The brick fever continues: here's one more alternate build out of Lego City 60056. Within its price range, this has to be the most versatile Lego wheeled vehicle set around...
I didn't bother to add hydraulic rams, although 60056 set contains them. My kid loves the truck anyway - he's getting a new toy every other
afternoon:)
UPDATE (20 DEC 2014): Hydraulic rams added (pics below)
UPDATE (25 DEC 2014): Mods to front end, winch drum placed at the rear of the boom, cable guides added. Anyway, this build soon goes to pieces... ehm, bricks:)
What to do with one bored kid and one disassembled Lego 60056 set (big tow truck) on a bleak autumn afternoon? Maybe this:
Basic off-roader was completed within 15 minutes and it received some
mods and additions the day after, including spare wheel, jerrycan, driver's
seat, exhaust stack (or snorkel, idk), new towing hook, lowered winch assy,
central rear view mirror, taller CB antenna, tail lights and a number
plate:
For my kid, the switch from Duplo to "small" Lego blocks began with this 6-wheel, 227-part set. It of course allows even more elaborate alternate builds (for some advanced stuff, check out rebrickable.com).
Special thanks to my brother-in-law for this kit and 60061 which is still unopened, awaiting the New Year's Day:)
Santa dropped by earlier this year! Chubby, laughing like crazy as always, his enormous beer belly protruding from unzipped Serbian Post jacket, my friendly mailman handed me the usual inconspicuous FasttTech.com yellow padded envelope, containing one standard Sanrenmu 2-piece blister pack (thank God no sharp tools needed for opening!) and a simple order sheet that stated "SRM A6-606 St+". No customs fees this time, luckily.
This is actually the second Sanrenmu knife which I've purchased online from FastTech.com and placed into my regular EDC rotation. First model of this brand that I've owned was tiny "605", excellent little knife in the same niche as "606" ("micro folder" or "colibri class", as I usually call these petite performers). To be completely true, I've also ordered their "604" (which is in fact 605's chisel-grind, tanto blade sister model) but it was a present to my father and since Old Man is very possessive of his pocket tools, I had only the briefest chance to see it.
Sanrenmu are very well known and praised among the Internet's budget EDC-enlightened crowd for their range of full-size tactical folders, but I don't own any of those. The fact is, I want to be able to carry a pocket knife with me at all times. Knife law here in Serbia is quite ambiguous, so LEOs have a total carte blanche policy regarding pocket knives. To make a situation worse for the average citizen, in most of the cases they act under stress and tend to protect themselves first, so carrying a folding knife the size of, say, SRM 7007 (75 mm blade, non-assisted) in your pocket in any urban area can pretty sure guarantee you a seizure of the knife on the spot and a trip to the local court. So it's either small SAKs or micro-folders when it comes to fail-safe daily carry choice...
And now back to the knife itself. On the first look, right out the blister pack, open or closed, observed from any angle, its high-tech aesthetics are striking, so I'm giving it full 5/5 without any second thoughts. After some inspection, I've concluded that build quality is also excellent (5/5), as it was the case with other SRM's I've had a chance to hold in my hands: my unit was assembled meticulously and seamlessly, and that's almost unbelievable considering the price paid for this knife. Scales are machined from stainless steel and they feature a very firm and precise-locking frame lock (a sturdy variant of liner lock). Impeccable assembly and combo of one teflon and one bronze shim placed between the scales and the blade allow for zero play in both directions and provide easy blade opening at the same time. A6-606's thumb hole is large enough for my thumb and middle finger, but I've never succeeded in opening this knife with my left hand (I'm right-handed and ambidextrous for anything except writing). In fact, my left thumb exerts pressure on the locking spring, which in turn pushes the detente ball into its pit on the blade, thus keeping the knife firmly shut. I don't know if true left-handed people have a work-around for this issue.
Blade sits firm and straight between the scales (frame plates) and pivot is well lubricated in the factory. There are absolutely no sharp edges on the frame. On the contrary, blade is shaving sharp right out of the box. Unfortunately, blade has almost uniform thickness over its entire length (there's no usual tapering towards the tip) although this may not be a shortcoming if you normally use the blade tip for prying - with A6-606 there's a little chance of breaking it. Minuscule machining marks in form of thin parallel lines are barely noticeable on the flat surfaces of the primary bevel, but the rest of the knife presents a perfect sanded satin finish beauty (this kind of finish also prevents handle from slipping, even with wet or greasy hands). Handle ergonomy is not so great (I'm rating it three out of five), mainly because A6-606's scales are in fact steel plates with rounded edges. IMO, SRM 605 was more succesful in this area because it featured a very useful choil (better grip was achieved at the expense of a shorter blade). Weight of sheer steel gives a solid, firm sensation in your hand, but this weight is barely noticeable in the pocket. Supplied pocket clip is extremely rigid and IMO useless for its main purpose, however it helps in getting additional grip during the opening of the the blade and holding the knife when it's open.
When it comes to cutting ability, A6-606 has a fairly thick, symmetrical, partial flat ground, satin finish blade with pronounced secondary bevel and - in spite of being well sharpened in the factory - it isn't the top cutter out there. I've tried it on some food packaging, cable ties and thin wooden sticks, but its cutting abilities were modest. Sanded blade surface creates some unwanted friction in contact with material being cut (a bit of paste-stropping may help here) and its huge secondary bevel makes the blade slide down the wooden stick instead of cutting it when you don't get the angle right. So it's 3/5 for real-world cutting ability.
Few weeks ago I've received yet another flashlight delivery from FastTech.com. This time it was a budget SK68 clone sold for under US$6, branded as "Uinfire B68". My first zooming flashlight after some 30 odd years! Back in the happy days of former Yugoslavia, my favourite flashlight was old skooltin-bodied "Varta" 2*C reflector zoomie with No. 222 incan bulb...
Skimpy packaging quickly gave way, revealing one black, mean, Klingon-ish looking but surprisingly small 1*AA/14500 light sabre:
To be honest, holding my B68 for the first time felt like holding a brick: this thing surely wasn't designed to meet any ergonomic standards! "Tactical" crenelated bezel and aggressive cooling fins (latter being positioned in the wrong area, anywayz) sported some rather sharp edges left from machining. A pad of steel wool came in handy to sort out the imperfections, to make the flashlight more pocket- and finger-friendly and of course to bring that much desired worn-out anodizing look;) Black HA coating proved to be quite tough to remove, so I was forced to use very coarse grade of steel wool, commonly used for kitchen pan scouring. If you're doing this, be sure to protect the plastic lens from scratches (with masking tape or similar).
Only later I've discovered that shape of B68 perfectly supports the type of hold intended for the purpose of striking, but this type of usage won't be elaborated any further.After all, this small flashlight shares a genealogical line withthe famous Nitecore Extreme...
Company logo and model name, laser-etched.
Out of sheer boredom I've unscrewed the bezel ring and left it to sit for some 10 minutes in a plastic cup with a household-grade drain unclogger (liquid alkali gel), so anodizing went away completely and, after some rinsing, bare satin finish aluminum surface saw the bright daylight. Unfortunately I haven't been able to remove the lens before de-anodization, but this glued-in PMMA aspheric withstood the process heroically and without any visible surface marks. (If you're messing with drain cleaner, protect your skin and eyes properly).
My sample of B68 has a solid pill, i.e. emitter board is fully backed by a wall of solid aluminum. This fact translates to considerable modding potential, since you can apply thermal paste under the original emitter board and tighten it onto the pill wall with screws, or go for a custom copper board to reflow the LED onto. After managing to remove the original plastic retaining ring intact, I've swapped the original 1-mode driver for 5-mode FT replacement (read further for details) and applied electrically non-conductive Chillaramic thermal paste under the board and on the outside threads of the pill, while keeping the stock emitter/board combo. One shim was placed under the driver to ensure firm contact with negative pole (battery tube). After this mod, my B68 is getting warm quicker than stock version and sustained use even in High mode shouldn't be a problem any more.
When fully defocused, B68 produces a "full moon" (hotspot-less, blobby) flood. Or, when fully focused, it projects a very tight, dense and crisp square-shaped hotspot - actually a projection of a square LED die. Between these two extremes are oft-forgotten but quite useful transitional stages. B68's beam quality is good, with minor ring-shaped artifacts (outside the beam itself, which are visible only on the white wall at short distance). Aspheric lens is clear acrylic glued to the bezel ring, manufactured without scratches or other defects visible to naked eye. LED tint is cool white, with max. OTF luminous flux somewhere around 120lm, maybe a bit more. On my sample, focusing action was smooth right out of the box. Instead of elastic steel C-ring common to "original" Sipik SK68 and some of the clones, my Uinfire employs one slightly lubricated rubber O-ring to keep the desired amount of friction and to smoothen the zooming movement. This solution works OK. With some practice, I've managed to repeatedly perform full focusing and de-focusing in an overhand (a.k.a. police/tactical) grip with ease, using one hand only.
Slightly annoying thing I've noticed is a substantial free play between zooming head and a part of flashlight body where the pill is located, which allows the head to wobble a bit from side to side. In reality this doesn't seem to affect the beam quality at all. In the future I might place a layer of plastic film or a small sheet of beercan tin there to elliminate wobbling, but for now I'm comfortable with it as it is. Sliding mechanism is very straightforward but it requires a bit of cleaning and a very smallamount of silicone grease from time to time, to maintain soft and smooth zooming. From my experience with this SK68 clone, too much grease almost completely elliminates the friction and this can be annoying, as head starts to slide by itself due to its weight.
This little bugger is bright even with a stock single-mode driver and on a diet of freshly charged white Eneloops. These NiMH rechargeables keep their charge long, have low voltage sag and are notorious for their ability to
deliver and withstand enormous drain currents, so I prefer them over any alkaline battery available. I don't have any 14500 Li-ions at the moment, so I haven't tried them. My 5-mode FT replacement driver doesn't support 4.2V, although stock driver supposedly handles this voltage easily, with stunning results and a bit more excess heat...
Magnified Cree XP-E emitter, viewed through the aspheric lens.
Tailcap current measured with original single-mode driver and one
freshly charged Eneloop battery reads exactly 1.5 Amps. After some thermal
improvement and a driver swap (FT 0.9-3.6V, 550mA, 5-mode driver installed)
tailcap current went up to devastating 2.15 Amps in High mode. I'm not sure how this
improvement exactly relates to OTE lumens, but a beam produced by a tiny XP-E emitter
looks a bit brighter than before. It should be mentioned that there's
also a stock 3-mode (Lo-Hi-Strobe or similar) B68 version available on FastTech.com.
Both stock and replacement driver
failed to provide a stable light output when NiMH batteries were used,
so expect the brightness to gradually decrease with elapsed time when you use this battery chemistry, and
always provide a fresh battery for maximum possible output. As I have a serious
doubt that alkaline batteries can deliver 2+ Amps (at least for any sustained period of time), I'm planning to stick to Eneloops for the time
being, and perhaps sometime reinstall the stock driver and go the Li-ion
path... Runtimes in High mode are modest: I reckon no more than 60 minutes on 2000mAh battery, estimated.
New driver allowed for lower consumption in Med and Low modes (around 5 hours in Low) so it significantly contributed to EDCability of this flashlight. Besides all other brand name single-cell flashlights that I currently own, I've never imagined carrying a cheap Chinese zoomie as my regular every day carry flashlight, but after a week of extensive use I've realized that B68 isn't a cheap toy, but a worthy and versatile companion which effortlessly covered most of my daily lighting needs.
B68 with bezel ring and lens removed ("mule" config): Emitter board is retained by a press-fit plastic ring (white) and thin stainless steel disc, with plastic insulation shim placed underneath (not visible on this photo). Not the best solution imaginable, but it still works.
My subjective judgement is that stock B68 usefulness ends with a 100-meter mark in an urban environment with moderate light pollution, and (obviously) more in a complete darkness. Therefore I'm planning to take it with me on my next visit to the countryside and enjoy playing with it in dark night sky and scenery. Fully focused beam (although with reduced lumen output due to inevitable light losses) is tight and dense enough to produce a very pleasing "light sabre" effect even in mildly foggy air - one feature of this flashlight which is very desirable for the inner child in all of us, he he;)
B68 can tailstand with ease. I've removed the clip and plugged the screw holes which normally enter the battery compartment.
Tailcap of this flashlight is occupied by a reverse clicky switch of unknown origin and quality. Reverse clicky practically means that you need to turn the flashlight on ("hard click") and then lightly tap to cycle through modes - that if you're using a multi-mode driver. There isn't any "momentary on" with this type of switch. Outside surface of the tailcap is smooth and this could pose a problem if you tend to over-tighten it: in one instance I've ended up using a piece of bicycle inner tube to gain some friction and be able to unscrew the tailcap. Luckily I didn't have to use pliers or vise...
I don't see a way to remove the switch for inspection or repair without damaging it, since it's a press fit. I can't even tell if black plastic disc visible from inside is a part of the switch itself, or a separate retainer disc of a sort. All I can say is that switch still works, knock on wood... Switching action is firm and crisp, without any grinding or sticking. Also there's no flickering during mode change, so contact surfaces must be still clean and intact (keeping my fingers crossed on this, considering the 2.15A tailcap current). Since rubber boot is somewhat recessed - obviously to make B68 tail-standable - it takes some effort to turn the flashlight on/off if you have stubby fingers or a habit to operate the switch with your thumb only. As some specialized forums say, replacement tailcap boots are quite hard to find due to non-standard dimensions. As a preemptive measure to fight any possible corrosion/arcing/unusual wear problems that I've encountered with couple of my crappy Chinese "Police" flashlights, I've applied a squirt of fine contact spray to the inner components of this switch. Note that this is not WD40 or similar general purpose penetrating oil, but a special product intended for fine electronic components, which neither contains hard acids/alkalis nor does it attack rubber/plastics. It instead leaves a very thin protective film on contact surfaces.
Supplied pocket clip is short and way too rigid, so I've found it only partially useful. It eventually ended up in my junk drawer, together with two gold-plated (sic!) Allen screws. Screws are thread-locked and their removal is best performed using a suitable, good quality Torx key (T6, IIRC), because average Allen key may slip and mess up the removal. Another problem is, if you decide to remove the clip and screws permanently, threaded screw holes go all the way into the battery tube, totally ruining the water/dustproofing, so I've screwed in the tips of two black polythene bead ties into the holes and cut them level with the flat surface where the clip attaches to the flashlight body. Holes plugged - problem solved!
Attaching a lanyard cord is very straightforward, since there are seven holes drilled through the tail grip ring solely for this purpose.
Until I decide to buy 14500 battery and charger, my explorations are aimed towards gaining multi-battery capability and higher voltages, while staying with perfectly safe NiMH chemistry...
Experiment in progress: 2*AA, ten percent more lumens but - no switch!
