Instructions for the Loupe System Light Ring accessory

Thank you for purchasing a Light Ring accessory for your Loupe System loupe!

IMPORTANT: Please read all sections of these instructions very carefully before attempting to use or mount the Light Ring on your loupe!

Navigate directly to:

Frequently asked questions
Installing your Light Ring
Charging your Light Ring
Using your Light Ring
Important safety warnings
Warranty and legal information

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES IN YOUR LIGHT RING

Your Light Ring contains two custom-molded, curved, single-cell Lithium Polymer (LiPo) rechargeable batteries, which are subjected to a constant low drain by the capacitive touch control circuit of the Light Ring. Basically, your Light Ring is constantly running a very low-drain circuit to check whether you are touching the control pad or not, and thus be in a position to react when you do. This circuit by itself will drain a fully charged battery in about two weeks, so if you have set your Light Ring aside for longer than that, it will be normal to have to recharge it before being able to use it again. Please see the section "Charging your Light Ring" for more information on how to do this.

However, to preserve the batteries of your Light Ring in full working order, you must give your Light Ring a full charge once per month even when storing it. If you find that your Light Ring has become unresponsive after a charge cycle, especially when left discharged for a long time, give it a full charge so that the logic circuits of the Light Ring can start, let this charge naturally drain over approximately two weeks so that they can reset, and then charge it fully again.

ATTENTION: On v3 Light Rings, once the Light Ring has been recharged from a fully depleted state, you will need to reactivate its firmware by holding your finger on the control pad for at least 6 seconds until the Light Ring turns on.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can the Light Ring be mounted on all our loupes?

Yes, the optical barrels of all our loupes have the exact same outer dimensions, so the Light Ring can be mounted on any one of our loupes.

What are the differences between v1, v2 and v3 Light Rings?

The main difference between our first-generation (v1) and second- and third-generation (v2 and v3) Light Rings concerns the UV LEDs. There are 6 of them on the v1 Light Rings, and 12 of them on the v2 and v3 Light Rings. Moreover, their output power has been boosted by about 10% on the v2 Light Rings and almost doubled on the v3 Light Rings. Finally, v3 Light Rings also have optimized hardware and software compared to v1 and v2 Light Rings.

How can I tell if I have a v1, a v2 or a v3 Light Ring?

First, start by counting the number of LEDs present on the bottom of your Light Ring: if you count 12 total LEDs, then you have a v1 Light Ring. If you count 18 LEDs, instead, you will need to check what happens when you start charging your Light Ring: if the RGB status light goes straight to red (⦿), yellow (⦿) or green (⦿) – depending on the charge status of your ring – then you have a v2 Light Ring; if the RGB Status light does a quick sequence of red, green and blue flashes (⊛⊛⊛) before showing either red (⦿), yellow (⦿) or green (⦿), then you have a v3 Light Ring.

Why is my Light Ring not charging?
Why does my RGB status light always stay red?

This can happen if the Light Ring's charging contacts are dirty, and not enough current is getting through to the batteries. It can also happen if the charger you are using cannot output sufficient current.

Try cleaning both the Light Ring charging contacts and the pins of the USB cable with a Q-tip or a microfiber cloth with a drop of alcohol on it, and then charge the Light Ring again.

What can I do if my Light Ring is unresponsive?

On v3 Light Rings, if you find that your Light Ring has become unresponsive, especially after having recharged it from a fully depleted state, you will need to reactivate its firmware by holding your finger on the control pad for at least 6 seconds until the Light Ring turns on.

On v1 and v2 Light Rings, or on v3 Light Rings if the long touch described above does not work, make sure that you give it a full charge overnight, let this charge naturally drain over approximately two weeks so that the firmware can reset itself, and then charge it fully again. Once the Light Ring has been fully recharged, v1 and v2 Light Rings should switch on normally with a double tap, while on v3 Light Rings you will need to reactivate the firmware by holding your finger on the control pad for at least 6 seconds until the Light Ring turns on.

INSTALLING YOUR LIGHT RING

The Light Ring comes packaged in a waterproof and air-tight shipping case, designed to protect it during storage and shipment. The shipping case is also designed to have its inner foam element removed, so that it can be used as safe waterproof storage for electronics and other delicate items while boating or going to the beach.

You will find the following items packed together in your shipping case:

The light ring itself, with its matte or glossy carbon fiber outer shell already mounted on it.
Both a short (60cm) and a long (3m) USB charging cable.
A transparent silicone bottom element for your loupe.
A UV light warning label.
A thank you card pointing you to the instructions on this page.

