Well there is marketing, and there is flat-out scumbaggery. Then again - fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Thought of another option - making an interference fit with the threads. It could be just the last couple that locks the bezel in place. Opening a bezel would loosen the tolerances and give indication that the bezel was opened, withouth necessarily destroying it cosmetically.
Another idea - for the driver, the pill can be cross-drilled into the retaining ring and pin inserted to lock it in. Removing the driver would entail drilling out the pin. The pin can be made small enough that it would be very difficult to merely drill it out without having to replace with a larger pin; but for modders that obviously wouldn’t be necessary. The same can be done at the bezel. The pin could be something easy to drill like tin, that would leave an inconspicuous hole afterwards which anyone could replace with thin plastic rod.
Screwed (and glued or press-fitted) slim bezels that have an odd number of little dimples for the factory tool to engage.
No chance with a strap wrench.
Use an even number please, then I have a sporting chance of using a watchmakers back tool, circlip pliers, or improvising something myself.
Likewise smooth internal rings that I have to drill or punch holes into then try to beat them around with a blunt instrument. If I have guessed which way to turn them.
BTW, some of these annoying markings are a legal requirement for CE certification and sale in the EU. Though I suspect that such CE certification is commonly fraudulent.
I really don’t understand your attitude here. I kind of like the way they’re building a lights based on the GT with different variations. I think it’s pretty cool. No one is being fooled.
I bought a GT70, Mini, and Micro. I even was able to purchase an original GT head from Neal, so I can just swap out heads, and use one for experimenting and testing. But the “upgrades” were designed long before the first GT was released.
The “scumbaggery” is more directed towards the practice of creating flashlight obsolescence by sealing them in a way that they cannot be repaired or modified. Not all people who buy these lights are BLF members, but many are still “enthusiasts.” There probably wouldn’t even be products like a BLF GT or cool ramping UIs with adjustable thermal controls and such without members here bringing them ideas to the forefront. So now these same people that help make these things happen, and participate in the group buys, can’t even replace an AR lens or LED? It’s proven time and time again that regardless of whether we mod or not we’re going to buy lights.
This unfortunately has become the business model for most all consumer items. We have 4 LCD TVs in the bar I manage that are at least 10 years old, and they work with no issues. We had purchased 19 LED backlit TVs for our scoring units, and virtually every panel had to be replaced because the backlights went dead. Some TVs were replaced twice. Dealt with this through 2 years of warranty. Then we paid around $240 a TV to get them repaired because we wanted to keep continuity in looks (they are all in a row.) Now with $199 4K TVs it doesn’t even make sense to repair them. These lights we’re buying costs more than these TVs, and it would kill me that a light could potentially get bricked and I have no shot at repairing it without damaging the exterior in some way.
How about those lights purchased using the “group buy” code get no glue? Glued lights can be sold to the general public, and the group buy folks are mostly capable of doing at least simple repairs or mods such as emitter or driver swaps.
The great thing about adding the “NG” suffix is that no matter where you purchased it, if it used the NG on the box or in the title you would know that’s a non glued version. Sort of like they do CU for copper and Ti for titanium.
Okay, so you hate the “planned obsolescence” manufacturers sometimes use. I think that we can agree that everyone hates that. I understand you on that.
I’m not really sure that’s the intention of certain flashlight manufacturers, though. Yes, they make certain parts of the lights hard to take apart, but I believe they do that to improve reliability. This is what Tracy at Sofirn told me that their engineers believe. It’s not actually meant to make the light obsolete, even though that can be a side effect of the “reliability improver” we call glue. This theory is somewhat validated by Sofirn lights maybe having glue on a driver, but no where else. Or maybe glue on a bezel, but no where else. If it were truly planned obsolescence they would glue all the parts except to put a battery in and out.
I can’t see the results of the poll, but I’m pretty sure the vast majority doesn’t like glue, period.