(Extension tube is in fact Smiling Shark SS-5002 flashlight body)
As I've read on BudgetLightForum, 2/3*AA versions are possible with use of battery tubes from certain cheap knock-off hosts, but increase in brightness in a 2*AA config is negligible compared to stock 1*AA. It also seems that Ultrafire C3 2*AA extension tube (otherwise a great product) unfortunately isn't fully compatible with this flashlight due to different major thread diameter on the male side. I'm not sure, but still it's on its way from China:)
UPDATE (13 DEC 2014): My Ultrafire C3 extension tube purchased on FT arrived from China, but unfortunately it WOULD NOT WORK with this flashlight. Relevant thread diameters on both sides of the tube are OK, but thread pitch isn't (flashlight has coarse threads and extender has fine). Bummer!:(
UPDATE (19 DEC 2014): During use in the past days my B68 sustained three quite heavy knocks due to careless handling and my utmost clumsiness. Those were falls from height ranging 0.5m to 1.2m onto ceramic tiles, tarmac and terazzo flooring respectively. Flashlight still works as new. Minor dents were corrected with small files and steel wool.
UPDATE (10 AUG 2015): Finally got the Li-ion version finished! Main modifications and additions include:
1. New mineral glass lens from FT, epoxy-glued in place (buyers beware: this replacement glass lens is both wider and deeper than stock PMMA and unfortunately has a bigger
focal length, so it requires LOTS of grinding, fitting & shimming
to produce a desired small, crisp LED die image),
2. Increased aperture diameter of the bezel ring (in order to accomodate the new lens and to allow more light to pass through),
3. New XP-E emitter with (hopefully) higher luminance bin (from FT: the original one was ruined in a petrol de-doming fail!),
4. Stock (FT B68) 3-mode driver ("High">"Medium">"Strobe", no-memory) with Li-ion support (above-mentioned 5-mode driver went into my Dad's B68 to be used with NiMH and alkalines only),
5. Chillaramic thermal compound under the emitter board,
6. One protected JetBeam 14500 Li-ion battery (true 750mAh),
7. Rigid and pocket-unfriendly pocket clip is back on, to serve as the anti-roll device and lanyard attachment point. Note that new lens protrudes forward, so the bezel-standing capability is lost. Awful OEM gold-plated Allen screws are now gun black.
Flashlight gets warm within half a minute in High mode (gets unsafe to use after some 3 minutes, heh), but it now produces very tight and dense needle-shaped beam desired for a long throw. Not so EDCable as it was before, but IMHO still worth the work-hours and investment - mostly due to its uniqueness and "wow factor"...
Much larger optical aperture and new lens
New XP-E emitter (aperture in steel retaining disc is also widened)
Plastic shim under the bezel ring (new lens has a longer focal length)
Popcorn itself is a very healthy snack, but excessive consuming of its microwave varieties poses a serious health risk. Why?
First, there's added salt, fat, flavourings and food additives. Some of microwave popcorn brands available where I live are almost too salty to eat, and contain no less than 21 grams of unidentified "vegetable fat" per 100 grams of product! High table salt intake brings a risk of elevated blood pressure, and too much saturated fats make you lazy and obese (aside from ruining your metabolism and causing heart and blood vessel diseases). I'm not sure if fats and flavourings added to microwave popcorn are natural or some kind of semi-synthetic products, but I don't like either of them. Fats also have a potential of producing carcinogenic substances when overheated. Typical factory-made micro pop often contains food additives (those are the "E" ingredients listed on the product label) - yet another health risk to consider.
The other thing to be seriously concerned about is paper bag which contains popcorn/seasoning mixture ready to be microwaved. Type of paper normally used for those bags has a greaseproof coating that breaks down chemically in the presence of heat, releasing a compound known as PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) which is officially considered "likely carcinogenic". I don't like stuff like that in my food, so I've simply quit preparing all factory-made microwave popcorn.
So, is there any way to prepare healthy popcorn using the microwave oven?
Some tutorials on the web say it's safe to put corn in a common brown paper bag (a.k.a. lunch bag) to ensure that microwave popcorn is PFOA-free. I'm not sure that's OK, and here's why: while there are some varieties of brown paper which are produced without recycled paper being added, most of "general use" (grocery, shopping, etc.) paper bags still contain traces of dyes, metals or plastic that can easily poison the food which is being baked or microwaved inside. USDA does not recommend using grocery-grade brown paper bags for cooking. Learn more here.
There are types of paper that resist high temperatures, water and grease, which are made especially for the purpose of cooking. They're sold as "baking paper", "cooking parchment", "pan liners", "cooking wax paper" (etc.) and they differ slightly, but their common feature is being food-safe at cooking temperatures (which ordinary brown paper bag isn't). Only few of them are microwave-safe, so read the label before you buy.
I've purchased a roll of baking paper in a local supermarket, cut a square-shaped piece and made a bag out of it using office paper stapler with regular (24/6 size) staples.
Open end of the bag is easily closed by folding it two or three times, or folded once and secured with a single staple (which is of course removed after the popcorn is done). Do not use adhesive tape - it's generally not safe for microwaving. Metal staples and microwaves also don't sound like a good idea, but I've tested the bag carefully using the 800 watt setting and nothing bad happened: no sparks, no fire. However, you're doing this at your own risk.*
Don't make the bag too big, since it should be free to rotate with the turntable at all times. Don't overfill the bag: leave enough room for popping corn to
expand freely, or it'll clump inside and/or tear up the bag.
Built sturdily from a quality cooking grade paper, my bag even seems to be reusable, but at the moment I'm not advising this. While it's possible, YMMV. Brand of paper I'm currently using is safe to use up to 220 deg. Centigrade (428 deg. F). With full power applied ("800" on the dial of my small, basic Bosch microwave oven) and a 50-gram (1.76oz) serving of dry corn (no salt, no oil/butter), preparation time is normally shorter than 3 minutes.
When your popcorn is ready, remove the staple and unfold bag at the top (keep away your face and fingers - there's scalding hot steam escaping!) You can add salt, oil/butter, other seasonings or a sweet topping to suit your personal preferences (I'm not using either of these).
Bon appétit!
________________________________ * You should follow all safety instructions listed in the operating manual of your microwave oven. It is important to note that you absolutely must be present during the
whole popping process. You should also obey the rule-of-thumb and shut down the oven when the interval between individual popcorn bursts (pops)
becomes longer than 2-3 seconds, as it is usually advised on the package
of factory-made microwave popcorn. Do not try to microwave the empty bag. Do not put unpopped corn
back in the oven for a second heating, as it may char or even ignite the
bag.
Oni koji su već imali poplavu i štetu u stanu zbog idiotskih "pancir creva" za vodu (tzv. "brinoks cevi/creva"), verovatno su poželeli da ih nikada više ne stave i da sebi tako mogu da obezbede miran san. Kamo sreće da je to moguće!
Ponuda dotičnih proizvoda u našim prodavnicama vodomaterijala je nesmanjena bez obzira na njihovu notornu nepopularnost. Nude se creva različitog porekla i cene, od kineskih pa na dalje, navodno ima i nekih koja podnose pritisak do 20 bara, može da ih ugradi svako a vodoinstalateri ih prosto obožavaju. Međutim, prodavci mudro drže jezik za zubima o mogućim posledicama ako baš vama zapadne falš crevo, što se prema mojim skromnim saznanjima u stvarnom svetu dešava prilično često.
