To day, my new orders arrived and enthusiasticly in my dark basement i made a comparison between Eastward YJ-06, Trustfire F-15 (with smooth reflector) and Ultrafire TH-T60. All are with Trustfire flame batteries...
From left to right: Eastward YJ-06- Trustfire F-15- Ultrafire TH-T60
This photo is taken by cellphone camera. So, sorry about bad resolution. As you know Ultrafire (UF) has a smaller reflector comparing others, Trustfire (TF) biggest diameter and Eastward(EW) deepest reflector. All are smooth... 4 batteries just arrived today together with EW and TF. I had UF for 1 month approximatelly. Due to information in forum, i was expecting TF will beat UF, but, i really disappointed. Maybe its not obvious from the picture, let me tell you; Distance to wall is 2 meters...EW and UF very close in case of brightness and hot spot diameter is approximatelly close also. TF has a smaller hotspot diameter and brightness is not even close to other's. I don't have a multimeter to measure currents. I changed batteries also, thinking they may have different charge rates. Noting changed. Spill of TF is also not homogenous, there is a ring around hotspot. Anyway, this night i will try outdoor testing between TF and UF. Maybe couldn't take any photos but i will tell you about observation.
I think a DMM is really needed for flashlight enthusiasts. It is good for both tail measurements as well as knowing your Li-ion cells, esp for > 1S operation. After that you'd need a lux meter.
I can't help but think they've changed more than one thing about the F15 since I got mine. I have no ring in my wall shots and, without being side-by-side comparison, mine appears much brighter compared to other lights I own. I seriously think there is something wrong with your example and, even though I have zero issues or complaints about my F15, I starting to feel bad having recommended it so highly to others. I'm very disappointed in Trustfire for the fall in quality since the first batch.
Is the only way to know the draw of the flashlight, battery status, etc. and understand better what's wrong.
PS: I see different F15 with XML and many of them have OP reflector. With SMO reflector you have more throw but if it's not well designed or properly installed it can cause ring on the beam. I have the same problem with SMO reflector on Q5. If you can, try to swap reflector.
I know but maybe it is a faulty reflector the one rizaoztop received. The output could be a problem with driver or emitter but the ring could be only emitter or reflector. For example i order two SMO reflector from KD. One is perfect, the other has a smaller hole, emitter fit not perfect and beam has ring.
i already changed OP one with SMO as i said before. and i bought smo from MF by suggestion of a friend here... i can say that after changing reflector the most upper part screwed hardly and i tried 3-4 times screwing to correct the position of o-ring.at first few times at the end of screw o-ring came on lens (like this one: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/2747) and i tried to unscrew and screw again. finally i achived correct o-ring position with almost unscrewable head(bezel?) :) i ordered this smo:
EDIT: I see you ordered the same one I did. My guess is you got a defective one as mine had no threading issues at all. Took seconds to switch out and no issues then or since. Other possibility is they are sourcing from someone else now and I simply got lucky. It's very rare that I'm in the right place at the right time but even the sun shines on a dog's ass every once in a while.
i ordered mine at 21st of June, i think this ring surrounding the hotspot is caused from the difference in hole diameter of the reflector at the bottom. Is is possible to measure yours?
I ordered that same C8 SMO reflector from Manafont on June 6 and it fits perfectly at the top and throws a nice clean beam. It's 30.9mm deep (the dimension pictured on the Manafont site reading 31.76), while the stock OP was 31.2mm.
Personally i would fiddle with the positioning of the led emitter distance to the reflector. There is no point to look at that ring whatsoever. I built a few on my own and by experimenting i saw those rings in the reflector cenering process. I believe it is fixable but do let us know if you manage to fix it for reference to others that might have that issue as well.
As i already inspired due to your review, and saw difference between F15 and th-t60, decided to buy F15. Last night i couldn't do outdoor comparison, hopefully this knight maybe.
I believe he means to experiment with the threading of the reflector on the pill. Sometimes when you fully seat a reflector by screwing it down all the way the emitter may not be in the optimal focusing point in relation to the reflector. By unscrewing the reflector a little at a time you move the emitter further back into the hole of the reflector base. Almost always you can get rid of a "donut" hole in the beam by fiddling with the position of the emitter in the reflector. Sometimes you can get rid of rings by doing the same thing. Often times a reflector or emitter is simply ringy and the only way to hide it is with an OP reflector. The C8 SMO reflector isn't known for being very ring so by adjusting it (tightening or loosening it via the threads) you may be able to get rid of the ring/rings.
Worth a try anyway. Give it a shot and let us know how you make out.
