What's my name!

[gcbryan]

TEST DIVER_COVE 2!

I was feeling a little under the weather today and thought about canceling my planned dive at Cove 2 tonight and I'm very glad I went anyway. I have a new dive light that was having some intermittent problems and I had another small light that I bought as an experiment. It wasn't a dive light but I tried to make it one! It's output is about 100 lumens and I needed to test the main light (approx. 500 lumens) out soon to determine if I would need to return it.

I had a plan. The main light on my only dive with it suddenly went dim after 20 fsw but recovered only to go dim again. Worked fine everywhere except under the water! I thought it might be the magnetic switch so I bought some magnets, used a paint pen to mark the correct polarity after testing in my house where I was able to get it to turn the light on and off. I carried those in a baggy in my drysuit pocket.

The small non-diving light that I had attempted to convert into a diving light I left hanging from me in the on position. Yes, it looked bad but I didn't want to turn it on or off underwater on this dive. As modified it now turns on and off as a "twisty" switch rather than as a "clicky" switch.

I was diving solo and was getting in the water at the same time as Josh and Lynne. I ran into them a few times underwater and was able to say hello after the dive. Initially I think we were the only ones in the water.

I fully expected the smaller light to fail. I just wanted to keep checking it to determine at what depth. I had to physically pick it up each time to look at it as I couldn't tell if it was on over the glare of my other light that I was testing.

To make a long story short there were no failures in either of the lights. The only thing I did differently with the main light was to use my other set of batteries which I ordered at the same time as the light. They are a different brand and were supposed to be a little better. These are rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (protected).

The little light never failed. I went all the way to 100fsw. Since the test was going so well I decided to turn it off at 100 fsw since this required unscrewing it a bit and at 4 atmospheres that's pretty good for a $20 light. It's a well made machined aluminum light and of course it has my most excellent modifications but I was surprised.

I got shallower and just enjoyed my main light for the rest of the dive. I turned on the Light Cannon just to do a few more comparison tests. The throw is about the same with both, the illumination is more uniform with the new light and the light is more natural looking. It's also 1/3 the size and I was able to mount it hands free in an Oxycheq Raider soft sock (a Delrin molded Goodman handle would be even better) . The light is $95 and the sock is $25. It gets two hours burn time on high (approx 500 lumens) and since led's get more efficient as you reduce the current at 50% power it should burn about 5 hours. For many dives 50% power would be fine especially if you have multiple dive days and electrical connections are hard to find...camping/diving trips.

I'm happy with the results of this dive and from this time henceforth will simply be referred to as "the test platform" formerly known as gcbryan.

[Joshua Smith]

Ha! Glad you solved the problem! It was good to finally meet you, tonight, too, Grey. Was that you we saw down on the boundary line, around 80'?

[LCF]

Thanks for the description of your experiment -- it makes much better sense of what I saw when we ran into you!

[gcbryan]

Ha! Glad you solved the problem! It was good to finally meet you, tonight, too, Grey. Was that you we saw down on the boundary line, around 80'?

If it was at the beginning of the dive yes. You and Lynne and I were the only ones in the water on the beach and got in at the same time. A few minutes into the dive I ran into you guys several times but tried to stay to one side or another.

I was barely looking where I was going I had so many lights to check or use and things I wanted to mentally record since I was expecting more problems with the lights and I wanted more data points for after the dive to help with the trouble shooting.

Hump, you said Gray...you must have forgotten...it's "the test platform formerly known as gcbryan". :biggrin:

[gcbryan]

Thanks for the description of your experiment -- it makes much better sense of what I saw when we ran into you!

Ah come on Lynne, you know us strokes always dive with one light turned on dangling below us, another big clunker turned off, dangling and another bright one in our hands! We don't all have a bag of magnets in a sandwich bag in our pocket but some of us do! It's a situational awareness problem. We aren't good at that. :biggrin:

[Joshua Smith]

Ha! Glad you solved the problem! It was good to finally meet you, tonight, too, Grey. Was that you we saw down on the boundary line, around 80'?

If it was at the beginning of the dive yes. You and Lynne and I were the only ones in the water on the beach and got in at the same time. A few minutes into the dive I ran into you guys several times but tried to stay to one side or another.

I was barely looking where I was going I had so many lights to check or use and things I wanted to mentally record since I was expecting more problems with the lights and I wanted more data points for after the dive to help with the trouble shooting.

Hump, you said Gray...you must have forgotten...it's "the test platform formerly known as gcbryan". :biggrin:

May I shorten that to "TTPFKAG?" And, yes- it was at the beginning of the dive. I'm kind of envious - I miss solo diving, but I just can't bring myself to do it on a rebreather.

[gcbryan]

Ha! Glad you solved the problem! It was good to finally meet you, tonight, too, Grey. Was that you we saw down on the boundary line, around 80'?

If it was at the beginning of the dive yes. You and Lynne and I were the only ones in the water on the beach and got in at the same time. A few minutes into the dive I ran into you guys several times but tried to stay to one side or another.

I was barely looking where I was going I had so many lights to check or use and things I wanted to mentally record since I was expecting more problems with the lights and I wanted more data points for after the dive to help with the trouble shooting.

Hump, you said Gray...you must have forgotten...it's "the test platform formerly known as gcbryan". :biggrin:

May I shorten that to "TTPFKAG?" And, yes- it was at the beginning of the dive. I'm kind of envious - I miss solo diving, but I just can't bring myself to do it on a rebreather.

On second thought I guess Gray is easier...I guess only Prince can pull something like that off...and I'm no Prince!

I wouldn't dive solo on a rebreather either if I was a rebreather diver. Some of my friends do but I'd draw the line there. Got to know where to draw those lines.

[airsix]

"I went solo diving and saw Josh and Lynne diving together."

Buddy, you were narced out of your mind. That's the craziest narc-story I've ever heard

(Honestly, hearing this news makes my day. I think it's awesome.) :luv:

[gcbryan]

"I went solo diving and saw Josh and Lynne diving together."

Buddy, you were narced out of your mind. That's the craziest narc-story I've ever heard

(Honestly, hearing this news makes my day. I think it's awesome.) :luv:

I didn't actually get finger prints and I don't know Josh that well so it's still possible it was an elaborate setup...thinking about it...man, I can't believe I fell for it.

[Nwbrewer]

gcbryan we need light pictures! What light did you mod?

Glad to hear it sounds like the batteries. You might consider getting some nice Sanyo or samsung batteries for it so you don't have to worry about the quality of the "trust"fire batteries.

[sheahanmcculla]

gcbryan we need light pictures! What light did you mod?

Glad to hear it sounds like the batteries. You might consider getting some nice Sanyo or samsung batteries for it so you don't have to worry about the quality of the "trust"fire batteries.

The light is $95 and the sock is $25.

So what would the total cost be if you wanted to run this light?

Light + batteries + goodman handle =

[gcbryan]

gcbryan we need light pictures! What light did you mod?

Glad to hear it sounds like the batteries. You might consider getting some nice Sanyo or samsung batteries for it so you don't have to worry about the quality of the "trust"fire batteries.

The light is $95 and the sock is $25.

So what would the total cost be if you wanted to run this light?

Light + batteries + goodman handle =

$95 + $25 =$120 :biggrin:

OK, to be more precise if the soft goodman handle type of mount is OK then the sock is $25.
The light comes with a lithium-ion recharger and batteries. I ordered another set of batteries for $8 and it think Sanyo might be more in the neighborhood of $15 each and you need two but all I have at the moment are those for $8 for two.

[Nwbrewer]

I couldn't find the MC-E one.

This one - http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.29069
Looks cheaper, uses a P7 rather than an MCE, which is more heat tolerant, and brighter than the MC-E, but basically the same light.

[gcbryan]

gcbryan we need light pictures! What light did you mod?

Glad to hear it sounds like the batteries. You might consider getting some nice Sanyo or samsung batteries for it so you don't have to worry about the quality of the "trust"fire batteries.

By your standards it was a very modest mod. No led or driver changes (there is no driver actually). The light is a Romisen RC-K4 and all I did was convert the "clicky" type switch to a "twisty" by taking apart the switch, ditching the microswitch, and using epoxy to fill the hole in the tail cap. You turn it on or off by just backing off the tail cap a bit.

I actually reused the little rubber clicky button cover by popping it out, reversing it and sticking it in the hole from the outside to help plug the hole before I used the epoxy.

I used silicone in place of the lens O-ring and around a bit of the perimeter of the lens face, front and back. I used silicone on all threads except the tail cap. There I used some silicone grease just like you would for conditioning O-rings.

This is a link to a picture showing the original end cap clicky.
http://gbpics.shutterfly.com/383

This is the modified end cap.
http://gbpics.shutterfly.com/385

and this show the lens area but you can't really see much of the silicone.
http://gbpics.shutterfly.com/384

I did this little project just to see if I could do it. I probably will not use this as a backup light. I'll probably just keep it in the car as a regular light. I did learn how the lights were constructed (and how to take them apart)and I did learn that since most of these machined aluminum lights are at least "weather proofed" it's possible to convert one for diving purposes if the light is interesting enough and there are no better options.

I'll try to upgrade the electronics/led in something one of these days for the learning experience as well. If for no other reason than to be able to troubleshoot and repair something like the main dive light I just got and tested.

When the market doesn't offer what you want it's fun to be able to do it yourself. I actually contacted the Romisen factory in China and a guy there has been emailing asking for some feedback after I asked if they had any plans for dive lights so it's been an interesting project. I learned that they did send all their lights out to a company in Australia for testing to 300 fsw.

Some were good candidates and some were not. Currently they are available to custom design a light and at some point are hoping to actively manufacture them.

[gcbryan]

I couldn't find the MC-E one.

This one - http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.29069
Looks cheaper, uses a P7 rather than an MCE, which is more heat tolerant, and brighter than the MC-E, but basically the same light.

Try this:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.26498

I ended up with that one because some people felt that the beam angle would be a little tighter and the battery life would be a little better and given the diver on the P7 felt that it wouldn't actually be able to generate much higher lumens than the one I got.

[Nwbrewer]

Let's do a dive sometime, my canlight is a P7 with the Deal reflector, so the beam angle should be the same as the one I linked. We can compare.

[gcbryan]

Let's do a dive sometime, my canlight is a P7 with the Deal reflector, so the beam angle should be the same as the one I linked. We can compare.

Sounds good. Maybe some evening at the Cove.

[airsix]

You know, in the photo gallery for this light (the primary, not the backup) they show a photo of the head removed from the barrel. The male threads on the head look like the same threads as those on the barrel for the tail-cap. It might be possible to put a cable gland in the tail cap and mount the tail-cap directly to the head. Just add canister and batteries for a long-burn can-light. If the switch is unreliable you could hard-wire it and switch from the canister (though I'd prefer to switch from the head).

I'm half tempted to order one now to see if it can be done. If so we could put together a how-to and people could be fabbing 6-10hour 10w LED can-lights on their kitchen table for around $200.

-Ben

[renoun]

I'm half tempted to order one now to see if it can be done. If so we could put together a how-to and people could be fabbing 6-10hour 10w LED can-lights on their kitchen table for around $200.

I like the way you think.

[sheahanmcculla]

I'm half tempted to order one now to see if it can be done. If so we could put together a how-to and people could be fabbing 6-10hour 10w LED can-lights on their kitchen table for around $200.

I like the way you think.

Me too!

[Waynne Fowler]

I miss solo diving, but I just can't bring myself to do it on a rebreather.

And we're happy for that Josh! :smt038