Gumeno crevce opleteno nitima od lošeg čelika koje ceo svoj životni vek treba da trpi pritisak 5+ bara i nepovoljne uslove sredine prilično je kilava rabota, pogotovo ako se koristi za toplu vodu. Nije čudo da ni bolji proizvođači (iz Slovenije, konkretno) na ova creva ne daju dužu garanciju od 6 meseci.
Kada su u pitanju vodokotlići i bojleri, pancir-creva mogu da se zamene skupljom (ali zato sasvim pouzdanom i trajnom!) alternativom u vidu tzv. rebrastih "Inox" cevi, koje se u radnji pertluju na krajevima i dobijate ih sa 2 ugrađene matice i 2 zaptivača od klingerita. Na žalost, ovakva mogućnost ne postoji kada je u pitanju povezivanje mešača (jednoručnih armatura tj. slavina), zbog njihovog specifičnog načina priključivanja na toplu i hladnu vodu (putem cevnog nastavka sa spoljašnjom lozom, koji čini jednu stranu "Brinoks" creva...)
Nakon poplave i štete izazvane bušnim pancir-crevom pre nekoliko godina, i nedavnog pucanja ek-ventila pod pritiskom (naravno, bio je postavljen bez pred-ventila, a voda se zatvara u podrumu!), dosta vremena sam proveo razmišljajući o vodovodno-poplavnoj problematici, i došao do nekakvog rešenja. Ono na žalost nije previše jeftino za izradu, ni pogodno za montažu vezanih očiju, ali je daleko jeftinije od štete koju omražena pancir-creva mogu da izazovu ako se ostave pod pritiskom bez nadzora.
Moja zamisao je prikazana na slici dole:
Pribave se dva stara "brinoks" creva za slavinu-mešač (mogu se lako naći na buvljacima). Bitno je samo da cevasti nastavci sa navojem (koji ulaze u mešač) budu neoštećeni. Pomoću Dremel alata sa šajbnom (ili testere, u nuždi) se raseku pertlovane čaure i skinu pomenuti cevasti nastavci sa navojem na vrhu. Stare gumice (1 ili 2) se skinu sa nastavaka i bace, jer verovatno neće dobro dihtovati pri sledećoj montaži u mešač; uz malo potrage mogu se pronaći nove u toj dimenziji. Neki na navojima ovih cevnih nastavaka koriste i teflon-traku, ali sa tim nemam iskustva, pa to ne mogu da preporučim.
Odseku se dva jednaka parčeta od bakarne cevi u koju ovi nastavci pasuju (ne znam tačan prečnik bakarne cevi, ali mislim da je to standardna mera koja se prodaje za rashladnu i grejnu tehniku i koja bez problema može da nosi pritisak vodovoda). Bakarne cevčice se sa jedne strane pertluju tako da na obod pasuje matica 3/8", a zatim se sa druge strane pripreme i tvrdo zaleme na očišćene gorepomenute cevaste nastavke skinute sa "brinoks" creva. To je moguće uraditi i u varijanti kućne radionice, pomoću "srebrnog lema" i plinskog brenera koji radi na butanske kartuše C200 (ili, još bolje, na MAPP gas). Bilo bi dobro da se pri lemljenju radi smanjenja oksidacije i boljeg razlivanja lema koristi boraks prah. Lem treba da lepo teče i da kapilarno popuni mali zazor između dve cevi. Zalemljeni spoj se pažljivo pregleda i testira na pritisak (pa makar i vazduhom) ako je moguće. Sada imate gotove adaptere sa mešača na pertlovani standard 3/8" za toplu i hladnu vodu.
U prodavnici vodomaterijala se naruče dve savitljive "Inox" cevi u meri 3/8", dužine prema merama i geometriji vašeg dovoda vode. Kupe se dva bolja dupla nipla dimenzije 3/8" i zaptivke u istoj meri (klingerit ili tvrđe pljosnate gumice u nedostatku istog). Rebraste cevi se savijaju relativno lako, pritiskom prstiju, mada u principu ne treba preterivati sa oštrim krivinama. Dobre inox rebraste cevi nose pritisak do 15 bara, ne korodiraju od vode (mada u stvari postoje dve varijante: bakarne i one od pravog nerđajućeg čelika, koje su bolje). Šanse da ovakva cev pukne u normalnoj upotrebi su praktično ravne nuli.
Rebrasti inox produžeci se (pre savijanja) pomoću duplih niplova postave na zalemljene i pertlovane adaptere, a zatim se cevi do kraja uviju u mešač i savijanjem prilagode za montažu na ek-ventile. Čitav posao ne bi trebao da bude komplikovan, pod uslovom da ek-ventili drže...
Couple of weeks ago my brother-in-law returned from a medical symposium held in Berne, Switzerland, bringing me one black Wenger Evolution ST 10 as a typical present from a country of cuckoo clocks and Swiss Army Knives (SAKs).
As I've learned, there are few versions of this fairly basic model. Mine is formally labelled by Wenger as "Evolution ST 10.814" and it features ergonomically designed grippy matte scales ("ST" standing for "soft touch"), 64mm main clip blade (no small blade!) and polished tools. Overall length is 85mm, width is 25mm, thickness 17mm (measured over the most protruding parts) and weight is 54g. Plates are made of aluminum alloy and pivots are standard brass ones. My Evo 10 was well oiled in the factory and all of its tools operated smoothly. Side play on all tools is non-existent and they open into a correct position. I've used it right away to extract a
tricky cork cap from a bottle of wine - first task well done!
I must say that I'm not really familiar with newer Wenger models (I've previously had
only one of their SAKs, an alox Standard Issue, which I've lost last
year) and therefore I didn't know what to expect from this one. I can remember that reamer on my S. I. had a habit of seizing and showing excessive wear (oiled or dry, clean or dirty), and it did never really broke-in: a kind of behaviour I didn't expect from a Swiss made knife in that price range. Keep reading to find out why did I mention this.
New "ST" scales were a totally different experience compared to classic Cellidor ones: not exactly soft to the touch, but with kind of a "rubbery" feel and nice friction properties (even with wet hands) giving it a secure grip. I believe this matte surface is just a coating, though. Scales are a bit oversized, but comfortable. They fit on the side plates reasonably well, and show no sharp edges.
Cutting ability was good right out of the box, but a couple of minutes spent on a fine carbide stone improved this to excellent. Clip blade (AFAIK it's named "special blade" by Wenger) has a delicate tip and it performs great on fine, precise tasks. I thought that I'd be missing the small blade but it just proved not necessary, considering the geometry of the main blade. Curiously, a small additional separator plate adjacent to the main blade moves freely when the blade is opened or closed, exposing a tiny sharp edge. I haven't noticed this on other SAKs.
I prefer a true Phillips screwdriver over a corkscrew on my knives, and find Victorinox-style dual purpose can opener more versatile than Wenger's dedicated one, so featured set of tools on my Evo 10 (big clip blade, nail file, bottle cap opener, can opener, corkscrew, reamer, toothpick & tweezers) wasn't really one of my choice. I found them useful anyway.
Toothpick has a retention bump very close to the tip, IMO impairing its functionality to a degree. Tweezers are spot welded, all-metal style. These tiny tools are securely tucked in the rear part of the scales, very unlikely to fall out on their own, but a bit cumbersome to pull out with clipped fingernails. Split key ring (or lanyard ring) is a plain type and has rather sharp edges on both ends. I don't think this is an issue, it just looks kind of cheap. I've never seen this on a Victorinox, no matter which price tag.
