Great price! *semi groupbuy* Jaxman Z1 host

Good luck buddy…… :+1:

If all else fails heat it up with a torch…. the damage will “buff out”. :wink:
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You know that is sick humor……… :slight_smile:
i just could not resist……… :person_facepalming:

Hahaha. If the snap ring pliers fail, I will be contacting PayPal! I had no problems with the Cometa and I only bought this Jaxman because of it supposedly superior quality. So far, I am not impressed.

You will be impressed once you build it. Of the many I have one was stuck. As soon as the snap ring plyers loosened it the fun began. Normal!

Hahaha. If the snap ring pliers fail, I will be contacting PayPal! I had no problems with the Cometa and I only bought this Jaxman because of it supposedly superior quality. So far, I am not impressed.
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Actually, mine is a factory build. That is a big part of why I am disappointed. I am going to purchase a host but I really wanted a nice factory build since I had heard the build was much better than the Cometa.

That doesn’t read right.

Sorry Brett, am I making mistakes on the following recap?
Jaxman Z1 ordered as a whole light
Came in a white box
Assembled it works fine

Disassembled a chip in lens is visible
It is hard to get to the inner workings.

Did I miss anything?
Now you want to take it apart, yet do not have the tools for proper grip.
Right again?
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Side note comparing cometa with Z1 you think the zooming action of them is comparable? Really? Wow something really messed up happen to your Z1.
You do not notice a huge difference between the cometa that rattles and the Z1 that holds its position anywhere along the zooming action?
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And to conclude the recap you want to start a PayPal dispute because your assembled Z1 is not taken apart and used as a host.

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Do I miss something here?
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If not, do understand a host is to be taken apart and assembled by a buyer and a complete light is bought to function as a whole.

I do understand a white @@ box with Z1 written on it does not feel premium.
But I am not certain what you have bought, a complete fully functional light that is not as easy to take apart as a host OR a host that is not able to be used as host because it can not be taken apart (and well I bought a $2,50 pliers and now I have a tool to take drivers and retainer rings out)

http://www.harborfreight.com/watch-case-opener-91550.html

one of many such available there, ebay, aliexpress, etc.

Or take a block of good hardwood or nylon and drill 2 deep holes for long stainless steel nails/rods the right diameter at the right spacing. leaving just a couple of millimeters protruding from your new homemade tool

Sorry Miller, you have lost something in the translation of my posts. Let me recap for you.

Yes, this is a factory assembled stock light and NOT a host, although at this point maybe a host would have been better. Before receiving this light I noticed that the light shipped from Singapore and not China, which was strange considering Jaxman resides in China. Upon receiving the light I first noticed smaller than expected size of the shipping box. However, the shipping box was in excellent shape so I proceeded to open the box. The second thing I noticed was the wrinkled, flimsy white box with hand writing indicating “Z1”. This was strange considering the pictures clearly show a factory box AND virtually every other light I have ever purchased is sent in a factory box?

Also strange to me, was the condition of this white box, considering the outer shipping box was in perfect shape and ample foam was used inside the shipping box completely protecting the white flimsy box. SO, my logical conclusion was that this box was bent and wrinkled before it was ever shipped.

At this point, I have concerns about the light. I have heard of fakes coming from aliexpress, as a matter of fact, I just received a fake Hugsby X1 on the same order. So, I wanted to inspect the light to see if it was

1. Real or fake
2. Used or new
3. Second quality, such as a customer return or something
4. Or simply a sloppily assembled light

Upon removing the head, the next thing I find is a chip in the outer edge of the lens. This only serves to intensify my concerns about the quality of the light that I paid $58 for (yes, I find $58 a fairly high price for this light and I DO expect high quality at that price point.)

At this point I now have real concerns about the overall quality of the light. I am thinking I could just send it back for a replacement OR I could check the rest of the light and if it is good, I could just request a factory box and new lens. I choose the latter. SO, let me first clarify that removing this cover has nothing to do with grip. I have used the rubber gripping items, such as the mouse pad, for similar purposes with other lights, but this is not the case here. Now, I realize that some factory lights cannot be disassembled. HOWEVER, I am a logical man, as I alluded to earlier, AND I had previously watched the Paul Bo Jaxman host assembly video. It was perfectly clear in the video that the LED Center Cover simply screws on and off, as he did so with a pair of tweezers. So, I try the to remove the center cover with my pair of trusty tweezers pictured below. I quickly realized that I would break the tweezers if I twisted any harder. I then try to use a 17 x 1” brad nail in each hole, a technique I remember DJBurkes telling about (although he used safety pins). So, my wife holds the body of the flashlight while I attempt to turn the cover with these nails. Again, I was actually about to bend these nails! So, tonight I went out and bought a pair of snap-ring pliers with four different “jaws”, only to find that the holes in the center cover of the Z1 are too small for the pliers. I have attempted to show this in the picture below although it may be hard to tell that the pliers tips are too large for the holes in the center cover. SO, this is where I am at right now, I hope this clarifies things. I DID test the light to see if it works and it DOES appear to be in working order (I have not tried any different modes). Nonetheless, it hasn’t instilled much more confidence for me.

Lastly, I DO believe the zooming action of the Jaxman is FAR superior to the zooming action of the Cometa. The Jaxman is tighter, smoother and quieter! HOWEVER, my comment about the Cometa was simply that I had NO issues whatsoever with my Cometa, other than the previously mentioned inferior zooming action, while at this point, I have not had the hassle-free experience with my Jaxman. I do however, realize that this is not the norm for either light, hence the reason in the first place why I wanted to check out the purported quality of the Jaxman light.

Hopefully, this clarifies things and I apologize if I was not clear in my previous posts.

LED Center Cover

tweezers

snap ring pliers

> request a factory box

Oh, are you a collector? Do you routinely save factory shipping boxes?

I could send you one I can pull out of the recycling bin. Tell me where to send it (in a PM) if you want it.

Jaxman treated me well enough I’d like to save them the trouble of dealing with this complaint.

Well, I was looking at ordering a Z1 host, so I could have them send a box with that order. If they agree they could also send a lens. However, I would still like to remove the center cover. I was just informed by Paul that it requires a “special tool”. I have no idea how they got if so tight unless they used Loctite or something.

I am having difficulty with the language barrier here but it appears they don’t want to send box or parts because of shipping costs but they want me to send back item for refund. I had previously told Paul that he could ship these items with my coming order but I don’t think he is understanding?

G'Day Brett H,

This tool that I have been using successfully, will solve your problem:

Pro Lens Repair Spanner Wrench Opening Open Tool 10-120mm for Canon Nikon Camera

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/400760837164

& there are 2 versions but I prefer the one I bought:

eBay search for: Spanner Wrench Camera Lens Repair:

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?&_nkw=Spanner+Wrench+Camera+Lens+Repair

Btw, Amazon also carry it.

Best Regards,

George

Thank you George! That looks great! Can you tell me if the tips are a very small diameter? The holes in this center cover are VERY small.

Yes, it has fine nail-like points.

That's why I got it in the first place.

Best Regards,

George

Gentlemen, might I humbly suggest that this thread is not the place for this discussion, by myself; or any of us.

This has nothing to do with the purchase of a “host” light or parts.
It concerns the purchase of a factory made light, not a DIY light.

Please consider starting a new thread about this matter and let us keep this thread open to discuss “hosts”, the builds of them, and —whatever else concerning “host” builds we need or want to.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Z1 is a zoom light of superior quality. I have enough of them I can say that with no reservation.

But I have no problem at all with concerns being voiced either, but this is a thread about “hosts”; not factory made lights.

Please take this in the way that it was written… a humble request. :slight_smile:
~
EDIT: PS - I am not referring to the discussion of tools and techniques.
EDIT again: Nevermind… it was just a thought. :wink:

Thanks for the link to the spanner wrench George, I gotta get one of those. It looks like a quality tool. :+1:

Well, I got an answer to this. The shipping cost shown is in fact the actual shipping cost!

A pair of thick, short tweezers has never failed to loosen a pill/retaining ring for me. When they’re extremely tight I position the tweezers in the holes and grip the tweezers as far down as possible with a pair of pliers, applying downward force, and twist. Don’t try that with flimsy tweezers.

Brett, thanks for recap.
It is indeed strange, it is almost like the original package got damaged by Singapore mail and they put a new box around it and giving it a new label so that could explain the tracking originating in Singapore and strange shape it came to you.

About tools, I have this:
http://s.aliexpress.com/NNBVBreQ
(from AliExpress Android)
It has fitted all the small holes in rings I have encountered and it has proven strong enough to open even the ones really tight. I put the tips in and press near the tips so not holding the handles. When something is really hard I also give it some force the wrong way (sometimes they unsrew the wrong way)

I think you are expecting a good box and even a lens is what I would ask for.
I totally agree premium is to be expected from Jaxman and when paying $58.
Your solution of having them ship it with a new order seems pretty nice of you
I’d make the new order but not pay.
Send the same message asking for box and lens to be added in both the order as the Z1 buying order.
Short and to the point:
“The box my Z1 came in was crushed and not the normal retail box. The lens of my Z1 was chipped. I want you to send me a new box and lens with the order. As soon as you agree I will pay the new order. Thanks.”
This should make things clear.

Thank you Sir! I appreciate the link to the tool. Not only were the snap-ring pliers too large at the tips but they also didn’t open very wide. These look like they would work very well as long as the tips are small enough.

Your suggestion sounds like a great idea. However, my only concern is that they are not comprehending my request. They seem set on giving me a partial refund. If this is the case then I guess I can simply add a lens to my order and maybe it would ship in a factory box with all the other individual parts.

Beyond the misinformation, translation problems between Chineese & English, personal opinions, hopes and desires……… I think there is really a very simple explanation to all this. :person_facepalming: …… :slight_smile:

Brett, look closely at the screen shot of your order you posted above.
It says shipping is $21.74.
BUT, if you add all the shipping charges together they total $28.01.

If you take the actual charges of $28.01 and subtract 22.4% you end up with $21.74, the actual amount charged for shipping.

The shipping has been reduced by 22.4% already.

How or why I do not know. I finally realized this on my on order just a while ago……… :person_facepalming:
I then checked the one you posted and it was the same.

  • That is all I know…… I still do not understand this from above…. [ “Please contact us for more formal prices” - (Jaxman said this on the AliExpress site in what ’hank’ posted just above) ]

If anyone knows anything different it would be most helpful, to most everyone probably; if they would post it in detail instead of some vague reference to an answer. :slight_smile: