New Retail Product: LRI X-Light Micro!

Hi everyone,

A couple years ago I was at the SHOT show and had the opportunity to meet David Allen, the founder of LRI. He was incredibly nice, unassuming, and even had some kind words to say about my little case of custom lights. There are several versions, but X-Light Micro (below) is my favorite...and it's about the size of a quarter! If you don't need more convincing, you can get one from my store! 

Flavors: Clear and Black

David is credited with being the "father" of the micro-light, which he first started manufacturing at his kitchen table back in 1993. He's basically the flashlight maker from whence the rest of us came. I know, cool right? Ever since we met I've wanted to carry his products for the same reasons you should buy one:

1. He's a great guy. He and his wife run a company of 30 people out of a small town in Oregon known colloquially as the "light house." I like knowing who makes my stuff and I especially like buying it if I know they are good folks. I'll even pay a premium for that. Call me old fashioned. 
2. All of the products are 100% manufactured in the US when this would be the perfect product to make overseas and triple your profits overnight. I guess they care more about their product than profit, which is a (very) rare thing these days. 
3. These lights friggin' rock. This tiny little light has a microprocessor in it making the LED smoothly dim-able and able to deliver 3 different strobe modes, an SOS mode, and a "signal" mode where the button works only in "momentary" mode so you can tap out your message in Morse code. You DO know Morse code right? Wow, that's good because I don't...but I could learn some day. 
4. Runs for 12 hours on a single set of batteries...on full blast. That means for keychain use...That might last me a year or more. The lithium coin cells should store for 3-5 years. 

Glow in the dark = Awesome
(in case that needed clarification)

Portable Illumination: 100% off the grid (Brunton Solaris USB)

Hi folks,

I've been using a Brunton solar panel to keep my lights charged up when I'm away from the wall. It really makes a rechargeable light into the ultimate illumination tool and travel companion. As long as the sun shines during the day, you can run your light at night. Backup batteries? Bah! The sun is my backup battery. Okay, I carry one or two spares, but I don't need a bag full.

Get rid of: the expense of tons of disposable batteries, the waste of throwing them away, the weight of carrying them, the hassle of finding batteries in foreign countries, worrying about rationing your battery power, the need to rely on the wall or a store being open to make sure you can see when it gets dark...and I promise it will :)

The Solaris kept me and two Alpha's going for 10 days in the Utah back-country

If you haven't seen my blog post about my Utah trip, you can check it out here.

The cool thing about the Solaris is that it's got a USB port...so you can charge any USB device you have, like your phone, tablet, camera, whateva.

Prometheus Lights is now an authorized Brunton dealer so stop by my site and check out my newest product! http://darksucks.com/ByB.html

Comparing LED color temperatures

So when you look at a data sheet and order a 4500K LED you know what you are getting right? Right? Wrong. With respect to LED bins, tints, and output specs we research a world of absolutes but we live in world of ambiguity. I took the photo below to illustrate the point. The same color temperature in different model LEDs looks different.

LEFT (MCE 6500K & 4500K) / RIGHT (XML 6500K & 4500K)

On the left is the Cree MCE in 6500K and 4500K. On the right is the Cree XML in 6500K and 4500K. I don't care what the data sheet says because the look different and that's all that counts. I don't bring this up to say it's bad in any way, I just mean that we should be aware that these sorts of things are not at all absolute. There are a lot of variables that go into the appearance of LED light. We haven't talked about tint for example. But my point is that you shouldn't expect to different models of LED, with the same specs on paper, to appear the same to your eyes in real life.

Why Zipper Pulls?

So someone asked me why the heck they should buy a zipper pull when zippers already have them. I thought of a bunch of snarky responses, but my professional response: I don't know. What I do know is that I (and other people) like to take mass-produced things and give them a little personality, and perhaps some added functionality, by customizing them.

Here is your mission: open this bag...quick!
Ohhh, can't find the black on black zipper pulls on a black bag? Sorrrrrry.

I took the clunky (and black) zipper pulls off of my camera bag and replaced them with some awesome ones! First, they look cool. Second, the high-vis orange means that I can actually find the zippers when I need to open the bag. The black ones blend in and I spend precious seconds searching for the opening instead of getting my gear out and shooting. I mean really camera bag people...do you even use the stuff that you make? Fortunately (for me) they don't seem to. Zipper pulls: WIN!