Knife was originally supplied with reamer and nail cleaner both blunt, therefore serving no real purpose. I've sanded the back of a nail cleaner tip (thus making an useful point) and also sharpened one edge of a reamer, carefully using my Dremel tool with its sanding attachments. Large screwdriver also received a touch-up, making it less prone to slippage. As always when working on assembled folding knives, I've used masking tape to avoid contamination of pivots with sanding debris.
According to manufacturer's tool guide supplied with this knife, nail cleaner tip also serves as a small Philips screwdriver, but I'm rather sceptical about that. Good thing is that reamer and nail cleaner now have some scraping potential, so main blade can be spared from unnecessary damage by a rough scraping job (if a need arises, can opener and large screwdriver are also good scrapers).
Quite unpleasant surprise ensued with the first cleaning and re-lubricating of my new Evo. I usually clean my multitools, folders and SAKs using soft cotton cloth with a narrow, pointed piece of PET banding strap, and re-lubricate with "Ballistol" oil (proven German-made all-purpose lubricant, which inhibits corrosion and is generally considered food-safe). Cleaning went as usual (I didn't notice any real dirt deposits except for some lint and signs of regular surface wear), but after re-lubricating and a bit of normal "workout" to help the oil spread evenly, tools apparently began to seize, producing a horrid "gritty" feel!
Things got even worse when I tried to expel the applied oil in warm water with a dab of dishwashing liquid - that's when tools almost completely seized, requiring substantial force to open or close them. This had never happened with any of my other SAKs, not even with Chinese or locally produced knock-offs. I'm not sure if this was due to my mistake, since Wenger didn't specify the type of oil for lubricating (they didn't mention rinsing the knife with soapy water, either). Ballistol is a quality oil that has always performed well for me, across the range of knife manufacturers and different materials used.
As far as I can recall, part of a standard maintenance procedure for classic Victorinox SAKs is submerging the knife in warm soapy water and repeatedly opening and closing the tools. I didn't have to perform this procedure on all my Vics, but when I had to, they withstood it cheerfully - so I don't understand the difference in behaviour between Vic and Wenger models, being now the same company and embracing the same quality standards (or not?) Could it possibly be the choice of steels used for springs and implements, different surface hardness or machining? Nevertheless, my Evo has been totaly knocked out of operation, first by a different oil and then by a soap bath...
I've thoroughly rinsed the opened knife, dried it meticulously with paper towels and cotton cloth, blew the remaining water out with a can of compressed air, and let it air-dry for an hour or so. Then I've applied the plain sewing machine oil in small amounts with all tools open, aiming at pivots and springs. Fortunately, after some gentle "exercise", gritty sensation went away and all attachments began to open and close smoothly, as expected.
Excess oil wiped away and back to its working condition, my Evo 10 was ready for its EDC duty. It has since worked well and resided in my pocket, replacing the tiny Sanrenmu 605 lock-blade.
Wenger Evo 10 is a nice little knife to use, but obviously very picky lubricant- and maintenance-wise (I recommend adhering to Wenger's maintenance instructions fully - rinsing the whole knife isn't advised!) I also had to spare some time to bring a couple of blunt tools back to working order on a factory new knife - not a practice that I'm used to with any of its Victorinox counterparts. Other small imperfections (cheapo lanyard ring and a free-moving separator plate, for example) show that there has definitely been some corner-cutting.
After everything said here and considering this model's street price, the final score is 3 out of 5.
--------------------------
Update (Sep 05, 2015)
Since EVO ST 10 doesn't have a small screwdriver which I frequently use, I've decided to add a Victorinox aftermarket part, which is - according to article on one SAK wiki page - supposed to fit inside the coil of any Wenger corkscrew. Contrary to that claim, mentioned part isnot interchangeable between Vics and this knife. Fact is, it protrudes from the corkscrew when tightened, preventing the implement from closing fully. It had to be modified in order to fit correctly: I've carefully heated the corkscrew over the propane burner (steel surface shouldn't change its colour due to heating!) and tightened the screwdriver, using a rag to protect my hand.
Result is shown here:
Unfortunately, Vic management decided to let the Wenger brand down the drain. All hail the globalisation!
Mali eksperiment u slikanju svetlom... Foto-aparat je Nikon P300 na improvizovanom stativu (taraba, heh), a baterijska lampa je Nitecore Explorer EC2 (320lm, 5650cd).
Nikada ranije nisam pokušavao ništa slično, pa ni ovi svetlosni tragovi nemaju neku smislenu formu - bilo mi je interesantno da otkrijem koje ekspozicije, brzina kretanja i usmerenost lampe će dati kakav rezultat...
Lampa je korišćena bez difuzora i na slikama se vidi bljesak na mestima gde je uzak i intenzivan snop bio usmeren direktno ka objektivu. Tačkasta linija ("vilinska prašina") je dobijena u režimu rada lampe random strobe, a ostale fotografije (neprekidna linija) su urađene u maksimalnom režimu (Turbo). Za jednu od slika uspeo sam da očitam Exif parametre putem online aplikacije (vidi dole), tipični su za celu seriju.
U izvođenju ovog ogleda imao sam svesrdnu pomoć svog malog asistenta Baneta, tada još predškolca, ali velikog foto-entuzijaste:)
Exif podaci za donju sliku (via Jeffrey's online Exif viewer, http://regex.info/exif.cgi):
Manual exposure, 8 sec, f/6.3, ISO 160.
Danas su mi poštom stigle dve low-end lampice ovog kineskog proizvođača prilično bizarnog imena. Kupljene su onlajn (miniinthebox.com) po ceni od US$7.98 za par, poštarina uračunata.
Razlozi zbog kojih sam naručio baš SS-5002 su pre svega prijemčiv dizajn, vrlo kompaktan EDC format, tzv. "head twisty" prekidač (navojna glava - vrlo jednostavno rešenje, ali neuobičajeno za modele iz najnižeg cenovnog razreda) i svuda dostupne baterije (1xAA).
Jeftini kineski proizvođači u svoje modele džepnih svetiljki najčešće ugrađuju klasične elektromehaničke prekidače, smeštene u zadnjem delu (tzv. "tailcap clicky"), koji sadrže komponente sumnjivog kvaliteta i čiji vek trajanja je obično vrlo kratak. Kada se takav prekidač pokvari, vrlo su male šanse za njegovo ponovno osposobljavanje ili nabavku zamene. Ovaj tip prekidača takođe implicira taktički hvat("policijski", engl. "overhand grip"), koji ne odgovara svim korisnicima i svim načinima primene lampe.
"Head twisty" (navojna glava) je bazično i pouzdano rešenje koje može da radi veoma dugo uz minimalno održavanje (periodično čišćenje navoja i podmazivanje zaptivke). Kod lampi sa ovakvim rešenjem prekidača, uobičajeni hvat je "mačevalački" (engl. "underhand", "sword grip"). Nasuprot uvreženom mišljenju, lampe sa ovim tipom korisničkog interfejsa uglavnom mogu da se uključe i isključe jednom rukom (istini za volju, to zavisi od ergonomije lampe, uvežbanosti korisnika i razrađenosti navoja i zaptivke). Kod SS-5002 je primenjeno najprostije moguće rešenje: twisty prekidač i samo jedan režim rada. Jeftina, lepa i pouzdana lampa - ima li šta bolje?!
No, pređimo na činjenice.
