Made by AE
Light, available from Pacific
Tactical Solutions
So, you're looking for a photonic cannon, are you?
Look no further. The AE Light PL14 produces an amazing
amount of light from a HID bulb, power regulating ballast,
and Lithium Ion rechargeable battery, all stored in
a body about the same length and about 1½ times
the diameter of a 3-D Mag. Frankly, I am stunned by
the output of this light.
Body: The body of the PL14 is black anodized
aluminum with rubber caps on the tail and bezel for
some impact protection. The aluminum body has grooves
along the length of the central body tube and circular
steps milled into the head. There are two rubberized
rings on the body - one at each end of the body tube.
These rubberized areas have metal split-rings connected
for the attachment of the shoulder strap.
Bezel/Head: For those of you unfamiliar with
HID (High Intensity Discharge) bulbs, these are the
bulbs found in new high-end car headlights which produce
a very white light. We're not talking about those bluish-green
crappy lights that you see in those ridiculous looking
"tricked out" Honda Civics with ground effect
kits and spoilers the size of airplane wings. Those
are just cheap regular bulbs with a blue coating. We're
talking about the headlights found in Mercedes, BMW
and Lexus automobiles.
High Intensity Discharge bulbs work by firing an arc
between two contacts. This arc incandesces (causes to
glow) the gasses inside the bulb between the contacts.
The result is an intense bluish-white light.
In the PL14 the HID bulb is found in a metal reflector
behind a glass lens. Surrounding the head is a rubber
bezel cover to help protect the light from impacts.
If you look carefully in the bezel (the picture below
is too small to see it) you will see a wire that runs
from the bottom of the bulb up to the top. This is the
ignition wire for the bulb and caution should be used
when opening the light to avoid damage to the wire and
the bulb.
Output: The white light produced by the HID
is a high color temperature white and produces good
color rendition weighted slightly toward the blue end
of the spectrum. The light is bluish white and is very
intense. Color temperature is advertised as about 7000K
(sunlight is 6500K, incandescent bulbs are about 3500K).
The beam's central spot is pre-focused to about 4 deg
, resulting in an excellent spotting light for distance
work. There is sufficient spillbeam to light up the
area around the user without any problem at all.
I did notice that if you wiggle the light around or
point it face down the light changes color. This is
due to condensed substances in the bulb entering the
path of the arc. Generally when held horizontal the
light was a bluish white, but when held vertically face
down the light turned slightly orange.
Beam at one meter at target center
Yes, yes, I know... You want to see outdoors shots.
Well it'll have to wait a little bit. I'll see what
I can whip up sometime soon.
Runtime Plot: Well, there's a ballast for you
- great regulation until it flickers a tiny bit and
then - blip - it goes out. Considering the size and
weight of the unit, over 1.5 hours of runtime is absolutely
fantastic.
More
information on runtime plots is available HERE.
Switch: The switch on the PL14 is a little strange.
See that wide black ring of plastic with the OFF-ON
label on it between the two rubber sections?
That black plastic ring is what turns
- not the rubber section above or below it. Twist it
about 1/8 turn to activate the light and don't point
it at your face! The light comes on instantly but
takes about 6 seconds to warm up to full output. For
the first cold-start you should leave the light on for
about 1 minute at a minimum to vaporize all the condensate
inside the bulb. Once it's warmed up you can turn it
on and off as needed.
Seals / Water Resistance: The PL14 is designed
to accept some water spray, but is not a dive light
and is not designed for extremely wet environments.
Technically, it has an IP54
rating which means it is protected from the intrusion
of dust and sprayed water from all directions, with
limited ingress resulting. High voltage ballasts and
lithium ion batteries don't play nice with water, so
use appropriate caution. A little water should be OK,
but large quantities of water should be avoided.
Upon opening the light I found O-rings throughout,
so I really don't think there should be any problems
in this area at all. The O-rings were very dry when
I opened the light, so you may want to check them. The
manual states that you should lubricate the seals with
a "low mineral petroleum jelly".
After use in wet conditions, disassemble per the instructions
and make sure water did not get in. If wet inside, let
it dry before using again.
Ergonomics: It is large in diameter, but it's
not awkward to hold since it is not all that heavy.
It has two split rings on the side that attach to a
shoulder strap for carrying, or you can put the strap
over your shoulder and let it hang against your side
while pointed forward to give your arm a little break.
The switch is not textured at all, but the plastic ring
has a slight grippyness to it which is hard to describe.
Size compared to a common 2AA aluminum light
Batteries: An internal Lithium Ion rechargeable
cell powers the light. The cell in turn powers a ballast
which is like a big step-up transformer. This is needed
to get the voltage up to the range which will fire the
bulb - around 15KV. Both the bulb and the ballast are
USER REPLACEABLE! This is a big boon to the system.
If one or the other fails, you can replace them yourself,
but be sure to follow the instructions to the letter!
We're talking about a lot of stored energy in there!
Interesting fact, the Lithium Ion battery weighs 6.4
oz. An alkaline D cell weighs 5.1 oz.
When the battery is dead, just plug it in for about
two hours. The LED on the charger turns from red to
green when the battery is done charging. It is important
to keep an eye on it, though. When the LED turns green
you should disconnect the charger, otherwise the battery's
internal protection circuitry may disable the battery
to prevent overcharge. If this happens, there is a procedure
in the instructions to get the battery out of this condition
so it's not a really big deal, just a little inconvenient.
The charger connector on the light is hidden behind
a rubber cover on the tail end of the light.
Accessories: An amber lens cap is available
for the PL14, as well as a few other optional accessories.
The shoulder strap is included.
What I Liked: Water resistant,
Very bright, Very nice color temperature, Fantastic
runtime for its weight and size, Easy to use and operate,
Rechargeable.
What I Didn't Like: Nothing
Picky Little Things: Remember -
a cold start requires a 1 minute on-time to keep the
bulb in best operating condition. Light changes tint
color when moved around. O-rings appear to require lubrication.
Conclusions: The AE Light PL14
is a very nice light. Overall build quality is very
good. Runtime is really good, with 1½ hours+
of super bright, long range, pure white output from
a light that only weighs about 2 oz. more than a 3-D
Maglight. The quantity of light produced is stunning
and the range is really surprising. The literature states
"Not a Flashlight, a Personal Search Light",
and I couldn't agree more.
By the way... Need even more light? The
PL14, 14 Watt HID has a BIG BROTHER - the PL24, 24W
HID. Yikes!
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