I contacted support. Just like Christoph, I got a prompt reply from Brett. They still have stock, just not available for on-line purchase. So fingers crossed on making an exchange.
congrats
correct, the eSwitch has to charge up
that wont be an issue as long as you keep a battery in the light
….
meanwhile
My Cu Tool took 1 week to travel 10 miles, thanks to DHL
tracking:
—-
December 3, 2019, 11:54 am
Arrived MELROSE PARK, IL 60160
…
November 26, 2019, 11:47 am
Arrived WOOD DALE, IL 60191
Im also having Slow Progress w DHL handling a package from Germany, 2 weeks to find its way to the Frankfurt airport and no updates from USPS yet… poor me (first world problems… lol)
and
Update on my Brass Tool
I just got an email that my order was cancelled, refunded, and they gave me a $10 shopping credit…
phew… I really did not want a Brass Tool… sour grapes… lol
so, I wrote back and asked if they will send me a Copper Tool instead 
stay tuned for the next exciting updates
^ You can always make wine out of sour grapes. So… tart. 
Well, got an RMA label from Drop. Only pain is that I have to drop off at UPS, which is kind of out of my way. But I’m glad I’ll be able to get the Nichia version.
So, with a totally topped off Eneloop AAA battery, I pop it in. It works. But, can’t tell difference between medium & high. Low is certainly noticeable. But the other two are not. I don’t know if this light is defective or if this is normal behavior for rechargeable AAA. Will it take a 14500 10440?
I also thought there was little difference between M and H when my light was fresh, which is why I got out my lux meter. It was a bright day and I wasn’t willing to trust my eyes. I think my H got brighter over an hour or so as the light sat with a battery installed. It was sunset when I took the measurements in my earlier post. I wonder how long the tailcap would take to self-discharge so I can verify this.
Good luck cramming a 14500 in there I assume you mean a 10440, which (we’re told) will make smoke.
Yes, typo — corrected. In my case, I visually checked the beams in a lowly lit room. Can’t believe this is a 32 to 110 lumens difference. Checked again—definitely not. Could see maybe 20 lumens difference between medium & high. I won’t bother about it any longer since I’m sending the light back for an exchange.
you have to WAIT for the capacitor to charge up so it gives you the proper maximum mode… give it at least 20 minutes… better yet, give it an hour… better yet, go to sleep, and in the morning all will be working (leave the battery IN the light)
if you use 10440 w eSwitch tools you only get maximum, until the battery drops to 3.8v and after that you will have 3 modes again…
but! 10440 is NOT recommended… use at your own risk
Tell me Jon. What other flashlight do you know of that requires many minutes before its electronic switch capacitor “charges up” to full? I have 6 flashlights with electronic switches. None of them needs more than a few seconds of connectivity. Is there some kind of understood engineering principle at hand here? I’m really curious as to why the light was designed this way.
My lumintop ti tool has the same switch I believe. First time I put batteries in it took a few minutes but since then it’s been perfect.
What happens when you pull the tailcap and use a wire to connect end of battery tube to battery negative?
If you still have hardly any difference between med and high then there may be something wrong with the driver, if it does show strong difference then the electronic switch is the culprit. At least you will know which is problem.
Mine acted somewhat same way till a Regular AAA primary reading 1.58v was inserted, then it charged up that tailcap real quick and we have been up and running just fine back on the Eneloops.
There probably is no stepup to switch voltage so you may need higher voltage one time to get it to spec.
Wish I had a Lithium AAA primary on hand to see how much brighter (if any) these lights get at 1.80 volts that these batteries usually start at when new.
HTH
Later,
Keith
I hope you get your curiosity satisfied.
Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the light
I just put my Cu Tool w sw45k LED mod on my light meter and it gives 2.3 lumens, 20 lumens, and 80 lumens. The difference is obvious. This particular head is actually a lego of a Maratac head (dont believe their ridiculous lumen claims). I get similar outputs from a Tool Head…
When I got my last 219c Cu Tool, the maximum was 110 lumens. Thats more lumens than the 219b that I prefer. The 219c is greener.
My Cu Tool always has a battery in it, as it is my most used aaa light. I dont have any mode issues.
And I like that the eSwitch allows tailstanding.
Also curious. I hope it translates to lower parasitic drain. My equipment lacks the sensitivity to measure anything.
I agree that tailstands help offset the extra clicks needed with this design.
That either doesn’t make sense, or that’s the dumbest flashlight design I’ve heard. An hour to charge up a capacitor so the light will work properly?
Even a camera flash only takes a few seconds to charge up a capacitor, and it’s using it as the main light source!
It’s probably a small li-ion battery, not a capacitor.
Great idea, Keith. I found a wire, stripped the ends, and completed the circuit. And YES… now it was clear to me the difference between medium & high. I noticed even medium is brighter without the tail cap. So apparently there must be some kind of current regulation going on in the tail cap and mine is faulty. I installed the tail cap after this test, and now I can’t even get mode changes working properly again. It’s either some sort of medium, then a medium-high, which starts out a little dim while switch is still depressed then brightens a little upon release of button. No low. Hopefully the replacement will be OK.
Useful info, thanx Djozz
Even dumber design, then. You have to charge a separate lithium-ion battery in the tailcap, every time you change the “main” battery? I don’t believe it.
I think they’re faulty units. The “charge the tailcap capacitor” is a dumb excuse.
WTH? Nobody makes a flashlight electronic switch like that. Why would they? A li-ion battery would eventually require replacement, having far less lifespan than a capacitor. And a tiny li-ion battery sandwiched inside a tail switch certainly wouldn’t be user serviceable.
Here’s the abstract from Lumintop’s Energy storage type zero-power flashlight electronic switching circuit Chinese patent application:
See paragraphs [0011] to [0014] if you understand electronics and can get past the machine translation.
EDIT: added pic from T18 in the other thread. Note there’s one more component on the other side of the board (the MOS?) that matches what I can see at the base of the spring on my MassDrop light.
^ What does this mean for the lay person who isn’t fluent in electronic circuit diagrams & components?
Copper is out of stock now. They have a notice link, and appear to expect to have more eventually.