Inova Questions

Zenghost, I work in the financial district NYC, and all types of lighting conditions are to be found. It's not just catagory cable either, that was just my example. I install networks, turret systems (mainly IPC) and d-marks. Try punching down anywhere from 6 to 188 positions all with 6 ports apiece under a dimly lit trading desk. A true white light with a 20 hour run time is a damn useful tool in this type of situation. Also some cable's color is well defined (Mohawk is a good example) but others it's aweful, black orange and black brown sometimes are impossible to differenciate even in perfect light.

Rawhide, thanks for the link.
 
Funny thing just happened. I went to my parents for dinner and showed my brother and father the Inova. The first words out of my brother's mouth were, "why is it so blue", and my father said "yeah why" . So, after I laughed, I told them about this post. My brother (a wise ass) told me to tell those that questioned me to go get their eyes checked :rolleyes: :footinmou . It seems that I probably received one that would be considered defective, since it really is blue and not white. On Monday, I'll call the retailor I purchased it from, and if they are not helpful I'll call Inova and get one that is probably whiter. If all of the white LED lights are this blue then Inova is going to have to stop calling them white, it goes right back to false advertising. Even if it is only slightly blue, which mine is not.
 
I just got my Inova X5T in the mail yesterday. I really like it. Its the white light model, but its fairly pale blue. It is a lot brighter then I thought it would be.
 
On Monday, I'll call the retailor I purchased it from, and if they are not helpful I'll call Inova and get one that is probably whiter. If all of the white LED lights are this blue then Inova is going to have to stop calling them white, it goes right back to false advertising. Even if it is only slightly blue, which mine is not.
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I wonder if you really got a blue by mistake. I don't see how anyone could mix them up although the wrong kind could have easily been picked and sent to you by mistake, or perhaps a blue one was sealed in the factory into a package marked "white" also by mistake of course... My white is pretty white though it certainly has more blue in it than an incandescant bulb, and yes I have Surefire's too. I can't speak about CAT5 fiber cable colors, but I test these lights agains USGS topographic maps because that's <i>my</i> primary application for a flashlight where real white light becomes really useful. Under most incandescant lamps (unless they are very bright), the bluer colors in the USGS maps and also the greens tend to pale out and blur together making it hard to see streams and other "natural features" (that tend to use these colors). When viewed under the white Inova (or for that matter my white photon), all the colors on the map stand out vividly, and this includes the REDS (roads) which turn BLACK under true blue light, and disappear under red light...

When I have to read one of these maps in the dark, my preferred light is actually a photon III in DIM mode (or a photon II with a partly depleted battery), because I can see everything on the map clearly without completely blowing out my night vision... I mention this only because the white photon II and III use LEDs with the same color spectrum as the Inova.
 
I have an Inova X5 Tactical flashlight with white LEDs. I find the beam to very white. The beam appears to be whiter than other white LED flashlights that I own.

Emissive Technology, the manufacturer of the X5, has good customer service. If the X5 that you have is defective, send it back and they will send you another one.
 
Originally posted by cgd160
Joe, where did you hear about the truly white LED's and who will manufacture them?
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Unfortunately, I probably imagined it :( I can't remember any details, other than thinking that one was coming. Thinking about it further, I can't imagine how it could be done; 'course, that doesn't mean anything either!

Joe
 
Originally posted by rawhide_clyde
cgd160,
Here is a good site on the Luxeon Star LED. I'm a fledgling flashaholic but as I understand it the Luxeon will be THE shitz when they finally get it honed and tweaked. Just a couple of commercial companies have put a Luxeon fired flashlight out. Got a few hobbyist putting out some Luxeon modified torches also. Maybe Size15s or Brock will drop by and add some info on them.
Stay Safe,
Clyde
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I've been kind of an LED skeptic, and even I'm convinced that the Luxeon Star is a good first step towards making LED lights bright like incandescents. In my opinion, the Arc LS is the best watch-pocket light going, handily beating out all other LED lights and incandescent lights like the Surefire E1 and all those cool little 2xAA lights.

