It’s the same issue i’m having.
I knew I read that here but this thread has gotten so large. Which batteries have you tried? I have the Sony GB batts and a set of 30q from from my BLF q8. Have you gotten any answers as to what it is doing?
Tried Sony VTC6 and 30Q. Will try another set of VTC6 when I get home from work.
Hello Dale (Haikelite Proper) and Terry (Haikelite USA),
I want to first recognize the effort you both have invested with this group buy. I received my tan XHP 35Hi NW today and wanted to share my findings with you both, as well as the forum. The light I received has the SN: H2018A01128K. I’ve had a brief 20 - 30 min test with the light but I think it’s sufficient to come to a conclusion for my use. The only other flashlight of this caliber that I own is the original Haikelite MT07 Buffalo with the OP reflector from the group buy in late 2016.
PROS:
- The build quality and design of the body continues to be a strong point. The lens and reflector appears to be of great quality. The threads had a touch of machine debris (slight grinding initially) but easily cleaned out.
- The UI with the single button works very well and the ramping is reasonable. If I was pressed to critique I would make the ramping maybe 0.5 sec faster. That is only for my preference but I am still happy as it is.
- The balance of the MT09R in the hand is far more evenly distributed when compared to the MT07. The MT07 had an awkward positioning of my hand which left the light feeling too front heavy at the lens and constantly tilting down. The MT09R has what seems to be a narrower circumference by the power button or some other changes in design that allows a more natural grip. The power button is relatively the same distance from the tail end between the two light but the grip is very different.
CONS:
- I don’t have a light meter other than using a phone app (which I haven’t done yet) and I know my comment will therefore hold no scientific value but it should in no way diminish what I am witnessing. The MT09R out throws the MT07 ever so slightly. The MT09R has a much smaller spill. It reminds me of those flashlight that can project lights very far even if there overall lumen is far less than another light. For me the slight advantage in throw and more noticeable disadvantage in spill puts it behind the MT07. I suspect that if I were to get the smooth reflector for the MT07k, it may equal the distance of the MT09R and still have a better spill. The three LED configuration for a light that specializes in distance gives it a very unnatural looking spill. I suspect with the 70.2 series LED, the spill is so big that you don’t see a distinct pattern like those for the 35Hi.
- My second concern and opinion is like those of others reporting less than the promoted and printed lumens in the manual. My observation would put this light easily in the 3500-4000 lumen range. The MT07 was found to be approximately 3500 lumens (fell short of the promised 5000 lumens). Factoring in a slightly longer throw but much smaller spill and what my eyes are seeing, I’m very confident in my estimate. If I buy a car that promises 300 horsepower and I’m only getting 100 horsepower, I don’t need a Dyno to tell me it’s not meeting expectations. Because this is the second light that’s failed to meet the advertised specs by a significant amount it leaves me uncertain about the brand moving forward.
- The color is suppose to be NW but it seems skewed toward CW.
- One of the black plastic battery centering ring fell out of the flashlight upon opening the tail cap.
NOT TESTED:
- Have not tested the low voltage protection to confirm if it’s working as designed.
- Have not tested if temperature stepdown protection works properly or not.
SUMMARY:
In it’s current performance I can not recommend the MT09R XHP35hi if one already has the MT07 or MT07S. It appears from some initial reports that the 70.2 variant may fare better so my conclusion does not apply to that version of this model. I would be more than happy to ship my light to Terry (Haikelite USA) if he is interested in testing and repairing. I hope this helps other members but most importantly as direct feedback to Haikelite from their customer base.
Loosening the tail cap allowed the flashlight to turn on, UI is clunky to me.
Loosening to get proper function doesn’t make a lot of mechanical sense. Maybe your contacts from the battery carrier to the head are iffy? I would try cleaning them spring and contact area of the head to see if that makes a difference. When my package arrived the Sony batteries wouldn’t even register on my charger. However, it was the sticky residue left by the safety stick on buttons on the heads that were thwarting contact with the charger contacts. Maybe something similar is happening between your battery carrier and head?
Ok, so I mentioned earlier in my “review” in this thread that I have an LED that is stuck “on” when there are battery’s in the carrier. Its very minimal, barely there…but why is this happening?
Is there a wiring pr soldering problem on the driver disc? Its really not a big deal, except that I worry its indicative of a soldering issue that could cause more serious problems later on.
Any modders out there that could give some insight? And namely…should I return it or just live with it? The mechanical lock-out solution is pretty easy - just a quarter turn of the battery compartment from the head. But I wonder if the electrical flow issue may be causing other problems that I’m unaware of.
Thanks in advance for any insight!
cant wait to received mine and find out what my result are. local post seems so lazy sometimes.
I am on this right now....
Ok, tried using another set of VTC6 and still flashes 3x but won’t turn on. Time to email Dale.
It seems I have encountered something similar to what you and 808Hi are experiencing a couple of times in playing with the light over the last few days (out of hundreds of normal turn-ons). It was so infrequent/random that I just chalked it up to me doing something wrong with switch actuation (I can be awfully scatterbrained sometimes).
Tonight I took the MT09R out to my usual 800 yard test range along with believable 700 & 1100 yard throwers for comparison. I had other things to do first so the light and fully charged VTC6s inside were around 42°F (5.6° C) by the time I got there.
The MT09R would not turn on. Sometimes it did nothing and sometimes it did the one flash thing you describe. I tried loosening and retightening the head and tailcap multiple times while trying to figure out whether there was a pattern to when it flashed and when it did nothing. I couldn’t come up with anything consistent. Finally, after about five minutes of fiddling and trying the same things over and over again (yeah, I know, that’s one symptom of insanity/dementia) the light came in Turbo, but unfortunately, right while it was pointed at my eyes.
Since I still couldn’t see well enough to do any kind of meaningful light test 15 minutes later, I decided to go home (carefully/slowly and giving thanks the whole way that MT09R was not a gun).
A couple of prior flash incidents was a minor annoyance, this one worries me.
Check the spring... Sometimes there is a split in the solder on one side of the spring and if there is it does not keep good enough contact and you get just a blink.
This is not always the case but more often than not it is.
I guess i get lucky… both of my mt09r are working fine… even my mt07s… i have been removing batteries and put it back on for 3-4 times… the lights operate normal.
Hey terry, no work tomorrow?
Same for me, no issues with any of my Haikelites so far.
Light is back indoors, warmed up, and working fine now.
Tailcap, head and front battery housing springs look good under magnification, shiny (not "cold") solder and no wiggles at base when deflected with a wooden probe (shish kabob skewer).
All screws and spanner rings seem reasonably tight.
I'll put it outside on the porch for a few hours some night later this week to see if temperature was/is the trigger.
Ok will check the solder on the springs and I know it’s not the springs from the cap because I swapped the caps with the two working lights I purchased from Terry’s store.
LOL I have so much work to do tomorrow it may be a week before I get caught up. I need a couple of flashoholics that live really close lol.
When you check that main spring on the bottom on the board try to move it just a little bit. If there is a bad spot in the solder you will hear it right away.
I tore down a light completely a couple of weeks back looking for a problem only to find it was just that the spring needed to be re-soldered LOL 2 minutes work took be 2 hours tearing that light down and putting it all back together.
My tracking number still says :
2018-02-06 14:17 The Item is at the shippers warehouse
I actually hope it’s still in China, I tried to send a E-mail to Dale yesterday but no reply yet.