# New Flashlight Website!!!



## metalhed (Nov 13, 2005)

Howdy all!

I've been a member here for about two years now, and it's time I offered the community something useful. Since I have no real flashlight skills (modding, reviewing, etc.) and since most of my questions have already been answered by someone here, I mostly lurk. But I've had the desire to do something helpful for fellow flashaholics, and have created a website in response to that desire.

FlashlightNews.org is designed to be a news website and master directory for all things related to flashlights and flashaholics.

The site features portable lighting industry news and reviews, updated five days a week (mostly.) News coverage extends to all types of portable lighting, including business news, product announcements, and modders/tech news. Additionally, I currently have over 450 sites indexed in the directory, with more added all the time. The directory is arranged by website type or purpose, and all categories are alphabetized for convenience.

The site also features 'MoonTracker', a java applet which keeps you apprised of when the moon might spoil your night-time flashlight fun .

Anyway, I would appreciate any feedback you can provide, as well as any additional site addresses you would like to see listed...hope you find it useful.




_edited: 10/21/06 to update site description._


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## drmaxx (Nov 13, 2005)

Very useful - especially for a newbie like me. CPF got way too big to find information fast. Your site is awesome.


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## Flying Turtle (Nov 13, 2005)

Nice work, Metalhed. Thanks. This should help make it easier to spend more money. :laughing: 

Geoff


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## Erasmus (Nov 13, 2005)

Very nice portalsite for flashaholics! Maybe you can change the code so the referred links are opened in a new browser window?

Congratulations!


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## Beamhead (Nov 13, 2005)

:goodjob: metalhed!:rock:


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## GalvanickLucifer (Nov 13, 2005)

Very nice reference site. The only suggestion I have at this point is that it might be helpful to reference specific threads on CPF, such as the CR123 and AA battery shootouts, and maybe the more recent beamshot thread. I'm on my wife's laptop at the moment - I'll post the URLs later if someone else doesn't beat me to it.


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## Kris (Nov 13, 2005)

Nice website metalhed.


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## zespectre (Nov 13, 2005)

I love having the moontracker, that's great!

I got really annoyed over the summer when I planned a campout and we were supposed to sit around a campfire and tell ghost stories. Well it was a clear full moon night and damned if it wasn't all lit up so much that we were casting SHADOWS!

Sheesh talk about spoiling a spooky atmosphere <grin>


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## not2bright (Nov 13, 2005)

Wow! Nice job!

Good work compiling a complete list of Internet resources available to us trying to decide how to trade hard earnerd money for lumens. :laughing:


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## The_LED_Museum (Nov 13, 2005)

I added this website to the "LED Related Links" web page on my website...thank you!!!   :thumbsup:


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## Geddinight (Nov 13, 2005)

Wow! I just added it to my favorites list.

I never knew all that was out there!


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## greenLED (Nov 14, 2005)

Nice, metalhead! :twothumbs


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## dano (Nov 14, 2005)

Made a sticky...

:goodjob: 
--dan


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## socom45 (Nov 14, 2005)

thanks for the info, will bookmark that one.


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## DoubleDutch (Nov 14, 2005)

Nice job Metalhed!

You sum up about half of my current favourites list regarding flashlights, and some. Now I listed your site among these. More ways to find out what I want (=need?) to know.

There is never enough information, as I found out yesterday. Just after having bought a bunch of Powerizer NiMh batteries, I came across a post about a test in which they fail miserably. I had seen the review before, but didn't read it thoroughly enough. Just focussed on the top batteries, and decided they were a bit expensive. Reread it, and regretted. Cheap buy is expensive buy, as they say here in the Netherlands. Well, you never stop learning.

Good luck,

Kees


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## lrp (Nov 14, 2005)

Wow!! Thanks!


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## greenlight (Nov 14, 2005)

now you've really done it~!


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## CroMAGnet (Nov 14, 2005)

That's a lot of work. Nice job too. The Moontracker came in handy :twothumbs:


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## greenLED (Nov 14, 2005)

http://torchreviews.net/ is not up there yet.
There's also a link somewhere (reviews section?) titled external review sites or something like that that you might want to look at/add.

Looking good!


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## LowBat (Nov 14, 2005)

Impressive!!!

I didn't realize so many resources are out there. It's enough to make one feel light headed.


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## metalhed (Nov 14, 2005)

Thanx for all the good words guys, it definitely makes writing code (or even miswriting it) worth it. 

Erasmus -- Ask and ye shall receive...done.

GalvanickLucifer -- Ditto for your suggestion. I've added a new category, 'Recommended Forum Threads' to the list. Nominations for other threads to include (either here or on other forums) are welcome, of course.

The_LED_Museum, DoubleDutch -- Special thanx, I really appreciate the listing. :thumbsup:

Dano -- Wow!!!...I'm honored...now if I can just keep earning the spot up there. 

zespectre, CromagNet -- Yeah...the more flashlights I buy, the more I dislike full moons too. 

GreenLED -- I think I have it listed as 'Torch Reviews Site' under the 'Reviews/Forums' category. However my link there does point to the page after the entry page (Ironically, I'm Flash-a -phobic. Go figure. :duh2: ) If this is wrong, just let me know.

Thanx again, folks...



BTW, I've added more sites and will continue to. Any additions you have will certainly be included. Just let me know.


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## greenLED (Nov 14, 2005)

Got it, I was looking for it under the main heading (left of screen), found it on "Others".

Hey, congrats again on your new site. Looks good! And I think your thread breaks the speed record of how long it takes for a thread to be made sticky. :twothumbs


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## Topper (Nov 14, 2005)

I have book marked your site. Very nice and still growing.
Topper


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## metalhed (Nov 14, 2005)

GreenLED -- Yeah, I was amazed by that too! Made my day!!! 


