Review : Utorch UT01 Flashlight (XP-L V6 / AA & 14500 / e-switch)

This it true but it would defeat the purpose of transferring to an 18650 Light:)

I think BLF members have bought quite a few of these lights. It would be interesting to find out what percentage are having problems.

Could someone who knows how, set up a poll simply asking (a) Problems or (b) No problems ?

People would have to be able to vote multiple times of course, one vote for each light they’ve purchased. I’d set it up myself, but I don’t know how.

I don’t believe that to be the case for me because I am using unprotected, flat top 14500 IMR (efest purple). So they are as short as possible, and at no point do I get the feeling there is excessive pressure.

I dont use protected cells, but that would really be the only way for me to confirm.

As near as I can tell, my problem seems to be something in the driver

I forgot I uploaded a video on the programming aspect of these lights:

So, what is the lowest lumen output that you can get out of this light? Is it 2 or is it something less than 2?

I’m assuming using an AA NiMH will get you a lower lumen output than using a 14500 cell.

The lowest output is about 2 Lumens with either chemistry. As near as I can tell the only difference is in the brightest turbo setting. Where 14500 gains the full ~750 OTF. On an eneloop the brightest turbo is around 375 OTF.

IIRC these lights have a low voltage protection… so you can’t run dead alkalines (or any battery for that matter) completely dead. Someone please correct me though.

Hmm… according to their spec sheet, lowest output on 14500 is 10 lumen. But I dont know how the programmable modes play into this…

The light does have lvp but it’s not voltage based alone as it will run fine from 2.5v-3.2v without problem as long as the battery can provide the power. If the voltage sags too much and fails to deliver the expected current the driver shuts off.

Re problems: reviewing back through the thread does not confirm wether or not the problems are switch related. The problems are all related to using the switch and in some cases changing the switch solved the problems. But there has not been enough reports to indicate what is the status after changing the switch to confirm for certain that it is the switch.

One theory I have is that the problem may be related to how the driver handles reading denouncing of the switch. Different switches have different response images even with the same switch model so if the driver is not calibrated to a wide enough variance there may be problems even if the switch isn’t technically faulty. If this is the case, changing the switch may help or it may not :stuck_out_tongue:

There are other threads for the UT01 or Manker

Thanks for this!

FWIW… L - R

~.35Lumens (Quark AA-T, XPG3) - ?? Lumens, lowest program mode, Eneloop (Manker E11)

~.35Lumens (Quark AA-T, XPG3) - ?? Lumens, lowest program mode, 14500 IMR (Manker E11)

~.35Lumens (Quark AA-T, XPG3) - 15 Lumens, Fenix L1T, Eneloop - ?? Lumens, lowest program mode, Eneloop (Manker E11)

I dont have a true 10 Lumen light compare. Closest I have is an ancient Fenix L1T, its low mode is about ~15 Lumens otf

I am willing to bet that 10 Lumen-14500 spec is not the lowest program mode.

Well, light #3 has arrived this morning and this one is misbehaving. Fortunately I have the two good ones to compare to, and I may have learned something.

The drivers on these lights have two solder points showing on the battery+ side. On the two good lights, the solder points are precisely horizontally perpendicular compared to the external ‘flat’ on the head housing that the switch is installed in. On the third (misbehaving) light, the solder points are slightly off the perpendicular, being rotated a few degrees clockwise.

Now this third light does work, sort of. I did manage to get it through the programming cycle, and that seems to have remained in the drivers memory - but it’s sometimes reluctant to come on, and reluctant to shut off. Sometimes it gets to ‘low’, one level above moonlight, and then stay there. It’s definitely not working perfectly.

I’m wondering if others might check the alignment of the solder points on their drivers. It could be that the drivers need to be exactly perpendicular to the switch aperture to function properly. Unfortunately I cant seem to rotate the driver - there are no pinholes to twist by, and I can’t tell if it’s glued in or not.

thats interesting…
on both of my lights the solder points are all squared up and parallel with the flat of the switch.

My driver boards are also loose fitting and not firmly attached. I can rotate them a little and when I touch them there is some rattle. So the battery tube needs to be tight and secure… FWIW. I think its always been this way, I never paid much attention though.

Thanks. The E11 definitely looks brighter running 14500 vs running Eneloop.

Does your E11 have a neutral tint emitter?

Yeah its lowest program mode is brighter with a 14500, although in person its not as pronounced as my pics above make it appear. I really don’t believe its 10 Lumens.

I have a Ssurefire E2L Outdoorsman, its low mode is rated 3 Lumens otf.

On a ceiling bounce comparison the E11/UT01 14500 program-low is visually about half as bright as the SF.

the E11 you see in the pics above is a neutral white, but its by far the warmest “Neutral” tint I have ever seen. Not a bad thing mind you.

Cool thanks Joe

Yeah, that is really warm. I probably should have ordered CW instead. Oh well, too late now…

I did some testing on this driver today. The switch is definitely part of the problem but I believe the heart of it is the way the firmware/driver reacts to different switch characteristics. Specifically, high resistance switches without a good clean click will cause the light to malfunction. So this is why some lights will not function with the switch off center but do when the switch is rotated to center. The user is able to click the switch more cleanly and the driver is happier this way. I was able to eliminate the problem entirely using certain switches with a definitive “click”. Swapping switches back and forth, I was able to repeat the results. So this seems to be the case in my light atleast.

It looks warmer than my BLF A6 with a 5A tint

Thanks for sharing your observations and conclusions, LightRider.

I suspect that the problem with my light is somehow related to the MCU. I’d wondered about an issue with debouncing, but didn’t really know how to diagnose more fully. Or something to do with the power supply and management for the MCU.

In my case, the switch is well centered. Still waiting to see what Gearbest is going to do about a replacement before I try anything intrusive.

I think most people are using unprotected 14500 cells in UT01 because the protected ones don’t fit (easily).

An unprotected cell such as Sanyo UR14500P (second from left in the below photo) is about the same length or maybe very slightly shorter than an Eneloop AA.