Abbreviations of some popular flashlights
TL-3 - Streamlight Task Light 3
X5T - Inova X5 Tactical (with tailcap switch)
TID - Tactical Impact Device; sharp points on a flashlight's bezel that can be used as a defensive weapon
KL5 - SureFire KL5
L1 - SureFire L1
L2 - SureFire L2
M6 - SureFire M6 or Pelican M6
L1-P or L1P - Fenix L1 Premium
General (lighting / flashlight specific) abbreviations & acronyms
CPF - Candle Power Forums (where you probably just came from!)
CCFT - Cold Cathode Fluorescent Tube
CCFL - Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (same thing as above)
CFL - Compact Fluorescent Lamp
nm - Nanometers (Used to measure wavelength)
Å - Angstroms - multiply nm by 10)
NUV - Near-Ultraviolet (Light with wavelengths of 395-410nm)
UV - Ultraviolet (Radiation with wavelengths below 395nm)
NIR - Near-Infrared (Light with wavelengths of 700-800nm)
IR - Infrared (Radiation with wavelengths above 800nm)
DMM - Digital Multimeter
DVOM - Digital Volt Ohm Meter
VOM - Volt Ohm Meter
NV - Night Vision
LEO - Law Enforcement Officer
LS - Luxeon Star LED
PGLS - Pee Green Luxeon Star (The "rotten squid urine green" color emitted by some LD whites)
MCPCB - Metal Core Printed Circuit Board (the square or hexagonal PC board that Luxeon Star LEDs are mounted to)
LS/O - Luxeon Star LED with optics
LS HD(LD) - Luxeon Star LED High Dome (Low Dome)
LI - Lambda Illuminator. 2-AA Legend-based Luxeon Star mod
TL - Streamlight Task Light flashlight
TT - Streamlight Twin Task flashlight
PT - Princeton Tec (mfg)
UKE - Underwater Kinetics (mfg)
HA - Hard Anodized
HA-III - Hard anodize type 3
OD - Olive Drab
EDC - Every Day Carry
GITD - Glow In The Dark
LOTC - Lock Out Tail Cap
HID - High Intensity Discharge
MM - Dat2Zip's "MadMax" sandwich (converter circuit)
WO - Wide Open (when referring to the MM directly above)
DB - Double Barrel (side-by side battery compartment light, like the Double Barrel LS Mod)
TB - Triple Barrel (like the Stanley MaxLife 369 Flashlight)
DD - Direct Drive flashlight; drives the LED with no resistors or other circuitry
mod - modification or moderator depending on context.
LED - Light Emitting Diode
FED - Flame Emitting Diode (Don't try this at home please!)
WA - Welch-Allyn (bulb/lamp manufacturer)
LDF - Light Diffusing Film
USL - Ultra Stealth Light or Ultimate Stealth Light
Vf - Forward Voltage (usually in reference to an LED)
If - Forward Current (usually in reference to an LED)
TK - Turnkey; already built and ready to use. Usually associated with McLux flashlights
LASER - Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
O-SINK - Heatsink used for Luxeon LEDs in homemade flashlights
CW - Continuous wave (usually used regarding lasers)
MCA - Multiple Crystal Assembly (as you might find in a yellow, green, or blue laser pointer)
DPSS - Diode Pumped Solid State (for 593.5nm yellow, 532nm green, and 473nm blue lasers)
Boost - A DC-DC inverter that raises the voltage enough to drive an LED
Buck - A circuit that drops the voltage down so the LED doesn't get smoked
CBDSRDM - Computerised Battery Destroying Satanic Robot Death Machine - a battery lifetime testing device, made from a charting (connects to computer via a cable) DMM, a solar cell, some wires, and a PC running a couple of programs
Here's an example of a chart output by the CBDSRDM:
Related to ARC flashlights
Arc - mfg of small, durable, bright LED lights. The "light denisty" king.
