Photon Lights

Tim F.

I don't know about the new ASP but if you email me your address I will send you a copy of the original ASP Sapphire promo that state water proof and water resistance on the products. I am heading out to the airport and can not be more opinionated right now. Please stay tune.
 
Krumbs,

Which version did you buy 50 or 120 hour?

Jeff,

Yes I was shopping at REI. They only carry red/yellow photon I's and blue/white Photon II's. The local REI has trouble keeping these little lights in stock. The white looked like a washed out blue and (I can't remember where I read this) is really a blue diode with a filter in it.

The other store I was talking about is Eagle Enterprises which is a local store mentioned in equipped.com. They're a little spendy but if anybody else sells photons locally it would be them.

Tim,

That is why I said I will reserve full judgement until I own one (Photon II).
 
NamViet,
As previously stated I don't mean to be argumentative (and I also don't like to steer people wrong) so I called ASP directly- just so I'm not throwing in just my opinions, but rather being factual. I spoke with someone in the order department (I believe she said her name was Jennifer) and asked about the Sapphire light. She told me it was water RESISTANT but was most definitely NOT WATERPROOF. She is sending me a spec sheet on the Sapphire as well as their whole line (the rest of which I do like). I have a spec sheet from Moteng from when the Sapphire first came out- it doesn't say waterproof on that version. If you still want to mail a copy- my address is on the sale post. You can reach ASP at (800) 236-6243 if you doubt the veracity of my info.

I'll stick by my guns, thank you.
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David,
You are mostly correct- except it's not "exactly" a filter. The white light is actually a blue bulb with a 1 micron coating of yttrium aluminate garnet (YAG- like what some lasers use in the lasing process). When power is carried from the batteries to the leads, the little square you see at the bottom turns blue which you see as the corona of blue light. The white light you do see is actually the YAG flourescing(sp?) when the power passes through that 1 micron coating. So you're basically seeing a flourescent bulb, not a filtered blue LED. The flourescence is also why the Blue is brighter than the white version- the flourescence is a flatter/more pale light by it's very nature. Hope this helps.

Good luck finding some Photon2's.

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--
Regards,
Tim
Nor'east Knives

There are two rules for ultimate success in life.
Never tell everything you know.

[This message has been edited by Tim Flanagan (edited 06 July 1999).]
 
Tim,

Thanks for the explanation about the white photon II's...always wondered why they have that blue corona.

Anyone know how much brighter the turquoise photons are than the white; also, how bright the green is compared to orange (at least in terms of how you see it)?


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JP Bullivant
 
Just an update for those who were interested in the Streamlight Stylus. It won't be out until mid-September. They faxed over a spec sheet, but alas, it didn't hold the Holy Grail- no price suggested as was promised on the phone. I'll call tomorrow- again- to get the skinny.

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--
Regards,
Tim
Nor'east Knives

There are two rules for ultimate success in life.
Never tell everything you know.
 
David,

I bought the Extreme 360 Krill ,in green,which has the lower burn time of 50 hours.

The power isn't usually out for 50 hours, so I'm covered. -Krumbs

BTW, just ordered 3 orange Photon II lights from Frank Norman @ Little River Trading Co.
Great deal!

[This message has been edited by Krumbs (edited 07 July 1999).]
 
Tim,

Water resistance is lawyer jargon for water proof. I have a Seiko dive watch that said water resistance to 300 feet on the back. I called Seiko about this and they said it is OK to go diving with it but if I bang the watch under water then all bets are off.

I have talked to the ASP rep prior to buying a bunch of Sapphires last year and he guaranteed me that they are waterproof but not for diving. I dove with the light after the contest with the soldiers just to test its water resistance. This is the promo stuffs from ASP verbatim:


BACKGROUND:

Lifetime battery replacement. Lifetime crystal replacement. Designed to professional standards. Extremely bright.
Forged aluminum body. Xenoy frame. Ergonomic profile. Integral retention clip.

SPECIFICATION:

Length: 2.67inch. Width: 0.95inch. Thickness 0.34inch. Weight: 0.55ounce. System: 6Volt. Output: Brilliant blue
light. Produced to aerospace tolerances.

BODY:

Die struck. High strength aluminum alloy. Bright dip industrial anodizing or electroless nickel finish or powder paint
coating or 18K gold plating. Appearance color are: red, gold, violet, pewter, black, blue, electroless nickel, textured
brown and 18k gold.

FRAME:

Xenoy engineering grade resin. Water resistant. Precision balanced. Stainless steel insert. No sharp edges.

BATTERIES:

Two 3Volt Lithium. Ten year shelf life. Low temperature certified. Leak proof. Vibration resistant. Fitted battery compartment. Free lifetime replacement.

SWITCH:

Side mounted. Intermittent. Tactile dome activation. Raised Santoprene switch cover. One hand operation.

LAMP:

Sapphire Crystal (TM). High luminous intensity. High efficiency. Visible over one mile. 100,00 hour rating. Semiconductor based. 180 degrees viewing radius. Excellent direct viewing properties. Sized smaller than neon or incandescent bulbs. Solid state. Exceptional reliability. Dual pin construction. Minimal power requirements. Minimal heat generation. Non-deteriorating light generation. Shock proof. Vibration proof. Impact proof. Low voltage requirement. Water clear acrylic lens. Waterproof. Even light distribution (no hot spots). Free lifetime replacement.

RETENTION CLIP:

Triangular profile. Coil spring tensioned. Wide mouth. automatic attachment.

AVAILABLE CUSTOM OPTIONS:

Laser engraveable. Special purpose crystal colors. Computer engraveable. Brass die struck medallion. nickel silver die struck medallion. Full color die struck medallion.

WARRANTY:

Limited Lifetime.
 
WARNING!!! For those of you who have no sense of humor, please do not read the following!

What ASP doesn't say in their promo literature is:

Water resistant is defined as follows: Water must be fresh water - no salt allowed. Water depth must be less than that of an average pint glass. Water exposure time must be less than four (4) minutes. Basically, what we're saying is that any claims that our ASP Sapphire is "water resistance" are completely fabricated.


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Kelly

http://home.carolina.rr.com/senator
AKTI Member #A000289

Deo Vindice



[This message has been edited by Senator (edited 07 July 1999).]
 
Wow. Lots of good, eclectic information here.

Basically, I just wanted to say that I have a Photon II white and love it. I bought two. One is on my keychain. The other one was meant to be a back-up in case the first broke. But I have this friend, see, who does stupid things at night. Not illegal, just not very bright. But, I'm not his mother so the next best thing I could do was give him my other Photon II white. Needless to say he loved it.

I originally picked the white light because I wanted the ability to identify proper colors on objects. But, I'm finding that it's not as important for me as I thought. Still, it's a great little light, and I don't regret a bit spending so much (relative to my budget) for such a light.
 
I had a Photon light several years ago from Eastern Mountain Sports. I carried it on a ball chain around my neck. It worked fine until I forgot to take it off in the shower. After that it worked intermittently for a while. I took it apart to try to clean it up, it worked fine after that for about a week then stopped altogether. Further disassembly and tinkering did no good.

I was going to try another one, see if I could seal it up with some silicone so it would at least pass the shower test. They are neat little lights. Maybe I just had bad luck.


MNH
 
MNH,
Send it back to the factory- they are warrantied for life (except against abuse). Life includes a little water now and again. It sounds like you have one of the original Photons (red or yellow) which just had the plain tinned leads, not the gold plated leads like on the green, white, blue and turquoise Photon2's. Drop me a note if you need the address- they'll take care of you.


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--
Regards,
Tim
Nor'east Knives

There are two rules for ultimate success in life.
Never tell everything you know.
 
NamViet,
Thanks for taking the time to post that. Apparently they took advantage of the clause they have on their packaging: "ASP reserves the right to make changes at any time in prices, specifications or design without notice." The new pacakaging doesn't even mention water resistance.