Lampice su stigle u uobičajenom roku, u zajedničkoj poštanskoj koverti, upakovane svaka u svoju jednostavnu kartonsku kutijicu i polietilensku pucketavu foliju. Uz svaku lampu se isporučuje dodatna oprema u vidu viska za ključeve. Nema zakačke za džep ni rezervne gumice (što se gumice tiče, ne bi mnogo značilo ni da je ima - čitajte dalje i otkrićete zašto).
Dizajn lampe je prilično "mašinski" ali ipak vizuelno atraktivan. Ukupna dužina je samo 83mm, a prečnik 20mm (veoma kompaktne dimenzije u svojoj klasi). Lampa bez baterije je veoma lagana (23g), iako bi se prema "masivnoj" spoljašnjosti reklo da je znatno teža.
Vide se tragovi mašinske obrade i na cilindričnim površinama i na fasetnama, poneka jedva primetna greška u anodizaciji (površina je solidna "zrnasta" polumat, po debljini prevlake gotovo sigurno klase II), i tu obzirom na cenu nema ništa posebno da se zameri.
"Staklo" je organsko, od akrilatne plastike debljine oko 0,5mm. Specifikacija lampe na sajtu prodavca spominje samo termin "glass", što može da bude zbunjujuće. Ispod stakalceta nema zaptivne gumice niti je ono zalepljeno, što znači da na ovom mestu lampa propušta vodu i prašinu. SS-5002 može stabilno da stoji na zadnjem delu. Doduše, situacija se menja ako držite zakačenu alkicu ili priloženi privesak za ključeve. Lampa dobro leži u ruci i njena težina je dobro izbalansirana (težište je blago pomereno ka zadnjem kraju, za koji normalno hvataju prsti). Oblik tela lampe pogoduje njenom držanju u ustima, ako je potrebna "hands-free" upotreba (kao i kod ostalih sličnih lampi, nemojte stiskati anodiziranu površinu zubima jer je po tvrdoći najsličnija keramici, a usluge zubara su prilično skupe...)
Iako glodane fasetne, koje ovoj lampici daju interesantan šestougaoni "mašinski" izgled, donekle mogu da pomognu pri rukovanju jednom rukom, one na žalost ne mogu da spreče kotrljanje cilindričnog tela po ravnoj površini. Radlovana ("čekirana") površina na sredini glave je mogla da bude malo šira i agresivnija, što bi znatno olakšalo jednoručnu upotrebu.
Print na boku tela lampe je veoma sitan i precizno urađen (nanet verovatno laserom), ali sa greškom u spelovanju ("Super Birght" umesto "Super Bright"), što me je dovelo u nedoumicu - da je ovaj kiks znak da sam dobio falševe, ili je to samo uobičajeni kineski "engrish"??! Poznato je da u Kini uspešne proizvode beskrupulozno piratuju i "štancuju" konkurentske firme, sve sa originalnim logoom! Nisam imao vremena da utvrđujem autentičnost mojih primeraka, ali na donjoj slici se pod uvećanjem vidi logo i kvalitet površine.
Za razliku od početnog optimizma izazvanog eksterijerom lampe, prvi utisak pri rasklapanju nije bio baš najpozitivniji. Evo i zašto. Navoji su dosta krupnog koraka, trougaonog profila i anodizirani, ali prilično grube površine i suvi kao barut, pa je grebanje "metal o metal" pri odvrtanju glave prilično neprijatno i izaziva žmarce. Zazor u navojima je na obe lampe izražen (glava se bukvalno klati levo-desno), a zaptivna gumica praktično ničemu ne služi, jer je vrlo tanka i glava lampe je uopšte ne dodiruje (ovo doprinosi osećaju velikog zazora u navojima i ubija svaku nadu da lampa bar negde dihtuje). Jedna od gumica (vidi sliku dole) bila je i napukla. Navoj je dosta kratak (jedva 5 navojaka, od kojih 3,5 efektivno drže glavu). Čeona (kontaktna) površina tela lampe obrađena je grubo i neravno, a njena oštra ivica mestimično može da poseče.
Unutrašnjost tela, u koju se smešta baterija, na obe lampe je prljava i korodirana. Na dnu se nalazi solidna, konično motana opruga, ali je zbog nečistoće nejasno kakav je kvalitet njenog kontakta sa telom. Opruga na svom širem delu ima oštar završetak koji mi je uporno cepao plastični omot baterije, što mi lampa nikada do sada nije radila (izvesno je da se baterija obrće u telu prilikom uključivanja i isključivanja).
Očistio sam navoje starom četkicom za zube, a naslage korozije u baterijskom prostoru čeličnom vunom, i zatim lagano naprskao unutrašnjost sa WD40 i prebrisao krpicom. Gumica na telu je zamenjena novom, debljom (NBR gumica za vodovodnu slavinu, prethodno navučena na štap i stanjena uz kvašenje šmirglom "600"). Na lozu i gumicu nanet je obilan premaz silikonske masti, da smanji trenje i osigura vodonepropusnost. Poboljšanje funkcije je bilo trenutno. U toku je period razrade, a zatim sledi novo čišćenje i podmazivanje, što bi trebalo da na duže vreme reši problem trenja i dihtovanja (bar na ovom mestu). Deblja gumica je takođe dobro nacentrirala glavu, poboljšala kvalitet kontakta i u potpunosti rešila problem zazora u navoju.
Pokušao sam da čačkalicom pomerim štampanu pločicu drajvera (koncentrični kontakti su vidljivi na slici dole), da bih proverio da li je zalepljena u glavi (tzv. potted pill), a ona se na prvi dodir zarotirala... Sve komponente su ispale iz glave kada sam je udario o dlan (isto bi se desilo i da sam pritisnuo staklo ka unutra)! Ovakva "slobodna" montaža komponenti glave kod ozbiljnijih lampi i nije tako loša stvar, jer ostavlja mogućnost modifikacije.
Dakle, kapsula koja sadrži drajver i LE diodu nije učvršćena u glavi lampe, već se ceo sklop zajedno sa reflektorom i sočivom drži utisnut pomoću pritiska pozitivnog pola baterije sa donje strane. Koliko mogu da primetim, reflektor naleže na donji deo providne epoksidne obloge LED, a ne na njenu pločicu, međutim ovo može da se lako koriguje sa par poteza okrugle turpijice. Pri pritezanju glave baterija potiskuje kapsulu i reflektor prema sočivu, i time ih verovatno opterećuje i deformiše. Zato pažnja: ako se pretera sa pritezanjem pri uključivanju lampe, može doći do oštećenja unutrašnjih delova glave ili do nagnječenja baterije (treba imati meru i sa pritezanjem prestati čim se pojavi svetlo!) Ovaj tip lampi neki nazivaju "drobilice baterija" (engl. "battery crushers"), mada sam gotovo siguran da bi kod SS-5002 do
oštećenja pre došlo na osetljivim i neučvršćenim plastičnim delovima
(kapsula i reflektor) nego na bateriji...
Prema merenju koje sam uradio digitalnim unimerom, struja koju SS-5002 vuče iz baterije je 88mA (Kodak Xtralife alkalna 1,5V), odnosno 116mA (Sanyo Eneloop Ni-MH 1,2V); obe baterije su pri merenju bile srednje pune. Za Ni-MH bateriju ovo je relativno blago opterećenje, a teorijska autonomija rada lampe (baterija kapaciteta 2000mAh) bi bila oko 17 časova.