I'm looking forward to the Arc LS 2nd and 3rd generation lights, which are made with the 5W LSes (current model uses the 1W version), but regulated down to 2 or 3 watts. We expect full-blown 5W LS lights as well, out of someone eventually.

Joe
 
First, I must mention that while I'm not a total flashaholic, I have been facinated by portable light sources almost as long as knives (since about age 7-8). There's probably 20 battery powered lights in the house as we speak. For years I thought Mag lights were the answer. I own several in several different sizes (with several duplicates) ranging from the legendary Mini Mag to the behemoth six D cell monster that'll keep you warm when on.

I bought a Surefire E2 about four months ago after my son showed me his Surefire. It is unbelievable how much better the E2 is compared to any light I'd ever owned. It's brighter than a six D cell Mag and way more useable (like you can actually keep it in your pocket). You can't demolish an old Buick with it like the six cell Mag, but I find I don't actually have to do that often.

I just received a couple Inova X5Ts for my wife and myself (as well as an Arc LE which is another story). I must say that while I like the light a lot, if they came out with a V3 that improved on a couple points tomorrow, I'd have no problem selling these off at a loss (or giving them to less obsessive frineds for presents).

Here's my gripes:

The light is a little long as compared to a mini mag or a surefire E2

The Momentary switch on the tailcap is an improvement over the original Inova X5 but has a long way to go to catch the Surefire E2. It was actually a bit of a disapointment after all the pre release build up.

Other than that, I think the light output and overall quality of the new Inova X5T is great and represents a tremendous value.

My opinion.

jmx
 
Sox, thank for the input.

Matthew, my LED's are clear. From what I understand the blue ones are visually blue, so if that's the case I can rule out the mistake factor(Maybe a batch of white LED's didn't get the same phosphor coating?). Your post is real interesting, I would imagine the majority of the people that purchase them, use them in a similar way. The blue would be a pleasant suprise to those people. Another thing that crossed my mind is, people see colors differently. My whole family has very light colored eyes (green & blue), this might have something to do with it as well. I want to thank you for keeping with this thread. I may not state it, but every time you posted, it turned a light on and helped me see things in a different light (pun intended).

I would like to reiterate, I think it is a great light. Like ArchAngel so eloquently stated,
"I think we all, at one time or another buy something thinking that it will be something totally different from what it is. It is our nature build things up larger that life when we our impressed with them. Others come along and read postings of how awesome an item is and buy it, then and there because of other peoples happiness and then find out that it is different in there opinion than all the stuff they had heard."
 
Man, a person has to post fast around here.

Joe, thanks, I think ;).

Jmxcpter, remember opinions are like a-holes everybody has one ;) . Joking aside, your opions are dead on IMOP.

Dkochan, that's good to know. This issue may be out of Inova's control, if they purchase their LED's from an outside contractor.
 
Nichia rates their LEDs for both color and brightness, I believe. Sometimes one rank or other becomes difficult to get, and manufacturers substitute a cheaper or better rank for a time. That's what happened with the Arc AAA for a time, though in this case it was good for the customer, because Arc started using in the AAA the high-rank LED that usually only goes in the more-expensive LE model.

Anyway, it's not difficult to believe Inova at some point or other had to drop down in rank for a few runs, and so someone got a bluer-tinted LED than the norm.

Joe
 
I was not impressed by the brightness of the X5T with white leds, and replaced it with a green led version and like it much better. The green leds are brighter up close, and throw a beam easily twice as far as the white. I also happen to like the green color, but it does shift your color perception very distinctly and may not be best for everyrone.

Brightness aside, the X5T is a well built light. I wish the tailcap button was a little higher, rhat the grooves went around the barrel not down, and I wish that i had a pocket clip, but all in all it is a very handy little light. The green one rides with me when i am carrying my Surefire Z3 for those lighting situation where i don't want to actually burn holes in things! :rolleyes:
 
Chris... I'll keep up as long as you do :cool:

Matthew, your misunderstanding my use of the term primary and secondary. When using these terms with color coded cable, blue and green are secondary not primary (Basically you have to ignore what was learned in art class.).
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That's because these are </i>pigments</i> and not <i>light</i>. I wondered if I had gotten this right, and indeed, I found this reference (gee the net is great for this kind of stuff now)

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/light/U12L2d.html

The relevant section reads...