If any of these elements were to be missing, please contact us right away via the contact form on this web site.

Obviously, if you have ordered a loupe with the light ring factory-installed on it, all these elements will be found already mounted on the loupe or inside the loupe's shipping case instead.

The Light Ring accessory is designed to replace the middle and bottom elements which are currently mounted on your loupe. In order to install the Light Ring on your loupe, please follow these six simple steps:

	Remove the top eye cup element from your loupe, and set it aside for later. TIP: Instructions and a video on how to disassemble your loupe can be found on this page in the support section of our web site.
	Next, remove the middle element from your loupe, and store it somewhere safe. You will not need this part again, unless you have to remove the Light Ring from your loupe.
	Finally, remove the bottom element from your loupe, and store it somewhere safe as well. You will not need this part again either, unless you have to remove the Light Ring from your loupe.
	Take the transparent silicone rubber bottom element which came with your Light Ring, and install it on the bottom lip of the optical block of your loupe. The curved part should be facing down. TIP: Instructions and a video on how to reassemble your loupe can be found on this page in the support section of our web site.
	Take the Light Ring itself, and carefully align the bottom of the Light Ring with the top of the threaded section of your loupe's optical barrel. The transparent end of the Light Ring, through which you can see its LED lights, should be facing down. Using at least four fingers placed EVENLY around the top of the Light Ring, GENTLY push straight down until the bottom of the Light Ring is sitting flush with the top of the transparent silicone rubber bottom element. Please be careful not to flex or force the Light Ring as you do this. ATTENTION: If you feel that the fit, which is calculated to be well adjusted given the very small volume available, is too tight for you to feel comfortable just pushing down on the Light Ring, you can also make sure that the light right is sitting flat on top of the optical barrel and simply screw it in place. Due to the fine thread of the optical barrel this will take some time, but it will ensure that your light ring ends up where it needs to be without the use of any force.
	Take the top eye cup element which you had set aside in step 1, and put it back on your loupe.
	At the end of the Light Ring installation process your loupe should look like one of the two images on the left, depending on which eye cup you have chosen to use with it. If you were to need to remove the Light Ring from your loupe, simply carry out these same steps in reverse order.

ATTENTION: The light ring is a delicate piece of electronics, and we recommend that you leave it on the loupe permanently once installed.

If it were to become absolutely necessary to uninstall the light ring from your loupe, instead of pulling straight up to remove it, please unscrew it by turning it counter-clockwise until it comes free from the barrel. This will take some time, but it will eliminate the risk that the transparent ring which covers the LEDs may separate from the light ring itself.

Were this protective ring to separate during the removal of the Light Ring, it can easily be reattached by applying five very small drops of fast-curing glue to the outer edge of the ring and placing it back in its place to set.

CHARGING YOUR LIGHT RING

Your Light Ring contains two custom-molded single-cell Lithium Polymer (LiPo) rechargeable batteries, each connected to its own dedicated charge/discharge circuit.

The Light Ring is charged through one of the two supplied USB cables, which should be plugged into any USB wall charger, computer port or power bank. To ensure optimal charging times, we recommend that you use a 10W to 12W USB wall charger (2A to 2.4A @ 5V), such as those supplied with an iPad.

The short USB charging cable (60cm) is designed to be carried around with the loupe, to provide charging on the go, while the longer one (3m) is meant to be left at your desk or workbench, to provide a constant source of power for your Light Ring when used intensively in a professional setting.

The charging plug connects to the loupe via a magnetic coupling, which cannot be reversed. In order to prevent unwanted magnetism from radiating downward towards any watch which you may be examining with your loupe, all magnets are shielded on 5 faces by a soft iron cage.

IMPORTANT: Please make sure that your Light Ring is fully charged before using it for the first time!

ATTENTION: On v3 Light Rings, once the Light Ring has been recharged from a fully depleted state, you will need to reactivate its firmware by holding your finger on the control pad for at least 6 seconds until the light turns on.

NOTE: The batteries of our Light Rings may require a few complete charge/discharge cycles before reaching their full capacity.

To charge your Light Ring, connect one of the two USB cable supplied to a USB power source, and then bring the charging plug close to the control pad of the Light Ring.

Depending on the orientation of the plug with respect to the Light Ring, this will either snap in place, or want to turn. In this last case, simply turn the charging plug 180 degrees on its axis, and it will readily snap in place.