Arc LS - Luxeon Star LED light from Arc
Arc SLS - A Second Quality Arc LS
Arc4 - The new Arc-LS model 4; microcontroller light with numerous options
Arc LSL-ST - Arc LS, low-dome, standard
Arc LSL-P - Arc LS, low-dome, premium
Arc LSH-ST - Arc LS, high-dome, standard
Arc LSH-P - Arc LS, high-dome, premium
Arc LSHP-F or LSHF-P - Arc LS, high-dome, premium, with Fraen acrylic optic
Arc LE - Limited Edition Arc AAA with a white SB1 LED and natural HA III finish
Arc PE - Premium Edition Arc AAA - same as above
Arc AAA - Standard Arc AAA LED flashlight
Arc CPF - CPF version of the LE. Blue or red case and special engraving, otherwise same as Arc LE
Turquoise EV - Brightest 5mm turquoise currently available (though nobody seems to know what "EV" stands for)
Gransee (Peter) - Mr. Arc
Related to SureFire flashlights
SureFire - mfg of high-end tactical and executive lights
LOLA - Low Output Lamp Assembly
HOLA - High Output Lamp Assembly
LOTC - Lock Out Tail Cap
ARB - Anti-roll bezel (hex shaped)
SIB - Shock Isolation Bezel
SFTH - SureFire Turbo Head (might also be seen as "SRTH")
E2(e) - Executive series 2-cell 6v light
MN0x - Lamp assembly; that last number varies depending on what light it's for
MA02 - Lamp assembly designed to fit a SureFire Aviator A2
PK (Paul Kim) - Mr. SureFire
Related to Batteries
(mAh for Alkaline, typ.)
AAAA 595mAh at 1.5v
AAA 1150mAh at 1.5v
AA 2750mAh at 1.5v
C 8350mAh at 1.5v
D 18000mAh at 1.5v
123 1300mAh at 3v
9v 595mAh at 9v
Li - Lithium
Li-Ion - Lithium Ion
Nicd/Nicad - Nickel Cadmium
NiMH - Nickel Metal Hydride
Light Measurements
lm - lumen
cd - candela
mcd - millicandela
fc - footcandle
lux - The light measurement known simply as "lux"
where:
lux = lm/m^2
1 lux = 1 cd @ 1 m
fc = lm/ft^2
1 fc = 1 cd @ 1 ft
1 cd = 1,000 mcd
Not specific to this site or CPF, but fun or useful nonetheless
CONUS = Continental United States; not including Alaska or Hawaii
WRT - With Regards To
UPS - United Parcel Service
USPS - United States Postal Service
BTW - By The Way
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
FWIW - For What It's Worth
LOL - Laughing Out Loud
ROTFLMAO - Rolling On The Floor Laughing My @$$ Off
ROTFLMFAO - Rolling On The Floor Laughing My {vulgar term for having intercourse} {toilet muscle} Off
BTT - Bump To The Top (used on message forums)
BTTT - Back To The Top (used on message forums)
FUBAR - F'ed Up Beyond All Recognition
SNAFU - Situation Normal, All F'ed Up
IIRC - If I Remember Correctly
IMO - In My Opinion
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
URL - Uniform Resource Locator (the web address you type into your browser)
BRB - Be Right Back
BBS - Be Back Soon
Not acronyms, but terms used on this website
Radiation - Electromagnetic waves with wavelengths ranging from 100nm (UVC) to 4,900nm (mid-IR); commonly called "light"
For more fun with acronyms that are not light-specific, visit this SITE.
To search for an acronym when you have no idea of its meaning, try this site instead.
List courtesy of Darell of Candlepower Forums
Do you manufacture or sell an LED flashlight, task light, utility light, or module of some kind? Want to see it tested by a real person, under real working conditions? Do you then want to see how your light did? If you have a sample available for this type of real-world, real-time testing, please contact me at ledmuseum@gmail.com.
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