You will love this NASA penlight
- Thread starter Barbarin
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InvisibleFrodo
Enlightened
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2014
- Messages
- 963
I hate to say this, but the pocket clip would ruin the look of it being a replica of the original. Having said that, these do look very cool. I would have hoped for a light output that would be similar to the incandescent light but just with much longer run time.
bugblatter
Newly Enlightened
Just got mine today (joy!), day after Christmas. Can't wait to mess with it. It's been so long, it's made me extra excited.
emarkd
Flashlight Enthusiast
I gotta say, this was my plan as well. But honestly this warm XP-L HI they're using is very good, so I'm not in a hurry to mod it anymore. That said, I did go ahead and try to disassemble it, just cause
The two halves of the head unscrewed easily, no sign of glue. After that it looks like the entire light engine should screw out in one piece, making it a pretty easy mod. I was unable to get mine out though, but then its not easy to get a grip on that little thing either. Some channelocks or something may be required, but with risk of marring up the brass, I didn't attempt it.
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2014
- Messages
- 737
R these going to be available post kickstarter?
tab665
Flashlight Enthusiast
just going to think out loud here... i wouldnt mind if in the future there was another light that is "inspired" by the NASA light. im digging mine but would prefer certain things to not be 100% accurate to the original. for instance, if there was a slight flare in the tail to aid in tailstanding; while also adding the needed heft to make the light more balanced. that would also add material in the tail area to screw on a pocket clip. with all that said, mine has been riding comfortable in my pocket since i got it on the 23rd. it sits in the pocket well without a clip. i also took mine for a dip the other night. got water in it which i was able to track down to the lens oring not being seated properly. i was able to get it apart and get things in proper order however. still not a fan of the optic change mid-project or the engraved "on/off" markings which signify nothing and adds confusion to operating the light.
edit: just realized why the "on/off" engraving is so confusing. looking at pre-production runs it looks correct. something got off on the production run.
edit: just realized why the "on/off" engraving is so confusing. looking at pre-production runs it looks correct. something got off on the production run.
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bugblatter
Newly Enlightened
I am pretty happy with mine so far, but I haven't gotten to testing it much yet. Just some initial thoughts...
@tab665: Yeah, the On/Off markings are interesting. With on/off tick marks, you would expect something on the head to align them to. Indeed, in googled pictures of the originals, there seems to be a little triangle engraved on the head (no such mark on mine). This is problematic I think to get exactly right in manufacturing, and what if the batteries you use are a little longer - wouldn't that throw the alignment off?
Another thing, and maybe/probably I'm wrong, but in a way it might look more authentic. According to my amateur googling of original photos: the "OFF" mark looks in the right place compared to googled pictures, aligned with model number engraved to right. Functionally (I think), the "ON" mark should be less that a quarter turn or so _below_ the "OFF" mark, so you should see both in a photo showing the rest of the engraved text (model/serial/date) - let's call this the front. This is what you see in Javier's kickstarter "prototype" photos, as well as in googled photos of 1970+ flashlights. But in 1968-1969 flashlights I saw (like Armstrong's), the "ON" is missing, which means it must be in the back somewhere, just like ours (which is a quarter-turn _above_ the "OFF"). Well that's my theory, makes me feel better.
@tab665: Yeah, the On/Off markings are interesting. With on/off tick marks, you would expect something on the head to align them to. Indeed, in googled pictures of the originals, there seems to be a little triangle engraved on the head (no such mark on mine). This is problematic I think to get exactly right in manufacturing, and what if the batteries you use are a little longer - wouldn't that throw the alignment off?
Another thing, and maybe/probably I'm wrong, but in a way it might look more authentic. According to my amateur googling of original photos: the "OFF" mark looks in the right place compared to googled pictures, aligned with model number engraved to right. Functionally (I think), the "ON" mark should be less that a quarter turn or so _below_ the "OFF" mark, so you should see both in a photo showing the rest of the engraved text (model/serial/date) - let's call this the front. This is what you see in Javier's kickstarter "prototype" photos, as well as in googled photos of 1970+ flashlights. But in 1968-1969 flashlights I saw (like Armstrong's), the "ON" is missing, which means it must be in the back somewhere, just like ours (which is a quarter-turn _above_ the "OFF"). Well that's my theory, makes me feel better.