Gotovo sam siguran da ugrađeni tip drajvera nema regulaciju, jer sa padom napona alkalne baterije sasvim očigledno opada i količina raspoložive svetlosti (sa Ni-MH baterijom je malo drugačija situacija, jer je kriva pražnjenja skoro horizontalna). Kada izmereni napon (neopterećene) alkalne baterije dostigne nešto iznad 0,9V, LED daje veoma malo svetla i povremeno ne može ponovo da se upali. Ovaj drajver je ipak klasični, jeftini kineski no-name, koji radi u rasponu od 0,9 do 1,5V, a ne tzv. Joule thief("battery vampire"), koji može da troši bateriju bukvalno do kraja. Činjenica da drajver prestaje da radi na približno0,9V čak je i povoljna ako se koriste Ni-MH baterije, jer sprečava njihovo duboko pražnjenje i oštećenje...
Rasklopljena kapsula izgleda kao na slici dole: levo je LED na svojoj pločici, a u unutrašnjosti je drajver sa svojim komponentama. Kućište kapsule je od tvrde crne plastike sa spoljašnjim prečnikom 16mm, bez navoja. Na delovima kapsule nema tragova lepka, sve je sklopljeno pritiskom. U unutrašnjosti glave navoj ima dužinu oko 20mm, zatim sledi glatka površina, a na samom vrhu je unutrašnji obod (bez urezanog kanala za zaptivku) koji drži staklo.
Svetleća dioda (LED) je generička kineska 5mm sa jako kratkim sočivom koje praktično ne fokusira svetlo, pa je ugao zračenja oko 120 stepeni. Ovakvo jeftino rešenje je sasvim tipično za lampe ovog cenovnog razreda. LED daje oko 15lm sa svežom alkalnom baterijom i tehnički nema nikakve veze sa oznakom "3W" koja je izgravirana na telu lampe. Dioda je dobro centrirana u plastičnom reflektoru. Tokom rada nema osetnog zagrevanja glave, mada se sam emiter verovatno zagreva. SS-5002 nema vidljivih rešenja za odvođenje toplote sa diode, čak šta više ona je okružena plastikom, ali pretpostavljam da za ulaznu snagu od oko 0,13W hlađenje i nije neophodno. Ipak, za ovaj tip no-name emitera sigurno ne važi projekcija radnog veka od 50.000 radnih sati.
Nisam imao vremena da odlemljujem provodnik i
merim struju koja protiče kroz emiter, ali neke vrlo slične 1xAA "Police" lampe gde sam to radio imale su vrednost struje kroz emiter oko 35mA, što je za diode od 5mmsituacija blagog overdrajva, ali je opet premalo za bilo
kakvu ozbiljniju modifikaciju. Jedino bi možda neka od novih, super-efikasnih "Nichia" 5mm dioda mogla tu da nađe svoju primenu.
Boja svetlosnog snopa je hladno bela, dosta neprijatna za oko (vuče prema plavoj, rekao bih da je CCT preko 7000K), ali snop ima geometrijski lepo definisanu centralnu tačku i spoljašnji krug bez izraženih nepravilnosti (vrlo dobro za ovu cenu!). Fotografija ispod je snimljena u režimu AWB i na žalost ne predstavlja verno ono što vidi oko: u stvarnosti prstenovi koji su vidljivi na slici ne postoje, centralna tačka nema tako blag prelaz ka periferiji snopa, a nijansa svetla je daleko hladnija.
Završio bih recenziju dobrim i lošim stranama ove lampice, koje bi opet trebalo posmatrati relativno, u odnosu na cenu koštanja i u poređenju sa sličnim proizvodima na tržištu.
Dobre strane:
pouzdan način uključivanja i isključivanja (lampa nema klasični mehanički prekidač, koji je gotovo 100% prisutan kod drugih proizvođača u ovom cenovnom razredu)
veoma mala dužina i masa u odnosu na slične lampe 1xAA formata
privlačan dizajn i pristojna ergonomija, lampa stabilno stoji na zadnjem delu
solidna mašinska obrada i anodizacija spoljašnjih površina (klasa II)
kvalitetan svetlosni snop
lampa je podesna za "host" ulogu (modifikacije manje snage)
Loše strane:
relativno kratak navoj na telu lampe, veliki zazori u navojima
fabrički nepodmazana mesta trenja
potpuna nezaptivenost lampe, koja se prodaje kao vodootporna (razlozi: neadekvatne ili nepostojeće gumice)
korozija i prljavština u telu lampe (posledica ovoga je verovatno slabiji kontakt sa oprugom "minus" pola)
kapsula i reflektor su izloženi pritisku/sabijanju pri agresivnijem zatezanju glave lampe, do te mere da je pri prestezanju moguće njihovo oštećenje
nema regulacije (jačina svetlosti opada proporcionalno padu napona baterije)
Iako su obe lampe radile "pravo iz kutije" (tj. čim se u njih stavi baterija),
na njima su bile očigledne serijske nedorađenosti koje izazivaju slab kontakt (treperenje svetla) i mogu vremenom da dovedu do potpunog prestanka rada. Od toga su najkritičniji prljave površine, veliki zazori i nepodmazanost u navojima. Dakle, ako želite punu funkciju i pouzdanost, potrebno vam je nešto znanja, vremena i materijala. Trebalo mi je oko 2 sata rada za kompletno čišćenje, doterivanje i zaštitu navoja i kontaktnih površina, modifikovanje i ugradnju 2 nove O-zaptivke (iza navoja i ispod stakla), fiksiranje kapsule u glavi (teflon-traka), podmazivanje (silikonska mast) i razradu.
Ipak, uz odgovarajući 16mm drajver i ekonomičan "power LED" emiter, ni trenutka ne bih oklevao da iskoristim telo ove lampe kao osnovu ("host") za neku ozbiljniju modifikaciju. Twisty 1xAA lampica sa 40 lumena, solidnim trajanjem baterije, bez zagrevanja i sa usmereno-difuznim snopom - ima li šta bolje?;)
Konačno sam kompletirao XM-L verziju ove lampice, koristeći toplo-beli emiter, 5-modni PWM drajver bez memorije i aluminijumski reflektor. Komponente su stajale u fioci par meseci, a koliko se sećam sve su naručene sa FastTech.com i stigle su regularno.
Iako mi je prvobitna namera bila da uz ostale "ozbiljne" komponente pribavim i mineralno staklo sa antirefleksnim slojevima, u nedostatku dobre ponude gorepomenutog (i u uobičajenom cajtnotu) ostavio sam na lampi originalno akrilno stakalce. Ono je doduše moralo da bude zalepljeno epoksidnim lepkom, da bih sprečio ulazak vode i prašine. U postupku je došlo do manjeg prljanja akrila, naravno sa unutrašnje strane (u skladu sa Marfijevim zakonima i pratećim postulatima) ali brljotinu sam dosta uspešno očistio 80% etanolom i mekom krpicom dok se lepak nije stvrdnuo, na sreću uz minimalno grebanje osetljive plastike.
Otvor na reflektoru je trebalo dosta proširiti da bi mogao da se postavi preko emitera, jer je originalno namenjen za znatno manji XP-G. I spoljašnji prečnik reflektora je bio preveliki, pa sam morao da skinem skoro 1mm materijala da bi reflektor ušao u glavu lampe. Ove poslove su odradile male profilne turpije, uz što precizniji rad i maksimalan oprez da se ne kontaminira reflektujuća površina (sa obe strane sam zalepio farbarsku maskirnu traku). Nakon dorade sam ipak morao da uklanjam opiljke i prašinu komprimovanim vazduhom, ali bar nisam uprljao reflektor prstima.