Should you accidentally make a brief reverse-polarity connection between the Light Ring and the charging plug by forcing together the resisting magnets, the Light Ring will not be damaged.

In order to prevent any charging issues due to oxydation, both the charging contacts on the control pad and the spring-loaded pins on the charging cables have been fully gold-plated. However, if you have trouble getting the charge light to come on, we recommend that you try cleaning both the Light Ring charging contacts and the pins of the USB cable with a Q-tip or microfiber cloth with a drop of alcohol on it, and then charge the Light Ring again.

Once a proper connection is made between the Light Ring and the USB charging cable with power supplied to it, the Light Ring will begin charging and the RGB status light will switch on. On v3 Light Rings, this will be preceded by a quick sequence of red, green and blue flashes (⊛⊛⊛) of the RGB status light.

While the batteries are between 0% and 49% charge level, the status light will be red (⦿). Once the battery charge level has reached at least 50% of capacity, the status light will change to orange (⦿). Finally, once both batteries are fully charged, the status light will change to green (⦿).

Using a 10.5W USB charger (2.1A @ 5V), the average expected Light Ring charging times from a fully depleted battery are 20 minutes to go from 0% to 50% charge, and 1 hour and 45 minutes to go from 0% to 100% charge.

The Light Ring may be switched on and used while it is connected to its charging cable, but the batteries will not be charged while the Light Ring is in use.

NOTE: It may require a few complete charge/discharge cycles before the batteries of a new Light Ring reach their full capacity and the RGB status light becomes green (⦿) at the end of a full charging cycle.

USING YOUR LIGHT RING

The Light Ring provides you with three different user-selectable light settings for your loupe:

Light mode 1: 4,000K neutral white light only (adjustable from 5% to 100% intensity).
Light mode 2: 4,000K neutral white light (adjustable from 5% to 100% intensity) plus 365-370um UV light (always at 100% intensity).
Light mode 3: 365-370um UV light only (adjustable from 5% to 100% intensity).

The Light Ring is controlled exclusively by tapping or touching for a longer time with your bare fingertip the capacitive-touch square control pad with the Loupe System logo, which is located directly above the Light Ring charging connector.

TIP: When using your Light Ring on a Model 01 6x loupe or on a Model 02 3x loupe, you should make sure that the control pad is pointing up towards the sky when bringing the loupe up to your eye, as this will ensure that you will not have a white light hot spot in the middle of your viewing field.

TIP: The Light Ring has been designed to remain fully functional when it is used in conjunction with any one of our macro-photography telephone or tablet mounts, and it provides excellent circular illumination in this context. Note, however, that due to the large viewing fields of our Model 01 6x loupes and our Model 02 3x loupes, the circle of white LEDs may be visible on reflective surfaces.

Control pad functions when the Light Ring is switched OFF
User Action	Resulting Light Ring Action
Short tap (up to 1 second)	Nothing happens.
Long constant touch (over 6 seconds)	On v1 and v2 Light Rings, nothing happens. On v3 Light Rings, the firmware reactivates and the Light Ring switches ON (after having been recharged from a fully depleted state).
Double tap (within 1.5 seconds)	The Light Ring switches ON in the last light mode mode used. TIP: If you are having trouble switching the light on via the double tap gesture, you are most likely doing it either too fast or too slowly. Try doing it while telling yourself the words "Loupe" "System" in your head, and touching the control pad once at the beginning of each word.
Control pad functions when the Light Ring is switched ON
User Action	Resulting Light Ring Action
Short tap (up to 1 second)	The Light Ring switches over to the next of the three light modes. As long as some charge remains in its batteries, the Light Ring will remember the intensity level which was last set for each mode, and it will return to those levels as it cycles between light modes.
Long constant touch (over 5 seconds)	The Light Ring enters the light intensity adjustment cycle for the current light mode. The light intensity will begin increasing or decreasing in 5% increments. On v1 and v2 Light Rings the light will continue increasing or decreasing in the same direction in which the process was last left off for this light mode, whereas on v3 Light Rings the light will start increasing or decreasing in the opposite direction in which the process was last left off for this light mode. The RGB status light will emit a blue blink (⊛) for each 5% light intensity change, a green blink (⊛) when 100% light intensity is reached, and a red blink (⊛) when 5% light intensity is reached. The light intensity will remain set at whatever level was reached when the finger is removed from the control pad.
Double tap (within 1.5 seconds)	The Light Ring switches OFF and indicates the remaining battery charge level. On v1 and v2 Light Rings, the RGB status light will emit a blue blink (⊛) for each 10% of overall remaining battery capacity. Seven blue blinks after the light switches off (⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛) would therefore indicate that there is at least 70% charge capacity left in the batteries. On v3 Light Rings, the RGB status light will emit a green blink (⊛) for each 20% of overall remaining battery capacity, plus an additional blue blink (⊛) for an additional 10% of overall remaining battery capacity. Three green blinks followed by one blue blink after the light switches off (⊛⊛⊛⊛) would therefore indicate that there is at least 70% charge capacity left in the batteries. NOTE: The remaining battery capacity shown is based on the light mode that the Light Ring was last used in, and may therefore change without any additional charging of the Light Ring depending on the use of white or UV light. TIP: If you are having trouble switching the light off via the double tap gesture, you are most likely doing it either too fast or too slowly. Try doing it while telling yourself the words "Loupe System" in your head, and touching the control pad once at the beginning of each word.

Average v1 Light Ring run times

To put the figures below into perspective, based on our tests under normal usage conditions, we expect most people to keep their Light Ring set at 15% to 25% white light intensity and at 100% UV light intensity when using UV.

Light Mode	Light Intensity	Average Expected Run Time
Light mode 1 (White light only)	5% intensity 50% intensity 100% intensity	17 hours 2 hours and 40 minutes 1 hour and 25 minutes
Light mode 2 (White and 100% UV light)	25% intensity 50% intensity 100% intensity	1 hour and 50 minutes 1 hour and 20 minutes 1 hour
Light mode 3 (UV light only)	5% intensity 50% intensity 100% intensity	28 hours 4 hours and 50 minutes 2 hours and 30 minutes

If the overall remaining battery capacity of the Light Ring drops below 25% while it is switched on, the RGB status light starts emitting a red warning blink (⊛) once every 30 seconds. The frequency of the red warning blinks (⊛) increases to once every 10 seconds when the overall remaining battery capacity drops below 10%.

IMPORTANT SAFETY WARNINGS
	SAFETY PRECAUTIONS: During operation in light modes 2 and 3, the Light Ring accessory emits 365-370um Ultraviolet (UV) light radiation, and most of the UV light emitted is not visible. Do not look directly at the emitted light during UV mode operation. Exposure to UV light can cause eye damage to humans and animals. Do not let unsupervised children use the Light Ring accessory.

WARRANTY AND LEGAL INFORMATION

The Light Ring accessory is covered by a one year (365 days) Limited Warranty from the date of purchase, which covers any defects in materials or workmanship under normal use and maintenance of the Light Ring.

During the warranty period, Loupe System Ltd will either repair or replace, at no charge, any parts of the Light Ring accessory that prove to be defective because of improper materials or workmanship under normal use and maintenance of the Light Ring.

This Limited Warranty does not cover any problem that is caused by conditions, malfunctions or damage not resulting from defects in materials or workmanship, such as negligence, water damage, mechanical damage, accidental breakage, leaving the batteries in a discharged state for longer than one month, theft, loss, unauthorized modification or dis-assembly of the Light Ring accessory or of its components, and any other misuse which does not constitute normal use of the Light Ring.

In case of problems covered by this Limited Warranty, Loupe System Ltd will either replace or repair the Light Ring accessory, using either new or refurbished replacement parts, at its sole discretion.

Replaced or repaired Light Ring accessories assume the remaining duration of the Limited Warranty of the original Light Ring accessory, or an extended 6 months (180 days) Limited Warranty from the date of replacement or repair, whichever is longer.

To obtain warranty service you must first contact us via the contact form on this web site to determine the exact nature of the problem you are experiencing, and to identify the most appropriate solution for your case. If replacement or repair are determined to be necessary by Loupe System Ltd, you will be issued an RMA number and instructions to return your defective Light Ring accessory to us.

By using the Light Ring accessory you expressly agree, to the extent that the law allows, that Loupe System Ltd will not be held responsible for any loss, incidental or consequential damage, or health issue arising out of the installation, use (unauthorized, unsupervised or otherwise), errors, mistakes, and accidents related to the use of the Light Ring accessory.

In the unlikely event that Loupe System Ltd would be held liable for any losses or health issues occurring as a result of using/failing to use the Light Ring accessory or at all, then such total damages for any loss whatsoever shall be limited, in relation to any one incident or series of related incidents, to 100% of the amount paid by you for the purchase of the Light Ring accessory.

This Limited Warranty and Agreement are governed by and shall be interpreted, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.