Mod: Small Sun ZY-T11 and ZY-T29 + overview and comparison

Thanks for the feedback! Tell me how you like em if/when you get around to build them. :) They are fantastic lights with the lumodrv. :)

will do, I think I’ve got that ld35 sussed out too. I’ll report back tomorrow, it’s supposed to be constant current on all modes, we shall see….

Great write up RaceR86! I love the form factor of the T29 and T11 but my T29 is pretty anemic and I hate the UI. I tested mine tonight on an ET 18650 at 4.12V and it only pulled about 1.6A at the t/c and put out just shy of 400 OTF lumens after 30 seconds. Sounds like this Dr Jones driver is a great fix for both. I have zero modding skills but would be willing to try this. Thanks for the write up.

Thanks manxbuggy1!

I really like the form factor too! :)

Its not a difficult mod, but its not the first mod I would try to do either (for people who are new to electronics).

When that is said, my K2 mod thread goes fairly detailed through the process, hopefully in a fairly noob friendly way.

Just yesterday I was looking at ZY 29 reviews,Dr Jones’ Lumo and Mobydrvs and several of your threads and here it is now,all

together.I think I missed it by about 20 minutes!Ill definitely be getting in contact with the good Dr shortly.

You say the zy 29 has square tailcap threads,have any of the others in the comparison lights got square threads,

Olight probably,D4/Convoy S6?I won’t ask about a Roche F12 cos that would be off topic :wink:

Anyway,great thread and loads of ideas,thanks RaceR86.

Im not a threads snob.. :p (if there is such a thing)

Olight I6 have fairly thick nice square threads combined with O-ring that gives it a quite perfect feel. I think the Convoy have square threads, but they are just fairly small? Not sure..On further inspection it looks like my ZY-T11 also have square threads, but they are much thinner than on the ZY-T29. (ZY-T11 on the right side). Or maybe that does not count as square threads?

(Sorry about the grey silicone grease)

Here is the other end of the tube.

They can not be compared with the top notch square stuff in any way, and they might require some grease in order to feel smoother and avoid squeel. Threads are no more than average. They get the job done though. :)

Glad you found the thread useful! :beer:

Thanks for the info,there is another reason I’m collecting a data base of square threaded potential hosts.

I’ve been playing with QTC’s and made a pill that doesn’t twist the QTC.I put one in a tiny ultrafire 16340

twisty and it worked fine.One day,it didn’t work,check battery voltage,2.not much volts.I beleive it’s called

hysterisis - the silicone rubber QTC takes it’s own sweet time to return to original shape and in the process

,remake the contact.

I decided to try clickies so, first off,a Cree 10B 16340 with a Q5 (xpe,xre I don’t know).

Anyway,it was a revelation , much more controlable and sensitive.Why? - because there’s a pair of threads at

the tailcap,and another pair at the head/body so I could adjust both individually for brightness.

If I’m using tailcap and head threads as the infinitely variable brightness control,thread performance(never

imagined I’d see myself write that expression :bigsmile: )becomes an issue (obsession).Hence”are the threads

square on ……”

Damn, I’m gonna have to start my own thread on this stuff now! :stuck_out_tongue:

Thank you for doing this mod thread and the K2 mod thread. I already got a second K2 to mod, and ordered one of these to mod as well. Now I need to order a drjones driver. I can't wait.

Billy X, if you are a "thread snob" these lights are nothing special. The lights might also be like various other Chinese lights. Limited consistency in how they are made.

These are 10$ lights, I have no complaints considering the price for the "host". Grease, oil normally makes threads feel better anyway.

As long as they don't break or squeal , feel fairly smooth, and are easy to screw on, then Im happy. :)


Leftye. :beer:

I ordered (/killed) a 2nd K2 aswell.. 0:)

(I blame WB)

That's how I got my second one. It's already been delivered. It's a great deal.

Well, I did have that idea, but the number of features I can press into that small memory is limited, and I found other features more interesting.

Well, yes, maybe, depends... The lowest mode is at the edge of PWM resolution and on the edge of AMC7135 activation time. The MCU provides power to them, they take a while (~2µs) to actually awake, and at that time the MCU drops power again already.

The problems with QLITE arise from that (flickering in the lowest mode, or lowest mode not even lights up the LED).

That's why I use a slightly higher, but safer minimum value.

[quote=RaceR86]

-PWM is nice and high, but is it possible to get it even higher? :)

[/quote]

Yes, can go to ~35 kHz, and even higher at the expense of PWM resolution - but why?

It also increases problems with the lower levels.

I was just curious why the lumodrv have 8kHz PWM, when several of your other drivers have 19. Higher seem to generally decrease the chance of audible and visible PWM.

Thanks for the answer DrJones! :)

Moving my comments to this dedicated Small Sun ZY-T11 thread.

The DX US$15.20 Small Sun ZY-T11 has a couple of issues:

- it has a plastic reflector even though they advertise it with an aluminium one.

- it comes with no clip which they advertise

  • it has a lens defect on the glass as shown in image below.

Good news is there are clones the do not have the lens defect, have an aluminium reflector and are cheaper. Aluminium reflector confirmed on Aleto version by ebayer Aletocn , Ultrafire version also has an aluminium reflector as confirmed by BLF user djozz .

Small Sun ZY-T11 clones - aluminium reflector

Ultrafire version

US$9.52 flashlight - banggood
US$11.09 flashlight + wall charger - banggood
US$17.59 flashlight + wall charger + 1xunprotected 3400maH Panasonic 18650 battery - banggood

Aleto version

US$9.99 flashlight - banggood
US$10-$14 flashlight + car&wall charger - ebayer Aletocn
US$10-$14 flashlight + car&wall charger - ebayer aletotop2012

Small Sun ZY-T11 - plastic reflector unless noted, slighty whiter cool white emitter

US$10.99 flashlight with plastic reflector - banggood
US$11.11 flashlight with aluminium reflector - banggood
US$12.20 flashlight - fastcardtech
US$12.48 flashlight + wall charger - banggood
US$15.20 flashlight - DX

Chargers and batteries

The Small Sun ZY-T11 charges protected 18650 fine from an old old 3.5mm ended Nokia charger (5.3V). My Aleto came with a 4.2V+–0.5V @500mA Chinese charger.

Best to avoid any Ultrafire/Trustfire or other Chinese 18650 and grab Japanese Sanyo/Panasonic or Korea Samsung protected cells. They cost a few $$ more but have shown to have far longer runtimes. Not worth getting an inferior product for the critical engine that runs the flashlight. Eg:

US$9.53 Authentic Samsung ICR18650-26F 18650 2600mAh@3.7V Protected Rechargeable Lithium Batteries

US$11.03 Sanyo UR18650F 18650 2600mAh@3.7V Protected Rechargeable Lithium Batteries (2-pack)

US$13.70 Panasonic Protected NCR18650A Rechargeable 3100mAh@3.7V 18650 Lithium Batteries

US$16.73 Panasonic NCR18650B Protected Rechargeable 3400mAh@3.7V 18650 Lithium Batteries

Tests of individual (different brand & capacity) 18650s: 18650 tests

Above: DX US$15.20 Small Sun ZY-T11 lens defect

Added a $2.83 DX diffuser to my Small Sun ZY-T11 used for night time bike riding. It was added in front of the flat glass with the negative being the head doesn’t screw on fully (out by 0.05mm - not much). Am considering removing the flat glass lens and placing a fatter o-ring between the diffuser and the reflector to to let the head screw on fully. See gallery images below of the result.

The diffuser serves two purposes:

1. spreads the light horizontally where it’s needed and narrows it vertically where it’s not. Works great.

2. gives a side protruding dome so can be seen at right angles. This is rather important as gives a lot more visibility to drivers on the side. Concern being I’d be T-bone from the side due to the default lens configuration having little visibility at such angles.

http://imgur.com/a/Vm7Ui/embed

OK, received a Aleto Small Sun ZY-T11 clone today. It came in a unlabelled white box so have I can only refer to it as the Aleto below. A 4.2V+–0.5V 3.5mm charger @ 500mA was supplied with it. A few observations comparing it to my DX Small Sun ZY-T11:

BUILD
Aleto is better built: has lubed o-rings, no glass defect, a aluminium reflector and a lens that’s properly mounted to the front cap. The tailcap battery spring also look s bit sturdier though real makes no difference.

Winner: Aleto

COSMETICS
They are nearly the same. Only difference is the branding label and the front/tail cap line engravings are slightly closer spaced on the Aleto. NOTE: the lenscaps are not interchangable due to differing thread pitch. However, the tailcaps can be interchanged.

Winner: draw

DRIVER CIRCUIT
The driver circuits are different. The UI is the same (high-med-low-strobe-SOS) and both have instant off via a half tailcap turn. ZY-T11 driver board has no labels on it whereas the Aleto has “Cree XML” stamped on it. Both giving approx equal brightness in all modes.

The important differences being the ZY-T11 has a slightly more distinct cool white emitter. The Aleto too is a cool white but it has a tinge more green it it making it slightly less distinct. In addition the Aleto has a slightly slower strobe/SOS mode though neither’s strobe would pass as being epileptic friendly. For my cycling I can only safely use the SOS flashing mode where the faster ZY-T11 is safer.

Winner: ZY-T11

CONCLUSION

For cycling purposes where visibility is of highest importance, I’d recommend the Small Sun ZY-T11 over the Aleto clone due to the faster SOS mode and the slightly “cooler” white emitter.

As for the Ultrafire version, I can see in an advertising image here that it too has the Cree stamping on the driver board. That along with it having the same tailcap spring and closer spaced engraving lines on the head/tailcap suggests to me it’s may simply the same Aleto internals with a different branding (Ultrafire instead of Aleto).

Is there PWM difference between Aleto and Small Sun? Op says pwm is poor on the Suns.

Also wonder if those T11 chargers are safe. Nice option but can’t see the labels on them well.

Can you post beamshot of what that lens is like? Looks interesting.

I had a small sun T11 and if I remember correctly it has visible PWM on all modes, including high (just to verify). I gave it away. Looks like adding that driver goes a long way to making it nicer.

Just received my US$12.48 Small Sun ZY-T11 + charger from Banggood.com Compared to my DX one I find the following differences:

- has no lens defect, as it should

- has “Cree XML” stamped on the LED board like my (now offloaded) Aleto clone. My DX one has no stampings.

- has a cool white LED that’s a fraction warmer, like my Aleto clone

  • includes a 4.2V@500ma DC charger + universal socket adapter :slight_smile:

I find the following to be the same:

- unfortunately still has a plastic rather than aluminium reflector

- same SOS mode flash intervals that are faster (safer) than the Aleto clone

  • same body/chassis

and still the following negatives compared to the Aleto clone:

- has a plastic rather than aluminium reflector

  • the lens is not glued down. Undoing the top lens cap sees it tumble from the assembly.

So the only incentive to still get the genuine Small Sun ZY-T11 if using for cycling is for the faster and safer SOS flashing mode. Though if intend to mod in a DrJones driver to get programmable flashing then that’s not relevant. Then it makes more sense to get the better built Aleto clone since it has an aluminium reflector that is a few dollars cheaper too.

http://imgur.com/a/0hbfD/embed

Banggood now have a separate SKU for the genuine Small Sun ZY-T11 with a plastic or aluminium reflector:

Small Sun ZY-T11

US$10.99 flashlight with plastic reflector - banggood
US$11.11 flashlight with aluminium reflector - banggood

This one has xml2 and alu reflector. 2.8A or so.
A bit expensive now for 13$, I got it in the last promotion for 8.17$.

I am also a bit confused because I thought there was written something from magnetic tail in the description, that’s why I ordered??? Anyway now I have two lights of the same type.