Atlanta , Georgia - basedFOURSEVENShas been on the hemorrhage edge of the LED flashlight revolution for the last X . We talked to CEO David Chow about what makes his light so hopeful and where torch applied science is pass away .
https://gizmodo.com/win-six-foursevens-led-flashlights-1595371088
FOURSEVENS is one of our preferent torch makers , producing the kind of lights that live up to their relatively high price point . Holding and using one feels similar to the substance abuser experience extend by that of a quality knife or gun and their clean outputs are simply shocking . They ’re also a favorite of community likeCandle Power Forums . If , after read this clause , you want to get wind more about light like these , we ’d advise you set off there .
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IndefinitelyWild : How ’d you get into the LED light business concern ?
David Chow : former 2000 was when there was what I would call a , “ powerfulness LED Revolution . ” Since the inception of LEDs making 100ma or more , efficiency and functioning have made progress in leaps and bounds even exceeding Moore ’s Law — an approach of two time the functioning and efficiency every 18 months .
That is when I first began modifying existing torch ( typically incandescents ) as a service of process to people who value the technology . As the demand originate , I partnered up with oversea manufacturers to put these high tech illumination devices into consumer hand .
We also see an opportunity to make flashlights that meet a unique hole in the market ; vim - efficient drivers , blank - efficient aerospace - grade aluminum admixture bodies , and alone and versatile circumference that are still one and only in the market today .
This page from a FOURSEVENS brochure gives you some perceptivity into the effort that run into one of their lights .
IW : Why is there a penury for a quality visible radiation when cheap light-emitting diode lights also offer incredible brightness , foresightful lifespans and effective run prison term ?
DC : I believe that innovating and being the marketplace leader is the way to progress . There will always be trashy and sometimes even knock - off products chase after you . We conceive in non - compromised mathematical product design . If we can make something estimable , we will , even if it costs more . There will always be cheaper products , but we look forward , not back .
And , FOURSEVENS does not inflate its carrying out numbers like so many other manufacturer . We under promise and over deliver ; we wish to surprise and delight our customers . Quite oft , we ’ll have people bring their torch by our booth at a tradeshow jactitation 1000 + Lumens . They ’ll turn our 500 Lumen flashlight on and compare the beam side - by - side . Usually , that “ 1000 + Lumens ” light then disappears sheepishly back into their pocket .
Many of our lights have a moonlight mode that we exact 30 + day runtimes for . In sovereign lab testing , they ’ve been shown to operate continuously for 57 daylight [ on a exclusive set of batteries — Ed . ] .
There are so many factors that go into a light ; it ’s not just the light-emitting diode . The driver tour , mechanical design , bioengineering , the exploiter - interface ; they all have a little story . Every detail has to be considered . Quality is n’t what marketing folks differentiate you , it ’s in the engineered details of the product , often discovered and take account by the substance abuser throughout the lifetime of the product .
Take headlamp for example . Customers have been asking us to make one for year , but just look at the walls of headlamps in retail stores — what make one best than another ? Well , we finally came out with one — TheAtom AL with 360 Headlamp kit . There is nothing like it on the market .
Some of the factor that go into a single FOURSEVENS lighting .
IW : Over the last decennium , we ’ve seen huge advances in scant outputs and bombardment run times . Where is the LED ignitor market head now ?
DC : The future can only be vivid . More lumens per W , cheaper lumens per dollar mark . LEDs are also going to make it into every sphere of the firing marketplace , just as silicon has made it into every vista of our lives . Did you know an LED is also made from atomic number 14 ?
one-half of every day is dark . Light is essential for life . The advancement in LED engineering science will merely enhance every vista of our lives . Expect light-emitting diode to be everywhere — in our TVs , cars , phones etc . In the Power LED segment — what ’s exciting to me — expect undimmed and longer head for the hills portable clarification devices .
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IW : Who is Cree and why do they make all our LEDs ?
