4.80 AA light from Fast Tech

Okay, I did in fact receive these lights in the mail today. Put an Eneloop AA in each to test them and they seem to work fine. The star isn’t really seated inside the head, the wires just kinda hold it in and the reflector holds it down in place. I compared it next to the Acebeam L10 (both using an Eneloop AA) and they seem fairly comparable. I haven’t tried a 14500 yet. I lubed all the threads. Probably well worth the $2.99 each. Time will tell for sure of course but they seem to be a pretty decent little light.

I also received a pair of these lights today from Ebay vendor linked above.

The threads on both were so sloppy loose that they caused a ridiculous amount of misfires and mode skips. I wrapped a single layer of metalized/foil tape around the threads of each and now they both function as they should.

With this simple repair, they are now great for the price.

Is that the same/similar to duct tape?

Trying it now with one of the purple GTL (eBay) 14500 batteries. It is brighter but does’t seem to be head-n-shoulders brighter. Been on for maybe 5 minutes now and it’s fairly warm but I can still hold it without issue.

It's the shiny silver metal tape used in HVAC duct work...bonds to metal

Ah, thank you. I’ll need to look into that.

The pair I ordered from the eBay vendor arrived yesterday as well...

Like cajampa mentioned above, the head on both of these appears to be glued to some extent. I'll be working on getting those broken apart for modding soon. I have a small strap wrench that should help... a crescent wrench or vice might help with retaing the hex side of the head without damaging if you tape the jaws...

I think I might have to buy one or two. I’ve been thinking about replacing the Fenix LD01 on my key ring because I dislike AAA cells.

If you change the bottom supposedly steel spring to a better one with lower resistance like a carobronze or even better beryllium copper spring, it will get brighter.

And the strongest 14500 battery i know of is the Windyfire IMR14500 10A, that would also improve output.
Checkout HKJ ’s test

Comparing side-by-side, it's apparent that the lights from the eBay seller are not exactly the same. The light from the ebay seller is slightly longer, by about 1/8" (3mm). The anodization is a bit different, but they otherwise appear to be the same.

Thats interesting,
Is the front part that holds the lens the same shape? i ask because in your picture of your modded fasttech one, i suspected that my ebay one was slightly different.

Thanks for the suggestions. The GTL 1600mAh pretty much sucks. I’m getting about 10-12 minutes out of a fully charged battery in these lights on high. The only other 14500’s I have on hand at the moment are the TF flame 900mAh but haven’t tried them yet in this light. In the SK68 the TF got 1 hour 20 minutes and stayed bright the whole time till it shut off. In the same SK68 the GTL lasted only 50 minutes and quickly got dim.

I’ll have to toss a TF in and see what kind of run times I get on high and low.

I don't have the means to post a comparison photo at this time, but head-on, they are both the same. I think the difference you may be seeing is just perception due to the TIR optic.

Ok good to know, i agree that it is probably the TIR & also that slight fish eye effect you can get in closeups in photos.

I wonder if you can figure out where we got the 3mm extra, maybe we got a thicker shelf :smiley: but i wouldn’t bet on it is probably something useless like a longer tube.
But a deeper driver area would be nice also.

Yes, most of the difference is in the body tube. There is only a marginal difference in the size of the heads.

Anybody else experience sloppy threads in these super lights...or was I the Lone Ranger here?

I’m curious about this also as I have one coming from ebay and one from Fasttech. If anyone can comment on any noted quality differences between the two sources I’d appreciate it. Mine should be here soon so I’ll do the same once they are received.

Thanks,

John.

Mine is also very lose but i had no problem with mode changes though.
But i used mine just to check if it worked at all, as a stock light, i wouldn’t want to use it on AA anyway, very dim & a blue harsh led :frowning:

Maybe it gets nicer stock with a 14500 in it, i bought i as a host from the start, for a nice XP-L V6 in a tint i like :slight_smile: + wight’s FET+1x7135 driver :smiley:

I hope i can fit it in there it is a little cramped for space, but i just realized i can use a 17mm driver in this :slight_smile: nice, that makes this much more possible.

Oh well, it was an EZ fix. Mode twisting functions and fires like a high dolllar torch now.

Always good to know how to tune up the threads, when i start to use it if i need to :slight_smile:

You used just a little aluminum foil tape right, like this ?