Any three colors (or frequencies) of light which produce white light when combined with the correct intensity are called primary colors of light. There are a variety of sets of primary colors; yet,the <b>most common set of primary colors is red (R), green (G) and blue (B)</b>. When red, green and blue light are mixed or added together with the proper intensity, white (W) light is obtained. This is often represented by the equation below:

R + G + B = W

Joe...
Nichia rates their LEDs for both color and brightness, I believe. Sometimes one rank or other becomes difficult to get, and manufacturers substitute a cheaper or better rank for a time. That's what happened with the Arc AAA for a time, though in this case it was good for the customer, because Arc started using in the AAA the high-rank LED that usually only goes in the more-expensive LE model.
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Oh now that's interesting! That means we can't all compare even the same equipment (model numbers, etc.) on any reasonable basis without special equipment (like a spectrometer in this case)! Chris, that means what I said in previous posts may well apply to <i>my</i> Inova and that of others, but indeed not to <i>yours!</i> I wonder if we can get Inova to release the ratings on LEDs used in any given production run... Would be interesting, but would probably cause them a headache as some of us began to ask for units from specific runs for that reason... I'm looking at the Nichia site now. Looking for a white paper on the rating system or something like that...
 
You might try searching through candlepowerforums as well. Search on "s-rank" or something. I did find the ranking chart on the nichia site (did you?), butI notice that the S-rank, which I believe to be the best of the white LED ranks, isn't listed, which means the site might be a bit out of date.

Joe
 
Matthew, that's a cool site, and it figures, same color different color.

Joe, did you know that from the beginning or did you just find it?

Then Revolvergeek chimes in with some interesting info that makes me say this. These are damn good little lights, but, if you have a specific use intended, better buy it in person and check it out first. It would be pretty funny to watch someone test them in a store. Pick out 5 of the same lights and get 5 different color shades. This would sum up their expression :confused: .
 
Originally posted by cgd160
Joe, did you know that from the beginning or did you just find it?
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I am the keeper of all knowledge, grasshopper! Actually, I've never looked on the nichia site until Matthew mentioned it, and what little I know about LEDs I learned on candlepowerforums.com :)

Joe
 
Joe, I haven't found the rating paper (or scale), but I did find this in a paper on the Nichia site...

Nichia developed the white LED in the mid-1990's by combining its high quality phosphor with its recently commercialized indium gallium nitride (InGaN) blue LED. Nichia found that when blue light from an InGaN die passes through a thin phosphor coating, <b>a portion of the blue light is down-converted to yellow light</b>. This yellow light mixes with the remaining blue light from the InGaN die to create bright white light. Increased brightness of Nichia's white LEDs was achieved by improvements to both Nichia's InGaN die and Nichia's proprietary phosphor coating.

Notice its blue plus yellow, and yellow splits (spectrographically) into red and green (i.e., red + green <i>light</i> make yellow), so there you have the three primaries again combining to make white, though I can see why blue seems dominant.
 
Grasshopper envies wisdom of great men.

Damn Matthew, when you want to get to the bottom of something , there is no stopping you :cool: . This thread has officially become a lesson on LED's, even :cool:er.
 
Esav are you still checking in on this thread? If you are, what store in Grand Central Station did you get the Inova for $43 at?
 
Grapevine it was probably the Discovery store, not sure though.

I talked to Inova today (good people), as far as color of the white LED's goes, it's out of their hands. I mentioned this was false advertising, I WAS WRONG :footinmou. If anyone is guilty of false advertising it is the manufacturer of the LED's. They did mention that a truely white LED is in the works (should be out next year). Also if anyone is using a single LED light it will be whiter than a multiple LED light. Just read all of Matthew's posts to understand why.
 
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