Drop.com $20 off - Lumintop Copper/Brass Tool for $10 - Discount not available as of 12/10/19

Muto · December 27, 2019, 2:21am

jon_slider:

thanks for the Ikea suggestion

I decided not to pay for shipping, and ordered from China… should have them sometime next year… LOL

I chose regular Eneloop, not the Pro, because my Pro eneloops have lost half their output, while my regular Eneloop still have full output.

I dont own an analyzing charger, so not sure how the two compare in terms of capacity now, after 3 years of use. On my light meter, I do see a huge difference in lumen output, between the Pro and the Regular, and the Regular is Much better.

Anyone have a suggestion for a compact, USB powered charger, that can test both eneloop and LiIon capacity? I only need to charge one battery at a time, no need for 4 bays… smaller is cuter.

.

Trivia
I received a Ti Maratac AAA w XP-G3. It is MLH and otherwise has similar output and runtime as the drop Tool,

and they Lego:

I have requested return authorization for the Ti Maratac, because it skips modes badly. It also has some of the roughest, most abrasive knurling Ive felt yet.

The Ti Maratac threads are predictably gritty, despite my best efforts testing 3 specialty lubes:

1. Krytox 205. Its creamy white looks promising, as does its teflon content, but it is too thin to mask the gritty Ti Threads.

2. Nyogel 767a. Too thick and sticky, makes it hard to turn the head with one hand, and still feels gritty.

3. Munky Spunk. Decently thick and reasonably smooth action, but still failed to completely mask the gritty threads, even after working it in to try and wear polish the threads.

I much prefer my Copper Tools. I use Nano Oil on the O rings and threads.

Can’t you just hit that Ti with some fine emory cloth to chill out the knurling?
I mean I know you use your flashlights and appreciate the patina, so why not accelerate the wear pattern a little?

Also maybe take a fine wire brush across the threads to take away some micro burrs maybe.
Just a thought.
Later,

Keith

lumenzilla · December 27, 2019, 3:06am

Last night I managed to open the pil with boiling water method. Replaced the LED with Nichia Optisolis and TIR optic from Clemence with a bit tweaking.

Sorry no picture. My phone is broken and awaiting for replacement.

jon_slider · December 27, 2019, 3:47am

daddy didnt raise no fool

.

Sweet!
congrats
what CCT?
like the Tir Idea!
glad it works on the longer head

Cereal_killer · December 27, 2019, 3:42am

@Jon_Slider WOW that 3500k e21a is great! I’ll be getting some of those for sure!

3500k should be my preferred cct but till now I’ve been let down by tint in other emitters I’ve tried, the e21a looks perfectly white in that comparison, how is it in real life?

jon_slider · December 27, 2019, 4:12am

I really like the 3500k e21a, when my brain is white balanced to incandescent (3000k). At that white balance the 3500k does look white, as in this picture

I tried a few N219b 3500k 9080, and they shed more of a yellow cast over everthing. The e21a shows crisper reds and blues. It is my personal favorite 3500k LED, with an emphasis on High R9 CRI.

in all fairness though, there are times when my brain is whitebalanced to daylight, and then the 3500k is not my preference, because it looks warmer (oranger), than daylight.

this photo attempts to show the effect of daylight white balance, and reveals that the 3500k is a warmer white than daylight.
6000k XM-L2 on left, 3500k e21a on right (same light that looks “whiter” above)

so in my real life, I love the e21a at night, and still rely on sw45k for daytime edc, because it is “whiter”, at that time of day. In the evening sw45k can be unnecessarily cool (blue).

cyclops · December 27, 2019, 4:34am

I see that the Brass tool with Nichia is available for preorder now.

Unheard · December 27, 2019, 7:58am

No glue, spare C01S LED board basically fits, needed to be filed down a little on both “arms”.

buck91 · December 27, 2019, 2:37pm

I did the same but just used a 4000k 95cri SST-20 I had laying around. VERY easy mod as the heat liquified the thermal epoxy under the mcpcb as well. Lost some output, naturally, compared to the xpg3 but its a very pleasant beam still. Hows the output of the Optisolis compared to the xpg3? Is it a direct swap or do you need to change the reflector/optic also?

ValuseekeR · December 27, 2019, 3:52pm

Thanks for mentioning it, may do that.

lumenzilla · December 28, 2019, 3:48am

The output of Nichia Optisolis was a bit lower but barely noticeable (at least to my eyes).

The optic is shorter than the stock reflector so I inserted a sanded aluminium pill (with extra thermal paste in between) under the current MCPCB to gain more height.

Drop Tool is on the right, the left was ReyLight Tool.

Slayer1 · January 2, 2020, 11:23am

I just received my copper and its Cree led iso Nichia.

jon_slider · January 2, 2020, 2:02pm

Congratulations on your nice Copper Host

maybe reach out to Lumenzilla for help w an LED swap?

buck91 · January 2, 2020, 2:56pm

The LED swap is about as easy as they come. Just put the head in a plastic bag and dip in boiling water for 30 sec to 1min. When it comes out the pill unscrews easily. The heat also softens the thermal paste under teh mcpcb. Just unsolder the wires and then you can easily reflow any 3535 LED in its place.

Th558 · January 2, 2020, 3:44pm

You’ll never guess how mine arrived…submerged in water…Just how I like it! How did they know?!!

Ok seriously though how did they manage this? It came after nearly 6 weeks soaked in water. I think maybe they left it to dry cause the inside was wet but the outside wasn’t. Luckily the torch was in a sealed packet so the water couldn’t touch it. They also sent me the XP-G3 ugly cool beam version.

At first no modes worked, then 1 worked. Now there’s 3 but the third is the same as the second. Will the others start working as the capacitor charges?

jon_slider · January 2, 2020, 4:01pm

yes

After 1 hour with the battery in my XP-G3 Cu Tool, there are now 3 modes.

I’m getting 4 lumens, 30 lumens and 130 lumens.

wraithpc · January 2, 2020, 3:55pm

Check your batteries mine does the three modes fine, but if batteries aren’t the best med/high on mine is same output, High mode on mine only works properly with alkaline and Eneloops

Slayer1 · January 2, 2020, 4:28pm

I will reach out to him. Cheers.

jon_slider · January 4, 2020, 8:10pm

I bought some small tritiums for testing, along with the clear Norland glue and UV curing light mixglo sells.

I chose this size
T13 0.95x3mm Vials
so I could try both blue and green

I can barely tell green and blue apart in the middle of the night with my glasses off… my eyes just see the blue as dimmer…

if I did it again, I would probably just order this slightly shorter green (only) version:

on such a small size, the color is less relevant than the brightness, to me.

This is my first experience installing trits. So far, so fun…

the installation does not prevent me using the keyring hole still, though I dont use AAA lights on my keys.

I hope it gets dark soon… Ive been playing with my Trits in a dark bathroom… which makes me wonder if Im being a bit weird… lol

xevious · January 6, 2020, 4:00am

Be careful, Jon. Safe tritium installation is usually a recessed slot where the vial is protected more than 180 degrees. In this case, 270 degrees is exposed. Vials are very fragile.

jon_slider · January 6, 2020, 2:45pm

thanks for the safety awareness

the vials are embedded in adhesive, not just stuck to the side. But I took your warning to heart and added another drop of Norland to make sure the vial is completely encased in clear adhesive.

At this point I do not fear the vial breaking, but I will report back if the adhesive fails and the trit falls off or is damaged from pocket carry.