Scaru, you have a great signature.
300, putting a new driver is very easy:)
2 cables:) from the driver to the led
Thanks for joining, JP!
Did a leak test last night on the df 003.
I submerged it in a container of water.
It seems to get stuck in what ever mode it’s in while in water and won’t completely turn off but when I take it out of the water it will normally cycle through all modes and turn off. Put it back in water and it’s stuck in whatever mode it was in. While in water if I try to change modes it just dims way down when I twist the tail and remains in what ever mode it’s in and won’t cycle through modes won’t turn off.
On the bright side it appears to be water tight.
If I just submerge the light tail in only or head in only nothing unusual happens but when head and tail are in water the light comes on in a very dimmed down version of whatever mode it was in.
Side note… my understanding is that O-ring gaskets will leak if twisted while submerged. The mechanics of the parts just don’t work that way to seal out water. So, mode switching while submerged is not advisable. Although with four of them stacked up you would think a design like this would be OK.
My understanding is dive lights like this need to be turned on-off before entering the water. My kids have used a Fenix L1T-V2 and Surefire 6P (twist-cap switch) in the pool as night-swimming play-toys and they have held up just fine, although I make sure to remind them NOT to bezel twist the Fenix, and just leave the Surefire tailcap ON. They already know the lights can get damaged if they twist the parts under water.
I also have a surefire G2, solarforce L2M and Ultrafire HD2010 that I have upgraded the gaskets to tighter fitting ones to resist water better. These lights all have reverse click switches that can be cycled while submerged, and I lube them with silicone grease. On the G2 and L2M if I remove + re-install the bezel the tailcap switch boot bulges/balloons out from the air-tight seal and pressure inside. Its actually kind of annoying, I have to untwist the tailcap a little to relieve the pressure and deflate the boot-balloon after I re-install the bezel.
The Surefire G2 and 6P (in addition to tighter fitting gaskets) have double O-rings on the tailcaps. If I unscrew them ~2-2.5 turns under water the vaccuum will suck water into the light, past the gaskets. This is not a realistic power cycling scenario, but I did it once with the drop in and battery removed just to prove to myself gaskets in these designs fail if used this way.
I didn’t know that. All my other dive lights have a magnetic switch, now I know why.
A basic function of any dive light should be the ability to at the very least to turn on and off underwater.
Anybody else using this light for diving?
I called VISA and they want me to fax them our exchanged emails so they can come to a conclusion for us.
Super pissed, now I have no lights for Mexico. you live you learn 
Did the second one break too?
Hmm….that’s wierd.
1:40. Submerged in sea water for 1hr, 70 feet….static.
… The difference is they didn’t twist any O-ring gasket seals while submerged. Thats the deal breaker.
20 years ago my friends and I would sleep out on the ski-boat on the lake at night. We used to tie my Fulton anglehead onto the boat anchor rope and submerge it ~30 feet, while turned ON to try and see how deep the lake water was at night before we dropped anchor for the evening. I didn’t leave it down there for longer than a few minutes, but it held up just fine after repeated treatments. Side note… I remember I used to use olive oil from the camp-site to lube up the gaskets.
As long as its a static test condition, a properly sealed O-ring design is pretty robust. Problems arise under dynamic conditions, and you start moving parts under pressure.
EDIT I don’t mean to be an alarmist, and I am not trying to degrade what looks to be a well thought out design… Just stating a commonly known fact that a traditional O-ring gasket is susceptible to water intrusion when the mating parts are subject to rotating twisting and sliding motion. Yes this is why many dive lights have magnetic switches or mechanical switch designs that do not place gaskets under sliding motion when power cycled.
So I guess it’s shorting through the water?
Also noticed significant pitting on the tail cap where the lanyard attaches after 1 dive.
Is anyone aware of a fix for this.
Maybe a different switch or a way to isolate the head from the tail?
Did a shallow water dive last night with the new light.
45ft.
Visibility +/- 25ft.
High beam.
I turned it on to high mode before entering the water to avoid any shorting problems.
Left it there for the duration.
There was a variety of other lights on this dive. eLed Shockwaves and an assortment of small secondary type plastic lights. One brand new GreenForce 900lm as well.
Nothing remotely matched the output of the TR.
I didn’t note any pitting/bubbling/corrosion occurring around the lanyard attachment point during the dive.
Turned it off once I got back at my vehicle.
I poured fresh water on it to rinse.
Back at home I submerged the light in my rinse tank with it turned off.
It came on when fully submerged. Shorting.
So, turned it on to rinse it.
If I try to change modes or turn the light off while submerged it shorts through the surrounding water and begins to corrode/pit where the anodizing has been scratched off. If the anodizing remains pristine then the light would function perfectly as it does on dry land. In real life any dive light is going to get scratched/dinged.
Here’s a short video of last nights dive.
Hi JP,
Thanks for the great video. I’m really loving the beam on this light. As great as I’ve always thought my MagicShine MJ-810 MC-E LED Dive Light is, the TF seems even better. Very unfortunate about the O-ring issue. I’m going to be using mine for a dive off my boat with some friends very soon. I’ll have to be careful with it and remember not to change modes while under water. If I run into any issues, I’ll be sure to post them.
That video was very cool !
It was neat to see the fish too - was that a Calico Bass and California Halibut you captured on video ?
I’ll get more footage this weekend, deeper, darker, clearer. 
That’s a Copper Rockfish hunting Tube Snouts and a Rock Sole.
The bottom was covered with these little soles.
Spawning time for them here in BC.
I took apart both lights and was able to fix the one with the loose module.
The other light is toast, the black wire coming from the LEDs broke off the board and shorted something, I soldered it back on but it only stays lit up for a split second before turning off. To make matters worse the store I bought it from is playing games trying to make me give up on getting it fixed.
Oh and a charger for one of the lights just died… along with the 2 o-rings at the tail cap. Apparently they have sent me 2 new o-rings already… without the new boards and the bigger o rings for the head I asked for.
And while I’m ranting why do I keep getting asked what does the letter “F” in “BLF” stand for? I figured they should know by now I’m not an alien invader.
JP: thanx for the video, good to see what these lights look like under water!!
Amazing video… please do post more. Some day I’d love to take up that sport. Side note… It seems a shame for me to grow up and continue to live 40 minutes from the California coast line, an animal / nature / wildlife lover and not be into the sport of recreational diving.
Too bad about the O-rings and tail anodizing wear causing a permanent contact. The next logical question is, why then do manufacturers make twist-switches that rely on anodize as an electrical insulator? I am 90% certain its because Surefire has a patent on their twisty design, that relies on an internal metal contact “plunger” piece to conduct -B current. That patented design does not rely on tailcap anodize to isolate the -B contact.
And the next logical question after the above is answered is, why didn’t they just copy the Surefire design? I mean really, since when do the chinese care about violating any patented design?
That was a superb video! Please post more if you ever get the chance to.
The beam actually doesn’t disperse as much as I thought it would.