Review: Tank007 E09 3-mode 1x AAA/10440

It's supposed to be CC so no pwm. Anyone got an E09 from DD with no pwm?

please could you guys take a photo of the setup? i might be getting a kickass digital multimeter but i wouldnt know how you connect/wire the E09 head with the multimeter and with the battery.

i mean.. the head of the E09 is so tiny!! Are you using magnets at the tip of the wire?

Please some photos, i need to see how ampere measurements on AAA (and AA) flashlights are done! Thanks for some help here!!

Just a little note, DD has raised the price on it ONCE AGAIN, yesterday it was 12.99, today already 13.99, although 12.99 should have run for another 4-6 days according to their offer timer near the price, wtf ?!

I guess no matter how good this thing turns out to be Ill have to wait for some discounts in the future, no way I am buying this for more than initially advertised price that you guys snatched this one for.

Me too.

Me and my friend managed to place one order and were planning on getting more. Too late now. With reports of pwm when it is supposed to be CC, I think I'll just spend a little bit more and get a better light.

If I were you, that's what I'd be doing. To be fair though, I originally bought an E09 from MF for $14 and change and I feel it's still a good value even at that price. That's why I ordered a couple more from DD when they could be had for cheap.

As for the timer, it's best to just ignore it. ;)

Hi

One big question.

Why should i use a copper spacer? Whats the use of it?

The lights work anyway, don't they?

barnefko, the review isnt finished yet. once it is, you'll know why!! haha

( yes, the light works also without aluminum/copper sealing washer. )

OP updated ;) -- the review is still in progress. my Eneloops havent charged yet..

The reflector is so tiny! I mean not deep at all

Guys, DO NOT DISASSEMBLE THE HEAD. the alu reflector causes a short on the LED pill.

originally the reflector is "glued" to the LED dome. The glue is the insulating layer so that the aluminum of the reflector cannot bridge (short) the contacts of the PCB.

Any idea how i can insulate now??

Why am i asking?

Effectively, both of my samples have stopped working. They still work in mule mode, i.e. with reflector head off. As soon as i screw on the reflector head, light off.

apply glue

wont it melt with the high temperatures of 10440's? :D

Depending which glue you use.... maybe superglue3 will be not the best idea.

Truly big thanks for taking the hit for the team (apparently both barrels). I will follow your advice and will not disassemble the head on mine. Hope you find a way to re-insulate.

thanks for thanking haha.

i just run the lights now without lens and without reflector (and without lens o-ring). kinda Fenix E01 style-like!!

:D

Do you have access to printable transparent laser overhead foils? Your next copy shop should have one for cheap. It's thermally strong and shouldn't conduct electricity. They make great LED washer in a pickle.

Awesome! Thanks kreisler. So happy it disassembles!

Kapton (polyimide) tape, its designed for this. Non-conductive. Also called just Heat resistant/High temperature tape on DX / chinese sites. Used on PCBs everywhere & in protected batteries to insulate the wire along the side that leads to positive. Kapton on a 18650.

Would be faster to pick up those transparencies for laser printers then waiting for kapton in the mail.

Just in case, don't use any superglue (cyanoacrylate) near leds/optics, the fumes will cloud it.

okay, thanks for the suggestions. my idea was to use Scotch tape (tesa movie haha) but since i had some transparent book foil flying around i tried that first. And it works!! Now both of my E09's work again, and i can tighten the upper head part as strong as i want to!!!

My very first idea was a combination of Tipp-Ex (for the sides of the mini PCB) and a circular cut adhesive foil ("foil ring") to fit into the reflector seam, and the Tipp-Ex works really good at the sides as expected. But it's easier and more straight-forward to drop the Tipp-Ex completely and cut out a larger square from the adhesive foil with a hole in the middle and fit it over the LED dome.

The cut out square should be anywhere between 5x5mm² and 6x6mm². The green mini PCB's size is 3.5x3.5mm².

Verdict:

Now knowing and understanding what can go wrong with the E09 (when you take out the rear spring, when you screw off the upper head part and rip off the reflector from the PCB) and that it is easy to exchange o-rings, lenses, reflectors, i am growing fond of this little serial-numbered thing even more.

It's unlikely that the lens would ever break with normal usage and drops. If the E09 is attached to your keychain or keyrings and you let it drop, the lens will not break, i am sure.

And if the light doesnt turn on anymore, then we know already why: it's because of the rear spring (if you've ever taken it out before. otherwise not.) or because of a short (short circuit) due to the compromised insulation, as described. Then you fix the insulation, as described, and your light is back on.