VIDEO: intro video

Hi folks! I'm excited to say that I have a new intro video for my landing page. My friend Chris Whitmore shot and edited this piece. This is basically an intro for a longer segment that will be coming along in a few weeks. Mainly I wanted a quick hook for the landing page, not to explain everything in detail, but to give people a feel for what is going on. Hope you like it and don't forget to leave feedback!

I Recommend: PIAA wiper blades will change your life...

Bold title right? I'm not joking around though. PIAA wiper blades will change your life. There, I said it twice. Sometimes when I'm zooming down the freeway surrounded by a sea of cars going 80, I wonder how so many people manage to successfully pilot a vehicle when it takes so little for all of it to go wrong. Then it rains...the veil between order and chaos draws a bit thinner. Suddenly those little things you've been ignoring are (in the case of wiper blades) staring you right in the face. People ignore their wipers until it's too late...and at that point its often dangerous.

Buy the standard PIAA Super Silicone wipers. DO NOT buy the fancy new types...they screwed up the engineering and the wiper will not touch the windshield with even pressure and that causes streaks! 

Put on some PIAA wipers and you will actually look forward to driving in a downpour. Once again, I'm not joking around. PIAA wipers arent just going to work well because they are new. Any wipers work well when the are new. The magic of the PIAA wiper (I know this is going to sound like infomercial BS...but it's not) is it actually conditions your windshield to repel water like a duck's back.

Wired Magazine agrees with me: LEDs are the future

Check out the latest edition of Wired and their article on LED lighting. About time someone with sway picked up this story!  I don't know if this will have any effect on industry (or my business) but I have to imagine that greater public awareness can only help.

Wired must have some budget for cool photography: this image is from their article

Honestly I'm not sure why it's taking so long for companies with millions of dollars in development funds to make a decent LED light bulb. Liquid cooling is a pretty cool idea. That's one reason why the first flashlight I ever made was liquid filled. No, I'm not smart enough to come up with that on my own. My computer uses liquid cooling and there is a lot of research around "submersion cooling" of of power electronics.

One thing I am curious about is how they are keeping the liquid filled bulb from exploding when it heats up. I calculated that my liquid filled light would exert over 700PSI of pressure with each 10(F) rise in temperature. I had a couple of solutions to this but maybe I shouldn't share them yet. Hey "Switch", give me a call. I hear you are down the road. Anyway, the linked article below is worth a read.

"The future of light is the LED" -- Wired Magazine"

"Brett Sharenow is presidingover the Pepsi Challenge of lightbulbs. The CFO of Switch, a Silicon Valley startup, Sharenow has set himself up in a 20-by-20 booth at the back of the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, and he’s asking passersby to check out two identical white shades. Behind one hides a standard incandescent bulb, the familiar lighting technology that has gone largely unchanged since Thomas Edison invented it 132 years ago. Behind the other is a stunning, almost art- deco-style prototype that holds 10 LEDs and a secret fluid. It’s a liquid-cooled bulb, as radically different from Edison’s invention as anything that’s ever been screwed into a standard socket and, Sharenow hopes, the next big thing in the $30 billion lighting industry. The challenge: Can you tell which is which?"

The Economics of Purchasing

As consumers, we spend a lot of time looking at price tags but we don't spend very much time thinking about the cost of ownership. Perhaps because those costs lie in the future and we're not very good at visualizing something as abstract as five years from now. Perhaps it's because we just take the cost of ownership for granted. Do you think about how much gas you are going to buy over the life of the car? Do you think about how much your iPhone plan is going to cost you beyond the purchase of the phone? If you are like me...not really.

However, when you break it down, that doesn't make much sense. Just because you are paying less money "today" doesn't really make the price lower tomorrow. I've been thinking about this a lot. People often ask what makes a $200 light special? I think my new answer is going to be, "because it doesn't cost $1000." Let's take a look at the math.

pop quiz: 20 vs. 2,826...which one is smaller?

One lithium battery is good for about 300 charges. In the Alpha, that equates to about 471 hours of operation on the brightest setting. Think that $30 2D Maglite is a good deal? What if I told you it was going to cost you $283 in disposable batteries to get the same amount of use? Maybe you have an exotic light like the Surefire M3LT (400 lumens & $500.00) or the Fenix TK41 (630 lumens & $130.00). You better be willing to fork out over $2,500 over the life of the light (either one) to pay for the batteries you are going to use. $200 is starting to sound cheap isn't it?