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bugblatter
Newly Enlightened
Is this something you can tell from just looking at it (vs taking it apart)? I guess it doesn't matter, as I don't imagine ever getting this one that wet.
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LJUSMC
Newly Enlightened
Are these still available?
tab665
Flashlight Enthusiast
sory for the late reply. yes, when examinig the lens o-ring i noticed it seems there was a section of it missing. Turns out it had just gotten bound up/ pinched and stuck behind the window instead of in front. it was a quick fix.
bugblatter
Newly Enlightened
Thanks, that's exactly what I was imagining when you mentioned it (mine looks ok).
Barbarin
Flashlight Enthusiast
Hello all,
Well I would like to use this post to explain some of the issues you have found on the lights and of course to thank you once again your support.
1. ON-OFF. On this light is "useless" and so was on the original. Some late productions had a mark on the head, but if you are familiar with this kind of construction, it is almost impossible to make make match the position of the marks with the engraving. Even the small tolerance of the battery length, the tolerance of light among different brands, or the deformation they will suffer when used, will be enough to get the mark our of the line. We copied the first series, with its good an bad things.
2. Beam shape. At first we decided to use an acrylic lense and that way we were getting a quite floody beam. But that was not the most similar to the original one, although technically was a very good solution and more reliable than the glass one... we finally decided to switch to the sapphire glass + reflector solution, as aesthetically was way better looking, despite its price was 5 times higher and required another o-ring and some changes on design. That was the most floody we got and with the most intense orange peel we could got on the limited time we had. Overall most of the people was very happy with the change... but I understands those of you who were expecting other product. We can offer a refund, an acrylic lense or a discount if we release a new one (which I do hope we will).
3. LED. Trust me, the XPL-HI is better than the Nichia, and its price is way higher. We wanted something ultra reliable, and using a 10 watt capable LED driven at 1 Watt resulted on extraordinary efficiency. They were not easy or cheap to get.
4. Tab665. I want to publicly apologize for the water issue. They are suppose to be waterproof lights, and the thing with the o-ring is not acceptable. I will send you a replacement one if you want so.
5. Are there more available? Yes, a few more. Contact me by PM, please.
6. Will we make more? Yes. SS? Maybe. ? Clips? Who knows?
Best regards,
Javier
Well I would like to use this post to explain some of the issues you have found on the lights and of course to thank you once again your support.
1. ON-OFF. On this light is "useless" and so was on the original. Some late productions had a mark on the head, but if you are familiar with this kind of construction, it is almost impossible to make make match the position of the marks with the engraving. Even the small tolerance of the battery length, the tolerance of light among different brands, or the deformation they will suffer when used, will be enough to get the mark our of the line. We copied the first series, with its good an bad things.
2. Beam shape. At first we decided to use an acrylic lense and that way we were getting a quite floody beam. But that was not the most similar to the original one, although technically was a very good solution and more reliable than the glass one... we finally decided to switch to the sapphire glass + reflector solution, as aesthetically was way better looking, despite its price was 5 times higher and required another o-ring and some changes on design. That was the most floody we got and with the most intense orange peel we could got on the limited time we had. Overall most of the people was very happy with the change... but I understands those of you who were expecting other product. We can offer a refund, an acrylic lense or a discount if we release a new one (which I do hope we will).
3. LED. Trust me, the XPL-HI is better than the Nichia, and its price is way higher. We wanted something ultra reliable, and using a 10 watt capable LED driven at 1 Watt resulted on extraordinary efficiency. They were not easy or cheap to get.
4. Tab665. I want to publicly apologize for the water issue. They are suppose to be waterproof lights, and the thing with the o-ring is not acceptable. I will send you a replacement one if you want so.
5. Are there more available? Yes, a few more. Contact me by PM, please.
6. Will we make more? Yes. SS? Maybe. ? Clips? Who knows?
Best regards,
Javier
Barbarin
Flashlight Enthusiast
BugoutBoys
Enlightened
WOW I WANT ONE TOO!!!!
Barbarin
Flashlight Enthusiast
PM Sent!
calipsoii
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2010
- Messages
- 1,412
I'd just like the one I backed on Kickstarter to arrive. =/ After receiving a single emailed reply asking me to be patient it would seem I'm in the somewhat large group of people who never received a light and now cannot contact Javier to ask for an update.
