Terminology

From CPFWiki

Contents 1 Acronyms - Courtesy of The LED Museum[1] 2 Batteries 3 Electronics 4 Flashlights/Lighting 5 Forum

[edit] Acronyms - Courtesy of The LED Museum[1]

[edit] Batteries

Amp-Hour

A measurement of capacity - the number of hours that a battery/cell could supply 1A of continuous current ... or the number of amps a battery/cell could supply for an hour. Note that these measurements typically do not reflect real-world capabilities. Also note that the Watt-hour is a more useful measurement of energy capacity because the Wh includes voltage. A 2 Ah, 12V battery has half the energy capacity of a 2 Ah, 24V battery. Watt = Amp x Volt.

C

A discharge (or recharge) rate. C is a rate in amps equal to the capacity of the battery/cell in amp-hours.

Li-ION

Lithium Ion Polymer battery, long used in laptops and cell phones but new to flashlights. Rechargeable.

mAh

milli amp hours - a measure of electrical capacity.

NiCAD

Nickel Cadmium, an older but still popular type of rechargeable battery.

NiMH

Nickel Metal Hydride, a common type of rechargeable battery. Very popular currently.

Nominal voltage

The "typical" open-circuit voltage of a battery or cell.

PTC

-- positive temperature coefficient - a thermal, and current, protection circuit in Li-ion batteries. It is basically a resistor whose resistance INcreases as it carries more current and heats up, thereby limiting the maximum current. As compared to an NTC, whose resistance DEcreases with increasing temperature, thereby acting as a start-up surge suppressor.

Primaries

Non-rechargeable/disposable batteries. i.e., Alkalines, Lithiums, etc.

Watt-hour

A measurement of capacity - the number of hours that a battery/cell could supply 1W of continuous power ... or the number of watts a battery/cell could supply for an hour. Note that these measurements typically do not reflect real-world capabilities. Not many manufacturers supply this figure, but it can be calculated if amp-hours and nominal voltage are known.

alkie

short for alkaline battery

[edit] Electronics

FET

Field-effect transistor - a transistor in which the output current is controlled by a variable electric field

PTC, NTC

Thermistors. PTC - positive temperature coefficient - a resistor whose resistance increases as it carries more current and heats up, thereby limiting the maximum current. Used as a thermal, and current, protection in Li-ion batteries. NTC - negative temperature coefficient - resistance decreases with increasing temperature. Used as a surge suppressor to avoid burning out incandescent bulbs on startup.

[edit] Flashlights/Lighting

Beamshot

a picture of the beam of a flashlight, usually on a white wall, or outside on plants

Bin Code

an LED classification that describes its performance - Flux, tint, and Vf. Example: UV1J.

corona

- the area of transition between a beam's central hotspot and the area of spill. The corona becomes more prominent as the reflector surface is made rougher or more heavily textured, and also as the distance of the light emitting surface from the reflector focal point increases.

CCFL

Cold-Cathode Flourescent

cd

candela - a measurement of light intensity

CFL

Compact Flourescent

Cree

a manufacturer of high-power, high-efficiency LEDs; particularly the X-RE.

direct drive

see regulator.

emitter

the actual light-emitting part of an LED assembly. e.g. a Luxeon star comprises a Luxeon emitter mounted to a star circuit board.

FF

FireFly - a limited CR2 run light made by Doug Speck (Dspeck on the forums). The later versions are termed FF2 and FF3.

forward clicky

gid

glow in the dark

GL2

Pila GL2 flashlight

GL3

Pila GL3 flashlight, also GL3X- GL3 with a turbo (larger) head

GL4

Pila GL4 flashlight

HA

hard anodized. A tough, scratch-resistant treatment applied to aluminum, e.g. for flashlight bodies.

HID

High-Intensity Discharge, a type of bright and efficient lighting.

HOLA

High Output Lamp Assembly, typically a bulb/Light Emitting Diode module that is an upgrade and not standard, providing greater output at the expense of battery life.

hotspot

The central and most intense portion of a flashlight beam. Intensity of a hotspot is governed by surface brightness of the light emitter, and the shape, depth, diameter, smoothness and reflective efficiency of the reflector surface. i.e. the hotspot is produced by light coming directly from the emitter, PLUS light reflected by the reflector. The more intense the hotspot, the greater the flashlight's throw.

Hotwire

Generally, a maglight that has been modified with special bulbs and batteries to be significantly brighter

Incan

Incandescent

LED

light emitting diode

L0P

L zero P - 1 x AAA light made by Fenix

L1P

L one P - 1 x AA light made by Fenix

LOP

Light Orange Peel - used to describe a type of texture on a reflector

LOTC

Lock Out Tail Cap, a type of tailcap that when pushed slightly, the light will momentarirly engage until released. When pushed harder, the light will engage to constant on until depressed again. The "Lock Out" feature prevents accidental activation by breaking the electrical circuit by seperating the tailcap and the conductive body.

Lumens

(abbrev: lm) a measurement of light output

Lux

short for Luxeon LED (also LuxI, LuxIII, Lux3, LuxV for different versions of this LED)

lux

a measurement of light intensity

M6

SureFire M6, or Pelican M6 Lithium (aka Peli M6) flashlights.

mcd

millicandela - a measurement of light intensity

op

orange-peel. A textured surface, e.g. for a reflector.

optic

usually a total-internal-reflection (see TIR) reflector/refractor, as opposed to a metal-coated reflector.

Pila

maker of high-quality flashlights and li-ion rechargeable batteries

Peli

short for Pelican, flashlight and storage equipment manufacturer

regulator

in a flashlight, a circuit that takes energy from a battery and converts it to a (usually) constant current or voltage to feed the flashlight's light element (either an LED or bulb). Using a regulator, the flashlight's brightness usually stays constant for the majority of the lifetime of the battery, and then output drops quickly and significantly as the battery is no longer able to supply the required energy. Non-regulated flashlights (also called direct-drive) usually start out at a high output, and then the output diminishes gradually over the lifetime of the battery.

reverse clicky

ROP

Roar of the Pelican, a flashlight manufactured by Pelican, but currently more often the name of modified maglites using the ROP bulb.

Runtime

a measurement of how long a flashlight will last one a set of batteries, usually measured to 50% of the initial output

Seoul

a manufacturer of high-power, high-efficiency LEDs; notably the P4, based on a Cree die. (See also Cree).

SF

SureFire, a famous flashlight manufacturer

spill

the area of a flashlight beam outside of the hotspot and corona. Light intensity in the spill area is typically low and even, and comes directly from the light emitting surface with little or no contribution from the reflector.

spot

see hotspot

SSC

(see Seoul)

star

a star-shaped circuit board that an LED emitter is often mounted to. The star board provides easy-to-access solder pads, and some degree of heat-sinking.

tactical

throw

the ability of a flashlight to place light onto a distant defined area of surface, i.e how well the light is collimated. The throw of a light source of fixed power will be defined by the surface brightness of the light emitter, and the shape, diameter, depth, smoothness, and reflective efficiency of the reflector surface.

TIR

total internal reflection. A glass or plastic "lens" that collimates light rays from the light emitter, both by reflecting them and by refracting them. Theoretically, ALL of the light produced by the emitter is gathered by the TIR optic. (See optic).

Vf

Forward Voltage (a property of LEDs)

[edit] Forum

BTT

bump to the top (see also "bump")

BTTT

back to the top

BTW

by the way

Bump

to add a post to a thread to make it show up as recently edited and be "bumped" to the top of the forum index

EDC

Every Day Carry

FAQ

frequently asked questions

FUBAR

f'ed up beyond all recognition

FWIW

for what it's worth

Group Buy

an organized bulk purchase by one person to get items at a discount; these are then distributed among paying participants

IIRC

if I remember correctly

IMHO

in my humble opinion

IMO

in my opinion

LEO

law enforcement officer

LOL

laughing out loud

OT

off topic

Passaround

a coordinated hand off of a product from person to person, for personal evaluation purposes; normally you just pay the shipping to the next person on the list and the product gets handed off until it reaches its owner in the end

Post

a single entry in a thread created by a forum member

PM

private message

ROFL

rolling on the floor laughing

SAR

Search and Rescue

SNAFU

situation normal, all fouled up

Thread

a compilation of individual posts on a certain topic

Ty

Thank you