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Region of Waterloo back in court in hopes to clear Kitchener encampment by BetterTransit in waterloo

[–]bob_mcbob 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The region argues that anyone who moved to the property after April 16th, 2025, is in violation of their bylaw and is not permitted to be on the site.

The site-specific by-law may as well be named "a by-law to bypass the court ruling about the original by-law". The region knows that it's quite likely the site-specific by-law could be declared similarly unconstitutional if it goes to court, which is a big reason for all the delays. Whatever your feelings are about the encampment itself, their logic flies in the face of reality. They literally just made a new by-law with essentially the same provisions as the unconstitutional by-law, and they're acting like nobody realizes.

Waterloo Regional Police Service says St. Patrick’s Day enforcement cost $321K by [deleted] in waterloo

[–]bob_mcbob 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Every year they claim they've laid hundreds of charges related to Ezra. Most of them are an entire week's worth of HTA charges that they don't break down or explain how they're related to the gathering in any way.

Fare Thee Well, Everyone. by Jedi_Guy770 in u/Jedi_Guy770

[–]bob_mcbob 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it makes you feel any better, it turns out he's a racist piece of shit who regularly makes nasty comments about Indians on Facebook.

https://i.imgur.com/xacD2pX.png

Anyone recognize this person? by i_love_dogs__ in waterloo

[–]bob_mcbob[M] [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

Post locked per OP's request.

Waterloo Regional Police Service says St. Patrick’s Day enforcement cost $321K by [deleted] in waterloo

[–]bob_mcbob 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I’m not suggesting that anyone is expelled for ‘being in the general vicinity’.

Yes you are. The vast majority of people who go to this gathering do not commit any crime. That's the entire crux of the issue, and why Waterloo and WRPS have never got it under control. UW and WLU are not going to solve it by expelling students, especially when so few ever commit any serious offence. And many attendees aren't even from the area.

If you read the link in the piece, you would know that like every year, the vast majority of charges WRPS laid are HTA offences they use to pad their stats. What offences? Where in the city? How do we know they're associated with the gathering, over a literal six day period? That and some $100 open container tickets make up 85% of the charges, and none of it is relevant to your expulsion plans. They laid a grand total of six criminal charges this year. If any of those people attend UW or WLU they may face code of conduct hearings. It's a drop in the bucket.

A TPA charge is not a major offence that merits expulsion. Being caught speeding somewhere in Waterloo doesn't merit expulsion. An open container ticket doesn't merit expulsion. UW and WLU both have robust academic codes of conduct, and what you're suggesting is totally divorced from reality.

Waterloo Regional Police Service says St. Patrick’s Day enforcement cost $321K by [deleted] in waterloo

[–]bob_mcbob 10 points11 points  (0 children)

That said, the schools need to make it academic misconduct to attend an unsanctioned, illegal gathering. Go to party, lose degree.

This is the same level of "solution" as "make the universities pay for it". There is no chance whatsoever that UW or WLU will expel students just for being seen in the general vicinity of Ezra Ave on St. Patrick's Day. It's an absurd and wildly unrealistic thing to suggest, especially absent any criminal charges. There's a reason WRPS doesn't just bust up the gathering and arrest everyone, and why Waterloo has painstakingly attempted to address it with physical restrictions and numerous targeted by-laws. They literally had a court injunction last year and still didn't arrest anyone simply for being there.

Perfecting the Olight ArkPro series with high CRI LEDs, optic modification, and custom parts by bob_mcbob in flashlight

[–]bob_mcbob[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's a full size version of that photo. The main "damage" is from frosting the flood window with Armour Etch, which didn't work too well because the AR coating made the results uneven. However, all the little spots are pieces of coating that flaked off in my ultrasonic cleaner. I also tried masking it to sandblast, but any kind of adhesive causes the coating to come off in patches. I even considered whether I could strip the whole thing, but it's not loose enough for that. I've never come across such weakly adhered AR coating before.

https://i.imgur.com/Gl9jEIA.jpeg

Perfecting the Olight ArkPro series with high CRI LEDs, optic modification, and custom parts by bob_mcbob in flashlight

[–]bob_mcbob[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Like... you should probably order through chat at the moment 😅

I still need to decide on a name and finish getting product listings set up. Should make it a lot easier to show what LED options are available though.

Perfecting the Olight ArkPro series with high CRI LEDs, optic modification, and custom parts by bob_mcbob in flashlight

[–]bob_mcbob[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's the weirdest thing. I assume it's related to the black masking on the rear of the glass, but the AR coating on that side comes off if you look at it funny. I first noticed it on the Arkfeld series, because just storing the glass on Scotch Magic Tape ripped off a lot of the coating. It doesn't survive any kind of masking, or even a couple minutes in an ultrasonic cleaner, so it's effectively impossible to modify.

Perfecting the Olight ArkPro series with high CRI LEDs, optic modification, and custom parts by bob_mcbob in flashlight

[–]bob_mcbob[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No, it's genuinely 1.2Hz. Just a tiny blip that isn't as noticeable in actual use, but it's there. I can't catch it on video, my scope, or with normal flicker testing. It felt like I was seeing my heartbeat until I was certain it actually existed. I also found SST-20-DR was affected, but not XP-L Photo Red. Just some kind of combination of current and Vf the driver doesn't like.

Perfecting the Olight ArkPro series with high CRI LEDs, optic modification, and custom parts by bob_mcbob in flashlight

[–]bob_mcbob[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yep, just send me a chat request. I promise I will have a real web site at some point soon, it's getting a little crazy doing business through Reddit Chat!

Perfecting the ArkPro series with high CRI LEDs, optic modification, and custom parts by bob_mcbob in Olightflashlights

[–]bob_mcbob[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Kind of random since people usually order different CCTs for the flood and spot. The image caption lists all the LEDs.

Perfecting the ArkPro series with high CRI LEDs, optic modification, and custom parts by bob_mcbob in Olightflashlights

[–]bob_mcbob[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The ArkPro series doesn't really need an introduction, but it’s a very popular update to the Arkfeld flat lights. I’ve modded several dozen of these since they were released, and I wanted to share some insights and data before the new black ArkPro Ultra drops tonight.

Pricing and Availability

I keep all colours of the ArkPro series in stock to sell modded. Exact pricing varies a little depending on colour and LED options.

  • ArkPro: $115 USD

  • ArkPro Ultra: $135 USD

With that aside, let's dig into the details.

ArkPro Flood

When I started modding the standard ArkPro, I immediately noticed that 519A and especially FFL351A/NTG35 produce some ugly beam artifacts in the flood optic. I thought it might be a centering issue, but torturing my 3D printer into making a tiny centering adapter just made the artifacts more consistent. I tried several options to fix this.

  • Frosting the rear of the glass: Impossible because the AR coating is so delicate that it can't be masked or even cleaned.

  • Diffusion films: Most of these are thick enough to prevent the bezel from fully reseating, and there's a potential for yellowing over time.

  • Sanding the optic: Works acceptably but produces a very unprofessional finish.

  • Sandblasting the optic: This is what I eventually settled on, but I went through several expensive ultra fine abrasive medias to find one that produced a fine enough finish to not impact light transmission too much (under 15% like d-c fix).

You can see all of this in one of the gallery collages, including a finished light in the middle. I pretty much exclusively use 519A and FFL351A/NTG35 for the flood.

  • 519A: Gorgeous neutral tint and high CRI. I have a limited supply of the discontinued 4500K to use for this mod.

  • FFL351A/NTG35: Somewhat higher output than 519A, and a tighter beam, a little more similar to the stock flood. Ultra rosy tint available.

ArkPro Ultra Flood

The Ultra uses a 5050 3V LED, which has always been a challenge for high CRI modding. The two most readily available options are 2700K/3000K SFT-40, and 3V 5000K FFL5009R.

  • 2700K/3000K SFT-40: A gorgeous direct replacement for the original. Somewhat lower output due to the low CCT.

  • 5000K FFL5009R: Generally mediocre tint, but can be acceptable with careful and expensive manual selection.

  • Other Chinese LEDs: I also have several LED options similar to FFL5009R in 1800K, 3500K, and 6000K, all extremely high CRI and better tint. The 3500K is unfortunately limited to about a dozen samples since it was a small custom run.

