Hi folks, just a quick YouTube video of a pneumatic press I made to provide the correct pressure when setting the thermal adhesive tape I use to mount the LEDs in my lights.
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
NEW VIDEO: Tools of the Trade - "Spaghetti" Tubing Cutter
Hey folks, I bought this broken tool on eBay and managed to get it working again! Thought I'd share some of the "behind the scenes" stuff that I do to make the Alpha (and running a flashlight business) possible.
Friday, July 27, 2012
"field testing" the Alpha
This actually has no real point, but that won't stop me. I was out doing some beam shots a while back and decided some horsing around was in order. I flipped the video camera on and started hurling some Alphas in the dark. I probably enjoyed it more than you will...hope you still watch :) Oh and yes, it's on grass so no real danger to the lights.
Monday, October 24, 2011
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!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
VIDEO: Drop testing the Alpha
I guess I forgot to post the YouTube video from a while ago...so here it is! I hosted a Candlepower Forums gathering at my shop a few months ago. Just to spice things up I asked everyone in attendance to help me drop test one of my lights. I'd never actually done this before so it was pretty frightening to do in front of a crowd. Makes for good TV though right?
So as you can see, after 37 drops and some pretty massive hits, the tailcap switch broke. Does that mean the light failed? I don't really know. It would still turn on in momentary mode...but the switch would not latch. So, you decide. I think the bottom line is that if your own flashlight ever sees that much abuse...you probably have some other broken stuff that is higher on the priority list.
One other thing to keep in mind is that the McClicky switch is literally the best aftermarket clicky switch that exists. Since my light is designed for easy repair, putting in a new switch is really easy and (if you have strong fingers) can be done completely without tools.
Disclaimer:
This disclaimer is present in order to manage your expectations. Impact is a funny thing and people often have unrealistic expectations with respect to dropping flashlights. For example, in the video above, we dropped the Alpha 37 times and the UCL glass window did not break. I put the light on my bench. When a friend visited the next day I dropped the light from waist high...and the window shattered. Why? Impact is a funny thing.
Flashlights are not meant to be dropped. They are meant to produce light. A good light is engineered in a way that will minimize the statistical probability that something (anything) will break. Engineering is largely balanced by practical considerations like cost and physical size. They key (and the point of my previous anecdote) is that pesky statistical probability. When you drop a light, even from waist high, about a bazillion dice get together to determine the final outcome. Could I make a light that is guaranteed not to break, ever, when dropped from an airplane? Sure, you show me $10,000 and I'll show you an indestructible light. In fact, I'd welcome the challenge :)
I have seen tons of messages on Candlepower Forums where people are irate that they dropped their light, it started working funny, and now they think the light and the entire company are terrible. Do you drop your laptop (or your phone) and then complain to the manufacturer that it broke? No, BECAUSE YOU DROPPED IT. If you drop your light, you should expect it to break. If it doesn't, send the manufacturer a nice letter.
Of course I talked to someone the other day that was really mad at Apple because their iPhone had broken. I said, "What happened to it?" They said, "I dropped it." I had a hard time not saying something really rude in response.
So as you can see, after 37 drops and some pretty massive hits, the tailcap switch broke. Does that mean the light failed? I don't really know. It would still turn on in momentary mode...but the switch would not latch. So, you decide. I think the bottom line is that if your own flashlight ever sees that much abuse...you probably have some other broken stuff that is higher on the priority list.
One other thing to keep in mind is that the McClicky switch is literally the best aftermarket clicky switch that exists. Since my light is designed for easy repair, putting in a new switch is really easy and (if you have strong fingers) can be done completely without tools.
Disclaimer:
This disclaimer is present in order to manage your expectations. Impact is a funny thing and people often have unrealistic expectations with respect to dropping flashlights. For example, in the video above, we dropped the Alpha 37 times and the UCL glass window did not break. I put the light on my bench. When a friend visited the next day I dropped the light from waist high...and the window shattered. Why? Impact is a funny thing.
Flashlights are not meant to be dropped. They are meant to produce light. A good light is engineered in a way that will minimize the statistical probability that something (anything) will break. Engineering is largely balanced by practical considerations like cost and physical size. They key (and the point of my previous anecdote) is that pesky statistical probability. When you drop a light, even from waist high, about a bazillion dice get together to determine the final outcome. Could I make a light that is guaranteed not to break, ever, when dropped from an airplane? Sure, you show me $10,000 and I'll show you an indestructible light. In fact, I'd welcome the challenge :)
I have seen tons of messages on Candlepower Forums where people are irate that they dropped their light, it started working funny, and now they think the light and the entire company are terrible. Do you drop your laptop (or your phone) and then complain to the manufacturer that it broke? No, BECAUSE YOU DROPPED IT. If you drop your light, you should expect it to break. If it doesn't, send the manufacturer a nice letter.
Of course I talked to someone the other day that was really mad at Apple because their iPhone had broken. I said, "What happened to it?" They said, "I dropped it." I had a hard time not saying something really rude in response.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
VIDEO: Table Top Review
So I got an email from a guy named Trent a couple weeks ago asking if I'd do a "table top review" of the Alpha. Here it is! I couldn't afford to spend a ton of time editing so please excuse the roughness. I hope to be doing a bunch more videos in the future so please let me know if you have any requests!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
VIDEO: Indoor and Outdoor Beamshots!
