With or without the plastic bag mod? Or were these results mathematically corrected?
Since results are being posted with and without correction methods, I think it can be a bit confusing here if results are posted without stating one or the other.
I know nothing… all I did was put one plastic and tape it to secure the meter… I fully charged the battery and turn on the light and get the reading @ 30 seconds…
OK great……thank’s for clarifying that, unless noted otherwise; all of your posted results will be of your particular plastic bag ’fix’ to your TA Tube. This is important……
So that means your results are a corrected measurement you came up with to correct your tube to lights you either know, or assume to know; their tested or advertised lumen rating…
BUT… not a measurement from the TA Tube as you received it.
Interesting stuff I'm learning. Anyone else besides HDS Systems and pflexpro that calibrated each light they sell? pflexpro offers tested lights for as little as $60 (modified Convoy S2+). From what I see on their website, they don't necessarily fine-tune the output, but instead give you a sheet telling you what the output measured on their integrating sphere.
So far even if the tubes aren’t accurate, they are calibrated consistently and very easy to use. There simply isn’t another similar premade product available under a few thousand dollars that can allow us to so easily measure lumens like this can. So even if I knew from the start, it wasn’t going to be accurate but at least consistent, I would still buy it and calibrate it myself because I’m not going to go through the trouble to research and build my own. It is normal for retail products to not be perfect upon initial release regardless of whether it is a Chinese flashlight company or a premium American brand. Even Apple/Android/Microsoft/Tesla/Sony have to constantly release updates/patches to fix bugs after the initial release as problems are discovered.
I know TA tried his very best in this endeavor and given his reputation here, I’m sure he will come up with a good simple solution given some time.
I have two S2+ 219b triples from PflexPro that came with lumen graphs. But I swapped the optics so I’ll have to change it back to test it. Will post results at a later date.
Got my tube earlier this week, finally got a chance to play around and take some readings with a few lights, here's my data:
Model
Mfg.spec.
Review spec.
TA tube @ 30 seconds
Deli paper 1 sheet
Deli paper 2 sheets
Eagtac D25C2 XP-G2
530 (ANSI)
na
625
519
435
Eagtac MX25L3 MTG2
2375 (ANSI)
na
3350
2740
2360
Jetbeam E20R
990 (ANSI)
na
1290
1060
895
Nitecore HC30 (NW)
1000 (ANSI)
na
1453
1165
995
Jaxman E2L 3*Nichia
720
na
895
731
629
Sofirn C8F v2
2580
2756 (30 sec)
3340
2860
2510
ThruNite TC20 (NW)
3800
3560 (30 sec)
4240
3470
2960
BLF Q8
5000
5624 (30 sec)
6950
5730
4910
Convoy C8 7135*8 (XPL-HI V2-1A)
na
na
1148
968
786
The first thing I did was swap out the included batteries in the Lux Meter with a pair of fresh Duracell Alkaline OEM.
My tube also appears to be reading higher. For the DIY re-calibration mod I took readings with different plastic bags and sheets of deli paper, the readings progressively decreasing...
Walmart bag
Shop n Save bag
Deli paper 1 sheet
Deli paper 2 sheets
The Deli paper is the kind they have in convenience stores to handle self serve donuts, also what they use to wrap cheese in the deli.
The lower readings with the Deli papers were more in line with the factory specs and review testing than the plastic bags, the correct calibration is probably somewhere between 1 and 2 sheets (closer to 2 sheets for most lights).
Overall I very happy with this lumen tube, It's lots of fun and it's great to have a tool like this, finally I have something to take measurements and compare lights!
The calibration discrepancy doesn't bother me a bit, I'm confidant TA will eventually come up with a solution for that, so in the end we will have exactly what we paid for, and I'm sure it's already worth what we paid as it is. Thanks TA!
Nice work beam0. Very detailed & easy to understand. The detailed chart makes it easy to do comparisons & see what is going on with the stock TA Tube as well as when different levels of correction materials are used. :+1:
Would you please stop posting numbers willy nilly. If you want to help us out, tell us the raw number with no bag or tell us your correction factor. Measure a light with and without the plastic bag to see what percentage it reduces the output.
I do have the ODF30 and I measured 4510 lumen. If that is what you measured then it looks like your 3540 measurement gives a correction factor of .78. So your bag is reducing output about 22%.
If we use your earlier ODF30 measurement of 3410 it gives a correction factor of .76, a 24% reduction in output.
This goes out to everyone:
If you don’t want to post the raw numbers from the TA Tube, at least say that your numbers are using a correction factor of XX% so as not to cause confusion. Thanks.
Maybe ask pflexpro about sending him some lights to test for standard/calibration lights?
Or maybe he would have a stock 7135 Convoy light he could just test and send with a test results sheet.
The C8 might be a light I can compare with. I’m running a different emitter, but color should be the same. I got:
Convoy C8 XM-L2 U2-1A - 1330 @30sec (a little better than my previous reading of 1310)
So I’m getting a higher output. The two bin codes show mine should measure about 15 lumen higher which is virtually the same. If I use a .65 correction factor, my reading is about 120 lumen higher than yours (860 to 740).
Pretty interesting. I wonder if there is a performance difference due to the battery? I’m using a protected KeepPower Sanyo 3500 GA pulling 2.66A. Same amp draw and output on a button top 30Q at same voltage.
I think he is just excited to try out a new toy. It is not a problem to post the numbers as he is, they are just not very useful without more information.
Hmm, that is possible. Although doesn’t look like he is very active, he has not logged in for almost 2 months.
It also would seem kinda strange to not just buy one of his lights, which I suppose I could do but looks like the cheapest light he offers is an S2+ for $50. Which is ok but I would really prefer have more then 1 measured light to give better comparisons. Although $50 is hard to swallow right now seeing as I just had to buy a new soldering station.
It is an option to consider though, I just sent him a message on here, not sure if that is the best way.
Also, just so everyone knows, unless otherwise stated, my numbers are generally between 5-10 seconds. That is long enough for the output to level out somewhat in most cases yet not heat the light up too much for future readings or drain the cells too much.
Many times I can need to take several readings within a few minutes and having to swap batteries and wait for it to cool down each time would make this process take way too long.