DQG Tiny AA First Impression. GIF of creepy breathing mode.

Ordered this very neat looking little light. Didn’t know it was as small as the name suggest. I mean this thing is tiny. Very nice looking. Feels good in the fingers. I would say hand but it just disappears in a hand. I ordered mine from BangGood with a coupon for $18 and some change. When I took it out of the box it seemed like the same quality as my Tiny 18650. Dropped a Purple Efest in it and, nothing, nada, no light. Okay, grab a Alky. It works, kind of, after realizing that the magnet in the tail comes out attached to the battery when you take it out. So make sure you don’t lose your magnet when changing AA’s in the dark or you drop your cell accidentally and the magnet goes shooting off to the nether regions under the couch to never be found again. Hiding with the missing socks from the dryer I would assume. Changing modes and getting the thing to actually stay on in one mode without flickering and just changing modes whenever it felt like it was quite aggravating. Got a Eneloop to kinda work in it as well. Got it into some kind of breathing mode. It would just slowing ramp up and down from high to low like the creepy thing was breathing on me. Got a EBL, windyfire, and a few other cells to work too. With the same results of course.

Figured I was just going to put it back in the box and give it to someone I didn’t like so it could drive them crazy for a while. I was unscrewing it to take the cell out before it did something else weird and noticed it seemed like there was some sort of friction keeping it from unscrewing easily. Upon further inspection this poor little light was bone dry, no o-rings, and the contacts were gunked up with something that resembles honey colored tar. So out comes some cleaning supplies as well as a little lube for the threads. The box did have A extra o-ring. A, meaning a single one. So the head got that one and the tail got one I scavenged from another AA light I had. After working it quite a bit I dropped a Windyfire in it and it has been working like a charm. Mode changes are easy, no flickering, and the breathing mode thing hasn’t happened again.

So all in all I guess it worked out okay. There are a few spots on the head where it looks like there is some kind of crud or something between the knurling. Almost a burnt looking color. You can see it real well when rotating the light. I guess I can live with it. Much easier than trying to get a new light or a refund without the hassle of shipping it back. I’ll just keep it and hope it continues to work. I am still a bit highly disappointed though. I was really looking forward to getting a Tiny 26650 and this has now put me off of jumping on it. My Tiny 18650 works just great so I hate to condemn the whole line because of one issue. For now my SS Enogear and AA Reylight stay as my everyday AA lights.

Anyway, just wanted to put this out there in case anyone else was having a problem with theirs.

To change the battery I unscrew the head - no lost magnets. I have had 3 of them all came in with no problems other than needing a little lube. Maybe just bad luck you got a bad one

Maybe so. I unscrew the head as well to change the battery but, the magnet in the tailcap is always stuck to the bottom end of the battery. No clue as to why. Doesn’t matter really. I will keep it around the house and find a use for it. Not going through the trouble of sending it back. It’s awesome when it’s working properly.

Example of creepy breathing mode. Just does this whenever it feels like it.

Agreed, that is creepy, I think I would have to send that one back. :open_mouth:

I don’t know. Guess I should. Don’t know anything about BangGood’s return policy. If I have to pay half the price of the light to send it back to get a new one then I end up paying $30 for a $20 light. Guess I will look into it. Contact BG and see how it goes.

My past experience with them was not much fun - there was a lot of back and forth with pictures and videos and in the end they sent me another light. Might be worth it as that light would not be useful to me.

The process was awful but the end result was good.

Good Luck!

That’s what I was afraid of. I just filled out the form and described everything. Included the GIF I posted here. Guess I can make a video of it’s erratic behavior if they insist. Guess I could always contact George at DQG if worse came to worse. Never had to deal with BG before. Never had a problem with any of my other orders. Usually fairly fast shipping for overseas, as compared to Ali that is. Guess we will see how it goes.

Does there being an American warehouse help with returns?

You’re supposed to change the battery from the head, not the tail. And you should be using button top batteries, if you’re not already. That stuff was probably glue on the tail cap threads.

On the tail cap, the magnet goes in the cap first, then the contact board. The contact board is too big to fall through the battery tube.

Never removed the tail cap. Until I took it off to clean threads and put a o-ring on that wasn’t there to begin with. The magnet came out way before I ever touched the tail cap. Always unscrewed the head. It came out the first time I switched cells trying to find one that would actually work. All I have is button tops so that isn’t an issue.

Now that I have looked at that picture again. There isn’t even a contact board in the tail cap. I just took it off to look at it.

Haha, that would certainly explain the flickering. Email George at DQG and ask him to mail you a tail cap board. His email addresses are at the bottom of the page. I would try that first before messing with Banggood.

There should also be a foam gasket in the head. Might have him send you some o-rings while he’s at it.

A lot easier to diagnose problems with photos!

Think I will do just that, thank you. Yes the foam insert in the head looks exactly like yours. no damage or anything missing that I can tell. I will shoot him off an email. A simple fix like that would surely make my day. I really love the size and output of the light. I was really looking forward to having it on me everyday. Assuming all goes well I was going to maybe get a few more for gifts.

Thanks Robert.

You’re welcome. It is a really cool little light. Hopefully he’ll get you squared away.

In the mean time, you could probably wad up a small piece of aluminum foil into a ball, and toss it in the bottom on top of the magnet, so it makes good contact. Or remove the magnet and ball up some foil and fill the hole.

It’s Alive! :smiley:

After talking to George at DQG and emailing BG. Looks like BG is sending my missing parts to me. That wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Should have the miniature beast of burden working properly sometime soon. Thank you George and thank you Banggood. Thank you Robert for posting those photos, without those I would have never known I was even missing a part.

Finally got the contact board and spare o-rings in the mail today. What do you know, works like a champ now. Perfect little pocket light. Now I am for sure ordering a few more. Could use a lower low but that is just no big deal. I have plenty of good lights with great moon mode. Lately I have just been using the lighted tail cap of a S2+. Works perfectly in the bedroom.

Thanks again Robert.