Ah, I see how this works. I need to hit the Quote button instead of the Reply button so that the original message appears in my reply. Iām new at this.
Vinh at SkyLumen offers a slightly throwier optic for the D4 (and maybe other quads?). I donāt think it is produced by Carclo as the one used in the D4 is listed as their option with the tightest beam. Or perhaps he raises/lowers the height the optics sit at to change focus and increase throw?
Out of curiosity, why did you buy four of them? Are you trying out different emitters, or are they for use in different locations, or are you just addicted ? I am new to the enthusiast flashlight world and I learned about āflashaholicsā who collect large numbers of flashlights. Iāll have to be careful myself not to go too far with this. Iāve always loved flashlights, but only got serious about them this year (well, the Fenix LD12 from 2013 was semi-serious; it was my first non-WalMart-grade flashlight). Fortunately, my interest in collecting things mostly phased out a couple decades ago, so I should be ok.
Yes I did. I figured I might as well get the bling, since Iām treating myself! I like the elegant look of it. I also got the magnet in the tailcap (which I like, but I didnāt have anything new to say about it for the review), and I got the belt clip, but I havenāt used it.
Took me only a few hours after receiving my alu d4v2 that i wanted the brass version . The ti version was a natural next and then the colored ones were a must . This must look crazy . Craftmanship is very nice . The design and smallness is calling me . The ui is my preferred one to date. Using the right batteries you can have an impressive turbo . The 18350 tube create an interesting substitute . The aux lights are nice . The switch is good . And the price is ok .
I see. The Ti does look nice. And I really like Anduril, too. Itās a lot of fun, and easy to learn. It looked complicated when I read about it, but I had a feeling I would get the hang of it quickly, and I did. Iām a programmer and computer techie, so Iām pretty good with this sort of thing, and ToyKeeper did a great job designing it.
I should have paid more attention to your signature. That answers my question! #1, #3, and #4 in your collection were ones I considered before the D4V2, and Matt Smithās FW3A review on YouTube was my introduction to BLF and the world of flashlight enthusiasts!
Since youāre a collector, and own the FW3A, can you tell me if the somewhat rough beam profile with the rays protruding from the hot spot is common to compact flashlights using an optic rather than a reflector? Is that something more experienced buyers would have expected? I actually read one user review that mentioned that, but nobody else has, so Iām guessing itās either to be expected, or most people donāt care. How is the FW3Aās beam?
The beam of my fw3a is more round then the d4v2 with regular optics . In fact itās almost perfect circle . But this affects only your white walling activities ; corners wonāt be obvious in regular usages .
It is common in triples/quads with clear, throwy optics; and to a lesser extent in lights with triple/quads using reflectors too. The FW-series has a much smoother beam because the stock optics are frosted. With clear, narrow-spot optics they will have artifacts in the beam - at close range - as well.
The D4V2 comes with a Carclo 10622 optic. It features a beautiful beam pattern, but not quite as much throw.
Carclo also has the 10621 optic which is throwier, but has an uglier beam pattern with more rings. The 10621 quad is basically the same optic shape as the popular Carclo 10507 for triples and produces a similar beam pattern. My guess is Vinh is swapping in the 10621.
My (minor) gripe about the Emisar D4v2 (and D4S, etc) is the way the lanyard hole is open to the back. Tailstanding the light requires the lanyard to be pulled away from the tail in a two-handed operation, otherwise the light will invariably sit on the cord and be unstable. A lanyard hole accessible from the side, like on this Skilhunt, is a better solution.
Good pont. The side-positioned lanyard opening probably would make tailstanding a bit easier. I tailstand the flashlight frequently and I noticed the same issue a few times. Usually I can deal with it one-handed by holding the flashlight with my first few fingers and using my pinky to sweep the lanyard out to the side as I set the flashlight down. But it occasionally gives me trouble.
But, yeah, not at all a problem. Maybe just something for Hank to consider for future flashlights.
I made corrections in the battery and runtime sections. It turns out that my flashlightās thermometer was not calibrated but was 8Ā° low. I had checked it before, but maybe that was before updating the firmware. I did not perform a factory reset after the update as recommended. Either the update screwed up the calibration, or something happened to it since then.
Anyway, Turbo now steps down much more quickly, and the flashlight does not get as hot. That also means Stepped Level 6 ramps down eventually, even with my hand bleeding off heat. It needs a higher temp limit to run indefinitely. I effectively had my temp limit set to 53Ā° before due to the incorrect thermometer calibration. Level 6 got pretty hot when I performed the rundown test, but not too hot to hold. Now the flashlight gets only moderately hot with the 45Ā° limit. Not at all uncomfortable.
Donāt forget to check your flashlightās thermometer!
Great write up! always good to see another fellow D4V2 geeking out about the specs
I face high parasitic drain on my D4V2 on low aux mode, even on aux off mode.
I measure my cells everyday with a multimeter and seem to be losing .1v everyday which is way too much.
During the period of testing the lights were not switched on to use at all.
Could more people do some testing of their D4V2ās parasitic drain? I have flashed to the 2020/03 latest firmware and it doesnāt resolve this issue for me
TKās review quotes the parasitic drain as the following:
Parasitic drain:
~0.02 mA with aux LEDs off (17 years to drain a 3000mAh cell)
~0.06 to ~0.12 mA with aux LEDs on low mode (2.5 to 6 years)
TBD mA with aux LEDs on high mode (my sample has different resistors, so I canāt measure)
(probably about ~0.2 to ~0.4 mA on blinky mode, or 1 to 2 years runtime)
(probably about ~3 mA on high mode, or about 50 days runtime)
1Lumenās review also gives amp readings for the aux lights. With the aux lights off, his parasitic drain reading is 25Ī¼A (0.025mA). Only slightly higher than TKās reading. At that rate a 3000mAh cell would last 13.7 years. On low they range from 70Ī¼A - 190Ī¼A. Again, just a bit higher than TKās readings.
So thereās obviously a problem in your case. I have had mine on one aux mode or another since I got it. Recently I had it on voltage mode, low, for a couple weeks or so and I even used the flashlight for brief times and the voltage did not drop much at all during that time according to the Batt Check mode. Iām even using laptop cells with only about 2,000mAh. I do not have any way besides the flashlightās Batt Check mode to check my batteriesā voltage, though.
I think either your flashlight or your battery must be defective. Can you get a tailcap amp reading with your multimeter to see how much current is actually being drawn? Also, are you sure your battery is in good shape? If it is worn out or a cheap Chinese knockoff, it might no longer be able to hold much charge.