It might be agreed that Texas Pyro has some of the best testing equipment amongst us. Perhaps he will agree to test a light, any light, and see how it compares to the testing we do at home? I don’t have fancy computer print-outs, and yes, sometimes I can barely read my own notes even if I can reliably find them.
But wouldn’t it be interesting to pick out, say, the SupFire M6, charge up the cells and run my tests then charge the cells back up and send it to TP for his run and see how the 2 compare? TP would then argue that his expensive equipment was right, however the numbers fell.
For me, the lightbox tells me what the light is doing when I get it, and then how much difference my mods made. If the difference is not what I expected, I then check ground and other issues and test again, sometimes then finding the expected results, sometimes not. But it’s a guideline, for me, right here, doing the work and then confirming or busting whether the work was worthwhile.
Yes, I use a LX1330B. You will probably find that myself, rdrfronty, Tom E and Richard all have similar results from lights, because we’re all using the same meter and same base system. rdrfronty and manxbuggy1 spent many hours, days, weeks even, testing as many verified lights as they could get their hands on. (and their hands hold a LOT of lights!) My own box was verified against theirs, and with 20 or more of their own verified lights. So I feel confident that the results are accurate enough for me to base my builds on.
I don’t think any of us has ever said “THESE ARE ABSOLUTE NUMBERS!” Because we know the variables are everywhere. I can almost guarantee that you get a major factory to test a light, chart the numbers then send it to me, and after I test it and write everything down, send it right back to em for a second round and their own numbers will not match the first run. It’s just the way these typically work. The LED get’s burned in, the cells get some age on em, the driver has it’s own quirks and oddities as it’s components get hot and cool down. And such is the way of life.
Maybe I can build one of the Eagle Eye X6 lights and test it, then send it around to everyone else that has a box and we can average all the numbers, compare notes, and adjust our multipliers accordingly so we can all be on the same mystical page….