Spark will have my pictures tomorrow of the dunk tests as well as of the ASP's innards.
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Kelly,

Heheheh
smile.gif

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STYLUS UPDATE
Gene, Blades, Dex and anyone else who was interested:

The suggested retail prices are as follows:

The TWO AAAA cell version of the Stylus will be available in Black, Gold and Sivler with bulbs of red and orange:
Blister Pack :$17.95
Giftbox :$19.95
The THREE AAAA Cell version of the Stylus will be available in Black, Gold and Silver with bulbs of white, green and blue:
Blister Pack :$21.95
Giftbox :$24.95
Look for a Mid-September release.

And they quite clearly specify that these ARE waterproof. My guess (yet to be verified) is that they put an O-Ring behind the LED and the other end is similar to one of their lights already -with the O-ring at that end. It will have a push-on-momentary switch and a twist-remain-on tail switch using a similar mechanism to their TacLight and the Sure-Fires.

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Regards,
Tim
Nor'east Knives

There are two rules for ultimate success in life.
Never tell everything you know.
 
Tim,

Now I am curious. Do you know if ASP change the spec to meet the design, or did they change both the spec and the design? I have to think about this before I buy any more ASP.
 
NamViet,
I have absolutely no idea, but if you'd like to view the remnants, drop me an email with your address and I'll send you the pieces of the tested ASP as well as the product card that came with it.

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--
Regards,
Tim
Nor'east Knives

There are two rules for ultimate success in life.
Never tell everything you know.
 
Tim,
Thank's for the upadate. Let us know when you get any in. Look's like I'll have to try a 3 AAAA model.
 
Thanks Tim!! The double AAAA orange Stylus is looking good to me. I guess you also be selling AAAA batteries.
smile.gif



Blades
 
Most welcome for the update. Blades- you know it! ;-)

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--
Regards,
Tim
Nor'east Knives

There are two rules for ultimate success in life.
Never tell everything you know.
 
Re advertising language: Years ago watches with watertight cases were advertised as "waterproof." People went diving with them and they weren't designed to take pressure so they failed, and people complained about false advertising. The US government passed a law and now watches cannot be advertised as "waterproof" in the US; instead they are advertised as "water resistant" and the depth they are guaranteed to withstand must be specified. They are tested at greater pressure than they're guaranteed for, naturally.

I don't know if that law applies to flashlights and I don't know what laws apply in other countries. I would assume if a flashlight is advertised as "waterproof" that only means the case is watertight and it won't take any depth; if it could they would say so.

I wouldn't go diving with it unless I see a depth rating. I think if you seal it up yourself it probably won't take the pressure of diving and it might not survive a shower; showers can blast pretty hard. I have sealed watches and found it was good against spills and rain; there's no pressure then. Immersion, even at no depth, is much more difficult to protect against -- it doesn't even have to be perfectly watertight to withstand a little rain.

The way the Photon II is constructed I don't think you can seal it up watertight because of the way the switch is designed.

-Cougar Allen :{)
 
Cougar,
To make any claim of water resistant/waterproof there must be a depth/pressure rating. The one Photon is trying to reach is roughly 90 feet (15 fathoms) and this would give them the right to use waterPROOF. They are still in the drawing board phase but hope to come out with a waterPROOF one next year sometime-with a new switch design. The are alrady able to claim water resistance, but do not, as water can stop it working after a fashion- especially if salt water corrosion sets in long enough. If the light is not flushed with fresh water and dried a film can coat the battery and stop functioning. If, OTOH, you do get it wet- I was just told the best way to get them dry in a hurry is to put the photon on a string and windmill it over your head to force the water out. Sounds pretty reasonable to me. If it's a salt waster incursion, it needs to be flushed with fresh water, then dried in the same fashion. Hope this provides some more info.

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--
Regards,
Tim
Nor'east Knives

There are two rules for ultimate success in life.
Never tell everything you know.
 
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