Disaster relief donation: 10 sales = $200

Hi all,

Thanks to everyone who bought a light this month. I promised to donate $20 from each sale to disaster relief in Japan following this post. Times like these remind me that in an emergency, dark sucks in a very serious way. It also made me feel very comfortable sitting in front of my computer, editing photos, turning up the heat, and sipping freshly ground coffee. So, I decided if I was selling people the gift of light, then it would make sense for some of that money to those who had no electricity, no water, and no home.

(your) donation confirmation

I know Japan is a wealthy country and will recover nicely from this catastrophe. I didn't think that should stop me (and us) from helping out though. Even though the country is modernized that doesn't mean people aren't cold, hungry, hurting, and waiting for help. This is also why I donated to the Red Cross. I trust them to direct the money to where it's needed most. In the end, my customers made it possible to donate $200 and I thank you greatly for the honor of crafting a light for you and helping others in a time of need.

My most humble appreciation,

Jason

Design for Dissasembly

I've always been frustrated by things that break and that I may not fix. Notice I didn't say that I "can't" fix. I mean things that are designed and constructed in such a way that it's impossible to fix them. Or rather, the only fix is to throw them out and buy a new one. My breaking point was about four years ago when I had a drip coffee maker overflow out the top. The water ran down the front of the machine and shorted out the circuit board. I won't even get into how ridiculous it is to put electronics in a coffee maker in the first place. Anyway, the water fried the circuit board. A call to the manufacturer confirmed the repair solution was to, "send it back and they'll send me a new one." Great customer service, incredibly stupid design.

My current coffee setup

So, I decided to deconstruct coffee making. One great way to avoid the disassembly/repair trap is to not assemble the parts in the first place. It might spread out the footprint more but it means every part functions independently from other parts. The part that actually makes the coffee is on the left...the clear vacuum flask and ceramic Buchner Funnel. Now I let gravity do the work instead of a circuit board. I won't explain the whole thing, but if you want to know what all this has to do with flashlights, read on after the jump.

infotuners Question Answered!

infotuner said...
"how are you keeping track of all of the automated machining operations as well as manual operations, jigs and fixtures and setup steps, bill of materials, tooling requirements and most efficient order of operations, labor and materials budgets, and the like so that you will be able to do things such as: properly price your end products while accounting for and allocating all of your costs (so that you are not operating at a loss or break-even), making sure that you can remember how to replicate the work that you've done with one batch on subsequent production runs (so that you don't have to 'reinvent the wheel'), figuring out what operations are most "expensive" in time or effort or materials so that you can simplify or improve them, keeping track of suppliers and placing orders with sufficient lead times while optimizing economic order quantities, and so on."

Whew, that really illustrates the complexity well :) As such, there is no simple answer...but I'll give one anyway. Answer: Your tolerance for ambiguity will tell you how fine the teeth on your comb should be. It seems like you have a much better grasp on what is actually involved in implementing something than most people do. The first step in this process is to be aware of the scope. Little details like lead time and product availability can make things really hard. (See one of my previous posts). When you start implementing, even the most simple things get complicated quickly.

You have to work with what you've got

That said, if you try to control ALL of the complexity you will never have time to actually get anything done. It's a trap. You'll spend all your time connecting dots and filling out spread sheets when you should be getting dirty and getting experience. If you can, start small and ramp up. I think a lot of people make the mistake of trying to go big out of the chute. Unless you've done it before (or several times) you are just digging a really deep hole.

The next step is probably budgeting. Start with your big number (for example, your credit card limit) and start breaking it down into the component parts. At some point you should realize you are counting pennies when you ought to be counting dollars. Dial the resolution back as needed. As an individual, or even as a few people, you'll never have the resources to count all the pennies...if you want to get anything done. That probably sounds like bad financial advice, but you can't have both timely execution and perfect information because they are mutually exclusive since they both require time.

Bloy's question answered!

Bloy said...
"How many of these will you be making before you retool/progran and offer a second piece? What do you have in mind? Maybe a flex-head torch for increasing the range of usability? Or maybe an item completely remote from the first flashlights utilizing your skills? How will you be marketing these works-of-art?"

First, hi John! Excited to see a name from way back. Bloy had some really good threads on CNC Zone about getting his Shoptask machine set up. That was my first metal working machine.

Anyway, "how many will I make before making changes?" That will always be different. The lights might change from batch to batch or not change for several batches. I expect there will be more changes in the beginning. Fewer changes down the road...and then perhaps a big leap in a new direction.

The evolution of Coke...notice you only see the changes on the outside.
Coke, I forgive you for coming up with "New Coke." 

