by potholer » Jun 29, 2012 4:13 pm
If someone was looking for Duo unit, I'm also doing a twin beam one.
Max output is similar to the CD Omni, but the LEDs are independently controllable, with a selection of different operating modes.
There are 4 modes running basically like the 14LED unit does cycling through levels by briefly switching off and back on, but having 4 power levels, working the same way for both beams, with a useful memory function, and with the 4 modes offering differnet amounts of (fixed proportion) blending between the beams, from no blending all the way up to equal blending.
There is also a more advanced mode which allows the beams to be run independently at the same time, allowing all kinds of lighting levels and beam blends to be selected at will (and an extra version of that mode which is even better than the regular version at dealing with Duos with dodgy switches).
All those modes are available in one of three power ranges - 'standard' (max output power per LED ~140lm), a double-power 'high' range, and a 'boost' range where the highest setting is the same as in the high range for the first minute after selection, but after than gently drops to the max power of the standard range, giving access to the highest output for short uses (checking out chambers, shafts, etc but with a worst-case runtime only slightly shorter than the standard range.
Selection of modes and power ranges is surprisingly simple, and to assist in that without needing to carry a manual, when stepping through the available modes, the light not only displays the mode number by a series of flashes, but then goes into a repeating animation of how the mode works, cycling through the various power levels at the appropriate amount of blending.