Fizičko povezivanje delova i tzv. "termalni most" (neophodan za odvođenje toplote emitera) odrađeni su potovanjem (engl. "potting"), ili prosto rečeno zalivanjem unutrašnjih komponenti glave mešavinom dvokomponentnog epoksidnog lepka ("Bison 5-minute epoxy") i finog Al2O3 praha ("Elektron" abrazivni prašak). Zbog ovog metoda sklapanja nemoguće je naknadno otvaranje lampe bez oštećenja delova, ali se zato toplota stvorena radom snažnog XM-L emitera i elektronike na većoj snazi vrlo brzo prenosi na telo lampe a zatim u okolnu sredinu, hladeći i štiteći ove vitalne komponente. Gusto zamešena masa od epoksi-lepka i finog praha aluminijum-oksida odlično provodi
toplotu i ujedno je električni izolator - upravo ono što je potrebno za
ovu namenu. Treba paziti da se za ovu svrhu ne koristi tzv. "tečni metal" (služi npr. za opravke blokova motora), koji je takođe na bazi epoksidne smole, ali sadrži metalni prah i električno je provodljiv!
Sastojke mase sam zamesio do gustine ređeg dečijeg plastelina, oblikovao približno valjkasti komad (potrebno je kvasiti prste jer se lepi) i ubacio ga između pločice emitera i štampane ploče drajvera, pazeći da elektronika drajvera bude dobro pokrivena (po potrebi utiskivati masu manjom odvrtkom ili sličnim alatom!). Grubo sam podesio razmak između pločica (na mojoj lampi iznosi cca. 13 mm), dodatno uobličio masu, ubacio sve delove u glavu i zatim lagano ušrafio drugi deo lampe, da bi masa pod pritiskom ravnomerno popunila unutrašnjost. Nakon oblikovanja lepka treba dobro oprati ruke (ili koristiti hirurške rukavice) jer se radi o otrovnoj materiji.
Prvih pola se masa najbrže stvrdnjava i to je moguće ubrzati dejstvom toplote, pa sam grejao lampu fenom za kosu (položaj prekidača "1") i za to vreme nekoliko puta odšrafio glavu da bih čačkalicom skinuo neznatni višak mase koja je izlazila kroz zazor i rupice na pločici drajvera. Pre ostavljanja lampe da prenoći za svaki slučaj sam navoj premazao silikonskom mašću, da masa ne bi zalepila dva dela lampe zajedno i blokirala odvrtanje.
Jedini gaf koji sam napravio u postupku sklapanja je u tome što sam zaboravio da stavim podlošku između reflektora i ploče emitera, pa je teoretski moguće da metalni reflektor vremenom napravi kanal u crnoj boji na gornjoj površini ploče emitera i kratko spoji stazice za napajanje, a zatim... PUF! Jedna super-tanka podloška od pergamenta za pečenje bi rešila problem, ali šta da se radi, lampa sada više ne može da se otvara. Nadam se ipak da su svi delovi dobro fiksirani lepkom i da se ovo neće desiti. Ovo je još jedan dokaz da pre "potovanja" treba isplanirati i najmanje sitnice, jer popravnog nema. Ne pada mi na pamet da otkuvavam lampu da bih omekšao epoksidnu masu i ispravio grešku...
Snop svetla nove lampe je veoma pravilan, zahvaljujući "orange peel" reflektoru. Centralna tačka je veoma intenzivna, široka i difuzna (tipična za XM-L). Snop svojom širinom pokriva korisno vidno polje i vrlo je pogodan za male udaljenosti, kretanje u mraku i sl. Maksimalni korisni domet je 25-30m zbog širokog fokusa. Renderovanje boja je solidno - cenim da je CRI u klasi 80-85, a svetlo svojom toplotom u potpunosti oponaša klasičnu halogenu sijalicu - na prvi pogled se ne može reći da je u pitanju LED izvor (što šokira laike, naviknute na bolesno-plavičasti štih uobičajenih "cool white" emitera). Jačina svetla je najmanje 150lm po slobodnoj proceni (poređeno sa JetBeam PA01, PA40 i Fenix LD15) i sa kvalitetnom, sveže napunjenom Ni-MH baterijom. Minimalni režim daje između 25 i 30 lumena. Tanki koncentrični krugovi u snopu, vidljivi na donjoj slici, u stvarnosti nisu uočljivi - stvara ih moj fotoaparat.
Drajver nema memoriju i aktivira se uvek u maksimalnom modu, prateći redosled Hi>Med>Lo>Strobe>SOS.
Specifikacija (SS-5002 XM-L Warm White):
Host ---------------- Smiling Shark SS-5002 (MiniInTheBox.com, item #00360539)
Emiter ------------ Cree XLamp XM-L T4-7C 2800-3000K White LED Emitter with 16mm Base (FastTech.com, SKU 1136801)
Drajver ----------- 1-2V (AA/AAA) Linear Booster Flashlight Driver 800mA 5-Mode w/o Memory (FastTech.com, SKU 1127407)
Reflektor -------- Aluminum Orange Peel Reflector for Cree XP-G (Fasttech.com, SKU 1106200)
Merenje struje kroz koju drajver vuče iz baterije (ispravna i napunjena Sanyo Eneloop, 1,2V/2000mAh) daje sledeće rezultate:
Izmerene vrednosti pokazuju prilično "grub tretman" baterija, a posledica toga je i kratko proračunsko vreme rada. Po mom mišljenju bilo koje druge baterije osim kvalitetnih Ni-MH sa smanjenim samopražnjenjem (LSD) ovde prosto nemaju šta da traže. Možda bi kvalitetna Li-ion "14500" baterija podnela ovakav režim pražnjenja (struja bi tu svakako bila manja), ali sa njima nemam dovoljno iskustva; nisam siguran ni da li ih drajver uopšte podržava zbog napona od 3,7V.
Nova lampa je (treba li to napomenuti?) od juče moj redovan EDC pratilac i još je u fazi operativnog ispitivanja.
Kratki video-klip sa mog YouTube kanala:
Vidljivi su tragovi nošenja na ivicama. U međuvremenu je pukla zaptivna gumica, pa sam je zamenio novom, koja je takođe morala da bude stanjena brusnim papirom. Još uvek nemam pravu dimenziju ovih gumica za zamenu, a fabričke su potpuno neupotrebljive.
Update (30 NOV 2014):
Navoji su (i pored podmazivanja silikonskom mašću) ostali bez anodizacije i počeli da se troše. Silikonsko mazivo je slabo za podmazivanje između dva metala, a "obične" tehničke masti u principu ne koristim na lampama jer zbog svoje hemije imaju običaj da "pojedu" gumicu. Habanje je naravno povećalo zazor u navojima, pa se dešava da se lampa neželjeno uključi u džepu (doduše na kratko, dok traje pritisak na nju, ali opet baterija se troši). Zato sam na očišćen navoj namotao par krugova teflon-trake, podmazao silikonskom mašću i nekoliko puta prišrafio i odšrafio glavu, da traka "legne" u navoj. Zazora sada nema, glava se ne klati, lampa se ne uključuje u džepu i radi sasvim normalno. Pri stavljanju teflona treba paziti da namotani sloj ne bude predebeo i da traka ne pređe sa navoja na čeonu (kontaktnu) površinu tela lampe, jer teflon je izolator pa lampa ne može da se uključi. Povremeno podmazivanje je obavezno, kao i inače. Ako traka nakon duže upotrebe počne da se krza i otpada, jednostavno se zameni novom.