The head is massive aluminum .. great as heatsink.

The beam pattern (=the reflector) is maybe kind of a lottery but most likely not. I am so happy with my beam pattern ;)

It's definitely built like a tank!!

The major missing part in my review: runtime measurements with Eneloops and with Protected 10440's (and qualitative description of the brightness regulation).

I would ask you guys to help me with the review and provide some RL beamshots and wallshots (or comparative beamshots, in comparison to iTP A3). I dont have a digicam, so please provide some shots for this review thread, thanks!!

All shots must be made with the same camera, mobile phone, etc. Almost all digicams can be configured, but some mobile phones don't, so if you can't configure your phone/cam, you must made beamshots with 3 lights together, your phone will adjust brightness, color correction and so on automatically for all lights together.

Thanks joerch. Last night when i discovered that the head consists of two screwed (not even glued!) parts and got some silly flickering issues when i reunited them and the light would turn off when i tightened the threads as much as possible, i remembered your above suggestion. Why does the light turn off when i fully tighten the parts, and why would the light turn off it i loosen them or separate the two parts. To anyone with a dead light, i would suggest to screw off the upper head part and see if the light turns on ("mule mode"). In all above cases, my assumption/bet is that the reflector caused a short on the LED board as suggested by joerch. The insulating layer chips off/flakes off/crumbles when there is some movement or play between the reflector and the LED board. The first time i noticed it was when i clipped on the generic Fenix AAA clip, which is a tight fit and it clips with a loud snap. The shock of the snapping action caused my E09 to turn off. Puzzled as i was, later attempts were successful: the light turned on again. Flickering light means there is some loose connection thru dodgy contacts. In our case, we do not want the contact/connection. But we do get the beginnings of the connection (=It's a short circuit connection!!) as soon as the insulating falls apart. And this happens rather fast with the E09, especially when the upper head part is not fully tightened (to secure holding the insulating "manufacturing debris" in place): when you drop the E09 on the floor, when you bang it against your car, when you violently snap a Fenix pocket clip onto the head (not the tail!), when you ever unscrew the upper head part, when you ever take off the reflector from the LED board, etc.. -- you get the point.

Check my review (OP) for a simple way to fix it for good. All you need is adhesive tape (or adhesive foil).

The E09 is light and built like a tank. Clearly, in a typical situation where you drop it on a hard floor or the light seems dead for some other mysterious reason, it's going to be due to the crumbling insulating layer which is being crushed (anyway) by the LED board and the aluminum reflector. With the E09, there is little chance that the others parts get damaged (broken glass lens, broken driver board, lost soldering, damaged LED?? -- No way!!) unless you try take the driver board apart by unscrewing (scruffy dog?) from the battery's side.

I cant confirm any of that, honestly. Threads are smooth, beam is nice (and it depends on your personal copy of the reflector -- it is easy to imagine how difficult it is to manufacture 100% identical and uniform output when the product (here: the aluminum reflector) is so tiny), can tail stand with the supplied split ring, head doesnt wobble and doesnt feel like it would ever slip off. Several people have placed E09 orders another times because they were convinced by the quality product, here on happy camper:
If not the iTP A3, then there could be some other competing product:
The Brinyte/Brynite might not be brighter than one of my E09 copies which has a very very tight hotspot, and therefore produces a very bright beam (and slightly brighter than the Lumintop Worm) with immense throw. So it's difficult to generalize whether the E09 is brighter than XXXFire (no pun intended haha) ..because production quality of the reflector may vary as it does with my copies. In any case the E09 is very bright .. and beats the max brightness of the iTP A3 and my Klarus MiX6, both XP-G R5's.
I got my original sturdy Fenix LD01 clip from this US seller who ships globally with FREE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING:
Fenix-Store.Com (send me PM for 15% off discount coupon code)
You end up paying 4.25$ shipped for 1x Fenix LD01 original sturdy pocket clip.
The E09 is a perfect gift (the tin box has a compartment for 1x battery, and you could add the Tank007 wrist band, the Tank007 diffuser) but before you give it to someone, better fix the insulation issue beforehand. As this post proves, the insulation issue can/will emerge sooner than expected. With a brand-new product you wouldnt expect it to happen soon. But with the E09 it will.
Just clip a Fenix pocket to the head (bezel up carry) and it goes like this: "snap!" and "poof!" :D