clip, but Henry is adamantly opposed to adding screw holes anywhere.

I'm beginning to think that maybe Henry's preference and not customers' was the main driver of the clip hole banning. Lol. There has certainly been plenty of complaints about Rotary clip options for years and it hasn't gotten us anywhere. So that tells me the anti-hole voices must have been particularly loud or the person's opinion who matters most (Henry's) happened to agree with them all along.

 

[Modernflame]

Once the HDS stop ring is drilled with 2 stop screw holes, a whole new market for U shaped pocket clips will be created
The key is to have the Holes!

I've read in more than one place that Henry says that won't work. This specimen certainly appears to work, but I suspect that Henry must have other reasons. I wonder if it's a strength issue?

 

[emarkd]

Henry already gave us the clip solution he liked best. It's available on the website and works without compromising anything about the flashlight design I'm any way - zero functional or strength effect at all. It's just.... well most of us seem to find it a bit unattractive, which is exactly the sorta thing Henry doesn't seem to care about. Nothing wrong with either approach of course, and it's Henry's light so he does it his way.

 

[thermal guy]

Oh we ain't close to getting holes back trust me.as much sense as it makes to us if Henry doesn't think it's a good idea then guess what.But we can hope.

 

[nbp]

...works without compromising anything about the flashlight design in any way - zero functional or strength effect at all. It's just.... well most of us seem to find it a bit unattractive, which is exactly the sorta thing Henry doesn't seem to care about.

Right - so why didn't this same logic apply to the holes? I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here, I just never quite could understand that, and still don't.

 

[fyrstormer]

I've read in more than one place that Henry says that won't work. This specimen certainly appears to work, but I suspect that Henry must have other reasons. I wonder if it's a strength issue?

It could be a strength issue. But even Surefire has clips that intentionally break loose if you pull on them hard enough, so making a clip that can survive being hit by a train isn't really a necessity -- even for military use, which is the use-case that inspired Surefire's breakaway clips.

Henry already gave us the clip solution he liked best. It's available on the website and works without compromising anything about the flashlight design I'm any way - zero functional or strength effect at all. It's just.... well most of us seem to find it a bit unattractive, which is exactly the sorta thing Henry doesn't seem to care about. Nothing wrong with either approach of course, and it's Henry's light so he does it his way.

That is perfectly reasonable -- for his own personal flashlight. For a product he intends to sell, the customer's preferences should be taken into account as well. There are ways to deliver a product that meets his expectations for durability while also affording the option to bolt-on a pocket clip. I have demonstrated how to do it, I just don't have the fabrication capacity to offer it to anyone else.

I mean seriously, we're talking about one extra screw hole. This does not require a complete redesign of the HDS Rotary, nor does it require compromising the structural integrity of the light any more than the one existing screw hole already does. If water intrusion past the threads is a concern, a drop of Loc-Tite on each screw will fix that.

 

[peter yetman]

I think the bottom line is that it's Henry's design. If he wants it it one way and not another, then that's it.
We're all free to mess about with our own lights as we see fit (I always do) but if you want Henry to fix you up later it's at his discretion.
Rather than worry H + H about doing something, the only answer seems to be to find a machine shop that will do the work for you.
Henry's approach shows great integrity, if he starts changing things just because a few nerds (include me in that) want something, it is the path to self destruction.
I'm happy with the lights as they come, they're 99% perfect for me, and I fiddle with the 1% myself.
P