Hi all,
I've been working on getting some better video of the flashlight beam. It's really hard to get everything set up right, but here is my first attempt with my new camera! Cheers, Jason.
I've been working on getting some better video of the flashlight beam. It's really hard to get everything set up right, but here is my first attempt with my new camera! Cheers, Jason.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Mission Motors sets EV lap record at Laguna Seca
Saw this post on the Mission blog today and thought I'd share it here. Congrats to them on another ground breaking technical achievement! I also wanted to toot my own horn and say that I machined some of the parts on this bike. It's really exciting to contribute to an effort like this!
Don't forget to click the blog link so you can see an on-board video of the record lap. That thing makes some crazy noises.
 |
| Midway through the famous (and dangerous) cork screw at Laguna. Takes me back to my GranTurismo days (on Playstation) |
Sunday, June 19, 2011
VIDEO: More outdoor video!
Hi folks, I'm on a quest to get some decent video of my lights in action. I'm very surprised at how hard it is...and I'm just filming with a little Sony digital camera. Anyway, here is the latest attempt. These light are astonishingly bright...and that's really hard to capture on film. We were up in Idaho last week, where it gets really (really) dark. Thought it might be a good opportunity to get some footage. What the camera fails to capture is the "spill" light that is around the center hot spot. There is a ton of spill that your eyes can see but the camera can't. Here it is!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
A walk in the dark...
Hi folks,
Adam and I shot a short video while we were camping in Utah. The underbrush was incredibly heavy which created two problems. One, it's hard to walk around. Two, there isn't much "landscape" for the light to shine on at close range. I walk away from the camera about 200 feet and then turn around and walk back. The most interesting thing is how BRIGHT the light is for the observer holding the camera. If I was smart I would have done the same walk while I was holding the camera and cut the two segments together. Turns out I'm not that smart.
The real purpose for this video is a segue into this question: "What kinds of videos would you like to see?" You ask for it and I'll make it. You'll get a gold star for unique and interesting ideas. More obvious ones might include a "video instruction manual," more beam shots, shop tour, assembly process, torture testing...live, etc. Let the suggestions begin!
Adam and I shot a short video while we were camping in Utah. The underbrush was incredibly heavy which created two problems. One, it's hard to walk around. Two, there isn't much "landscape" for the light to shine on at close range. I walk away from the camera about 200 feet and then turn around and walk back. The most interesting thing is how BRIGHT the light is for the observer holding the camera. If I was smart I would have done the same walk while I was holding the camera and cut the two segments together. Turns out I'm not that smart.
The real purpose for this video is a segue into this question: "What kinds of videos would you like to see?" You ask for it and I'll make it. You'll get a gold star for unique and interesting ideas. More obvious ones might include a "video instruction manual," more beam shots, shop tour, assembly process, torture testing...live, etc. Let the suggestions begin!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Haas VF-1 milling a custom flashlight head
This is a video of the final component...the flashlight head! I have the little container to the right of the vise to catch coolant. After the part finishes I dump the container of coolant over the part to clear away all of the tiny triangular chips left from the thread milling. I don't want them to get stuck inside the bore of the soft jaws and then get pressed into the finish on the head. Ask me how I know. Better yet, don't.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Haas VF-1 machining tail cap & PCB sleeve (video)
Hi all, I shot a new video a couple of days ago so check it out!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
It's alive! CNC test program (video)
WARNING: MACHINING CONTENT
As you know I've been programming like crazy. This video is a test program for the machining of the flashlight body. Two parts are held in the vice at a time. The one on the left is "tail up" and the one on the right is "head up." In other words the tailcap will screw into the part on the left and the head will screw onto the part at the right. After the tail gets machined, the same part is flipped upside down and transferred to the right hand position. Confusing enough?
These parts are only 2 inches tall. The actual flashlight body is 4 inches tall. I'm running these "short" test parts to work out any bugs in the programming without wasting a lot of material. You will notice the machine spindle starts and stops and the coolant goes on and off more than it should. That's because each operation is a separate program and I'm using a master program to call them all as subroutines. Don't worry if that doesn't make sense. That's what the "machining content" warning was all about :) Eventually I'll delete the M09 and M05 codes from the individual programs and that will prevent all the erroneous starts and stops.
So, machine tool geeks...enjoy in HD! That's you Bishop. Oh, and for you people in the real world, here in Silicon Valley "geek" is a flattering term :)
As you know I've been programming like crazy. This video is a test program for the machining of the flashlight body. Two parts are held in the vice at a time. The one on the left is "tail up" and the one on the right is "head up." In other words the tailcap will screw into the part on the left and the head will screw onto the part at the right. After the tail gets machined, the same part is flipped upside down and transferred to the right hand position. Confusing enough?
These parts are only 2 inches tall. The actual flashlight body is 4 inches tall. I'm running these "short" test parts to work out any bugs in the programming without wasting a lot of material. You will notice the machine spindle starts and stops and the coolant goes on and off more than it should. That's because each operation is a separate program and I'm using a master program to call them all as subroutines. Don't worry if that doesn't make sense. That's what the "machining content" warning was all about :) Eventually I'll delete the M09 and M05 codes from the individual programs and that will prevent all the erroneous starts and stops.
So, machine tool geeks...enjoy in HD! That's you Bishop. Oh, and for you people in the real world, here in Silicon Valley "geek" is a flattering term :)
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