Lightbringer said, "L/M/H is more like firefly/low-moonlight/kinda-moonlight. Even strobe (doubleclick) does the fast/slow strobing, but at barely moonlight levels.
Tried several alkaleaks, same deal.
Huh… just tried a 14500, same deal, in fact, same brightness levels (ie, not proportionally brighter because of its higher voltage).".
I have one that behaved the same way new, out of the box, regardless of alkie, NiMh or 14500 cell. Thorfire/Miranda replaced it quickly & courteously, no return request.
I'm trying to decide whether to:
1) keep it as-is as a dedicated moon/micro-candle,
or
2) try repair/replace the driver.
I'm new to disassembly & modding, so this is my first bus ride into the guts of any light, much less a dual-switch light.
A close look at solder joints might reveal the problem, but I suspect that's unlikely.
Firmware reflash? I've done many hundreds of firmware flashes on copiers/printers/scanners/MFP's/NIC's in my career, but never on a flashlight. That's one learning curve I have yet to climb.
My amateur guess is a driver component failure.
I've made a half-hearted attempt at removing the driver retaining ring using a reversible snap ring plier, but it's either chemically locked or King Kong tight. Don't know if it's reverse thread either.
I did a forum search yesterday looking for TK05 mods and/or driver replacements with no luck. I'll be watching this thread to see what develops.
EDIT: Gotta find a tool that allows me to apply more torque to a retaining ring. The reversible snap ring pliers won't take much torque without twisting out of alignment.