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School me on this flashlight and PWM lights.

us Offline captain spaulding

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School me on this flashlight and PWM lights.
on: October 26, 2013, 09:40:13 PM
I was looking at getting a Inova X1DM-HB and just wanted to know if anyone has experience with it and what you think about it.

I am also wondering about PWM flashlgihts. I was reading a Amazon review and someone said the Inova is a PWM light and the problem with them is "that in reduced output mode the light is still operating at full intensity it is just cycling off and on really quickly."

It was in reference to the Low mode not being close to the 40 hr runtime they claim.


Thanks everyone.  :salute:







If you wan't to read the review it's the second review in the 3 star rating.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004YI1T4K/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
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gb Offline Tofty

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Re: School me on this flashlight and PWM lights.
Reply #1 on: October 26, 2013, 10:15:45 PM
Inovas can now be found quite cheaply, they used to cost a great deal more but are pretty much obsolete. They were an early adopter of LED technology and were for a time quite high tech, however just like; Maglite, Surefire and LED Lenser, they rested on their laurels and let the new bread of quality Chinese torches supersede them.

PWM is indeed the reducing of the beam's apparent output by quickly turning the light on and off.
Many torch drivers use PWM now-a-days and it's considered a cheap yet reasonably efficient solution to reducing output.
The important thing is the frequency at which this is done, older lights used to be on the verge of being visible while modern lights have a much higher frequency making the pulsing practically unnoticeable. Most of the Inovas for sale will be old stock and so may still have rather outdated driver boards that run low frequency PWM and will have lower efficiency circuitry.
(PWM can be checked by shaking the light quickly across your vision to induce a doppler effect).

I'm not entirely sure as i only own an older version of the light but i think it still has a twisty/momentary tail switch rather than a clicky switch, which is worth avoiding in my opinion.

I've owned a couple of them and wouldn't recommend them particularly.

(another reason not to like them is that Inova use the word "titanium" as a colour description which ruins search results when searching for torches genuinely made of titanium).
« Last Edit: October 26, 2013, 10:27:20 PM by Tofty »
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us Offline captain spaulding

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Re: School me on this flashlight and PWM lights.
Reply #2 on: October 26, 2013, 10:23:05 PM
Thank you for all the great info Tofty. Exactly the information I was looking for.  :tu:
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hr Offline enki_ck

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Re: School me on this flashlight and PWM lights.
Reply #3 on: October 26, 2013, 10:58:33 PM
Yes, very good write up and explanation. Tofty. :cheers:


 

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