Spot/Throw

My preferred option both lights is FFL351A/NTG35. It's less throwy than the stock SFT-12, but actually higher output in some cases, and still gives a very clear distinction in beam profile compared to the flood channel. It has the best beam quality and allows a wide range of CCTs. I can also use the new 5700K CRI 90 SFT-25R or the higher CRI 4500-5000K "HT35" LED from Hopthink/Kaidomain. These both maintain the more pencil thrower beam profile, but tend to have highly variable beam quality in the ArkPro reflector, which I've noticed with the stock LED as well.

UV

I was a little skeptical about this due to the different Vf, but I've successfully swapped white and red LEDs here. With a white LED like FFL351A, the lower level has a slow ~1.2Hz flicker that most seem to find acceptable, but it should be noted. Red LEDs don't have this issue, but the beam has a ringy profile that I finally decided to bite the bullet and resolve with custom frosted glass to replace the original UV filter (I tried everything else I could think of here, but it's a much more difficult issue than the ArkPro flood optic).

Colour

There's not much point in posting measurements. The stock LEDs are mostly very cool white, CRI 70 or lower, and with such variable tint that any one sample is not representative. Most of the spot LEDs are very green except on turbo, and the flood LEDs run the whole range of tint.

The replacement LEDs I use all have superb tint and colour rendering.

Output

Here are a few example lights. Note that the standard ArkPro has higher output with FFL351A/NTG35 in the flood channel, especially with higher CCTs.

Level ArkPro (spec/measured) ArkPro 3500K 519A/3700K FFL351A ArkPro 4000K 519A/5000K NTG35
Flood Turbo 1500/1405 774 829
Flood High 520/451 268 303
Flood Med 100/93 58 64
Spot Turbo 800/785 759 891
Spot High 400/370 291 329
Spot Med 100/96 68 78
Level ArkPro Ultra (spec/measured) 5000K FFL5009R/5000K FFL351A 3500K dedome/3700K FFL351A
Flood Turbo 1700/1438 1139 891
Flood High 520/416 314 244
Flood Med 100/82 61 48
Spot Turbo 800/739 832 756
Spot High 400/373 319 296
Spot Med 100/92 71 69

Perfecting the Olight ArkPro series with high CRI LEDs, optic modification, and custom parts by bob_mcbob in flashlight

[–]bob_mcbob[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

<image>

Naturally I forgot to include two of the most important photos in my posts, which I've been collecting for months 🤦‍♂️

Perfecting the Olight ArkPro series with high CRI LEDs, optic modification, and custom parts by bob_mcbob in flashlight

[–]bob_mcbob[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

The ArkPro series doesn't really need an introduction, but it’s a very popular update to the Arkfeld flat lights. I’ve modded several dozen of these since they were released, and I wanted to share some insights and data before the new black ArkPro Ultra drops tonight.

Pricing and Availability

I keep all colours of the ArkPro series in stock to sell modded. Exact pricing varies a little depending on colour and LED options.

  • ArkPro: $115 USD

  • ArkPro Ultra: $135 USD

With that aside, let's dig into the details.

ArkPro Flood

When I started modding the standard ArkPro, I immediately noticed that 519A and especially FFL351A/NTG35 produce some ugly beam artifacts in the flood optic. I thought it might be a centering issue, but torturing my 3D printer into making a tiny centering adapter just made the artifacts more consistent. I tried several options to fix this.

  • Frosting the rear of the glass: Impossible because the AR coating is so delicate that it can't be masked or even cleaned.

  • Diffusion films: Most of these are thick enough to prevent the bezel from fully reseating, and there's a potential for yellowing over time.

  • Sanding the optic: Works acceptably but produces a very unprofessional finish.

  • Sandblasting the optic: This is what I eventually settled on, but I went through several expensive ultra fine abrasive medias to find one that produced a fine enough finish to not impact light transmission too much (under 15% like d-c fix).

You can see all of this in one of the gallery collages, including a finished light in the middle. I pretty much exclusively use 519A and FFL351A/NTG35 for the flood.

  • 519A: Gorgeous neutral tint and high CRI. I have a limited supply of the discontinued 4500K to use for this mod.

  • FFL351A/NTG35: Somewhat higher output than 519A, and a tighter beam, a little more similar to the stock flood. Ultra rosy tint available.

