single 18650 + XHP70: nitecore TM03

Who got one for free?

The people that get a light at no charge to do a review certainly have to work for it, a good review is a time consuming and painstaking ordeal that can take several days to complete, and then there’s the plethora of questions that arise and usually more measurements and such. Might seem free, but it’s a fairly expensive free!

The strobe mode uses random frequencies alternating. When it’s on high frequency it looks like it outputs a 1000 lumens. But when it’s blasting on low frequency it clearly puts out a whole lot more than 1000. My thinking is that maybe that’s the way this light’s emitter works. It needs time to reach higher lumens which a higher frequency prevented it.

There was a gent at the bottom of the first page who stated that he’d take one for free (from Uruguay?). I seemingly turned around and another page filled up before I could post. (Maybe I didn’t refresh my page? I dunno.)

Please don’t jump to conclusions when reading what I’ve written. I’m perfectly capable of insulting folks openly and so that there is no doubt to my intent when I have a mind to do so. :slight_smile: That’s a very rare occurrence and I never fire the first shot.

Brian, wasn’t implying that you insulted anyone, just didn’t see where anyone got a review sample. And yes, we’re aware of how insulting you can be. :stuck_out_tongue: (relax! Just messin with ya! lol) [some of the newer folks don’t realize what goes into a review, which is why I said what I said up above.]

blueb8llz, I like the style of it and the fact they have managed a new threshold in the boost game. Until this one, the boost circuits were keeping outputs low, for some reason this one piqued my interest, in no small part the style of the dual switch mechanism on the tail cap. Had to see what that was all about. And I like deep reflectors. Drawn to em, not exactly sure why. Solarforce Skyline I kinda started it, the Barracuda in more recent times, and now this one. (My Skyline I now has an MT-G2, pretty sweet, opposite end of the spectrum from where this light started out. :wink: )

I might end up using an LD-2 or Zener modifed FET driver with 2 18350 cells in this TM03 just for the fun of it, who knows. Slice and dice perhaps? Depends on how well it works in hand and if I stay impressed with it.

First I’ll try to put the circuitry on a 30Q and see how that works out. Then, if it doesn’t make sufficient gains, I’ll try to adapt the light to run on a standard cell without the circuit panel. From there, might just change everything inside. I tend to wing it and so things just happen as they happen. (It might prove to be a really cool MT-G2 light. :wink: )

We’re still friends Dale. No harm done and no umbrage taken.

My light meter tells me that it’s doin roughly 1000 lumens on strobe. And I have several xpg2 and xml2 lights that does around 1200-1700 lumens, and those lights have a brighter strobe than my tm03. And this is not by eye, but by my light meter

Sounds like you have a pretty detailed plan on the works of this light. But I think it would be fairly difficult to still have the access to instant strobe with a new driver. I think a dedomed xhp 70 might be another option to add to the mix? Or even a xhp 35 HI…. Since you were able to achieve 3000 lumens.
The light has a deep reflector, but the light does not really seem to throw all to well considering how bright it is due to the op reflector.

Then in this case i trust my eyes more. It’s pretty easy to see the brightness of the strobe, especially when it’s in low frequency mode and i blasted it side by side with a 800 lumens P20

I don’t have the light and I haven’t seen a picture of the battery contact side of the head. Could someone please post one. Mhanlen stated in his video review that tail contact with the two same sided contacts caused sparks. I’m guessing that there is three contact points on the heads underside; one for the tube one for the outer ring on the battery and one for the center post. Since this light will take standard batteries and do all modes but turbo. I’m guessing that the center post is same as all others. The outer ring connecting the the tube is the same as all others. The ring between the post and outer tube connection is negative and probable wired to the turbo circuit directly. Not knowing what the battery circuits do. My guess is that by connecting the outer ring to the center ring will allow all modes in standard batteries. Anyone want to try or post pictures of the contact board?

I am surmising the same and will be testing that when I get the light. :wink:

i also have the p20, and the p20’s strobe is brighter than the tmo3’s strobe.
although my p20 is slightly modified, doing about 1300 lumens, but even if it looks to be the same brightness as the tm03, thats only 1300 lumens when turbo is 3000 lumens?

well i also compared it with an imalent DDT40 that’s putting out constant 3000+ strobe.
Again, the TM03 puts out lower lumens on high frequency. But occasionally when it hits low frequency, it’s comparable with the DDT40

What’s the purpose of strobe, in the first place? The definition might also define the answer to this query…

I would venture a wild guess that strobe is typically used as an attention getter. Car is down, strobe is being used to alert oncoming traffic of a situation where caution must be used to proceed. In this case, time is critical, having a cell die on you could put you at great risk, so having a lower powered strobe that does the job and allows run time only makes sense. Yes?

Strobe works well in running the racoons off from my porch stealing the cat foot and from my neighbors rabbits. But ya I think its mostly as a signal/attention getter. A 1000+ lumen strobe will blind any person and give time to run away. Is there really a need for 3000 lumen strobe?

That’s what I’ve always seen the strobe use to be. If I somehow get lost or hurt in the forest I just might be able to strobe a search aircraft.

The TV advert’s where it’s used as a weapon is pure BS unless the perp is subject to grand mal seizures.

Exactly Brian, even the red/blue/white police or military strobe is just not gonna stop someone, especially someone running away. (my luck they’d be shooting at it!) Any bright light in the eyes of a dark-adjusted perp is going to gain you some time to make plans, but it won’t be long and plans better be executed quick cause now they’re mad at ya as well!

A good Chow will have fun with the Racoons…

+1

I never understood what tactics people had in mind after using a strobe for ‘self-defense’.

Even if you engage with an element of surprise, your ability to react thereafter is past what a flashlight can do.

And if the strobe blinks more than 10x in California or NY without recharging it would be illegal.

What’s the rate of the strobe on that law Brian? Could a guy dump a 14 round magazine with double taps fast enough for the strobe effect to get him in trouble? :stuck_out_tongue: