WOLF EYES Tactical Torches, Ph 1300 911 007

Index

1) Wolf Eyes - who are they?

2) How can I pay for a Wolf Eyes torch?

3) How do you ship?

4) Why are these torches so bright?

5) What sort of batteries do these torches use?

6) Xenon incandescent lamps

7) LED lamps

8) HID lamps

1) Wolf Eyes - who are they? Wolf Eyes are a specialist manufacturer of illumination tools for Police, MIlitary, security, hunters and increasingly for general use. Quarterflash is the Australasian distributor of Wolf Eyes and is located in Sydney, Australia.

2) How can I pay for a Wolf Eyes torch?

We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diners Club, Paypal and direct deposit through our secure website and secure gateway provider Netregistry combined with St George Bank.

3) How do you ship?

We ship via Express Post and Registered Post which is overnight to most capital cities and many regional centres. You can confirm delivery times by looking at the www.auspost.com website.

More details on our shipping here.

4) Why are these torches so bright?

There are a number of reasons such as matching of components, quality of construction, etc but the two most important would be the power supply (Lithium ion batteries) and the light source (xenon incandescent, Cree LED or HID)

5) What sort of batteries do these torches use?

When tactical torches first were developed, they used the Lithium CR123 disposable battery, well known for its use in cameras.

Advancements in technology has produced the rechargeable Lithium ion battery, with a very low self discharge rate, 10 year service life and very energy dense. Lithium ion batteries are the ones used in the latest mobile phones and new notebooks. More money is spent on reserach for notebook batteries than torch batteries which is why we use them. Thankfully rechargeable solutions are available for older design tactical lights, such as the 17670 or 17500 batteries, though not near as powerful as the newer batteries such as LRB 168A or 18650 (2200mah versus the 17670 1500 mah) or LRB150A or 18500 (1500mah versus the 17500.1100mah). It is surprising what a 1mm difference in diameter makes to capacity, unfortunately this makes them too large for older designs. Wolf Eyes torches can of course take all sizes, 18 series, 17 series and CR123 batteries in their appropriate size, though of course the energy dense 18 series are best.

6) Xenon Incandescent Lamps

The incandescent globes produced by Wolf Eyes and Lumens Factory are high pressure Xenon globes. They are filled with the inert gas Xenon and then halogen trace elements such as iodine bromine or chlorine. The reason for this exotic mixture is due to filament depreciation. We have all seen globes which are black on the inside. This is due to “filament depreciation”. When globe filaments are produced, they are slightly thinner and thicker due to manufacturing tolerances. The thinner sections have greater resistance so run hotter and then depreciate by vaporizing microscopic particles which then deposit themselves against the inside of the globe. The reason for the exotic mix is to create an “equilibrium reaction”, where these deposits are attracted and deposit themselves back on the filament. A great situation which then allows the lamp to be run hotter, brighter and whiter.

There are a number of advantages to incandescent lamps. One is the high Lumen output. Another is the Fact they transmit full spectrum light, such as UV, IR, etc. This means that filters can be placed over the torch for different uses e.g. an IR filter means no visible light is emitted but Night Vision Goggles can see the light. Probably the biggest advantage of incandescent lamps are the full spectrum light allows better colour rendition and nuances of colour, which in turn allows better depth perception. An example of when this is handy is the Australian bush, which is often multiple shades of green. We have heard the description when comparing an LED and Incandescent light looking at scrub that the LED looked like 2D or a video screen and the incandescent looked like 3D. The disadvantages of incandescent are power consumption and heat.

7) LED Lamps

LED is short for light emitting diode. LED’s emit incoherent narrow spectrum light when electricity is applied correctly. As in standard diodes, a chip of semi conducting materials is impregnated with impurities to create a pin junction. The current flows from the P side (anode) to the N side (cathode), never the reverse. Electron and electron holes flow into the junction from electrodes with different voltages, when an electron meets an electron hole it falls into a lower energy level and releases energy in the form of a photon.

LED’s have some worthwhile advantages over other light sources. They are very durable and have no filament to break if dropped whilst on. The lifespan is usually around 50,000 to 100,000 hours. LED’s are very efficient uses of power, so have long run times. This is often enhanced by the power regulation used with them. LED’s also put out a very white light in which some people prefer.

The disadvantages of LED’s are that the light is not full spectrum so colour rendition and shades of colours are not as good, meaning that estimating distance and dimension is harder. A little known fact is that LED’s do deteriorate over time and diminish in output.

As in all electronic markets, there is rapid advancement in the LED. In late 2006 the Cree LED came to the torch market, doubling the efficiency of the previous best LED, the Luxeon. The Cree roughly produces twice the light and same runtime or twice the runtime and same light from the same amount of power as the Luxeon.

8) HID lamps
HID stands for high intensity discharge. It is an electric arc that produces the light with metallic salts being vaporised within the arc chamber producing the high intensity. They are filled with xenon gas in torches (and coincidentally cars, which is why some car firms call them Xenon lights. This is for fast start up. Stationary HID tends to use cheaper Argon but is much slower to start).

HID runs on high current so needs a ballast to control power to the lamp and an igniter. When switched on the igniter provides several thousand volts to the lamp to start the arc. As the lamp switches on, it starts dim and goes through colour changes, as the heat from the arc begins to vaporise the metallic salts within the arc chamber, till full intensity is reached in 30 seconds or so.

The advantage of HID is its ability to produce high amounts of light with relatively efficient power use. It is also a reasonably rugged light source.

The disadvantage of HID is its start up time and inability to be switched on and off quickly. HIDs are also expensive.

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