UKC Forums - ?.... for light builders.

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Posted by john Duemmer on 01-15-2015 01:03 PM:

?.... for light builders.

When will someone build a light with a Bat. level indicator?... it sure would extend the life of our lights with fewer unneeded chargeing cycles.

Maybe i just answered my own question.

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Posted by joey on 01-15-2015 03:11 PM:

I cant speak for other light builders John but, it would just be one more thing to break and another drain on the battery. Some of the Chinese lights have them now.

I can tell you what I tell everyone about the HD. I use a linear driver and 3.7 volt lithium ion battery. What that does vs the 7.4 volt and constant current driver is it allows it to dim before it goes dead. Not a hole lot but noticeable. At the end of the batteries charge the light will go real dim and stay like that for about 45 minuets before going completely dead.

What I see over and over hunting with other people is they are burning these lights on high way more than needed. If they would use them like we used to use a light you could hunt all week or longer with no problem.

Every time I'm asked this question about my light I tell them to hunt 3-5 nights then charge and you want have a problem.

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Posted by H. L. Meyer on 01-15-2015 03:34 PM:

joey

I understand your post look it over twice before I posted this. With due respevt to you THE QUESTION WAS NEVER ANSWERED you gave reasons and how to make your light last longer BUT. the question was and is WHEN WILL A LIGHT BUILDER INSTALL A BAT LEVEL INDICATOR . To me that is a valid question and a good one also.

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Posted by buck brush on 01-15-2015 03:41 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Doug Johnson
John, I think you did!

Had a conversation last night with a friend that builds lights, about these new tiny battery packs, amp hours, charge time, battery life, ect.

My question is when are light makers going to make a light that you can change batteries in the woods.
I would guess that burn time on high for most of these LED's are about 4 hours and maybe 40 hours on low.
Should be plenty of battey life for most folks and maybe enough to hunt about 3 nights before charging.
But those of us that have a few years under our belts in the coon woods have had times when we cut the hunt short because of a dead light.
So what about making a light that comes with a small waterproof battery cover ( like a Garmin ) with a battery that just plugs in.
You'd have to have an additional battery with a charging case and maybe a split pigtailed charger so you could

charge both at once. Unplug the charger and leave the

extra battery in the case and slip it in your pocket

.

if I am not mistaken K light does you can buy a extra Bat for there XL and the other cap light and change it in the woods but I have never come close to running mine dead and I only charge it once a week hunting 3 or 4 nights with it, you would have to wear it on a belt or put the Bat. in your pocket unless you took tools with you to take it off the hat

Even if they won't make a battery charge level indicator on the light, they could sure add one to this set up on the charger.

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Posted by Richard Edinger on 01-15-2015 03:46 PM:

light

As you get older and your eyes get dimmer you tend to run your light on higher settings to ward off trips and falls.

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Posted by MARSHALL AYERS on 01-15-2015 05:04 PM:

Re: joey

quote:
Originally posted by H. L. Meyer
I understand your post look it over twice before I posted this. With due respevt to you THE QUESTION WAS NEVER ANSWERED you gave reasons and how to make your light last longer BUT. the question was and is WHEN WILL A LIGHT BUILDER INSTALL A BAT LEVEL INDICATOR . To me that is a valid question and a good one also.

He did answer it. He said he uses a driver that allows the light to dim before it dies. When it dims it's time to charge it. He also said a battery indicator would just be another drain in the battery

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Posted by Fisher13 on 01-15-2015 05:50 PM:

Interesting question maybe a device to plug in would work well, then you could leave at home, and test multiple lights with it.

I usually just do every other night. I have a bright eyes light mine also will begin to dim.

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Posted by Richard Lambert on 01-15-2015 05:54 PM:

Re: ?.... for light builders.

quote:
Originally posted by john Duemmer
When will someone build a light with a Bat. level indicator?... it sure would extend the life of our lights with fewer unneeded chargeing cycles.

It sounds like they have one....When the battery starts running low, the light will dim. Mine does that and I know that when it starts to dim, I have to charge it. It is hard to tell on the higher settings but on the lowest setting, it is easy to see when it starts to dim.

Posted by joey on 01-15-2015 06:11 PM:

Re: joey

quote:
Originally posted by H. L. Meyer
I understand your post look it over twice before I posted this. With due respevt to you THE QUESTION WAS NEVER ANSWERED you gave reasons and how to make your light last longer BUT. the question was and is WHEN WILL A LIGHT BUILDER INSTALL A BAT LEVEL INDICATOR . To me that is a valid question and a good one also.