But whether these engineers believe that reliability is improved versus if that’s really the case is in question. I’m sure partially it’s due to parts coming loose through it’s course of shipment and hot/cold cycles and vibrations. But that can be alleviated with less “permanent” solutions. Really, have you come across any Maglite that was glued? I don’t believe they have a high warranty ratio. This gluing of parts is pretty recent - flashlights have been around over 125 years, and only in the last half-dozen years or so they realized that glue makes them more reliable? Better designing makes them more reliable, regardless of whether or not glue is used. On the other hand, the only thing you can do to a Coast is take the battery in and out. Even their “cheap” lights are glued - apparently that didn’t do much for their quality issues as I’ve seen quite a few threads about Coast problems. I own a Coast too - small inspection light. One day, I’ll bust that open…
The main problem is that parts are coming loose because they were not tightened down properly (= firmly) before leaving the manufacture.
The driver and the button retaining rings of the S41 for example are pretty thick and can be tightened down very firmly. If they are not tightened properly, with time when unscrewing the button repeatedly, the counterclockwise friction will loosen the retaining ring (clockwise threading). Same with the battery tube’s friction on the driver’s retaining ring.
Engineers should teach to the employes on the assembly line how to assemble parts properly in the first place before drawing conclusion about reliability, or make counterclockwise threading retaining rings, or improve the control quality in order that there is no doubt about flashlights reported with accidentally dedomed LED (s) on S41 or MF01.
And how about showing to their employees how to solder properly. It didn’t took me much time to found why this S41 was DOA. Cold joints :
Not mentionning the black dirt on one dome. Who cares, banggood will refund 2$ for compensation.
The “improved reliability with glue” is an excuse for their lack of QC ! It’s just a way to know from which side is the problem : “user disassembling improperly” or “employees bad work”. Glue won’t solve their messy work but gluing every parts is the only way their engineers found to be sure that a problem is from their side.
There are several things that can be done on their side before deciding to use glue. Doing a clean, reliable work for durability is not rocket science.
Will glued parts make Banggood after sale service less reluctant to send a replacement ? Maybe after 1 week but not after 6 months.
1) I understand that manufacturers don’t want their product interfered with for warranty purposes ( Cough )
2) Nor do manufacturers want their product falling apart ( coming lose - Cough )
3) ?
A) Some people want to upgrade their hosts because
New emitters
Better Drivers
B) Some of us don’t give 2c for warranty , we want to play .
Lights that are glued often get damaged = Bad feelings all around for the manufacturers shortsightedness
Get a reputation for being a PITA to upgrade
C) Lights that are easy to Mod / Upgrade
Become very popular as play items
Sell relatively well , even if the quality is a little NQR
Well , if something is NQR - it’s easy enough to swap out during the upgrade .
The flashlight community is some what equally spread out with Users and Players … Those that like to use lights and those who like to play with lights …
So yeah , glue in a flashlight = No Thank You …
If you must glue , then please ! Use something soft and easy to break for when it comes time to upgrade …
I know it’s a late post, but all of my lights have been modified for various purposes. I like to modify/repair my lights myself. NO glue for me. I will go elsewhere.
Releasable flashlight glue. Many production units are glued hard and would be difficult to modify. If assembled with this, future modification might be easier:
Basically it is a liquid latex. It will hold tight but is releasable. It is designed to join fabric together and is permanent in that application. Joined wood/metal will come apart if coaxed. Residue is pretty easily removed as well. It might be a viable adhesive for building flashlights. It is viscous like water and dries into pure latex. Heat would be the issue I think, so I’ll put some of it in the oven at 350F and see what happens. I have parts of things that were glued together with this stuff for years with no sign of brittleness, though not subjected to high heat. Well, up to 130F in the sun maybe. Using this as a glue would be somewhat less aggressive than shellac etc. When dried from a liquid it loses half its volume, though that’s a guess. It is utterly waterproof and inexpensive, plus, one can repair clothing with it. Best kept refrigerated lest it harden up prematurely. About a year in the fridge.
My original thought (and post) was to look into mil-spec adhesives used by Air
Force jet mechanics, many of which are removable (not the mechanic). Unfortunately I have not been back to that environment lately and don’t know if I will. From past experience I am sure they use adhesives that would be applicable to the building/disassembly of flashlights. Because it is mil-spec, it is not always possible to have what they have.
Notwithstanding all of the above, builders of flashlights, commercial or hobbyist, should glue with care, such that it can be disassembled without damage. I don’t modify flashlights right now, but one day I might, and would like for a flashlight to come apart if I want it to.
