Is it just me, or is this just poor quality control? I know the price is great, but this seems like sloppy workmanship.
When I carry a light, I like to feel confident it will work when I need it.
Zeet! Welcome to BLF!
People around here seem to like finicky lights. It gives them a reason to take them apart and put them back together. So much more satisfying than boring lights that just work right out of the box.
Ahhh. Now I understand. I thought there was something like that going on when someone seemed gleeful when referred to a tutorial on how to “reflow an LED”.
So if I get one of these little beauties, can I count on you all to help me get it to work right?
People live for that. They run out of lights to fix, so the next best thing is helping other people fix lights.
Andyman,
Sounds like a bad driver to me if that did not fix it…
Any light can have quality issues, this one too, so I hope these get fixed, it is a nice little light…
Well, I haven’t got mine yet (it’s in the mail), but I don’t expect high quality on a sub $10 light. I do expect it to work, but if it has a few glitches occasionally that’s what I expect from a cheap light. I would certainly never use a cheap light like this as a primary light where I really needed it (like a nighttime walk in the woods or something like that). So I’ll use mine around the house, or carry it when I don’t really think I’ll need a light (but where a light might come in handy).
It is a cheap light for the features, but not being able to use it when you want to, or if it is your back up light, kind of negates the reason for it…
I don’t know how many have been sold, but so far one scratched emitter and two possible bad drivers are not that bad, especially if Banggood makes good on them…
To turn a cheap light into a reliable expensive light, just carry two of them. One of them is bound to work when you need it, and it will still cost much less than a reliable expensive light.
I like the way you think!
Could this use 10440 li-ons?
It can and it’s brighter with 10440, but gets hot quickly. 10440s are not supported officially, so I can not tell whether it will damage the light in long term or not. I will use it with AAAs.
It does not officially support 10440’s, I have tried the 3.2V LiFePO4, and it worked for a couple of minutes during testing…
It is so nice on AAA/eneloop, I see no need for 10440’s in this light… Just my opinion, if anyone runs 3.7V for a long time, report it here for this that want this knowledge…
I purchased two. I was unable to get one to work until I removed the spring and cleaned the inside of the barrel. That would not be too bad, but every time I change the battery I have to remove the spring and reinstall it for the light to work. The price on Banggood is $11.95. I recently purchased two Tank 007 e09 lights with the FT discount for a total of $22.54. My experience with the two lights persuades me that the Tank is much better so I do not think the Astrolux is a particularly good buy.
Jerry
Pull the tail spring, wrap some fine sandpaper around a pencil or dowel and polish the end of the tube with it where the spring goes.
There was some anodizing over spray in the purple one I had. This should fix your issue with that one. I cannot think why else removing and replacing a spring would be needed, except for bad contact surface where the spring is…
Just the comparison with the Tank 007 E09 makes this a not so good light? I do not think you can get a high CRI version of the Tank without moddding it yourself… The Nichia 219B V1 is $4 by itself… So you would have to add $8 to your total and mod it yourself to make the Tanks High CRI…
I agree the Tanks are good lights, but they do not make this one a bad purchase either… For what I want, these are my current favorite….
For my two Astrolux’s, I encountered two different problems that affected the UI.
First, overspray of the anodized finish onto the threaded end of the barrel. Easily taken care of by filing/sanding the edge.
Second, gunk or sludge-like residue on the flashlight head (positive node) plate that prevents the flashlight barrel from making a good, clean contact. You need to clean the plate off.
Once these problems were taken care of, the UI worked smoothly and reliably.
I had a problem with it not turning on. I somehow fixed it by messing around with the head (moving the pill clockwise a little bit). The head had problems, and it still does, the foam is not stiff enough, so as soon as I put on the head, it turns on. It was finicky and too loose with turning on. I put on another retaining ring, and it didn’t help. I eventually have it mostly working by pressing on the spring a few times so it would not press it so hard to the foam.
It works but feels very loose.
Try wrapping the threads in the teflon plumbing tape. A couple of wraps have tightened up my threads on another light and make it easier to keep from coming on accidentally. Neither of my A01’s heads are loose enough, but we all know that threading can vary…
ReManG, you contact with seller and manufacturer.
Can Astrolux create 1x AA flashlight with same LED, driver, but with button and slighlty bigger (AA size) heatsink in head (as in 1xAA Zebralight’s), for cooler work in 100lm mode ?
My second one arrived yesterday and the head wont screw all the way past the o ring . It works but mot waterproof at all. Its liker the threaded part of the body is too long or the pill isn’t screwed in far enough I cant get it to move any further in to the head. Anyone else had this problem?
Thanks
I’m interested in a nice orange