D4 Robustness et. al.

mpaar · 2019-04-18T14:42:15.000Z

[sb56637 edit: fixed image link, was missing .jpg]

My First Post !

One - what a great flashlight place.
Two - polite, calm, smart, . . .
Three - re: the D4 rant and its being dropped from table height.
a. What can an owner do to improve the durability of her/his precious (or not so precious) LED light?
b. Here are some photos of a ~5y old 3xAAA light, $20, that has been dropped, kicked, and generally mistreated all its life. And the fool thing keeps on kicking. Why? And does anyone know who made this light back then?
c. What are some things you can do to make your new light more durable?

Best Regards,
mikeyp

Ozythemandias · 2019-04-18T15:21:52.000Z

I’ve wondered about the efficacy of DIY potting a light aftermarket. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work and I’ve done it on some of my mods but I haven’t actually stress tested to see if there’s any increased durability. Mainly because I have no idea how.

sac02 · 2019-04-18T15:51:29.000Z

Ozythemandias:

I’ve wondered about the efficacy of DIY potting a light aftermarket. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work and I’ve done it on some of my mods but I haven’t actually stress tested to see if there’s any increased durability. Mainly because I have no idea how.

I feel like DIY potting is effective. Modders who make hunting lights use potting pretty much 100% because it’s effective I assume. Mounting a light to a gun is a pretty rough environment.

OP, have you taken the D4 apart to see what failed?

BurningPlayd0h · 2019-04-18T17:03:08.000Z

You could drop two examples of a piece of electronics, the first one might break on the first drop and the second after 1,000 drops from the same height onto the same surface.

It just depends on what it lands on, the orientation, whether one of the solder joints was weak, etc.

I would wager the D4 has more connections and components on the board vs the light in the pic. More points of failure.

Scallywag · 2019-04-18T18:49:25.000Z

The D4 also has that quad TIR sitting on only two of its four tiny little legs. I would not be surprised to find it cracked after a drop... but the swap is so easy, and the optics are so cheap, that I just don't care. The lens, too.