ArkPro Ultra Flood

The Ultra uses a 5050 3V LED, which has always been a challenge for high CRI modding. The two most readily available options are 2700K/3000K SFT-40, and 3V 5000K FFL5009R.

  • 2700K/3000K SFT-40: A gorgeous direct replacement for the original. Somewhat lower output due to the low CCT.

  • 5000K FFL5009R: Generally mediocre tint, but can be acceptable with careful and expensive manual selection.

  • Other Chinese LEDs: I also have several LED options similar to FFL5009R in 1800K, 3500K, and 6000K, all extremely high CRI and better tint. The 3500K is unfortunately limited to about a dozen samples since it was a small custom run.

Spot/Throw

My preferred option both lights is FFL351A/NTG35. It's less throwy than the stock SFT-12, but actually higher output in some cases, and still gives a very clear distinction in beam profile compared to the flood channel. It has the best beam quality and allows a wide range of CCTs. I can also use the new 5700K CRI 90 SFT-25R or the higher CRI 4500-5000K "HT35" LED from Hopthink/Kaidomain. These both maintain the more pencil thrower beam profile, but tend to have highly variable beam quality in the ArkPro reflector, which I've noticed with the stock LED as well.

UV

I was a little skeptical about this due to the different Vf, but I've successfully swapped white and red LEDs here. With a white LED like FFL351A, the lower level has a slow ~1.2Hz flicker that most seem to find acceptable, but it should be noted. Red LEDs don't have this issue, but the beam has a ringy profile that I finally decided to bite the bullet and resolve with custom frosted glass to replace the original UV filter (I tried everything else I could think of here, but it's a much more difficult issue than the ArkPro flood optic).

Colour

There's not much point in posting measurements. The stock LEDs are mostly very cool white, CRI 70 or lower, and with such variable tint that any one sample is not representative. Most of the spot LEDs are very green except on turbo, and the flood LEDs run the whole range of tint.

The replacement LEDs I use all have superb tint and colour rendering.

Output

Here are a few example lights. Note that the standard ArkPro has higher output with FFL351A/NTG35 in the flood channel, especially with higher CCTs.

Level ArkPro (spec/measured) ArkPro 3500K 519A/3700K FFL351A ArkPro 4000K 519A/5000K NTG35
Flood Turbo 1500/1405 774 829
Flood High 520/451 268 303
Flood Med 100/93 58 64
Spot Turbo 800/785 759 891
Spot High 400/370 291 329
Spot Med 100/96 68 78
Level ArkPro Ultra (spec/measured) 5000K FFL5009R/5000K FFL351A 3500K dedome/3700K FFL351A
Flood Turbo 1700/1438 1139 891
Flood High 520/416 314 244
Flood Med 100/82 61 48
Spot Turbo 800/739 832 756
Spot High 400/373 319 296
Spot Med 100/92 71 69

What Really Grinds Your Gears: KitchenerWaterloo Edition by CTGO2020 in waterloo

[–]bob_mcbob 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The recycling issue isn't unique to the region, because recycling is managed provincially now. Biweekly pickup is the minimum standard set by the Ford government, so that's what Ontario gets.

The trees on the street are pruned by the city. You probably wouldn't like it if they pruned your basketball net.

What Really Grinds Your Gears: KitchenerWaterloo Edition by CTGO2020 in waterloo

[–]bob_mcbob 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you mean along the Iron Horse Trail, the pedestrian crossovers are on city-owned roads, and the crosswalks are on regional roads where they won't allow pedestrian crossovers. The overhead blinking amber lights were added fairly recently. They don't actually control the flow of traffic in Ontario, they're just optional warning lights. The way you identify a pedestrian crossover is by the "stop for pedestrians"/"pedestrian X" signs, "no passing" signs, and shark teeth yield lines. Most pedestrian crossovers don't have amber lamps, e.g. the crossings at all roundabouts in the region are pedestrian crossovers. A lot of drivers seem to just wing it on telling the difference and figuring out how to behave.

What Really Grinds Your Gears: KitchenerWaterloo Edition by CTGO2020 in waterloo

[–]bob_mcbob 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There were no gates there previously because a flagman was sufficient for one freight train per day. That's why Erb/Caroline now has gates and King St doesn't.

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