The Beamshot PD3 Personal Defense Flashlight (hereinafter, probably just called a "flashlight") is a rather intense (and dimmable too) & strobe-capable flashlight. It comes in a sturdy metal body protected by what I believe is a Type II anodized, jet black finish.
It feeds from but one bunghole...er...uh...I mean, "feeds from but one CR123A lithium camera cell" and is insanely bright for a light using both a single battery and a single LED.
SIZE
Using this flashlight is easier than one might think.
To turn it on at maximum candiosity* (pronounced, ")...er...um...I mean, "maximum INTENSITY", just press & release the button on the tailcap.
To change the intensity, when it's on, press & hold the tailcap button to lower the intensity -- this appears to have at least 128 but possibly as many as 256 steps; so it almost has an analogue look while changing brightness. Release the tailcap when you reach the desired intensity. While its in any intensity except full, pressing & holding the tailcap button again ramps the intensity higher in as many steps as before (128 or 256 from minimum to maximum). There is no visible indicator when you've reached minimum or maximum intensity; the light will simply stay in minimum or maximum intensity and not change.
To activate strobe mode, just rapidly press & release the tailcap button two consecutive times within approx. 200ms (1/5th of a second). The unit will then blink at maximum intensity at a rate of 11Hz (11 flashes per second). To neutralise the flashlight (turn strobe mode off), simply press & release the tailcap button once.
To change the CR123A cell in this flashlight when it poops out, unscrew & remove the tailcap, throw it in your car, drive to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, steal a railgun, pack it in a space shuttle, steal that too, and once in orbit load the tailcap into the railgun and shoot it toward the type G2 star in the center of our planetary system...within a hundred or so years it will melt & eventually vapourise as the star "sucks" it into its gravity well and pulls it in...O WAIT!!! YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! So just set it aside instead!!!
In the barrel you'll see a circular circuit board with a black rod in the center. Tip the flashlight so that this assembly comes out -- this will be a "cartridge" containing the battery and the driver electronics. Remove the tired old battery from this "cartridge" and dispose of, recycle, or recharge (RCR123 cells only!) it as you see fit.
Insert a new CR123A cell into the chamber, orienting it so that its flat (-) negative end faces the spring for it in this chamber.
Slide the "cartridge" back into the flashlight's body, orienting it so that the end with black rod goes in last.
Finally, screw the tailcap firmly back in place.
Aren't you glad you didn't steal a space shuttle and launch the tailcap into the Sun now?
I'm not able to take current usage measurements due to how the flashlight was constructed.
This is a loaner flashlight, and I'm certain that its owner would like it returned with no dings on the bezel or old toliet water or a dessiccated fudge bunny (slang term for a cat fece) rattling around in the barrel. So "The Smack Test" and "The Toliet Test" will not be performed on it, and this section of the web page will be significantly more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight that is not a loaner.
However, I did take the time to perform "The Suction Test" on it, which is a totally nondestructive test. The flashlight holds an excellent partial vacuum when both the barrel and tailcap are suctioned; so I have no doubt all that it is waterproof and even submersible to shallow depths at minimum. So if it falls in water, just shake it off and keep going; and if it falls next to the wheelie bin (wheeled outdoor garbage can) and the dog lifts his leg & piddles on it, just take the hose to it or douche it off under the faucet...good as new!
Beam photograph on the test target at 12".
Measures 68,900mcd (minimum) and 3,070,000mcd (maximum) on an Amprobe LM631A light meter.
Yes, I double-checked that "maximum" value just to be certain!!!
This is actually the brightest small-sized flashlight I've ever tested!!!
Beam photograph on a wall at ~8 feet.
That rainbow flag on the left is a gay pride flag (it's no big secret that I'm a "homosexicle" (from the movie "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry"), so I have no compunction about telling you what the flag is), and that black rectangular thing just to the lower right of center is my Custom-Made LED Sign.
Photograph of a room using this flashlight as the ***SOLE*** source of illumination.
This flashlight was shone at a slightly off-white wall approx. 12 feet from the scene shown here.
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this flashlight.
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this flashlight; spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 420nm and 460nm to pinpoint native emission peak wavelength, which is exactly 441.00nm.
Brief video showing the dimming and strobe capabilities of the Beamshot Personal Defense Flashlight.
The flashes in strobe mode appear irregular in this video; in reality they're spaced evenly apart at 11Hz (11 flashes per second). The difference is due to the way the camera works vs. the way the human eye works.
This clip is approximately 5.000067234552 megabytes (5,202,766 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than twenty five minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
TEST NOTES:
This flashlight (along with two lasers) was sent by S.F. of California, and was received late on the afternoon of 05-18-12 (or "18 May 2012" or even "May 18, Twenty Stick-Very-Twirly-Stick" if you prefer). Since it is a loaner, the dreadful "" icon will immediately appear appended to its listings on this website, denoting the fact that I no longer have the sample for additional analyses or comparisions.
* The term "candiosity" refers to a piņata's level of candy fill; it is also the title of a Viva Piņata episode.
UPDATE: 00-00-00
PROS:
Insanely bright for such a small little f***er!!!
Type II anodizing is reasonably durable
Multiple modes easily available with a single pushbutton
CONS:
No visible indicator when minimum/maximum intensity has been reached
Extinguishing strobe mode also turns the flashlight itself off.
Using strobe mode cancels the last intensity setting; e.g. the light comes back on at maximum intensity
Flashlight itself has no "memory" for last intensity setting used; always turns on at maximum
MANUFACTURER: Beamshot
PRODUCT TYPE: Small LED flashlight with multiple operating modes
LAMP TYPE: High-powered white LED
No. OF LAMPS: 1
BEAM TYPE: Circular medium spot with brighter than usual corona
SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/mode change/off on tailcap
CASE MATERIAL: Metal
BEZEL: Metal; LED & reflector protected by recessed plastic window
BATTERY: 1x CR123A cell
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
WATER- AND SHAMPOTTY-RESISTANT: Yes
SUBMERSIBLE: Yes, to shallow depths at absolute minimum
ACCESSORIES: Hard-sided storage case, 1x CR123A cell (battery)
SIZE: 4.60 (117mm) L x 1.280" (33mm) D
WEIGHT: (fully-loaded) 3 Oz (114g)
COUNTRY OF MANUFACTURE: Unknown/not stated (probably of non-US manufacture)
WARRANTY: 1 year
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SIZE
)...er...um...I mean, "maximum INTENSITY", just press & release the button on the tailcap.
" icon will immediately appear appended to its listings on this website, denoting the fact that I no longer have the sample for additional analyses or comparisions.