Mr Meyer did you read the part were I said that it would be a drain on the battery and just another part to break? That was my answer.

The meat of johns question was saving charge cycles. That was the intent of the rest of the explanation. Hunt on the light 3-5 nights, don't run it on high when you do not need to. Thats the same thing you would wind up doing if a battery meter was there to let you know when it is getting low.

Posted by john Duemmer on 01-15-2015 06:38 PM:

There may be some on the market that dim enough to give you a heads up that the Bat. is low but most of the Led lights out do not, they go from full light to nothing.
That hunt 3 nights and charge doesnt cut it, who remembers how many nights ago they charged their light? Heck i cant remember what i had for lunch yesterday.
Enen a little indicator light on the Bat pack that would tell ya when you get below 50% would do the trick.
Id bet my current system of plugging every thing in when i come in from huntin is pretty common, it also shortens the life of these lithium batteries.

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Posted by HOBO on 01-15-2015 06:40 PM:

I don't charge mine after each hunt. The only reason to charge after each hunt would be if you're hunting from dark to daylight.

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Posted by bsearless on 01-15-2015 07:04 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Doug Johnson
John, I think you did!

Had a conversation last night with a friend that builds lights, about these new tiny battery packs, amp hours, charge time, battery life, ect.

My question is when are light makers going to make a light that you can change batteries in the woods.
I would guess that burn time on high for most of these LED's are about 4 hours and maybe 40 hours on low.
Should be plenty of battey life for most folks and maybe enough to hunt about 3 nights before charging.
But those of us that have a few years under our belts in the coon woods have had times when we cut the hunt short because of a dead light.
So what about making a light that comes with a small waterproof battery cover ( like a Garmin ) with a battery that just plugs in.
You'd have to have an additional battery with a charging case and maybe a split pigtailed charger so you could charge both at once. Unplug the charger and leave the extra battery in the case and slip it in your pocket.

Even if they won't make a battery charge level indicator on the light, they could sure add one to this set up on the charger.

I like this, it made me think of my impact drivers i use on the construction site. The new style Lithium ion batteries are about the same size as the batteries now a days on coon lights. They have a button you can push to check battery life..etc

I have been running my 120$ blazer light for about 6 to 7 nights now and just wondering when she'll die. Like said above though, i would like to run it all the way down and get the full battery life out of it.

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Posted by Triple K Kennel on 01-15-2015 07:40 PM:

Light.......

I think the new one Nite Lite has out has a battery life indicator on it ?

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Posted by Bayemup34 on 01-15-2015 11:23 PM:

Re: Light.......

quote:
Originally posted by Triple K Kennel
I think the new one Nite Lite has out has a battery life indicator on it ?

Sure does.

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Posted by joey on 01-15-2015 11:59 PM:

If you forget to turn it off and put your light up. In 12-15 days with the meter running your battery will be completely dead. Thats if it was wired to be turned on and off. That being said it would not be a big deal to put one on if there is room in the box.

Posted by Slowpoke 2012 on 01-16-2015 04:19 AM:

Why can't they have adjustable beams and flicker switches like the old Nite Lights too? I'd love to switch my HD from flood to spot.

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Posted by joey on 01-16-2015 05:17 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by Slowpoke 2012
Why can't they have adjustable beams and flicker switches like the old Nite Lights too? I'd love to switch my HD from flood to spot.

To do it correctly you have to use an aspherical lens instead of a reflector. Depending on the size of the reflector you would need somewhere around 1 3/8 inches of travel in and out. If you just move the reflector in and out all you get is a black whole in the center. I built one and it worked well but this is what I realized. The led just doesnt work like the 5100 heads. On the 5100 heads you had a spot when it was focused, or a flood with a black whole when it was all the way out. The led lights have a spot in the middle and a flood around them. You have the best of both worlds.

Posted by K. Singletary on 01-16-2015 06:16 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by joey
To do it correctly you have to use an aspherical lens instead of a reflector. Depending on the size of the reflector you would need somewhere around 1 3/8 inches of travel in and out. If you just move the reflector in and out all you get is a black whole in the center. I built one and it worked well but this is what I realized. The led just doesnt work like the 5100 heads. On the 5100 heads you had a spot when it was focused, or a flood with a black whole when it was all the way out. The led lights have a spot in the middle and a flood around them. You have the best of both worlds.