DC : Cree is a wonderful American company in North Carolina . They were very much part of the light-emitting diode revolution , very much a part of the story book . At one point , they supplied one - third of all the LED give-up the ghost for the integral satellite . In the last few decades they have boom into light-emitting diode promotional material and now more recently into light-emitting diode light bulbs for your nursing home or office . They have a racy account and a vast amount of knowledge and experience with LEDs . I ’ve visited their campus and they have several dozen construction , most of which are top hugger-mugger . We utilise Cree solely because they are drawing card in technology and in the marketplace .
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IW : How do you make a light bias towards stroke or flood ?
DC : “ fuddle ” and “ Flood ” are terms that apply to the optical part of the flashlight and are not related to the LED used . A reflector or an optic are used to consummate ( focus ) the light coming from the LED . Without that , the LED is just a percentage point source — alike to a scant bulb without a lampshade .
I generally prefer a reflecting telescope to an eye because they can give a perfect balance of smirch and overflow . Enough post to project light out to a distance , but enough flood that you do n’t get tunnel imagination .
So , why do other manufacturing business use plastic optics ? While it is unfeigned that optic may stick out light further than a reflecting telescope , to me it ’s an deficient arrangement because you terminate up with almost no photoflood luminousness . It ’s like looking through a paper towel centre — you only see a position of igniter and cease up needing to “ aim ” your torch and miss any peripheral vision .
But , optics are cheap and light . That ’s because plastic is cheap ; super sleazy . Reflectors are very difficult to do right . They take existent engineering and manufacture capability and lots of trial and error . It ’s really an art .
Our reflectors are precision machined from atomic number 13 , then polished and then silver PVD coat and coated again with a vindicated , optical grade coating to protect the reflective surface ( never touch a reflecting telescope , it ’ll ruin it ! ) . Oh yeah , and then we eat up it off with an impingement resistant glass lens system that is anti - pensive coated on both sides — interchangeable to expensive eye glasses . Like I said , we do n’t take short baseball swing .
A cutaway model looking inside one of FOURSEVENS ’ Maelstrom stove of lights .
IW : What are the components that go into an LED torch and how do they influence its carrying out ?
DC : Flashlights are passably uncomplicated gadget . Basically , it ’s a light source , a case to adjudge the battery , an LED and optic system , and a switch . light-emitting diode luminosity dissent from incandescents in that they involve a gadget driver — you ca n’t just tie the battery now to the light-emitting diode . The power to the light-emitting diode needs to be influence or they ’ll go poof . Unfortunately , even some of the major flashlight makers do n’t use right drivers ; bear those to live a comparatively short life .
What also score us unique is that all our drivers use a reckoner chip shot . The interface is pre - programmed to have various unlike visible light levels and exceptional modes like strobe light , SOS or beacon . Some of our lights can even be drug user - programme and some even have the power to actively manage the thermal temperature . That ’s more and more important as the private road level of flashlights go up . Not only will an over - fire up light-emitting diode reduce its lifespan , but it could be a burn hazard to the user . Many of our torch ( particularly the high power 1 ) will confine the powerfulness to the LED based on the temperature and the run sentence . These light are sincerely “ intelligent . ”
David , at his desk .
IW : How can consumers enjoin the divergence between a good light and a spoiled one ?
DC : There really is n’t a “ bad ” flashlight , but find the adept will take some research . Just because a company has been churning out flashlight for decades does not necessarily mean they know what they ’re doing .
compensate attention to the warranty . Are they claiming “ lifetime warrant ” just to say it ? A destiny of Formosan brands are but play the me too biz — claim light outputs they do n’t bring about . Some will claim a lifespan warranty , but the whole company will disappear a year or to later , only to resurface later with another brand name . Stick with American company who have support stave that you could call and who talk English .
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IW : Are current battery technologies an obstacle or opportunity ?
DC : Battery tech has always creep along . It will improve over clock time , but no demand to hold your breath . What is more exciting is LED technology and the equipment driver engineering science that we ’re constantly developing .
IW : What light do you expect ?
DC : I carry thePreon P2 . It ’s just so easy to gestate , like a penitentiary .
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