Now a lot of changes in the beginning might make people freak out. For example: you just bought a light and I made some improvement on the next batch and you would rather have that. Think of it this way, the same holds true for any product: cars, computers, cameras, books (new editions), bicycles, etc. We've been conditioned by the current market to think that changes should only take place, what, every year or so? We are "comfortable" with that particular time frame...but shorter starts to make us feel anxious. I have this feeling a lot, particularly when dealing with computers.

I'm a (reformed) idiot

So I had a moment of clarity recently. Some current students from my old MBA program sent out a survey on rechargeable batteries. Expecting to feel really smart in a few minutes I dove into the questions because I assumed we'd be talking about really specialized batteries that I use in some of my lights. It didn't take long before I realized "feeling smart" was totally going the other way. The questions were all about "standard" rechargeable batteries like AA, AAA, C, and D size batteries. You know...the ones we use all the time? I hadn't given those any thought in years!

Somehow, over the last several years, I've totally let "standard" rechargeable batteries slip my mind. I have a well stocked drawer full of disposable alkaline batteries. I often buy the "big pack" of AA's when I see a good price...cause I'm smart right? Nope. So why doesn't my drawer contain exactly zero AA batteries because all of my AA devices are filled with rechargeable AA batteries and I don't need extras?

Sanyo Eneloops are considered to be "best of breed" and will
store 6 times longer than a typical NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) battery.

Good question. I did some self reflection and I realized I have been actively ignoring "standard" rechargeable batteries because of past experience with NiCad (Nickel Cadmium) batteries of yore.

Kate's question answered!

WARNING: DESIGN STRATEGY CONTENT
katerw said...
"Who is your customer? Or customers? Have you profiled/interviewed the type of person you imagine using your product?"

To answer your last question first: yes and no.

The "yes" side actually explains why I got into this in the first place. The short version: about nine months ago I started working on an old project for a canister-style dive light targeted at the commercial/military/technical diving community. In order to get familiar with the in's and out's of light design and manufacturing I came up with a small prototype light. I started showing it to people and the response was almost universal: "Holy smokes, that is incredible, can I buy one?!"

Virtually no one has ever seen anything so bright in such a small package. I decided to go where the interest was and abandon dive lights (for the time being) and decided to focus on small hand held lights for every day use. I normally work on super niche products, so excitement from the general public was pretty catalyzing. That response is a lot more rewarding than the usual, "errr....riiiiight....that sounds nice." If it's dark out I don't even have to give a "product pitch," I just push a button on the end of this cylinder thingy.

This is the light that got everything started

On the "no" side, my research has not been extensive and I don't have a ton of resources at my disposal. Any individual starting a business is in the same position. This is a significant factor in my decision to start the blog in the first place. In order to be efficient, I decided to try and bring people to me instead of seeking them out one by one. I hope to attract a user community that will help me understand the market, new technologies, and user needs on an ongoing basis.

Alex's question answered!

In case you can't tell I'm trying to knock out some of these questions!

Alex said...
"PS... Dark does suck. My question is... is "focused beam" the way to tackle the suckiness. Maybe "make a 5 foot diameter around me feel like the day"... Just a thought."

Actually, a lot of people ask about focusing. It's one of the top five questions I think. Darn you Maglite! Here is my take (special applications aside). For general "I can't see in the dark" use, these lights are so powerful you get both long range throw and close range flood all at the same time. It basically makes focusing obsolete (special applications aside).

As four your special request, "make a 5 foot diameter around me feel like the day." Would you settle for a 10 foot diameter of day? That's all I got.

WIN!: driver mounting problem...solved

Yesterday was a good day in the shop! The last component I've been hesitating on is a little copper sleeve that holds the LED driver. The typical solution, and the one I have used on past prototypes, is to solder the edge of the board to the edge of the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) holder. This provides the necessary electrical contact and also holds the PCB in place. You can see this method used on the left image. Oh, and we are looking at the back of the flashlight head where the body threads in. The little spring contacts the (+) top of the battery.

Prototype solution (left) and final solution (right)

The soldering solution is "okay" but a bit unreliable from an assembly standpoint. The technical problem is that the copper conducts heat extremely well, making it hard to solder. The large copper mass rapidly pulls the heat out of the soldering iron, cooling it to a temperature too low for soldering. Another issue that you can see in the left photo is the tiny gap between the PCB and the copper rim. The solder does not want to cross gaps so you are forced to "blob" it on, using more than necessary. It also looks crude.