I see they are making LED flashlights with the aspherical lens in them. I saw one in a local gun shop, played around with it and started wondering why the hunting light builders hadn't come out with one. It appeared to work well on the flashlight, but just looking at it, the lens stuck out further than any part of the light and I'm not sure how it would handle the abuse a coon hunter would put it through.

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Posted by deschmidt27 on 01-16-2015 08:54 PM:

Mike probably has the answer to this... but if I'm not mistaken, most battery level indicators are monitoring drop in voltage, but many of the modern battery types like Lithium Ion batteries, do not have the gradual degradation of voltage, like the old alkaline batteries. They're at nearly full voltage, and then fall off the cliff.

This is why those old beep-beep tracking collars had the shockingly expensive batteries, because they were lithium. Because you wanted your battery to last at full voltage until it just went dead. Otherwise, you couldn't tell if your dog was a couple miles away or was only 100 yards away, but the collar batteries were going dead.

Meaning... with modern batteries, and simple (aka affordable) battery level indicators, you wouldn't know you were about to go dead, until moments before you do! Which as Mike has explained is already apparent by the drastic dimming of your light.

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Posted by john Duemmer on 01-16-2015 09:21 PM:

Im not tech savy, but i know my cell phone has a lithium battery and an accurate gauge, and a new cordless drill that i think has a lithium battery and a button with a little row of lights that show battery level, i assume because you have to press the button to check the level that it does not deplete the battery. The Garmin collars also run lithium Bats. and you can check their levels from a mile away. I figure if the chineese can do it americans should be able to do it better.

Most all of the new tools that run on lithium batterys have what they call a "fuel gauge" i did a quick search on ebay and the gauges go for about four bucks.

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Posted by Slowpoke 2012 on 01-16-2015 11:43 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by K. Singletary
I see they are making LED flashlights with the aspherical lens in them. I saw one in a local gun shop, played around with it and started wondering why the hunting light builders hadn't come out with one. It appeared to work well on the flashlight, but just looking at it, the lens stuck out further than any part of the light and I'm not sure how it would handle the abuse a coon hunter would put it through.

I've got a LED Mag Light in my truck. Bright as can be, but does have a "Hole" in it when turned to flood and looking at a distance. I still like the adjustable beam though.

Posted by joey on 01-17-2015 01:02 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by john Duemmer
Im not tech savy, but i know my cell phone has a lithium battery and an accurate gauge, and a new cordless drill that i think has a lithium battery and a button with a little row of lights that show battery level, i assume because you have to press the button to check the level that it does not deplete the battery. The Garmin collars also run lithium Bats. and you can check their levels from a mile away. I figure if the chineese can do it americans should be able to do it better.

Most all of the new tools that run on lithium batterys have what they call a "fuel gauge" i did a quick search on ebay and the gauges go for about four bucks.

The best meter for this application would have a digital readout letting you know the voltage. The batteries I use charge to 4.135 and cut off at 3.3. It could be done you just have to find one that will fit properly in the box.

Posted by Triple K Kennel on 01-17-2015 04:51 PM:

Good post....

quote:
Originally posted by john Duemmer
Im not tech savy, but i know my cell phone has a lithium battery and an accurate gauge, and a new cordless drill that i think has a lithium battery and a button with a little row of lights that show battery level, i assume because you have to press the button to check the level that it does not deplete the battery. The Garmin collars also run lithium Bats. and you can check their levels from a mile away. I figure if the chineese can do it americans should be able to do it better.

Most all of the new tools that run on lithium batterys have what they call a "fuel gauge" i did a quick search on ebay and the gauges go for about four bucks.

I think this is True, my cell phone has a very accurate Battery life guage, and the Power tools John mentioned have them too.

Posted by deschmidt27 on 01-17-2015 05:05 PM:

John - not denying that, but those are products with either high-tech micro-processing already on-board (like your Garmin and cell phone) or being produced in the 10s or 100s of thousands, like the drills. Meaning they're not super simple components, but are affordable none the less because of the economy of scale.

In the light builders defense, we can all find all sorts of inexpensive stuff on-line but that doesn't mean they're robust enough to put in a hunting light. Or affordable enough for the average coon hunter to be willing to pay the upcharge.

I'm no expert... just playing the "devil's advocate". These are cool features, you're describing. The average coon hunter keeps becoming more and more tech savvy!

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Posted by rthompson on 01-18-2015 02:02 AM:

Nite lights caplight has a battery life indicator and a strobe warning!!!

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