One other thing to mention...

Today I signed up for "Google Analytics", a free web traffic analysis tool. It doesn't enable me to collect personal info or anything...I'm too much of a privacy freak to go there...but it should allow me to more easily identify traffic patterns and (hopefully) allow me to improve the site.

However, I just checked and as I assumed, it employs 'cookies' to monitor traffic. For those of you who hate 'cookies' and routinely block them (with Firefox for example), I completely understand. In fact, I often do that exact thing. But if you would consider making an exception in this case, I would sincerely appreciate it.

If you have any questions or observations on this, feel free to PM me.


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## nethiker (Nov 14, 2005)

Very nice site. Great information in a much needed one stop shop. 

Thanks,
Greg


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## IlluminatingBikr (Nov 14, 2005)

Just FYI, it's a little bit hard to read the light blue links on the light grey background...if you could put a little bit more contrast in there, that would really help.

I remember bookmarking this site a while ago, when it was only getting its feet off the ground. I kept checking back, but eventually gave up. Glad to see that it is still alive and well! Looks great! :thumbsup:


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## GalvanickLucifer (Nov 14, 2005)

Wow - now I'll only have to keep one bookmark!

Looks like you already got the battery shootout thread links. 

Addtional review sites to consider: 
http://imagometrics.com/FLReviews/FLR.home.htm (has good pictures).
http://www.uwgb.edu/nevermab/led.htm

Two "shakelight" comparison sites to consider:
http://www.productsforanywhere.com/gear/buying_power_flashlights.html
http://www.generationgear.com/products/shakelight_comparison.html

Thanks for a great site.


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## GalvanickLucifer (Nov 14, 2005)

A quick question (well, small complaint maybe) - when using Firefox for browsing, with multiple tabs open, whenever I bring up your site, the "MoonTracker" java applet bleeds through onto whatever tab I have in front. Does anyone else have this problem?


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## JimH (Nov 14, 2005)

Congratulations - first time up to the plate and you hit a home run.





I'm on my way over to the CPF Wiki to post a link to your site. I've already added it to my bookmarks.

I don't know if you've checked Brock's flashlight page yet, but, if not, give it a look. He has a lot of good references there.


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## Sigman (Nov 14, 2005)

GalvanickLucifer said:


> A quick question (well, small complaint maybe) - when using Firefox for browsing, with multiple tabs open, whenever I bring up your site, the "MoonTracker" java applet bleeds through onto whatever tab I have in front. Does anyone else have this problem?


Nope, no bleed through for me...:thinking: :shrug:


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## jayflash (Nov 14, 2005)

Thank you so much, metalhed, for your time and effort - great resource.


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## IlluminatingBikr (Nov 14, 2005)

I'm not sure I'm getting any bleed-through effect from the java applet, but I'm wondering why it's there in the first place and what it is doing for me? It takes a while for me to load the JVM, which significantly slows down my load time for the page.


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## vic303 (Nov 15, 2005)

I'd increase the font size--some of us older flashaholics need larger print... 
Your page is just a bit small in comparison. Also, Please increase the contrast in colors--the light blue on gray is hard to see.

Other than that, it's a really nice site! Thanks!


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## metalhed (Nov 16, 2005)

Just a quick update on the site...

...I've added a new feature to the main page. A round up of recent press releases and news stories from major flashlight industry companies. The section is on the right side of the page, and is entitled 'Recent Industry News', with links to the individual releases.

...per the many requests, I've darkened the print slightly while lightening the backgrounds. Not a huge change, but it should help with the readability issue.

...the complete directory now lists over 200 flashlight-related websites.

IlluminatingBikr...I haven't had anyone else report any problems with the applet, might check to see that you are running current the JVM. If anyone else has any problems, please let me know...it's supposed to be there as an aid, and not as a nuisance. And thanks.

Happy Surfing...


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## TORCH_BOY (Nov 16, 2005)

It is a usefull tool, can come in very handy.
very well put together.


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## Stainless (Nov 22, 2005)

Flying Turtle said:


> Nice work, Metalhed. Thanks. This should help make it easier to spend more money. :laughing:
> 
> Geoff



Ditto that.


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## vic303 (Nov 22, 2005)

Much better on the old eyes now, thanks!


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## ledflasher79 (Dec 13, 2005)

Thank you for the info. It's very useful, however I don't find the navigation very handy.


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## metalhed (Dec 13, 2005)

Thanks ledflasher79,


Do you have any suggestions for how I can improve the site navigation? Are there any specific things you could mention? 

Anybody else have any observations or suggestions in this area?



:thinking:


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## BrockB (Dec 31, 2005)

Nice site


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## Topper (Dec 31, 2005)

Wow, I need to dropin more often, you have really added alot. I love the news bytes.
Topper


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## missionaryman (Jan 4, 2006)

cool site thanks now I can have even less sleep...


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## metalhed (Feb 9, 2006)

Just a quick update...

I think I've fixed some domain name issues that had cropped up. If anybody has problems reaching the site, please let me know.

Google is real picky about how you handle multiple domains that point to the same content, so it has taken some effort to make the site Google-friendly and yet not compromise the site in any way.

I just finished upgrading the site to employ SSI (server-side includes), which probably means nothing to you, but will make maintaining the site a little easier for me. I've also tweaked the home page to give a little more space for news and text. 

There have been some issues in my personal life that have limited the time I've had for story writing and such. This should change over the next few weeks (I hope).

As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, you can post them here or contact me through my site's feedback page.


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